On The Road Again - Sort Of

At 0800, I received a call asking me if I was willing to "virtually" deploy in support of the Harlingen flooding.  Sure, why not?

At suppertime I was still in my bathrobe, on the phone, sorting out car contracts.  We'll see if tomorrow gets any better but for right now, you'll see me when you see me!

At least I get to sleep in my own bed tonight.

The Online Bookshelf - British Butterflies

Although I made a little note to myself that this was from archive.org, I can't find it there now.  Pity, because it had some lovely illustrations.

Children's Crafts - a Sunflower to Stitch

A copy of a "prick and sew" activity card for children, evidently offered as a premium for buying coffee.  I'm not sure if it was to be "pounced" onto a piece of fabric for embroidery, or traced onto cardstock and given to the child with a handful of Mama's leftover yarn to weave in and out of the holes.

It's a free download from the Graphics Fairy's amazing site.

Vintage Advertising - "Mavis" Powder

Promising youth to the readers of Woman's Home Companion in 1921.

Quote Of The Day

God made the cat to give humankind the pleasure of caressing the tiger. ~ Victor Hugo

Grrrsday

Reason #1,268 Why We Don't Watch TV Together

"Rio Grande" is on, and the regimental singers have just come to serenade the Colonel's lady (Maureen O'Hara) in a remote Army post during the Indian Wars, so 1870-ish.  One of the songs they sing is "The Bold Fenian Men."

Me:  There's something wrong with this scene.

He:  What?

Me:  That song wasn't written until 1916.

John Ford was an Irishman, even! 

(And if anyone is interested, the actor who played Captain St Jacques - center right, with eyepatch - was Peter Ortiz, who lived a life of buckle and swash long before he arrived in Hollywood.  I had to bring him up on Google before Brian believed me).

Rugmaking - A "New Method" from 1921

left-click to enlarge

Found in yesterday's issue of Popular Mechanics, September 1921.  This homemade tool is of course a twin to the Singercraft rug making technique that was popular between the 1st and 2nd World Wars.

Sarah Bradberry (sorry, invoking her again) has a number of vintage Singercraft leaflets on her site if anyone is looking for more ideas on how to use this. 

(Note the helpful hint at lower right on how to convert old worn stockings into children's socks).

Vintage Magazines - Popular Mechanics

From September, 1921.  Google Books has back issues from 1921-2005, here.  Browsing through the old ones is an education in the sort of thing our grandparents and great-grandparents thought it was better to make than buy, either because it wasn't available or it cost too much.

Grrrsday

Sewing - Bunny Slippers from Le Petit Echo de la Mode

Bunny slippers for a toddler, from the Benes-Addict webpage.  Unfortunately it looks like someone talked her into an upgrade, and you now have to wait a minute or two for it to load. 

As is fairly normal for that time period (late 40's-mid 50's) the instructions are minimal and the assumption is that the reader sews well enough and doesn't need much more than the pattern diagram (in centimeters). I'd love to see a photo if anyone decides to make these. 

Vintage Magazines - La Femme Chez Elle

La Femme Chez Elle, from February of 1924.  Lovely needlework on display.

The 6th of June

Of all the tragedies of that day, big and small, I've often wondered if Major Pluskat ever found his dog.

Vintage Sewing - And So to Sew

From Sarah Bradberry's wonderful site, a series of sewing booklets from the 1950's to encourage teenagers to make their own clothes.  

And if you have several days to kill, her knitting, rug-making and embroidery books are just waiting for you to download (for free).

Vintage Advertising - Spam

From Redbook magazine, February 1962.  Spam is a product that just will not die, even though it's awful.