Thursday, May 7, 2026
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Vintage Knitting - Doll Bootees from the Workbasket
I spent eight hours yesterday at a seminar on mental health first aid for children and youth, and by the time I remembered I had not yet posted a Tuesday craft project, I was on my way to bed.
(We spent most of the afternoon on substance abuse and then suicide prevention, and it was a bit draining).
This is from a 50's vintage Workbasket magazine, "especially made for the young Miss who wants her doll dressed like a real baby." Unfortunately I got it in a thrift shop haul that included a plastic bag of pages torn from various craft magazines, so I can't identify the issue. EDITED TO ADD: Blogfriend Martha located it - July of 1959 and it's available at the Internet Archive. Thanks, Martha!
Left-click to enlarge.
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Saturday, May 2, 2026
Friday, May 1, 2026
Quote of the Day
Thursday, April 30, 2026
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Vintage Leatherwork - a Belt from 1938
This is the sort of "make do and mend" craft that was popular during the Depression and then later when people were enduring rationing. Although nowadays you could certainly haunt thrift stores for old leather purses or ponchos, probably the most reasonably priced way to create this would be purchasing a bag of leather scraps online. From Mechanics Illustrated, Deember 1938.
Monday, April 27, 2026
Saturday, April 25, 2026
Friday, April 24, 2026
Quote of the Day
Thursday, April 23, 2026
Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Vintage Home Trimmings - Knitted Laces from 1950
A treasure-trove of laces to trim your towels, pillowcases, and babyclothes. From Woman's Day magazine, May of 1950. Two additional pages of instructions can be found on my Flickr page.
Monday, April 20, 2026
VIntage Advertising - Campfire Marshmellows
From Good Housekeeping magazine, February 1929. If you want to give that recipe a try, left-click to enlarge. A black and white copy of the entire magazine is available to read at the Cornell University Library digital collection.
Saturday, April 18, 2026
Friday, April 17, 2026
Quote of the Day
Thursday, April 16, 2026
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Sewing - Dolls' Dressmaking from 1950
Monday, April 13, 2026
Happy Thomas Jefferson Day
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Culture Vulture
Spending the weekend in Chicago being all artsy-fartsy. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom tonight, the Matisse exhibit at the Art Institute and then Mme Butterfly tomorrow.















