finger thumb

making the cut

I have this problem. You know how I love vintage fabric. Especially vintage bedsheets. I'm always on the lookout for a good, bright, graphic-impact vintage bedsheet. I love high contrast, I love clean geometrics. And I have just a bit of a stash. Just a usual quilter I-have-a-fabric-problem stash. 

Anyhow, I have some favourites. And this is one of them.  Isn't that lovely? And its a nice big piece too, like a queen sized top sheet. No annoying elastic edges like on a fitted, and no holes or wear patches. Just a gorgeous huge expanse of fabric. 

So let me tell you what my problem is. I just can't cut into it! I've had this sheet for at least a year I'm sure. And its one of my favourites. So I've officially been hoarding it. And I've finally got a project that I want to use it for and I still am having such a hard time cutting it. Its been sitting waiting to be used for over a month. I've done all the other cutting and sewing that I can do before I have to cut into this. And now I've got everything else done and It's been two days and I can't do anything until I CUT. THIS. FABRIC. Hubs has been teasing me about it and told me that if I didn't cut it today he'd cut it right down the middle himself and then take it out to the garage and use it for a rag. Which is a total lie of course, but still, he makes a good point. I'm not sure why I get stuck like this either. Its not like I'm ever going to use it as a bedsheet. Maybe that's what's in the back of my head, like this is an awesome bedsheet and, you know, if the zombie apocalypse ever hits I might need some extra sheets. And once I cut it it will stop being a bedsheet. Though on the bright side it can start being a lot of other things. 

It took me all day, right until fifteen minutes before the Little Dude was going to get off the bus (and then my quilting time is over) to finally slice into it.  Whew. And now its been started. 

And here it is in use. This is just one component of a bigger item, but it gives you an idea of what I'm doing. These letters have been paper pieced, from patterns that I drafted myself, and that "Q" was a real pain in the butt. But now it is done and I can move on with the project. Which is a good thing too, because I have a deadline and so many other things I'd like to get to! 

So it is just me or do any of you other quilters/sewists have this "I can't cut my precious fabric" problem too? 

A purse for L.D.

So as I said yesterday, the Little Dude was disappointed that all the purses I'd made were going to his cousins, and none to stay here at our house for him. So today, with his assistance, I made him a purse. A satchel. A man-bag. Call it what you will, we just call it handy. Oh, and by assistance, I mean he picked out the fabrics and motifs. So basically he was the designer this and I was just his humble crafts-person. I worked on it all morning, by telling him that if he wanted me to make this, he'd have to play nicely with his brother with no fighting and no crying, because if he wanted me to finish it today I could not be getting up every five minutes to  mediate a toy dispute. And I'm happy to say L.D. saw the reason of this and had a very pleasant morning with his brother with almost no fights (or at least none started by him) and I was able to finish his bag.

And here is the happy recipient now: He's not usually keen to stand and smile for a picture, but he was very co-operative in this instance. 

For behold the glory of his fabric choices. On this side, a Teeneage Mutant Ninja Turtle. (from 1980's bed sheets of course)

And on the other side, Skeletor! Again from 1980's bedsheets, this time staring He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. He's quite taken with Skeletor. And funnily enough has no interest in He-Man at all. In fact, he even helped me frame the way I would cut the fabric, saying "From here to here Mom, with JUST Skeletor in it, and his sword. But not He-Man. I don't want any part of He-Man to show at all."

He even chose the lining, (he loves these rainbow stripes, as do I) and the strap colour. He wanted orange, so I had him choose between three different shades of orange, and he declared this one the best, as he felt it looked good with the green that he'd chosen for the TMNT background. Also, he requested a very loooong strap like this, though we have since knotted it a little higher, for practical reasons. 

And the final touch, and possibly his favourite part, the mushroom applique. We spent some time this afternoon drawning and colouring and cutting out paper mushrooms to decorate the Christmas tree with. Because you know, they are so festive. 

It is such fun to sew something for my little boy. And so sweet to be hugged and thanked for it repeatedly today. We even crammed in a quick trip to the library to use his new "book bag" and also so he could show it off to the librarians. Ach, it fills a crafty mother's heart with joy to hear him tell people "I picked out all the fabrics and my mom made this for me herself!". A good parenting moment to sock away and remember for when the bad parenting moments threaten to overwhelm me.

dressing up

I've been a little blue lately. I don't want to go into it at length here, but I'm just sort of feeling a bit crushed under the day-to-day. Anyhow, I've been looking for ways to improve my outlook. And I know it may seem silly, but one of the things that always improves my mood is a good outfit. Getting dressed has always been a creative act for me, but lately I've really gotten stuck in a frump rut. You know, same old jeans, same old t-shirt, same old cardigan. So I have challenged myself to dress up during the days. Yes, I know, I'm a stay-at-home-mom, and no one besides my kids and the occasional random service perons really sees me during the day. But never mind! For at least a week I'm going to get dressed up. UP I tell you! Into something fun, and impractical! Something I'd gladly wear to a gallery opening or to meet a fabulous friend for tea. A good outfit.

And luckily, it is the Hallowe'en season. My favourite thing about getting ready for Hallowe'en is doing a little thrifting because stores like Value Village and The Salvation Army collect items all year long that they classify as "costumes" and then put them out during the month before Hallowe'en. They may call them costumes, but I just call the clothes. There are often some stellar vintage pieces in there among all the old figure skating costumes and cheap hallowe'en capes. Anyhow, here's an awesome little dress I picked up at our local Salvation Army.

I can totallly see how this could be a Hallowe'en costume (evil dolly comes to mind, just needs some striped tights, crazy make-up and pony tails, and yer done) but I also think its just an adorable everyday dress. I've paired it with some thick red tights, and a pair of short high heeled boots that I got from the Value Village a couple of weeks ago. I know, right? So cute. And they were $9.99. Can't beat that with a stick. I have been wearing the heck out of these this fall. 

Also, this dress is amazingly comfortable - very fitted in the shoulders and neck, but no waistline to speak of, so there is plenty of room for breakfast. And second breakfast. And elevenses. 
The fabric is really lovely, with two differently scaled, but otherwise identical dot prints. What you can't see in this photo is that there is a very light stripe, in a softer shade of black, running in the background between the dots. Its a really nice effect. Also, I adore the tiny collar. 

This dress is not that old - I'm gonna say probably the early 80's - but what I love about vintage stuff (and find sadly lacking these days in the ready-to-wear market) is good detail. Note that the bib/frill thing is carried right around to the back of the dress. My pet peeve when I'm in stores these days is items that only have the detail on the front. Like sequins or embroidery that don't carry around to the back. Total cheap-out. And this one has a nice little set of hook-and-eye closures that help the collar to lay just right in the back too. The label says "Morine", which doesn't ring any bells, but that is neither here nor there. I've already worn this dress out once, and then around the house yesterday, and I'm sure I'll get much more wear out of it than that. Not bad for $5.99!

But more importantly, it made me feel happy. The flounce at the bottom flairs up beautifully when I run down the stairs, and it made me smile. You really can't ask for more from a dress than that. 

new sheets, old sheets

Its been awhile since I've posted a good Value Village round-up. I've been trying to accumulate a little less, and not shop for fabric as often. You know, a bit less. That being said there was a half-price sale day recently, and I've been sitting on these photos for awhile so I thought I'd share them today.  I was pretty pleased to find this one. I've been looking for a Holly Hobbie sheet for awhile now, as I've had a few requests for Holly Hobbie stuff. I think this one would make a really nice baby quilt or child's quilt.

There are all these nice individual images...

...that would make great patches in a quilt.

I'm not a huge Holly Hobbie fan myself, but I do like the quality of these illustrations a lot. 

Though this kind of thing is really my favourite. The colours are much more vibrant in real life (it was a cloudy day when I took them. This one I don't want to cut up at all. Its so fantastic as a whole I'll have to make a one piece quilt, or use it as a back to preserve the integrity of the print. 

And then just some good old 70's stripes. 

Some sweet pastel stripes. You know, you can never have too many stripes. 

I already have a pillowcase of this, but it is very faded and very threadbare, so it was really nice to find this crazy vibrant one. 

Another Gaaaarfieeeeeeeld! But Garfield has been getting a lot of love lately, so I always snap one up when I find it. 

I love these 70's landscape fabrics. I have a bunch of them, and I want to use them for some sort of comprehensive project. I just don't know what it is yet. 

And speaking of landscapes, this one is very 80's, and also very roadrunner in a way. 

And this weird little pattern. I have no idea what this is. A little cloud? Or a tree silhouette? I have no clue. But I like it. 

But I think these last two are my favourites. I love anything with poppies, so obviously I adore this. 

But this one is so sweet, with little dots in the background. I love it!

Now, I should really go make something....

 

can you tell me how to get....

Are you ready for this?

Because oh. my. gosh. Look at what we got!

The Fisher Price Play Family Sesame Street playset, first produced in 1975, but this one was produced in the last year of production, 1977 because our Oscar the Grouch has no handle on the lid of his trashcan. (Thank you internet for your incredible minutae)

I know, I know. I kind of started hyperventilating a bit when I heard it was coming our way. You see, my Mom is probably the most active disseminator of my blog links (and if she was just a little more social media savvy I'd be all over the freakin' internet) but lets just say that among her friends and family, this blog is very well read. (Hello all my Aunts! Thanks for reading!) So my Aunt Marg saw us this summer and said "oh, I heard you like Fisher Price Little People. I have a couple of old sets that I saved from when the kids were little. I thought you might like them." Um, yes please. 

So there were two sets, but I'm going to make you wait awhile for the second one. And this one deserves its very own post. Because it is AMAZING. Please sit back and enjoy while I dork out over the amazing details. ahem.  This is the Hooper's Storefront view. Note the awesome architectural details. The stained glass transom window. The moulding. The awning. The brickwork. The tiles. Ach, there is so much I love about this. 

And look inside the store! There is a diner counter piece that fits in there so customers can sit, and a little magazine rack thing on the right there, with merchandise and stuff that is also a seperate piece. And of course, Mr. Hooper and Susan. SUSAN. Best FP little person ever, with her magenta dress and her natural style hair. The Best. 

I can hardly stand how cute that background litho is. Cake is 25 cents. Can I get a piece of that cake please?

Then, when you go around the corner you get a litho with Luis' fix-it shop and also, Big Birds alley-way home. 

And then around front is, of course, the Brownstone that you'd find at 123 Sesame Street.

And then the last side has the tire swing and fire escape stair way. I love those ripped posters. And the round window. And that light above the door. Details!

Of course, 123 Sesame Street is where Bert and Ernie live. And thier little apartment does not disappoint. 

Their twin beds are monogrammed for Pete's sake. And yes, that is a framed pigeon picture up on the wall. And Ernie's rubber duckie can be glimpsed on the edge of the tub through the open bathroom door.

And there's also an apartment above Hooper's Store. I'm not sure it's where Cookie Monster actually lived (because then where would Mr. Hooper live? What's the point of having a small corner store in a big city if you can't actually live above it? I'm just sayin') but he's hanging out there, watching a little TV for now. 

Yep, the inscription on Big Bird's signed and framed photo on the wall proves it. Definitely Mr. Hooper's apartment. 

I'm just so pleased with this addition to our toy collection. And the Boy's just love it too! It has been played with lots, the Oscar in his trashcan in the Little Dude's favourite, and for some strange reason, the Baby just loves that white ladder/stairs thing. Oh, and the mailbox is a favourite bit too, as a little person child can fit underneath it and that is apparently hilarious. We are going to get so much fun play time out of this. And its a nearly complete sit. The only thing missing, is the chalk and earaser for that chalkboard bit in the middle, but those are almost always missing from these old sets. And the only character we don't have is Gordon. I may have to start trolling around on esty looking for a Gordon because I don't want Susan to be lonely. 

This is such an amazing gift, from my kind Aunt and Uncle. The Boy's faces just lit up when we pulled this out of the bag. I'm telling you, it was like Christmas, for all of us. And I have to say a special thank-you to my Aunt for keeping it is such good condition, and keeping all of those many, many little pieces together. As a parent myself now, I know whenever I find a good quality vintage toy with all or most of its parts intact and together that there is a mom somewhere to thank for it. Because it was she who picked up and gathered together those pieces so many, many times at the end of a long, hard day. It was she who got down on her hands and knees and pulled these little people out from under couches and chairs before she vacuumed, so that they did not get sucked up and disappear along with the broken bits of crackers and popcorn and buttons and dust bunnies. It was she who, with little thanks, found stray Cookie Monsters and Grouches and herded them back into their plastic fold, to be played with another day. So its nice now, as a mom to say "Thank you Aunt Marg! Thanks for being a great mom. Thanks for cleaning up the toys and keeping these guys together. Thnaks for holding onto them, even though it was big and bulky and the kids were all grown up. And thanks for thinking of us when you cleaned out your basement. Because we love playing with them."

chalet

Well, we've fiinally done it. After hoping and looking everywhere for ages for just what we had in mind, we finally have out own cottage! It cost us a pretty penny, but oh and it was worth it. The perfect little A-frame, all the classic details that make a little getaway in the country ideal, complete with a balcony and a bell by the door. Not too big, snug in fact, but enough room for a whole family to get away from it all. Just look! See! Isn't that darling? I've been wanting the Fisher Price Chalet forever, and I finally found one. It was in the "showcase" area of our Value Village, which meant that it was not eligible for the half-price sale day, and also that they had an idea of its value, so it was not cheap. Or not as cheap as I'd like it to be. Still a better price than the ones you see on line. And they kindly let me talk them down a bit, which was good. 

And it is in such good shape! The lithos are all bright and gorgous, no scratches and no fading. 

Also, it came with a ton of furniture. Just look at this, the entire nursury suite! And there are bunk beds, a double bed and, couches and chairs, and even a patio set! Cutest lounge chairs ever.

But that all pales by comparisson with the most exciting thing ever. A teeny tiny potty! Really, the Little Dude could not have been more excited about this. It was actually a gift from one of the V.V. staff. We were walking, absentmindedly down the aisle, the Little Dude riding on the front of the cart, and I was distracted by something or other and I ran him right into a pillar! A solid metal I-beam type thing in fact, and he had been looking back over his shoulder and even though I was dawdling along very slowly he still got quite a knock. Bonked his poor little head and ended up with a bruise. One of the nice cashiers saw what had happend and whisked off right away to get us a cold pack for his wound. He wailed for a few minutes, and the kind cashier, to sooth him offered him a free toy from another Fisher Price set she had behind the counter. There were little cars and a merry-go-round and I was sure he'd go for a little cunning little red jeep, but no, he saw that tiny green toilet and the tears were gone in an instant. 
And now we have a full bathroom. Such fun! Now everyone can take a bath and have a pee and wash their hands. I must say, all our little people have a much improved level of hygine.

And I just adore this little balcony. 

And I'm not the only one pleased as punch about it. Best purchase of our day as it satisfys both the collector mama, and the Little People lovin' little people. 

 

wedding party

Ok, sorry but I'm not done with yesterday's topic. Just a tiny little bit more nostalgia here. Here is a picture of my parent's wedding party.

And here is a picture of all the members of their wedding party as they are today. Or rather, on Saturday.  They are standing in pretty much the same order as in the 50 year old picture, except that third from the right, (and ironically the tallest person there, given that fifty years ago she was the shortest) is the flower girl. Also, one of my aunts could not be there this weekend, so the middle bridesmaid on the right in the original photo is missing from the present day photo. 

And paging through my parent's wedding album I found the clipping from their local newspaper to announce their wedding. It had the usual information about who and what and where, but then, my favourite part is that it had not two, not three, but four paragraphs, about what the female members of the wedding party wore. Now I'm a feminist and all and I realize that this belies a double standard about the fact that women are there to be looked at, and that their appearance is their primary and most important contribution to any situation. And that's sad and all, but DUDE, as a lover of clothing and fashion and all things materially based, I freakin' LOVE reading those four paragraphs. 

To quote: "The sleeveless bridal gown was of white peau de soie with a jacket buttoning down the back. Lace appliques trimmed the front of the jacket and the skirt. A jewelled headdress held the bride's fingertip veil of tulle. She carried a cascade of red sweetheart roses and stephanotis. The attendants wore street length dresses of aqua peau de soie overlaid with organza, with small capes. Net halos forming brief veils were worn and they carried cascades of shasta daisies, with chrysanthemum centres. The flower girl wore a white cotton full-skirted dress embroidered in pink with pink accesories and carried a basket of shasta daisies."

And that's just the wedding party! There was also a description of the mother of the bride and the mother of the groom, and a paragraph about the bride's going away outfit. So awesome.

v.v. sale day

I love Value Village 50% off day. If there's one thing I love more than cheap vintage stuff, its cheap vintage stuff that's half price. Didn't go too crazy on the sheets, but I did manage to score a real gem. Look at this baby. I have been looking for one of these for ages!

Remeber He-Man? The most powerful warrior ever to sport a Dutch Boy bob? Seriously, so funny. He has the body of Arnold Schwartzenegger and the hair of Doris Day. There he is fighting Skeletor. 

"By the Power of Greyskull!"

I have no idea who this guy is though.

Or this guy. But they will all make fantastic bibs.

Also got a nice simple polka dot:

And the classic stripes in my favourite colourway.

And I totally have this one already, but I really like it, so it was worth buying again. Especially for three dollars.

Also got a nice book about ancient Egypt. The Little Dude likes all the pop-ups and pull-outs and Mummy's.

And isn't that a pretty stack of men's shirts? 

This one is my favourite. I love the way the blue vibrates against the red. I also love that its from "The Fox Collection".

I also got a couple of nice wool skirts for my "someday I'm going to make a wool quilt" collection. And a handful of kid's books. And a couple of simple servicable pyrex bowls. And Hubs got some tech-type stuff, old computer monitors and suchlike. And the Little Dude got a dragon with eyes that light up, so there was something for everybody. All the Baby got was carted around in a cart and unlimited "please be patient" snacks. Good times. 

Goodbye Tonsils!

Sorry to be the all-tonsilectomies-all-the-time blog, but I swear this will be the last tonsils dedicated blog post. Because I just had to share this book with you. A Little Golden Book called Good-bye Tonsils, by Anne Welsh Guy with illustrations by Frank Vaughn, original copyright 1966. What's funny is that I bought this book aaaaages ago, in another lifetime really, before I even had kids. I bought it because I thought it was cute and kitchsy and vintage-style fun. For ages I had it tucked away in a box, and then recently when I made the display wall of shelves, I pulled it out for decor reasons. But then, lo and behold we ended up with an actual tonsillectomy in our near future and suddenly this little book went from being a joke to being rather useful.

It gives a pretty clear and accurate idea of what the whole process will be, but does not dwell too much on the whole "you have to be brave" concept that so many of the contemporary books too. I'm reluctant to introduce the idea of procedure or situation with a whole lot of "this is going to be scary, and so you need to be brave". It basically tells the kid that there is something to be scared of, which seems like not the best idea to me. The thing that the Little Dude was most worried about was that we would leave him alone overnight at the hospital, but I assured him that this was not the case any more, since this book was written so long ago, when kids did have to stay overnight, but now its just a day procedure, so no need for worry there. Thus reassured, he really liked this book and requested it regularly. And interestingly enough, he told me today that he did have to blow into a balloon thing like the little girl in the picture. I had thought that looked old fashioned, but apparently that's still how they do it. 
Regarding the child's post-surgery state, a quote on this page reads "Mary Ann felt her throat. 'Are my tonsils out?' she whispered, 'My throat hurts.' Mary Ann felt cross. She didn't want to talk out loud." After the Little Dude's operation, on our way home in the car I asked him how he felt and he quietly replied "Cross". Bless him.

Its good to see that bribing your kids with toys is a time honoured practice. Also, am I the only one who thinks its weird that Mommy leaves her gloves for Mary Ann to remember he by while she's gone over night? Oddly impersonl, but very specific to the time period I guess, back when ladies wore gloves on the regular.Ah, the 60's when you could get in your car, and sit on your grandma's lap for the ride home. Crazy.

 

 

I'll take what's behind door number three

Or rather, what's in box number one.
But that's wasn't as catchy a title. So, here's the story. You know that Hubs and I are both big thrifters/second hand buyers/scroungers/garbage pickers, right? So he stopped by the e-waste bin at the end of our road today, (for those of you who don't know, e-waste bins are where people can dispose of their old broken phones/computers/whatevers that might be toxic, for safe disposal. So obviously it is a repository for cool junk, though it often gets used as a random dumping place for anything that has to be plugged in. Lots of microwaves.) because he saw some promising looking overflow. He came home and told me about this mystery bin. So I wandered over there with my friend Laura and look what we found:

Can you believe that? Its like someone's childhood all crammed into one box.

And that childhood clearly happend during the 80's.

I probably am not going to keep all of these. I'll comb through them when I have some time and find what is of most interest/has the best play value. But I think it'll be fun to walk down memory lane along the way. I'll post some of the cooler/more obscure things I find next week.