The Little Red Hen

Thrills

Quarter finds at a rummage sale can bring big thrills.

Now We're Talkin'

They just don't make them like the used to. That is so true. Some of the old things are much better than new. This little beauty now sits on my freshly cleaned desk. How can I have a cluttered desk with THIS sitting on it? I tell you this will change my desk keeping habits1 - or so I hope. I love this "new" phone. It makes such a satisfactory sound when you dial up a friend and it is heavy enough that it doesn't move when you use it. Someone please call me so I can hear it ring!! It replaces this less than perfect but still fun phone.

While cleaning my desk, (I did a deep clean involving the drawers!) I found the box of 64 crayons I had as a child. I remember wanting the 64 color box for a long time. My sisters and I had lots of crayons that we kept in a shoe box all jumbled together. Many were broken but we still loved to color with them. I remember visiting my friend Mary and when we started to color together she got out her crisp new box of 64 crayons. Those crayons were lined up like little soldiers wearing pointy hats. Oh, that is when it hit. Crayon envy.  I finally did get a new box - much later.  It was so special that I made sure I labeled that box. My name is written on it in at least three places. And as you can see, I was old enough to write in CURSIVE!

The box in the background is the box I bought for the 64 colors project. (The colors have new names and I had to make sure I was finding the right color for my photos.)

I think the old box graphics are much better.

Maybe I just don't want to grow up. Whatever it is, these things gave me a little thrill today.

Oh, and look what I found at a rummage sale this weekend - a flower shaped hankie!

Fun stuff.

I'm off to do some food preservation. We have garlic scapes and strawberries coming out of our ears and the peas are coming on strong too. We'll be shelling peas till the cows come home later in the week. I love it when the freezer is full of home grown garden bounty!

Old Favorite

I used to love playing with the spirograph when I was young. I never knew at the time that there was so much math involved.

It is fun to get it out once in a while and play with it. P thinks it is great.

What are your favorite childhood toys or games?

Mid Century Shape

Happy Birthday to ME! I picked up some fun books at the library book sale.

Pattern and Shape
The Development of Shape
The Shapes We Need

They were published in 1964 - ALMOST as old as me!!  There is a lot of mid century groovyness in these!

Luckyday

I recently added to my vintage needlebook and button collection.

Yep, sometimes it really is the little things that make me happy.

Fit for a Queen

P said the other day that she wanted to make the space under the stairs a "queenly place" for queens, princesses, and fairies. I have helped her start the transformation.

We went through my bins of thrifted fabrics and linens and found a green toile tapestry of birds and leaves to hang on the wall and she chose a few other fancy items for decoration.  We also draped a large piece of red and white damask fabric across the opening.

 

D installed some hooks for her to hang some "queenly things." and B fixed a lamp for light.

 

She says she will draw some queenly things to decorate the backs of the stairs.

M has fun getting in there and playing games with her.

Overall she seems thrilled with the space. It is fun to have a doorway to such a magical place in my sewing room.

Eventually it will be a storage space for me but for now, it will be a place fit for a queen, or princess, or fairy, (or maybe even a mermaid she says).

Vintage Yardage

I thought you might want to see some vintage fabric yardage.

I found these long forgotten pieces of fabric yesterday while looking for something else in the sewing room. There is at least three yards of each.

 

I love that they are all the old narrow width- and just look at that lovely selvedge. Sigh.

 

Summer has arrived but I still don't spend much time outside because of the mosquitoes. I am eagerly awaiting the day they blow away. 

In the mean time I am trying to be productive with my time in the house. I have decided that one of my summer projects will be to finish as many unfinished projects in the sewing room as I can. You know, cleaning up the slow way. I am determined to get some of these piles cleared up.

I am on my way with these star blocks that I made today. That is all I need to finish a queen size quilt that I started at Beaver Island Quilt Retreat in 2004!!

If I hadn't put four of the blocks in this quilt and mailed it away I would have only needed to make three more blocks. Three. That was all I needed to finish a queen size quilt. That is what I get for not finishing it at the time. I have had the unfinished top and fabrics to finish it in a pile for almost SIX YEARS.

Yes, its time has come.

Is anyone else up for a summer of Project UFO? Let's get those projects finished!!

Winter Thrifting

Winter thrifting around here is not nearly as exciting or thrifty as the warm weather rummage and garage sale season. We are limited to shopping at the local thrift stores. Last week I visited a few and came home with some fun finds.

I was happy to find this fun little pyrex bowl and pale green cashmere sweater. I haven't decided if I will wear the sweater as it is or frog it and knit something else. I think this yarn would look good in a cable design. I may just wear the sweater until I decide. It is a bit more green than the photograph shows.

 

Again I was happy with the pyrex dish for leftovers and was thrilled to find one of the Elizabeth Zimmerman books I have been looking for. I love that it has many notes in it from a previous knitter. It is a well used book.

I didn't notice that these last sweaters were Hokie colors until they were beside me in the car. The maroon one is definitely going to be frogged. It is a very unattractive design but it is knit with a wonderfully soft merino/angora blend yarn. I think perhaps I'll make a hat, mitten, scarf set with this yarn. The orange sweater is cashmere. I can really show my Hokie pride if I wear the sweater and hat set together! 

Hoki, Hoki, Hoki, Hy.
Techs, Techs, V.P.I.
Sola-Rex, Sola-Rah.
Polytechs - Vir-gin-ia.
Rae, Ri, V.P.I.

The Big Sewing Room Clean Up

Some of you may know that we live in an old farm house. We have s-l-o-w-l-y been renovating it for over twenty years.

Shortly after M was born the tiles in the shower of our only bathroom started falling off the wall. We had made plans to put two bathrooms upstairs so we decided not to spend the time to fix the bathroom that was to be torn out and turned into our mudroom.

Well, M is now 16. And we still have no bathrooms upstairs. We are still not using the shower in the downstairs bath.  Sixteen years of baths. The sink has started leaking into the basement.  So it goes.

Now is the time. We are putting in the upstairs bathrooms. We have adjusted the plans and are getting ready to make some progress.

The flooring in the upstairs bath areas was removed years ago and used to repair the floors in the other rooms of the house. The next step is to remove the temporary plastic ceiling that has been in my sewing room for 18 years so that the plumbing can be installed.  There will be lots of dust and debris. 

SO yesterday was spent cleaning in the sewing room so that everything does not get buried in debris. I am starting at the construction end of the room and going through everything. I found many piles of vintage patterns that I have picked up at sales. In sorting them to file them by size and style I found that I am TOTALLY prepared in the doll clothes department.

 

Any size doll and any style of dress. I now have half a copy box of doll dress patterns...  It's a sickness.  

Have any of you ever seen a looping needle? Well here it is! After looking at the directions it appears that someone has developed a really complicated way to crochet. I could be wrong but really, that is how it looks. If all of my crochet hooks break or get lost I am ready and even have 22 EXCITING patterns to make!  This is just one of the many strange and quirky sewing/crafting items I have accumulated.

I found this partially made smocked dress. It is a size four. If I hurry P might be able to wear it. I didn't check to see if all of the pieces are there.

I think it may be too late for this one. It is a much smaller size but I really like the fabric. Someone even started the smocking.

 

Do you think these hat designs will be coming back? Bow ties might already be back in. Didn't Martha demonstrate how to make them on her show recently?  Those rick rack flowers are pretty special -that is an idea I think I can use.

I am telling you. It is a jungle in here. Look what else I found. Yes, I wore that on my head when I got married.  It looked a bit fresher then.

 

I had better get back to work. That ceiling is coming down on Friday!

I wonder what treasures I'll find today.

Hello

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?