Vintage Sewing - a Summer Hat and Bag from Placemats, 1952

 

A summer set from Good Housekeeping magazine, August 1952 - a sort of pixie had and handbag to make from woven straw placemats.  Left-click to enlarge, or go to the Internet Archive to download the entire magazine.

I'm not sure, myself, if I would try to wear these unless I were still under twenty-one. They'd look cute on a little girl, though.

Happy National Fudge Day

 With three vintage fudge recipes from the archives.

Caturday!

 

Quote of the Day

 

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Grrrsday

 

Vintage Doll's Furniture - A Mission Bedroom from 1912

 

From Boys' Make-At-Home Things by Carolyn and Marian Bailey, a set of bedroom furniture in "Mission Style."  A free download from Project Gutenberg.

Diagrams and instructions can be found on p59.

Caturday!

 

The Last Crewman

 

Quote of the Day

 

You're not under attack when others gain rights and privileges you've always had. ~ Dr DaShanne Stokes

The Online Bookshelf - The Rainbow Book

Subtitled Tales of Fun and Fancy, with illustrators that include Arthur Rackham and Harry Rountree. A free download from Project Gutenberg.

Vintage Knitting - A Patchwork Sweater from 1989

 A retro but still very wearable design from Workbasket magazine, October 1989.  Thriftily knit up from 2 skeins of cream worsted and leftover partial skeins of the other colors, this would look stunning in red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. 

The magazine can be downloaded from the Antique Pattern Library.

National Gardening Week

 

image from Swanson's Nursery.

Caturday!

 

Quote of the Day

 

Sleeping in late would be my superpower if it was not for my arch enemy Having-to-get-up-to-pee. ~ Richard diGiacomo.

Grrrsday

 

Three Birds With One Stone

 Off to Detroit to celebrate Memorial Day, my niece's graduation, and my birthday with family.

Caturday!

 

Quote of the Day

 

Will came back from school that day,

And he had little to say.

But he stood a long time looking down

To where the gray-green Channel water

Slapped at the foot of the little town,

And to where his boat, the Sarah P,

Bobbed at the tide on an even keel,

With her one old sail, patched at the leech,

Furled like a slattern down at heel.

He stood for a while above the beach

He saw how the wind and current caught her;

He looked a long time out to sea.

There was a steady wind, and the sky was pale,

And a haze in the east that looked like smoke.

Will went back to the house to dress.

He was half way through, when his sister Bess

Who was near fourteen, and younger than he

By just two years, came home from play.

She asked him, "Where are you going, Will?

He said, "For a good long sail."

"Can I come along?" "No, Bess," he spoke.

I may be gone for a night and a day.

Bess looked at him.  She kept very still.

She had heard the news of the Flanders rout,

How the English were trapped above Dunkirk

And the fleet had gone to get them out -

But everyone thought that it wouldn't work.

There was too much fear, there was too much doubt.

She looked at him, and he looked at her.

They were English children, born and bred.

He frowned her down, but she wouldn't stir.

She shook her proud young head.

"You'll need a crew," she said.

They raised the sail on the Sarah P

Like a penoncel on a young knight's lance,

And headed the Sarah out to sea,

To bring their soldiers home from France.

There was no command, there was no set plan

But six hundred boats went out with them

On the gray-green waters, sailing fast,

River excursion and fisherman

Tug and schooner and racing M,

And the little boats came following last.

From every harbor and town they went

Who had sailed their craft in the sun and rain,

From the South Downs, from the cliffs of Kent,

From the village street, from the country lane.

There were twenty miles of rolling sea

From coast to coast, by the seagull's flight,

But the tides were fair and the wind was free,

And they raised Dunkirk by the fall of night.

They raised Dunkirk with it harbor torn

By the blasted stern and the sunken prow;

They had raced for fun on an English tide,

They were English children bred and born,

And whether they lived, or whether they died,

They raced for England now.

Bess was as white as the Sarah's sail,

She set her teeth and smiled at Will.

He held his course for the smoky veil

Where the harbor narrowed thin and long.

The British ships were firing strong.

He took the Sarah into his hands,

He drove her in through fire and death

To the wet men waiting on the sands.

He got his load and he got his breath,

And she came about, and the wind fought her.

He shut his eyes and he tried to pray.

He saw his England where she lay

The wind's green home, the sea's proud daughter,

Still in the moonlight, dreaming deep,

The English cliffs and the English loam - 

He had fourteen men to get away,

And the moon was clear, and the night like day

For planes to see where the white sails creep

Over the black water.

He closed his eyes and he prayed for her;

He prayed to the men who had made her great,

Who had built her land of forest and park,

Who had made the seas an English lake;

He prayed for a fog to bring the dark

He prayed to get home for England's sake.

And the fog came down on the rolling sea.

And covered the ships with an English mist.

The diving planes were baffled and blind.

For Nelson was there in the Victory,

With his one good eye, and his sullen twist,

And guns were out on the Golden Hind,

Their shot flashed over the Sarah P.

He could hear them cheer as he came about.

By burning wharves, by battered slips,

Galleon, frigate, and brigantine,

The old dead Captains fought their ships,

And the great dead Admirals led the line.

It was England's night, it was England's sea.

And the fog rolled over the harbor key.

Bess held to the stays, and conned him out.

All through the dark, while the Sarah's wake

Hissed behind him, and vanished in foam,

There at his side sat Francis Drake,

And held him true, and steered him home. ~ Robert Nathan

Grrrsday

 

Vintage Makeovers - A Silk Scarf Blouse from 1947

 

From the "Found Money" series in Woman's Day, June 1947.  Rationing was over, but returning service personnel were bringing back souvenirs from Europe and the Pacific that could be put to good use replenishing your wardrobe.  

Vintage Magazines - The Blue Book, April, 1926

 

How could anyone resist that cover?

Caturday!

 

Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity. ~ William Butler Yeats

Grrrsday

 

Seen in the Town Square

 

In Tallinn, Estonia.

National Nurse's Week

 

It Wouldn't Be a Trip to Europe

...without a cracked rib. The ship's safety officer is looking for me.

(I slipped in the pool).

Let's Try a Sextant, This Time

 

My experience with Google Maps while at sea is interesting, to say the least. Currently it says I'm three blocks north of the Circle K in Asgardstrand.

Quote of the Day

 

Over the Bounding Main

 

Leaving this morning, and if I'm smart I'll stay off the news sites for fourteen days.

Caturday!

 

Quote of the Day

 

Grrrsday

 

Tatting - A Doyley from 1871

 

From The Ladies' Own Paper, June 24th, 1871.  And here are the instructions, in their entirety.

National Volunteer Week

 

Caturday!

Quote Of The Day

 

Grrrsday

 

Vintage Holiday Crafts - Easter Designs from 1949

Some designs for Easter eggs from the April, 1949 issue of Workbasket magazine.  The entire copy can be downloaded from the Antique Pattern Library.

Vintage Holidays - Easter

 

copyright-free image from the Graphics Fairy

Caturday!

 

Quote Of The Day

 

Anyone can do any amount of work, providing it isn't the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment. ~ Robert Benchley

Grrrsday

 

Yankees Go Home

We're leaving on a Scandinavian cruise in three weeks.  I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it. 

Vintage Woodcrafts - "Boogle Belts" from 1947

 

"Boogle Belts" from Easy Crafts by the magnificently-named Ellsworth Jaeger.  Left-click to enlarge or, the book is available as an online loan only from the Internet Archive.  Lots of fun stuff.