Rose Doily

I have a very large collection of vintage knitting, crocheting and tatting patterns and am adding more vintage books to my collection everyday. I'm hoping to open an ebay store in the next couple of weeks selling copies of all my collected patterns. I collect patterns from the 1800's up through the 1940's. Although I do have a few from the 1950's. I really love the glamour patterns of the 1940's and the intricate lace of the Victorian and Edwardian periods. I will also be posting free patterns here on my blog. The first is the Rose Doily pattern pictured above. You will find a link to the pdf for it listed under Vintage Patterns on the right. Some of you who are familiar with vintage patterns may notice that this pattern is based on an old potholder pattern. In fact, if you don't crochet the outer lace and end it after the folded points are finished you will have the potholder. Hope you enjoy making this doily!

"What Grandma Taught"

While pouring though magazines this morning, I found many little articles I want to share with you. Among them was this charming poem in a Needlecraft Magazine from September, 1925 by Josephine L. Ingham. I hope you all enjoy it as I did.

What Grandma Taught

When I was quite a little girl, and sat at grandma's knee,

She taught me how to sew a seam and turn a hem, you see;

To piece the gayest patchwork and work buttonholes, so fine,

And all the little tucks I made must be right on a line.

And Grandma used to tell me that I might go and play

When I had neatly finished that pattern of crochet!

*

And, too, the knitting-needles I was taught to swiftly ply,

To fashion socks for father, and sometimes I would cry

When I tried so hard to "turn the heel" and couldn't do it right,

And Grandma said "My goodness, child, that surely is a sight!"

And when holes showed in those stockings, either in the heel or toe,

I must learn to darn them neatly, over, under, to and fro,

*

All these "arts and crafts" were taught me, as I sat by grandma's knee,

Happy when my stint was over and I once again was free,

But these two things I decided in that time so long ago

"When I became a woman I shall neither knit nor sew!

And if my heavenly father little ones to me should give,

They'll never have to take a stitch as long as they shall live.

*

Time has sped and my dear grandma long since has passed away,

But the good old things she taught me have been my help and stay,

Once when fortune frowned upon me, ill-luck hovered o'er my head,

The homely art of mending helped to earn my daily bread.

And the hours have been less lonely, many days have been less gray,

Just because my grandma taught me how to do "that old crochet!"

Ahhh....some young roses!

A Few Don'ts For Girls

This is from an article in an 1891 issue of The Ladies Home Journal. It is part of a feature called "Side Talks with Girls" and is subtitled "A Few Don'ts for Girls".

Don't keep the fact that you are corresponding with some man, a secret from your mother.

Don't let any man kiss you or put his arm about you unless you are engaged to be married to him, and even then be a little stingy with your favors.

Don't let Tom, Dick or Harry call you by your first name, or greet you with some slang phrase.

Don't let any man believe that simply for the asking he can get "that pretty Smith girl" to go out driving with him, to accompany him to the concert, or to entertain him for an hour when he can't find anyone else.

Don't write foolish letters to anybody, men or women; you never know who may see them.

Don't think that you can go untidy all day and then look very fine at night, for fine feathers do not always make fine birds.

Don't believe that you can be careless in speech or manner without it's absolutely having a bad moral effect upon you.

My dear girl, it's in your own hand as to what you will be. An intelligent, charming woman, or a foolish, ignorant one, and certainly if a few "don'ts" will save you from being the last, you ought not only to read and learn, but inwardly digest and practice.

The Care and Dressing of the Hair

I found this wonderful article in a May, 1891, edition of The Ladies Home Journal. It is titled "The Care and Dressing of the Hair". This article features all of the lastest styles. It tells you how to achieve them and who should and should not wear their hair in particular ways. The one I am writing about today is called The Greek Coiffure. Here is the excerpt.

The Greek Coiffure

At illutration No. 7 is shown the veritable Greek coiffure. It is only becoming to women with oval faces, and should not be attempted by the witching maid whose face is round and dimpled. The bang is short and fluffy, soft rather then frizzy. The hair at the sides and back is slightly waved either on an iron or by pins, and is then drawn up to the top as pictured, and fastened with lace pins. The band about the hair is of gold set with turquoises. It is neccessary, not only that the face should be oval with this arrangement of the hair, but the head must be well-shaped, so she must know her points who would dare it.

Helpful Hints

These are just a couple of helpful hints from vintage magazines.

When dyeing cotton garments, save some of the dye bath to put in the starch. It will give the garment a more permanent finish.

Used and discarded shoulder pads make satisfactory extra pin cushions for such places in the house as closets, laundry, and kitchen. Cover with a scrap of material and dress them up with bias binding around the seams. Larger sizes may be fastened around the wrist with a loop and button, or hook and eye, for use in dressmaking projects.

To keep the kiddies' finger marks off the four poster beds, pull a pair of men's or children's socks down over the posts while they are around.

Some more of my lovely roses!

Hello again! It's been another long time away from writing. I keep being interrupted by that nasty cancer that wants to take my life, but I am winning! Anyways.....I thought I would start by showing you some more pictures of those lovely ladies from yesteryear. I hope you enjoy them. I'm going to try to put on some vintage knitting patterns in the next few days. Please come back to see them!

The Motherhood Circle

The following is a question that was asked and answered in the November, 1926 issue of Modern Priscilla. It is part of a monthly column called "The Motherhood Circle" written by Mary S. Haviland, Research Secretary of the National Child Welfare Association. Women wrote to her to have their questions about childcare answered.. I thought it humorous and wondered how many hours women sat with their tiny babies over a chamber pot in their lap trying to potty train them when they were only a month old.

Question. I am much distressed because my neighbor tells me that it is wrong to keep my month old baby dry. She says that diapers should be changed only at feeding time. Changing her every time I find her wet necessitates too much handling and will make her "bad" when she grows up. I'm sure this is an important problem for many young mothers, if as she says, it's a new theory, and I hope you will find room for the answer in next month's PRISCILLA. M. C. B.,Penn.

Answer. This may be a new theory, but if so I strongly suspect it originated in the brain of someone who grew tired of changing the baby every ten or twenty minutes or so.

There is not a grain of truth in the idea that making the baby dry and comfortable is likely to start bad habits,--quite the reverse. The urine is salty, is sometimes acid and will set up an irritation that is certain to be injurious. If a baby's sex organs are not kept clean and free from irritation, the habit of handling them is very likely to develop. Therefore, I beg you, when your baby is wet, remove the diaper at once, wash and pat her dry, especially in the creases. Do not use powder unless necessary. If she is chafed, put on albolene or zinc ointment. Then put on a clean, dry, warmed diaper folded oblong and fastened at the sides. This prevents too much bulk between the legs.

But if you have not yet started to do so, you should begin training your wee daughter to keep dry. Use a small, warmed chamber or cuspidor, held in your lap and set the baby on it with her back leaning against you. Do this in the early morning or late afternoon whenever she seems most likely to have a bowel movement. Also, about twenty to thirty minutes after feeding or drinking, remove the diaper and try to forestall her before she wets it. If you keep this up faithfully, it is quite possible to train a baby only a few months old to keep almost entirely dry. But if she does get wet, by all means change her at once, no matter what your neighbor says!


Hope you got a chuckle out of this as I did. If I get my printer hooked up in the next couple of days (just moved recently and everything is not all together yet) so that I can scan pictures, I will share a knitting or crocheting pattern with you next. Happy New Year!

I'm back again !!!

Hello again!

It has been a long time since I have posted to this blog as I have spent most of my time being sick and in and out of the hospital. Now that I am reasonably well, though disabled, I thought it was time to get back. Since I am disabled I spend alot of time at home . So I thought I would use some of that time sharing with you some of the things I love. You can probably tell from previous posts that I have a fascination with the lives of women that lived long ago. I have a large collection of ladies magazines from the late 1800's and early 1900's. I thought I would share with you some of the articles, recipes, advice, and needlework patterns (especially knitting and crocheting, of which I have a large collection). The following is part of an article from "Modern Priscilla" dated July 1928.

"Modern Cooks Use the Refrigerator" by Ruth Axtell Chalmers

Cooking in the refrigerator! Obviously this is a figure of speech, but it's meaning is apparent to the modern housewife who makes the most of her efficient, up-to-date refrigerator, either iced or electric. It signifies that food can be prepared and cooked in advance of the serving time, and kept in the refrigerator in perfect condition, all ready for last minute garnishing or, perhaps, heating.

When full use is made of the refrigerator the actual work involved in preparing meals can be done at the time most convenient; in summer, relagated to the coolest part of the day. Sunday dinners can be practically all cooked on Saturday, luncheon and dinner dishes made ready in the morning, refreshments for afternoon or evening entertainment served with ease. The following recipes are illustrative of the different varieties of "refrigerator cooked" foods.


Fudge Mystery

1 tablespoon gelatine
1 cup hot milk
2 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cream
Pinch salt
Sponge cake

Soften gelatine in cold water, add sugar and salt and dissolve in hot milk. Add vanilla. Let stand until cold and partially thickened. Mix with cream, whipped stiff; turn into a shallow bowl lined with slices of sponge cake. Let stand in refrigerator. Serve in dessert glasses with Fudge Sauce.


Fudge Sauce


1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup milk
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix sugar, cocoa, and flour. Add milk and bring to boiling point, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes. Add salt, butter, and vanilla .


Sandwich Loaf

1 loaf sandwich bread, unsliced
1 small green pepper, chopped
4 oz. pimento cheese
1/2 lb. tomatoes, sliced
3 hard-cooked eggs
1 pound cream cheese
Mayonnaise

Trim crusts from sandwich loaf, cut in 4 lengthwise slices; butter each. On first slice spread pimento cheese softened with some of the cream cheese; on second, chopped hard -cooked eggs and green pepper mixed with mayonnaise; on third, sliced tomatoes spread with mayonnaise. Put together, cover with cream cheese softened with cream. Let stand in refrigerator several hours. Slice in inch slices.

Hope you enjoy this bit of nostalgia!

My Grandmothers Three

I was the grandchild of three women. They all had an influence on me....even though I never knew two of them.

From my father's mother I took the name Anna that I use here. I know very little about this grandmother who has always left me with the feeling of a great hole in myself when I think about her. She died from appendicitis when my father was only 12. I never remember him ever speaking of her--not even once. And now it is too late for me to ask him as he is also gone. But I'm not sure that he would talk about her even if he were still here. He just wasn't that kind of man. There weren't any pictures of her in our house, so I don't even know what she looked like. I do know I got my asthma from her...but what else? This is probably one mystery of my life I will never solve. But it is a mystery that I have spent alot of my adult life thinking about. What parts of her are me? Did I inherit any traits of hers that have made my life what it is? I don't know. But, in itself, not knowing has influenced my life.

My grandmother on my mother's side also died before I was born. My mother was only 16 when her mother died. But I do know alot about this lady. I have spent my whole life hearing about how I look like a twin to Ethel and that she will never be dead as long as I am alive. Through the years, relatives have spent a lot of time looking at me and talking about it. My grandfather adored her. He more than adored her...he worshipped her. He spent many afternoon's telling me stories about her and her wonderful disposition. He'd say, "If you couldn't get along with her, you couldn't get along with anyone." I really wanted to be like her in this way, but failed miserably at it. Although I may have inherited her looks, I certainly didn't inherit her disposition. But I tried hard and still do sometimes. I think that was her greatest influence on my life.

My third grandmother was a lady I knew well. My grandfather married my "Nana" two years before I was born. And even though she was my grandfather's second wife, she definately was my grandmother. Just thinking about her brings tears to my eyes. I miss her alot. She was so, so good to me. She never treated me as anything other than her true grandchild. Even many years later, after my grandfather had passed on and she had remarried, I was still her granddaughter and "the most beautiful bride she ever saw".

She was quite a remarkable woman in many ways. She had four husbands (my grandfather was her second) and she outlived them all. She was full of so much life. There were always places to go and things to see. She loved to take trips and loved to have fun. She wanted to do everything. I think this is what I took from her life and hope that I continue to do so. Three weeks before she died, at the age of 85, she came in second in an evening gown contest at the Senior Center. She died one morning in the middle of getting dressed to go out, having never had a moment of being sick. When it's my time, I want to go just like her. She was a wonderful woman who, though she was not my grandmother by blood, was definately my grandmother in my heart.

Who did she grow to be? How did she find her place in this world? Was it the place she had hoped for?

Just because I love them.... 

Was this portrait done as a gift for her true love? 

What is she thinking as she looks at him? 

The Women I Call Yesterdays Roses

I'm an avid collector of pictures and images. I love paintings, photographs, prints, postcards, and anything else that has a vintage image on it. I particularly look for anything that is pre-1940, especially wedding pictures. I can spend hours and hours just looking at them. I am utterly captivated and fascinated by them. I have come to realize that I simply love women. I love looking at images of women whose time has come and gone.....women who went before me. I love their differences and their sameness. I love how they are all so unique in the their sizes and shapes, their hairstyles, their clothing, and their expressions. Yet they are all the same in that they have lived, loved, laughed, and cried as they walked on this earth, each in their own time. I wonder about their lives. Did they know great joy? Did they know sorrow? Were they happy as children? What were their passions? What were their dreams? Did they find their dreams? Did they find great love? Whose lives did they touch? And whose lives touched theirs? I don't know the answers to these questions. I can only imagine. But what I do know is I am happy to be one of them! And I celebrate them!

Too much work for a Sunday!

I seem to spend all my Sundays the same way lately. I work. This is in need of changing. I have an ebay business which requires alot of time. All my Sundays seem to be taken up with it. I think I need to look hard at this. Although I like what I do, I almost have a driven feeling. Instead of just working for a while and then going to do something else for the rest of the day, I can't seem to make myself stop and put things away. I keep saying just a couple more and then I'll stop, but I don't. I do a couple more and then a couple more. Before I know it the day has gone by and that's all I have done. I start my work week the next day and feel as though I never had a day off. I think I need to sit back and evaluate this situation. I know that I inherited from my father a need to make money from anything I can do. He always had some little business on the side. Any talents that I might have, or any ideas that I might have, all turn to thoughts of how can I market this. It's like a curse. So that even though I work a regular job I always have a few little businesses going on the side. I am losing time for me. But, if I enjoy doing this is it time for me? Or is it an obsession?

Hats are a lost art. 

A time of gentleness and style. 

One of my favorite brides 

The Beginning

I have many, many interests. I hope to share alot of these over time with you in hopes that you will find them interesting also. Blogging is new to me so it may take me some time to figure out all the ins and outs of it. I hope you will be patient