Thrifty Thursday: Vintage books

Of the many things I search for at the thrift or at garage sales -- rickrack, vintage ephemera, dishes, always dishes -- old books seem the easiest find. Here's a stack from the last few weeks.


Anchoring is the red book with gold: 'New Dictionary of Thoughts.' Well, that should cover about everything, I suppose! In case I need more guidance, there's 'Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Book of Etiquette.' Useful info, like how to address the children of a Baron. ("All the sons of a Baron and their wives have the title Honourable. The daughters of a Baron also have the title Honourable," fyi.)


Isn't this a lovely book? 'Complete Book of Needlecraft,' c. 1959. And it is compete, I must say. Knitting, crochet, embroidery, quilting, rugmaking, tatting -- all the needlecrafts I could imagine ever attempting.


What really revs my creative engines, though, are foreign language dictionaries. This one is special: it is a Spanish - German dictionary: 'Suer Spanische Konversations-Grammatik.' No copyright date, but quite old -- the German words are in calligraphy -- love that!

Don't you love old books? I'm wanting to do some altered books this winter. . . . after the flannel quilt is finished, the patio door curtain is done, and some wristlets are made. Too few hours in the day for us dreamers.

Sewing Round in Circles

I got a song, it ain’t got no melody
I’ma gonna sing it to my friends
I got a song, it ain’t got no melody
I’ma gonna sing it to my friends



Will it go round in circles?
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky?
Will it go round in circles?
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky?

lyrics by Billy Preston

potholders sewn on 'Ginette' from pattern found in Handmade Home, Amanda Soule

Linen, lace, and mother-of-pearl buttons

Sewing again!

This is my take on the wonderful linen bags I've seen in Japanese craft books. I love how soft and scrunchy the linen becomes as I use this bag.

And this was the right bag for some vintage mother-of-pearl buttons that I'd been hording, er, collecting for a while now.

Oh, and I love to do a hanging, quilted pocket inside for my cell phone . . . and to do a little patch or two on the inside of the handles, for just a glimpse of what's inside.