Saturday, August 29, 2026
Friday, August 28, 2026
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Vintage Crochet - a Glass Jacket from 1961
A useful summer project from Workbasket magazine, June 1961. Knit Cro Sheen is still available at Michael's, and this may save your porch furniture from those unpleasant rings that glasses of iced tea can make. The rest of the magazine is available at the Internet Archive.
Monday, August 24, 2026
Lore of the Corps - The Battle of Bladensburg
Saturday, August 22, 2026
Friday, August 21, 2026
Quote of the Day
The very air is palpitant withheat;
While stretching far, the fields of ripening wheat
Unrippled lie as plains of yellow sand. ~ Henry Sylvester Cornwell
Thursday, August 20, 2026
Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Knitting - A Leaf Edging From 1952
From Workbasket magazine, February 19152, an attractive and not too complicated edging. This would have looked much better after blocking, IMHO. Left click to enlarge.
Monday, August 17, 2026
Saturday, August 15, 2026
Friday, August 14, 2026
Quote Of The Day
Thursday, August 13, 2026
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Other Crafts - A Leather Shopping Bag from 1950
A shopping bag to make from leather scraps (with very little tweaking, you could turn this into a clutch or a wallet - just line it so small items don't fall out). From Crafts for Everyone, by Louis V. Newkirk, 1950. This can be read for free online at the Hathi Trust site, but you will need a library or school account to download it.
Thursday, August 6, 2026
Chicago, Chicago, That Toddlin' Town
Off to stuff myself with culture for four days - Cendrillon and Carmen at the Chicago Summer Opera series, and then the Willem de Kooning exhibit at the art institute.
Whether this trip will include visits to two of my favorite Loop restaurants (Bereket and the Dearborn) remains to be seen.
Tuesday, August 4, 2026
Knitting - A Scrap Yarn Rug from 1950
From Workbasket magazine, September of 1950, and is another iteration on the theme of strip-knitted rugs. This issue is my own, and is not yet up at the Antique Pattern Library site.
Left click to enlarge.
Monday, August 3, 2026
Saturday, August 1, 2026
Friday, July 31, 2026
Quote of the Day
A fence lasts three years, a dog lasts three fences, a horse lasts three dogs; and a man lasts three horses. ~ German proverb.
Thursday, July 30, 2026
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Vintage Sewing - A Handbag to Match Your Suit from 1943
From Woman and Home, February, 1943. Another way to "make do" on the UK home front. Left-click to enlarge.
Monday, July 27, 2026
Sunday, July 26, 2026
Friday, July 24, 2026
Quote of the Day
Of leal-hearted lovers; a baying
Of far-away watching dogs; a dreaming
Of brown-fisted farmers; a gleaming
Of fireflies eddying nigh -
And that is July! ~ James N. Matthews
Thursday, July 23, 2026
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Vintage Crafting - A Hot Mat from 1951
This ... interesting little craft from the February, 1951 issue of Workbasket magazine falls in the category of "we can't do it anymore." Separate rubber canning rings haven't been a thing for at least forty years, if not longer. I wonder what you could substitute?
Friday, July 17, 2026
Thursday, July 16, 2026
Friday, July 10, 2026
Thursday, July 9, 2026
Monday, July 6, 2026
Saturday, July 4, 2026
Friday, July 3, 2026
Thursday, July 2, 2026
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Vintage Sewing: Some Muslin Lingerie from 1910
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
A Brief Hiatus
Headed to Seattle to celebrate #2 Brother's #1 son retiring from the Air Force this weekend. Time is fleeting, etc etc.
Saturday, June 20, 2026
Friday, June 19, 2026
Thursday, June 18, 2026
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Children's Crafts - "Fanciful Felt Bookmarks" from 1960
From McCalls Golden Do-it Book, 1960. Left-click to enlarge, or go to the copy on the Internet Archive.
Dig that smug-looking cat.
Monday, June 15, 2026
Saturday, June 13, 2026
Caturday!
In other news, Minnie went missing Wednesday night - I was afraid she had bolted out the back door while we were running the hose out into the back yard. Turns out she was hiding in the storage room under the porch.
She appeared this morning long enough to let me see what a terrible human she thinks I am, and went back into the storage room.
Thursday, June 11, 2026
It's Deja Vu All Over Again
The entire south end of town is flooded, along with our basement. Let's see, when did this happen before?
Just to make things really bearable, we're supposed to get another storm tonight.
Friday, June 5, 2026
Quote of the Day
For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother...
Amd gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us...~ Wm Shakespeare













































