We have been busy with everyday things here this week. Meetings, a concert at school, an academic honors event, cross country practice, homework, groceries, dinner making, baking cookies and muffins, making applesauce, staying out of the rain, and that sort of thing.
I have also done some custom quilting
and added to my Little Red Hen book collection.
I think a spiffy pink cape and blue clutch purse might improve my next trip to town. What do you think?
I finished the spider web quilt a week ago but have not had a chance to take good photos of it. It has been a rainy and cloudy week. Fall has really set in; when I got up yesterday my sewing room was 59 degrees. I have been snuggling under the new quilt instead of photographing it. So, today I'll have to share something else.
These are my scores from the rummage sale last weekend. I know what you are thinking. I need them like a hole in the head. If I do nothing but knit for the rest of my life I could never knit them all. I don't even think I could knit one thing from each book or booklet that I own. Like vintage children's books I have a weakness for vintage needlework books.
I do think I'll try some of those mitten designs.
What is your weakness? Do you have something you keep collecting? What do you run across a rummage sale to snatch just before someone else picks it up?
I'll try to get some pictures of my quilt after the cross country meet tomorrow. Otherwise you just may be seeing photos of sweaty, tired, teens. Here's hoping it's a sunny day.
I have been inspired by circles. This quilt, made by Wendy has inspired a whole new line of cards for me. And I noticed today, her latest blog post has a familiar pattern on it. Do you recognize it?
After seeing this little quilt on flickr I had to run out and get a new tool. I got a circle punch for paper and made these.
and then this,
and these.
B was amused. He said we could celebrate when the card sales pay for the new sharp tool!
You can find these in my shop.
New things are fun, especially when they are old! A trip to a local consignment shop yielded some great finds. A new tablecloth!
A baby gown documented from 1897! I adore the eyelet yolk. It is very long and has tucks around the bottom. There was another gown from the same family made in the same pattern but without the eyelet fabric. It also has an adorable bonnet.
There were a collection of baby dresses but I left with only one slip and dress set. There is a little embroidery on the slip.
The dress has the tiniest pin tucks and little puff sleeves.
I also found another wooden ironing board. Now I have two. I will use the new one which is a bit larger in my sewing room and will use both of them, along with P's little tiny ironing board when I do craft shows. They make great display tables and also pack up in a small space. It was a great shopping stop!
My mom had this little kit in with her sewing things. I think she must have gotten it at an auction or garage sale. To my knowledge she never knit any mittens or socks. I do remember that she knit a lot of these sweater and hat sets.
I won't be making these cute mittens either, but I do enjoy having the kit.
Looking at these puppets reminds me that mittens come in pairs, just like socks. I think you can see where I am going with this... Don't be surprised if you see a few mittens as part of our "two make a pair" project.
I have also been wanting to make one (or more) of these mittens on the cover of the summer 2006 issue of Spin Off.
I don't know if A. would agree to make one of those as part of a pair. Perhaps we could just each knit our own! They could be pen pal puppets.
Does anyone else wish there were 20 more hours in each day? I would really like to have a few extra hours while everyone else is asleep!
edit: would the person who emailed me about the mitten kit please send me another email. I can't find the original email. I don't think I dreamed that email exchange. Thanks.
I am still reading through the big stack of books we bought at the rummage sale last weekend.
I love the cover on this one. The illustrator is named Esme. How can you go wrong with a name like that?
I also picked up these two Little Golden Book classics illustrated by Eloise Wilkin.
My favorite of the Little Golden books was this one illustrated by Richard Scarry. I had never seen this one before. 1955.
O.K. Call me a softy. I saw this toy sewing machine and had to get it for P. It would have been silly to get it for myself so I say that it is for her. We gave it to her last night and she said she did not want to go to bed; she wanted to sew. The poor dear. I know just how she feels. 
She has a real sewing machine; one that I think will be safe for her to use. It is hand crank powered.
This morning she got right to work.
She made a pillow with fluffy stuff inside and a smaller "bean" bag filled with rice.
Later, I found the pillow on her bed in her room, right where her head would be.
She has plans for more projects. She wants to sew a hat, a sweater, and she says her doll needs and apron that can tie in the back. I may not have a problem with scraps building up any more. I noticed
that P knew just were to go to get the squares she used to make her
pillows.
The Singer Sewhandy sews with a chain stitch. I think I may be trying it out myself. We can try it with different threads, or sew from the back so the chains end up on the front, or maybe even try some quilting on a doll quilt with it. Oh, the possibilities.
Before the internet and craft blogs there was correspondence school.
I found this set of books at an antique shop a few years ago. This is the 1943 edition of the set which was originally copyrighted in 1935. The books are small, like text books used to be. These texts, however, were written for the Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences in Scranton, PA; a correspondence school. I have often wondered about who would have taken these classes by mail. I should take time to read through all of the books, as they have a lot of valuable information in them. The first in the series is very basic. It describes the various hand stitches, how to use a sewing machine, how to gather fabric, and other beginner techniques.
At the end of each chapter the student would have to submit answers to test questions, samples of techniques, and even occasionally a finished garment, which would be returned "with any suggestions for improvement that we may think necessary."
These two paperbacks were written in 1922. 
I really like the Apron and Caps book. The note to the student in the beginning reads:
"Bustles, hoop skirts, and boned bodices come and go, but aprons, like table napkins seem always necessary.
Many modern-type aprons are exploited and many have much merit, but the home-loving woman likes the clean, fresh apron to put on for the ceremony of dinner getting or for the bit of special sewing. And in between, the apron is a safeguard for many kinds of household work. Therefore, practically all types are considered so that one may choose and make that which pleases her most, and vary the design or idea to suit her own special fancy.
Frequent laundering requires materials of good quality and color. Neatness is synonymous with aprons and as a result necessitates careful workmanship, neat seams, and good finishing."
None of the books have patterns; they focus more on the techniques involved in the sewing process and the drafting of the patterns. They are great resources and fun to look through. But then, I am easily entertained.
March of the Tools 7.
I think I may be the last person I know who does not have a cell phone. But, then, I don't want one so that's good news. I like my old rotary phone, though I do wish it were black and a bit heavier. I like that it is simple; it doesn't break. I don't have to program it and I don't have to worry about accidentally dropping it in the toilet. It sits next to my computer on my desk. I don't really like to spend a lot of time on the phone. I hesitate to have phone time bleeding over into other things that I like and want to do. 
I remember my mom using a pen to dial the rotary phone that we had when I was growing up. If the conversation was very long, she would sit on the stairs behind the wall where our phone was kept. We had a heavy black phone that would not budge even if the receiver cord was stretched across the room. My sisters and I had the job of reserving a raquetball court for our father each week. The lines at the local university gym would open at 7:00 in the morning and we would have to call continually to get through to get a court. There was no redial and, of course, we would have to wait for the dial to tick back to its starting position after each number. I still like that sound; it gives me time to gather my thoughts as I dial. We were also forced to remember phone numbers. I still remember numbers of my childhood friends, even some of my sisters' friends. It is interesting how times and technology have changed though.
How strange the first phone conversations must have been and how very special it must have been to keep in touch with far away family. Instantaneous and vocal connection to distant loved ones was not possible before. The reasons for phone use have changed a lot over the years and I am not sure they are all good. I like to keep my phone conversations close to the purpose of keeping in touch with far away friends and family. For friends and family who live close, I would rather arrange for a time to meet in person and have a visual connection while talking.
Sometimes, I have business for which I need to call. I call and rarely get a human ("Press one, two, three, four..."). Most of these prerecorded or computer generated messages used to end with "If you are not calling from a touch tone phone, please stay on the line..." They don't anymore. They just hang up on you in a very impersonal way. Sad, don't you think? I have learned to make business calls from the kitchen on our other phone which is a touch tone and also has an answering machine in it.
A cell phone could make some situations easier, but I am not sure that easy is what I want. My oldest son and his father recently attended a scholarship awards dinner an hour and a half away. I was eager to hear news of the outcome, but, it was also fun to wait and wonder (even if they didn't get home until midnight). Cell phones would allow me to communicate with my teens to coordinate after school activities, but, I like that we make a plan in the morning and stick with it. I think it is important for them to think about their plans and how they fit in with the rest of the family. If phone use were easier, I would probably use it more. I might take it with me. I might talk on my cell phone at the park instead of playing with my daughter or meeting other parents.
I like that my rotary phone makes me think about my telephone time.
I made this basket over 20 years ago, when I was in college. We use it
to collect eggs and bring up potatoes and onions from our basement
storage area.
My basket is made in the same design as this one, which was made by my great grandfather. I only use this basket for display now, as I am afraid it will break. It is old and brittle.
Both baskets were used at our wedding reception. I lined each with a cloth napkin and put birdseed in them. Before we left the reception a couple of children walked around with these baskets and offered birdseed to the guests who wanted to toss some on us when we went to our car.
I have been thinking about family heirlooms and how they get to be "heirlooms." My great grandfather probably made more than one basket to be used on the farm. This one happened to last long enough for my mother to save it after it fell out of regular use. I doubt is was more special than the others he made except for the fact that this one lasted. I am using the baskets I made years ago. In fact, we used one so much that the reed weaving on it has broken and fallen out. That one is no longer usable and I have it in the basement with the idea that someday I will reweave it.
This makes me wonder about what things will be passed down in my family. Which things that I have made will reach future generations? Will it be the "ugly" quilts that don't get used that end up surviving or the things that are very special and only seldom used? The family favorites will be very worn, maybe even "worn out" and thrown away. I am sure there is a bit of luck involved too. What is it that we learn about our ancestors from the items they pass down? I would like to know about the much loved heirlooms that didn't last. What stories could they tell? What treasured family memories are lost with the items that helped make them special?
Stumble It!
