Target of Opportunity

 

Brian has been getting out of bed early to go to work, and someone is taking advantage.

(*corn and soybean harvesting with his BIL).

Tatting - Trimmings for Household Linens from 1919

 

-

A page extracted from Needlecraft magazine, September 1919, from the Antique Pattern Library.  The medallion in the left column would make a nice snowflake ornament.

Left-click to enlarge.

Obscure Holidays - National Coffee Day

 

Caturday!

 

Quote of the Day

It was much better to imagine men in some smokey room somewhere, made mad and cynical by privilege and power, plotting over brandy.  You had to cling to this sort of image, because if you didn't then you might have to face the fact that bad things happened because ordinary people, the kind who brushed the dog and told the children bedtime stories, were capable of then going out and doing horrible things to other ordinary people.  It was so much easier to blame it on Them.  It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us.  If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault.  If it was Us, then what did that make Me?  After all, I'm one of Us.  I must be.  I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them.

No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them.  We're always one of Us.  It's Them that do the bad things. ~ Sir Terry Pratchett

 

Grrrsday

 

Vintage Crochet - A Christmas Bear from 1950

 

From Workbasket magazine, October 1950 comes a frilly teddy bear to crochet for Christmas - slightly more  legible instructions and the entire issue can be found at the Antique Pattern Library.

Tis Autumn Equinox

 

AKA the day people in Chicago jam Randolph Street near Millennial Park to get a photo of the sunset aligning perfectly with the east-west street grid.

Caturday!

 

Quote of the Day

 

If you want to know who rules over you, look at who you aren't allowed to criticize. ~ George Orwell 

Grrrsday

 

Vingage Knitting - Baby Booties from 1957

 

From Workbasket magazine, September 1957 (this is from the copy in my collection, but the entire magazine can be found at the Antique Pattern Library).  By the time you finish making these, the weather may actually have cooled off enough for a baby to wear them.

Vintage Advertising - Borden's 1949

From Woman's Day, March 1949.

Caturday!

 

Quote of the Day

 

The prudent man does not make the goat his gardener. ~ Hungarian proverb

Lest We Forget

 

Grrrsday

 

Jewelry - A "Wall of Jericho" Necklace from 1957

From Workbasket magazine, October, 1957.  Where the name came is anybody's guess.  The entire issue is available as a free download at the Antique Pattern Library.

 

Obscure Holidays - National Honey Month

 

copyright-free image from the Graphics Fairy

Caturday!

 

Quote of the Day

 

Cats have it all - admiration, an endless sleep, and company only when they want it. ~ Rod McKuen

Grrrsday

 

Vintage Woodworking - A Whatnot from 1943

 

This is an example of what boys were expected to be able to accomplish, perhaps with a bit of help from Dad or the shop teacher.  From Popular Mechanic's The Young Craftsman, available as a free download from Archive.org.

Happy Labor Day

 

 

Caturday!

 

Quote Of The Day

 

A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins. ~ Laurie Colwin

Girl With A Pearl Earring

 

Home Sewing - Applique Placemats from 1952

From Good Housekeeping, August 1952, a quartet of placemats to applique with fruits and leaves.  Left-click to enlarge.

HOIST, PETARD, OWN

 

In an appalling but typical display of vindictiveness and attempted intimidation, the governor of Texas is forbidding any of the returning Democratic state representatives to go anywhere unless accompanied by a police escort.

In response, two of the lawmakers decided to visit a drag show in Austin yesterday.

And It's August Already

 I feel his pain.

Caturday!

 

Minnie came up from the basement after we got home last night* and gave me a cold stare and an angry meow - then turned around and went right back downstairs.  She got over her snit by bedtime, though.

(*she despises the new petsitter, a sweet local high school kid that the dogs, Blitzen and Sheba adore).

A Journey of 1,000 Miles Begins With A Single Step

 And ends with sleeping for the entire day.

I May Be Moving

 

We docked in Kotor yesterday.

There Will Always Be An England

 

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE AN ENGLAND DEP'T: Our cruise director, during the port brief for the next day's adventures, pointed out with typical British understatement that there were only three roads into and out of our destination, and "...if you get lost, you should not be out unsupervised."

Bon Voyage (Again)

 

Departing for the Adriatic tomorrow.  Blogging will be intermittent for a while. 

(The dog-sitter has been engaged, and the boys are not pleased).

Caturday!

 

Quote Of The Day

 

Grrrsday

 

While We're On the Subject of Vacances

 

Does anyone know of any good yarn shops in Athens?

Vintage Crochet - A Thread Motif from 1950

 

From the September, 1950 issue of Workbasket magazine, a delicate motif in thread crochet for a tablecloth or dresser scarf. This is from my own collection, and as of this date, not yet available at the Antique Pattern Library.

Left-click to enlarge.

Semper Paratus

 

Happy birthday to the branch nobody remembers until some damn fool rents a powerboat and sinks it.

Summer In The City

 

 

Why I am taking vacation when technically I am always on vacation?  Oldest sister is arriving today and we'll be hitting the fleshpots of Chicago* until Saturday.

(*or at least the Art Institute and the Palmer House).

Welcome to Summer in the Midwest

 We will be under a "heat dome" until Thursday.

Caturday!

 

Quote Of The Day

 

I ate healthy, I didn't drink or smoke...and then my reward was to watch everyone around me die.  So go ahead, get the French fries instead of the carrots. ~ Anonymous hospice resident

Grrrsday

 

Children's Crafts - A PaperDoll from 1925

 

"Hildegarde Lives in Holland," a paper doll from Good Housekeeping magazine, January 1925.  The entire year's issues as a bound copy to download can be found at archive.org.

Obscure Holidays - National Junk Food Day

 

image from FB

Caturday!