Thursday, September 24, 2009

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.

Friday, September 18, 2009

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

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

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.