5 Antique / Vintage Tomato turtle pillow Pincushion Collection Primitive Sewing

Description

This lot would be ideal for gifting to new or experienced stitchers, or as gifts at a ladies gathering.
Folklore tells that  tomatoes on the hearth was a talisman of good fortune. When fresh tomatoes were not available, fabric tomatoes were placed in their stead. Those tomatoes were stuffed with straw or hay, which would keep needles from rusting. So began the tomatoe pin cushion.
While there is no written evidence of this lore, it is fun to know.
The addition of the strawberry is happen-stance. A bit of fabric would be filled with Emory powder, used to sharpen a needle. It just happened to look like a strawberry,  and it stuck.
Generations of sewing boxes later, most have some memory of a tomato and strawberry pin cushion.
Used and well loved, includes some pins and needles. Various sizes, age, and filler.
inventory item 21 longest