Did you ever see a pincushion that looked like a tomato? They used to be pretty common. Some even have a thing that looks like a strawberry attached to them. What's that all about? Why a tomato?
by 
debodun
ANSWERS: 15
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I've seen them. Dunno why. My wife has one shaped like a teapot. You can open the lid and put stuff inside it too.
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Yes. My mother has one.
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In many Renaissance households, people placed a tomato on their mantle as a way of containing evil in one evil object, thus helping to ensure prosperity for the family. But tomatoes eventually rot. So people resorted to stuffed models. And since the little cushions possessed a bit of voodoo magic, it held all the pins and needles in the house.
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Like this
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when i was in 6th grade my teacher had one siting on her desk
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I remeber my mother having one when I was a kid. I'm not sure why the tomato but thank you for bringing back a long forgotten memory! :-)
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Yes, I still have my grandmothers.
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I use to have one just like it..I don't know why the "tomato" shape but the little "strawberry" has an abrasive in it to clean and "sort of" shapen your pins! According to my old sewing instructor you were supposed to use the little strawberry before and after you use your pins!! You can notice the difference between the tomato and the strawberry...just run the berry between your fingers and you can feel the gainy substance in it, while the tomato is softer!
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They still are pretty common. You can buy all you want at Joanne Fabric, Hancock Fabric or Walmart. My guess would be that someone thought a tomato was pretty.
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My mother had several red tomato pincushions with the little attatched strawberry. She showed us how to use the strawberry to sharpen dull needles and pins. During the Victorian era there was a great deal of emphasis on the parlor room and it became the perfect place in which to display the novelty pincushions of the era. Pincushions were made in the shape of shoes, fans, dolls, teacups, umbrellas, fruits, and vegetables. They were hung on the walls or placed on occasional tables. Today the most familiar pincushion is the red tomato.
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I have one or two floating around here. The strawberry has sand in it. It is supposed to sharpen pins and needles, but all I was able to see it do was scratch the surface and make them slide less easily into fabric. But it is a very handy pincushion. I don't know why it is a tomato. Maybe because it was cuter than a cucumber?
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You brought back a great childhood memory: One year for Halloween, my mom made me wear a green sweatshirt, green sweats and one of those tomato cages like in your garden. She then pinned all those little tomato pin cushions on me and VIOLA! I was a tomato plant! And yes, I am still in therapy! ;)
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I've seen those. I think my grandma used to have one.
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Both my wife and I have had one of those since before we met. As for why... uh... I'll have to get back to you on that.
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I have one! Uses it all the time, at least the tomato-part. I thought the strawberry just was some kind of decoration, but good to know what it's for :-)
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