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.

Vintage Holidays - Easter

 

Copyright-free image from Dover.

Caturday!

 

That Fucking Asshole

"President Trump will not attend the dignified transfer of four American soldiers who died during a training exercise in Lithuania last week, instead sending Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Dover AFB, while he remains in Florida.

...Trump will not travel back for the transfer and remain at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, FL, where he is playing golf and will later hold a political fundraising dinner."  

EDITED TO ADD:  The President of Lithuania came out to stand in salute as the cortege passed through the streets of Vilnius.  The President of the United States played golf.

Quote of the Day

 

Grrrsday

 

"On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced the US was imposing reciprocal tariffs on a small collection of Antarctic islands that are not inhabited by humans, as part of a global trade war aimed at asserting US dominance.  The Heard and McDonald Islands, known for their populations of penguins and seabirds, can only be reached by sea.

Trump announced the countries now subject to tariffs in a Wednesday press conference, using a poster as a prop.  Additional countries - including the Heard and McDonald Islands, which are, incidentally, not countries - were listed on sheets of paper distributed to reprters.

One of the sheets claims that the Heard and McDonald Islands currently charge a "Tariff to the U.S.A." of 10 percent, clarifying in tiny letters that this includes "currency manipulation and trade barriers."  In return the sheet says that the US will charge "Discounted reciprocal tariffs" on the islands at a rate of 10 percent."

Un Petit Chat en Boules de Laine

 

Continuing with our National Pet Month theme (perhaps my French isn't what it used to be, but I didn't find instructions for the tail).

National Pet Month, April 2025

 

Caturday!

 

Quote Of The Day

 

Oh, what tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive. ~ Walter Scott.

Grrrsday

 

Vintage Sewing - A Child's Duffle Coat from 1955

 

From the August issue (well, the UK used to be quite cold during the summer) of Britannia and Eve, a duffle coat that assumes an awful lot of tailoring knowledge on the part of the maker.  Clothing rationing ended in 1949, but this is the sort of pattern that might be created from the good bits of an old blanket or an older family member's coat.  Left-click to enlarge.

Obscure Holidays - another Two-fer

This is not only National Mustache Month, it's also Talk Like Shakespeare Week ("thou crusted botch of nature" is a personal fave).

 

Caturday!

 

Quote of the Day

 

Do everything you can to live a quiet life.  Mind your own business.  Work with your own hands, just as we told you to. ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Sì, mi chiamano Mimì

 

Off to Chicago for the opera and a costume exhibit.  Best get some use out of Amtrak while it's still around.

Vintage Workbasket Crafts - a Two-fer from 1955

From the June, 1955 issue of Workbasket magazine, a belt to crochet and a rug to knit.  Rug yarn is hard to find these days, but I'm wondering if some of the new cotton t-shirt yarns wouldn't work just as well.

This one isn't on the Antique Pattern Library page yet - it's from my own copy.  Left-click to enlarge.

Vintage Holidays - St Patrick's Day

 

copyright-free image from the Graphics Fairy

Caturday!

 

Quote Of The Day

 

Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character, and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man. ~ Arthur Schopenhauer.

Grrrsday

 

Miscellaneous Crafts - Washcloth Gifts from 1970

 

From Pack-O-Fun magazine, November 1977, an array of animals to make from washcloths wrapped around a bar of soap.  Fun idea for a housewarming or baby shower.

Left-click to enlarge.

A Distinct Lack of Congruence

 

There has to be a reason today is both International Bagpipe Day and National Napping Day.

Caturday!

 

A Cliche But He Pulled It Off

 He went as Fluffy the 3-Headed Dog and I was Hagrid.  Half the second grade came as Ron, Harry or Hermione, so he had his picture taken a lot.

Quote of the Day

 

More history than ever is today being revised or invented by people who do not want the real past, but only a past that suits their purpose.  ~ Eric Hobsbawm

Grrrsday

 

Photoshopped but timely.

Vintage Tatting - A Floral Edge from 1948

 

From Workbasket magazine, May 1948.  Left-click to enlarge; this particular issue is "pending" at the Antique Pattern Library, so the above is a scan from my personal copy.

Vintage Magazines - The Delineator, November, 1919

 This lovely Edwardian lady isn't attending a Mardi-Gras ball, but she looks as though she could be.

Caturday!

 

Suggestions Welcome

 

Next Friday the elementary school where the Little Man and I volunteer is having a "Dress Up As Your Favorite Book Character" day.  I really need some good (achievable) ideas for the two of us.

Quote of the Day

 

Shades of Evening by Mildred Anne Butler

For never resting time leads summer on
To hideous winter and confounds him there
Sap cheque'd with frost and lusty leaves quite gone
Beauty o'ersnow'd and bareness everywhere. ~ William Shakespeare

Grrrsday

 

photo from r/germanshepherds

If I can give you no other piece of advice, it's this.  Don't have a pet dog.  Get a cat, get a budgie, get fish.  40% of all unexpected bodies are found by people walking dogs. ~ Forensic anthropologist Dame Sue Black

Vintage Knitting - Doll Bootees from 1959

 

From my issue of the July, 1959 Workbasket magazine, doll bootees for an 8-inch baby doll. Left-click to enlarge or, a complete copy is available as a free download from the Internet archive. 

Vintage Advertising - Colorite Hat Dye, 1921

 

Oh, the good old days, where staying in fashion was as easy as a bottle of hat dye. From the Womens Home Companion, March 1921.

Caturday!

 

Quote of the Day

 

Come when the rains

Have glazed the snow and clothed the trees with ice,

While the slant sun of February pours

Into the bowers a flood of light. ~ William Cullen Bryant

Vintage Fiber Craft - A Basketry Book for Children from 1914

 

A recent offering from the Antique Pattern Library, free download of the Priscilla Juniors Basketry Book, intended for schoolchildren ages five and up  (this basket design was considered suitable for sixth graders).  

And if you really like it, as always, there's a donate button in the top right corner.

Presidents' Day

 

Caturday!

Actual photo of a Mexican who crossed the border to work in America.