Hello! Spring always seems to take its time in arriving in my neck of the woods (West Michigan), and that's been even more true this year. But finally, we've seemed to turn the corner and warmer weather will be sticking around. So, let's celebrate spring with this:
The Spring/Summer 1975 issue of Ladies' Home Journal needle&craft, a fun thrift store purchase. Many craft magazines from this era show off projects that look strange to me today, but this magazine didn't have much of those. I didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. :)
This hand-knit "Long column of a cardigan" would still look good today, I think.
And check out this dapper gentleman:
"
Abstract chevrons patterned on sparkling white make this V-neck pullover a sure winner." Nice!
And then there's this stunner:
The accompanying copy explains that the designer "...was challenged by the idea of pulling scraps of yarn together to make a cohesive project. The result: this free-spirited sweater." I'd say that the designer succeeded admirably, though I suppose it helped that she obviously had quite the supply of yarn scraps.
Are you thinking of some new shoes for the warmer weather? Then you ought to look at these:
For our fancy footwear, the top view shows decoupaged roses on the base of the clogs, with embroidered ribbon on the tops. The bottom view features a geometric needlepoint design. All you need, besides the time to make these designs, are "order-by-mail wooden clog soles." I wondered if these soles are still available, so I checked online. I learned that I could indeed, buy this item, but the makers are all overseas. I'd have to pay international shipping, so no fancy footwear for me! Seems like a fun idea though.
Yes, making that needlepoint design for a pair of shoes would have taken time, but I doubt it would have taken as long as it would have to create this:
The description of the ensemble: "Clever combination of patchwork and crochet makes this blouse and skirt a true work of art....Crocheted pinwheels in DMC cotton are inserted into the fabric after the blouse and skirt are separately sewn." So, first you have to make the patchwork sections, and sew these to the other sections to make the garments. Then you have to crochet the circles, cut away corresponding fabric where the crochet work will go on the skirt and blouse, and lastly, sew the crocheted circles in. Whew! I guess when you were finally done, you did, indeed, have a "true work of art"!
But then again, who am I to talk about time-consuming sewing, when after all I recently showed off a quilt I'd made that looks a lot like this:
Yes, it's another yo-yo quilt! It looks nice, but barely covers the top of the bed. Mine has more of an overhang, and I think it looks better that way.
In 1975, the US was gearing up for the 1976 Bicentennial, so on offer was an embroidery transfer for embroidering George and Martha Washington. Not sure how close the designer came to capturing their likenesses, but hey, she tried.
More adventures in embroidery:
A set of colorful alphabet sampler pillows.
A close-up:
Nice work! These pillows were suggested for a child's room, but after doing all that stitching, I don't think I'd want to put these where kids could get at them.
Embroidery not your thing? Well, then how about:
A stained glass flower necklace? Yes, I said necklace! Forget what I said about not wanting kids around hand-embroidered pillows - I wouldn't trust myself to wear something like this! Probably no less than five minutes around my neck, and I'd accidentally break it somehow.
Here's another glass project:
And it's fitting for today being Earth Day, since the project features decorative painting on reused glass bottles. Similar glass-painting projects still show up from time to time in 21st craft magazines.
Sure, those 21st craft magazines are fun to read, but give me some of their vintage cousins too. They can be even more fun to read!
Hello! In 1998 I bought a machine-sewn, patchwork-style comforter at a department store. I really liked the colors, so when the patches began coming loose at the seams, I sewed on coordinating fabric pieces to cover the gaps. But over time too many seams became loose and patching was no longer feasible.
I made do with the quilt my late mother had made me decades ago. But it dated from my dorm room days, so was sized for a single bed. It barely covered our double bed, so I began thinking of making a quilt. I'm not into intricate quilting patterns, though, so it would have to be something simple.
An older craft book from a thrift store gave directions for making a yo yo quilt, and it sounded like something I could handle. I looked up some online info on this type of handiwork and thought the examples I saw were charming. From articles such as this one, I learned that yo yo quilts were popular in the 1930's and 1940's.
I had plenty of scrap fabrics, so I already had a head start on the supplies needed. But I bought a yo yo maker (as seen here) to make the job go faster.
In the context of quilting, what is a yo yo? It's a fabric circle with a gathered stitch edge that, when pulled, turns the circle into a smaller puffy round. The rounds are then tacked together to form quilts and pillow tops, and can also be used to trim pillowcases, purses and other items. They can be strung together to make toys, or sewn together to make garlands or Christmas ornaments too.
I think that yo yo makers are fairly new; before then, the circles were cut out with a template, the raw edges were turned under, and then a gathering stitch was sewn around that turned-under edge. There's no way I would have considered making a yo yo like that when yo yo makers are now available. Not only does this tool eliminate the need for using a template, but it also eliminates the need for turning over the raw edge as a separate step. And the yo yo maker has slots for placing the gathering stitches, which makes that step a no-brainer. So all in all, a big improvement!(The only real disadvantage is that you're limited to the sizes the yo yo makers create.)
This is not to say that crafting the number of yo yo's needed for a double bed quilt was a quick and easy project. It was probably around five years ago that I started making them. I'd work on them in spurts, mostly during the winter months, but also when we went out of town for vacations. Making yo yo's was a very portable project.
I loved working with my fabric scraps (and admittedly, used the project as a excuse to buy appealing remnants at thrift stores and garage sales). But there were times I got sick of making yo yo's, so I'd set aside my efforts for months at a time. Yeah, there was a lot of stopping and starting, and occasionally I wondered why I'd even begun the thing. But since I'd already started, I figured I might as well finish.
Eventually I deemed that my multitude of yo yo's was enough, so I began tacking them together. This was more tedious than making the yo yo's, but it was fun to randomly match them as I sewed.
And how many did I sew together to make my quilt? It's 36 yo yo's wide and 40 yo yo's long, so yep, that equals 1,440 yo yo's! Insane, right?
Well, I finally got the quilt done, so here's some pics of how it looks on the bed:
Some close-ups of fabrics I used:
A colorful conglomerate.
I think the quilt looks very nice on our bed! We bought that bed back in 1988. At that time, the antique store owner told us she thought it dated from the 1920's. So, perhaps at one time the bed had had another yo yo quilt on it. I'd like to think so!
By the way, yo yo quilts don't have backing fabrics as pieced quilts do. The craft book that inspired my quilt did suggest a backing as an option though. In that case, the yo yo's were to be tacked onto the backing while they are being tacked to each other.
I thought I'd already done enough sewing, so I just placed a white sheet over the blankets, and then laid the quilt over the sheet. The white shows off the many colors of the many yo yo's to their full effect.
I'm glad I didn't give up on this project at the times I was tempted to do so. But I have to say, I'm glad it's done! Now, what to make with the fabric scraps I have left? I recently came across another quilt pattern that looks simple...
Hello! I was out of town for the Easter weekend, so I didn't get around to posting some photos of what might be the biggest bunny of them all:
Above, a solid chocolate Easter bunny, created by the folks at Purity Candy, near Allenwood, PA. This photo was taken on March 18th.
This bunny may not look like much, but the sign below indicates otherwise:
It's a "75 lb. Decorated Milk Chocolate Rabbit", you see, and was priced at $399.99. Hey, at least they weren't charging 400 bucks for it! Although I didn't measure the rabbit, it was probably about as tall as a young child.
But lest you didn't want to spend quite that much on one chocolate bunny, a smaller version was also available. Didn't get the price on this one, but it was still was an impressive size. Visible behind this display of Easter goodies is the workroom where many other chocolate bunnies were lined up and ready to be packaged.
Like I'd said, the above bunny was impressive. However, I was aiming for the best, so I jokingly told my husband to buy the 75 pounder for me for Easter. Alas, Easter Sunday came and went, with no sign of that monster rabbit.
We couldn't help but wonder if the rabbit ever did get sold, and if not, what its fate would be. Sold or unsold, it was still quite a sight to see, and I salute Purity Candy for making it!
Hello! The last full day of a recent trip found us in the Cleveland area. From a December stay at the same hotel (Embassy Suites, Independence, Ohio), I knew we weren't far from a candy warehouse-type business that's open to the public. We didn't have time to visit that store then, so I decided we'd do so this time.
Above, the entrance to b.a. Sweetie candy company. It doesn't look like much, but the brochure says: "Largest candy store in North America. 40,000 square foot of fun!"
The brochure also adds: "From all the old time favorites to the new kids crazes." That phrase "...all the old time favorites" is what lured me to the store. I'd read some online reviews of the place, many of which sang hosannas to seeing the favorite candies of their youths again.
I also thought it'd be fun to see some "old time favorites" again and that it was! I spotted Indianhead pumpkin seeds (super-salty, they were), those wax bottles with the flavored liquid inside, and those weird flying-saucer things that tasted like styrofoam and have little candy balls inside. I also saw some other old favorites, like candy necklaces and candy cigarettes. I almost felt I was once again in the dime stores of my childhood, D&C and McClellan (later changed to McCrory).
Want to refill your Pez container with only one particular flavor? You can do that; individual flavors are sold by the pound. In fact, that seemed to be a strong point of b.a. Sweeties - many types of candies were sold by the flavor. This is obviously a bonus if you have a weakness for one candy flavor - mine is grape - or if you want to represent your school or wedding colors in candy dishes or favor bags.
Many candies are sold individually, but if you want to load up on a favorite, you can buy large bags as well. I think those bags were in the three-pound range.
I say "I think" because the place was so big, it was a bit overwhelming. Also, I didn't have as much time to look around as I would have liked, since I was with my husband. He has the habit of rushing me through stores. Next time I'll have to go by myself!
A few other highlights of the store, again including a couple of quotes from the store's brochure:
- "Choose from 300 types of glass bottle Soda Pop. Most made with PURE CANE SUGAR!" A quick glance of this section revealed some old-timey brands as well as some unusual flavors.
- "Over 800 bins of bulk candy starting at only $2.99 per pound."
- There's also "Sweeties Soda Shoppe", which sells a number of ice cream treats. They make their own ice cream.
Alas, I didn't see the large bulk candy area until near the end of our shopping trip, as this section was in the opposite end from the entrance. My husband was getting anxious to go, so I only glanced through the row of bins to see what candies were available.
Now, it's true that many of the candies sold at b.a Sweeties, even some of the retro ones, can be found in the usual businesses where candy is retailed. For instance, when I told a fried that I got a few strings of grape Zotz, she commented that a local candy store sells them as well. Indeed, they do - I stopped in there yesterday while on an errand and saw grape Zotz - at twice the price per string I'd paid at b.a. Sweeties.
I almost bought a 3lb bag of grape Zotz at b.a. Sweeties - or I could have forced my husband to wait a little while longer while I scooped some out from the bulk bin area. I thought I was being so good by only sticking to a couple of strings. Now I kind of wish I'd bought that mega-sized bag of them.
Oh well, there's always online ordering! The b.a. Sweetie website is here. Once you go to the site, there's a link to their online store.
But if you want to see more candy than you ever imagined under one roof, you ought to check out the warehouse store if you're ever in the Cleveland area.
Hello! The other day I noticed that my body lotion was getting low. But instead of buying some from a store, I just whipped up another batch, using this recipe.
The three ingredients are water, a skin-friendly oil and grated beeswax. The original poster suggests which oils one can try and also includes a link for purchasing beeswax through Amazon. I used beeswax that I bought at an Amish grocery store, Beachy's Bulk Foods near Arcola, IL. (You can often find holistic body care supplies at such businesses).
One commenter mentioned that she tried the recipe with olive oil and it worked well. Since that's what I already had on hand, that's what I've always used. The recipe calls for filtered water; I used the distilled water that I already had as well.
One word of warning: since you're working with oil and melted beeswax, this mixture is going to be a pain to clean out of whatever piece of kitchen equipment you use. I used my food processor the first time I whipped up the lotion, which meant several greasy parts to clean. This time I opted for my Kitchen Aid stand mixer and its wire whisk attachment. That meant only two parts to degrease!
Above, the line-up of ingredients and utensils: beeswax melted in olive oil, warmed distilled water, essential oil (optional, but I like adding it in), spatula for transferring the lotion out of the mixing bowl, and a white plastic container for storing the lotion (also from the holistic body care supply section of Beachy's).
It takes a few minutes to melt the beeswax and olive oil together, and then it takes a few minutes more to create the lotion. You have to add the water to the beeswax/olive oil mixture slowly; otherwise, the lotion won't emulsify.
Above, my lotion is finished and looks like a nice creamy frosting. I added a few drops of Nature's Truth "Happiness" blend towards the end of the emulsifying process, but you can leave the lotion unscented if you prefer.
In the container and ready to use! This lotion is really nice. It's a bit greasy when it first goes on, but that feeling goes away pretty fast. Then you're left with very soft skin. I typically take showers at night, and it seemed like my skin would be dry in the morning after using commercial body lotions. Not so with this stuff! I really like it.
Hello! In 1999 I bought an antique dining table/chair set. The chairs were covered with a blah beige-ish fabric that I never cared for. But since the chair seats are the kind that are easy to recover (only a screwdriver needed to remove the seats and to put them back in), I figured I'd do just that.
Never got around to doing so, but over time I got more tired of looking at those blah chair seats. More recently I began looking at replacement fabrics, but didn't see anything I liked.
Then last summer I stopped at an interior design firm in our downtown that was participating in the annual sidewalk sales. They were selling fabric sample books for practically nothing. There were so many many pretty choices in one book, I decided to see if those fabrics would work for my seat do-over.
It's a bit of work taking apart a fabric sample book, as they're typically put together by glues, heavy-duty staples and screws. But eventually I pried everything apart. I laundered and ironed the fabric pieces I wanted to use, and they sat around for a few months more.
But finally I began my project earlier this week. Here's an example of what I started out with:
As you can see, nothing special about the above fabric!
Now, the one thing about my fabric pieces is that none of them were big enough to cover a chair seat. I'd have to sew more than one fabric together to get the size I needed. It may seem unusual to cover a chair seat with more than one fabric, but I asked the interior design firm employee who sold me the fabric sample book if it'd be okay to do. She said it would be. And since anything seems to go these days, I figured it'd be all right to take a chance. If I didn't like how it turned out, I could try looking for more fabric again.
I cut four 10" squares of my sample fabrics per chair, then sewed the squares together. For interest, I alternated darker and lighter prints. After prying the beige fabric from the seats, I used one of those pieces as a pattern to cut my sewn squares down to the right size and shape.
(Yes, I had to use a different set of four fabrics for each chair, but stuck to those that had at least some pink in each print.)
And voila:
A big improvement, I'd say! The fabrics I used are all very nice quality. They should be, as the price per yard is astronomical for this stuff.
A close-up of some of the fabrics:
I can't say I did the best job ever of recovering the seats, as I don't have much experience with a staple gun. But by the time I was working on the last chair seat I got better at it.
I also don't know how durable these seat covers will be, since the friction of one's posterior could cause stress on the seams over time. But we really don't use our dining room a lot - mainly for holidays and when we're having people over. The latter includes dinner guests, family parties and house guests, but still not frequent occasions for us.
Use or no use, I wanted to get rid of that blah, beige-ish fabric anyway! I'm glad I finally did so.
Hello! Almost one month ago, I blogged about beginning to participate in International Correspondence Writing Month, or InCoWriMo for short. I did manage to follow through on writing something to someone every day:
- one birthday card
- several Valentines
- several letters to people I know
- one letter to an InCoWriMo correspondent
- several thank you notes
- one sympathy card
- several letters left for strangers to find (fun to do and saved me some postage)
- one letter to myself (yes, this counts as a correspondence, according to the InCoWriMo organizers. I wrote it on the last day of February to sum up my experience)
The letters to people I know took awhile, but that's because they went to folks I hadn't written to in quite some time. It felt good to get those responses out in reply to those who had sent us Christmas cards.
The letter enclosed with the birthday card was a struggle to write, for it was meant for an old friend I'd stopped communicating with several years ago. It was all my fault, not my friend's, and for years after that she would send us a Christmas card stating she would love to see me again. But I never wrote back, and over time wondered if I could even patch things up between us. Frankly, I was afraid she'd be hurt enough to not consider me a friend anymore.
But I took a deep breath anyway, apologized, explained what had caused me to break things off, and then updated her on what's been going on lately. I mailed the card/letter off, having no idea what she'd think of it.
A few days later I got an email response from her, thanking me for the card and letter, and saying that no matter what happened, she would always consider me a friend. I actually cried a little when I read that. She's a better person than me, obviously.
Also got another very nice email response from another old friend, one I only keep up with here and there. She's always been very nice to touch base with though, so I wrote her as well. She said I was the only one of her friends who still writes letters! I replied that my latest letter was in part because of InCoWriMo and explained a bit about it. She said it sounded great and would check out their website.
Because of my husband's Slovak heritage, I sent a letter to someone on the InCoWriMo list who's from Slovakia. Haven't heard back from that person and am not sure if I will. I imagine that those who put their contact info on the list get a lot of letters!
I send out Valentines as a matter of course, so that habit made it easy to add to my daily correspondence count.
The sympathy card went to my brother-in-law, whose 97 1/2 year-old mother had died. I didn't know her really well, but I knew enough to write a letter along with the card that reflected on the many nice qualities she had had. I got a nice email response from him in return that expanded on those qualities I had touched on.
The thank you notes were fun to write, as always. Although most were to people I know, two of them weren't.
I'd always wanted to express my appreciation to the city snow removal employees. Sure, it's their job, but I live in a town where snow removal often seems like never-ending work. And I heard the snowplow going down our street in the wee hours of Christmas Day morning this past year. It's got to be rough, not even being able to plan for a Christmas morning with your family if you have to go out and drive a snow plow.
Since I wanted to bake something for a neighbor who'd done us a favor (and, of course, write a thank-you note too), I decided to find a recipe that would make enough to give to both the neighbor and the snow plow workers. So that I did, which meant hand-delivering both.
The desk clerk who took my humble gift for the snow plow folks seemed surprised but appreciative. She said they generally only hear from citizens when there's snow removal complaints; thank-you's are rare. So I felt pretty good about my effort!
As for the other thank-you note to someone I don't know, I sent it to Chad Salmela, my favorite Winter Olympics announcer, thanking him for another great job. If you heard, or heard of, the guy screaming "Here comes Diggins!" as the US women won their first-ever cross country skiing medal - gold, no less - that was Mr. Salmela. I love his enthusiasm, and from reading online reactions to that gold medal win, I know I'm not the only one.
I also wrote a letter to a local columnist, praising him for the chuckles his essay had given me. I'm not sure that I'd ever even written to a newspaper columnist before.
And lastly, my previous post highlighted another mailing, which was a letter and some vintage photos that went to the archives at the Catholic University of America. I'd been wanting to send those photos to the proper place for a few years now, so I'm glad I finally did it.
So all in all, participating in InCoWriMo took me out of my comfort zone a bit (heck, I even had to look up where to drop the baked good to the snow plow people) and got me to take some actions that I'd been wanting to do for years. Yes, I got tired of writing on some days, but overall I was glad I stuck with it. The positives definitely outweighed any negatives.
And I learned, anew, to never underestimate the power of handwritten correspondence!
