How did they survive?

 Fascinated by these devastating photos from the 1930s that capture the poverty and hopelessness of the decade. 

Can't believe this was the era when I was born.  We didn't have much but I never wanted for anything as a child.  Lived in a rental, no car but luckily lots of relatives and friends, enough food, and a roof over our heads.

These photos from Pinterest show the poorest of the poor after the market crashed in 1929.

What goes around comes around

 Years ago, when my friend Karen and I spent another of our days of thrifting in and around Spokane where I live, we found a sweet little book which was a bit over our cheapo budgeting.  So ... we decided we would go together on it and trade it back and forth.  Loved the illustrations in "The Teenie Weeniees" 1917 children's book and had to have it!

Well, it's been sitting on a shelf in my craft room for years.  I finally came across it while looking at my collection of old children's books.  Still love the artwork in the pages (here are a few examples) ~

Not that I would ever sell it, but thought I'd do some research.  Found it to have been published in 1917, but to my amazement the inside front cover was stamped "Crosby-Ironton Public Schools TEXT BOOK LIBRARY"!

I grew up in Crosby-Ironton and went all the way from kindergarten through graduation in the schools there.  Spent a lot of time in the libraries, and it's possible I could have read this.  Looks like a lot of little fingers went through this beatup, stained, torn and taped tome.

Made my day

Cecelia Beaux ~ Impressionist

 From humble beginnings painting on fine China and drawing fossils for a geological survey, Philadelphian artist Cecilia Beaux became a prominent portraitist. Her personal style, which combined solid academic training with an experimental streak, was sought after by prominent figures such as American president Theodore Roosevelt and French prime minister Georges Clemenceau. Beaux’s portraits are appropriately stately and serious, but also capture the sitter’s individuality.

Beaux was wildly successful during her day, despite early struggles during her studies at the Académie Julian in Paris. “You know how I hate to fail,” she wrote in a letter at the time. “My grip is pretty hard as a rule.” Beaux made eight trips to France, beginning at the height of the Impressionist movement, and there, she developed the habit of painting en plein air, using loose brushwork and dramatically cropping paintings. 

Another in my series of great female artists that haven't gotten the recognition they deserve.

Cecelia Beaux 1855~1942

 

Four Pin Friday Hand Stitched and Vintage

 I want to know the women who preserved and lovingly stitched these small pieces of precious fabrics together.

I want to know where each little square came from.  A daughter or granddaughter's school dress?  A son or grandson's home made shirt?  PJs and nighties?  Were they too worn or outgrown clothing from their family?

1930s patchwork

Feedsack squares

Love them . . . old, hand-quilted and wrinkly!

They were made for warmth, not art, and we will not know their history because they were usually never signed.  They held no value at that time.

I have a few oldies that I hold dear and have given some away to friends and family.

Winter Remembrances

 Looking at past blogger posts, I came across this one that is still relevant to my life 10 years later.

As we head into the winter phase of the year, I'm remembering how much fun snow and ice was for me as a child and young adult.  The good times at the skating rink and the warming room with the pot~bellied stove where we would take on more energy and give it several more spins out on the ice to piped in music!  Sledding and snowball fights.  Tunnels in the deep drifts of a northern Minnesota post~blizzard.

My birthday falls in the dead of winter so it was always celebrated at the rink, or Mom would decorate the house and invite my friends for cake and games.

When did winter become such a drag???  Now it just means icy roads, shoveling snow and longing for warm sunny Spring days to throw off the jackets, earmuffs & gloves and to spend time outdoors. 

Oh . . . and

 the quirky old oak box that kept my memorabilia!

It's a well made sturdy box with dovetail corners and brass hardware. The label gives a hint to what is inside

If you are able to read the inside label and are not at all squeamish, it will put you in mind of it being an instrument of torture. 

Thankfully the tubing, bag and stop-cock didn't come with this years ago when we bought it! (Not that I would be tempted to use it.)

To soften what this was used for, inside was this lovely silk rosette . . .

~ Oh so Victorian ~

Lost and Found

 Yesterday, while searching for something else, I came across an old oak box forgotten since moving here.  I've been looking for my good prescription glasses for months now. A little light went off in my personal head computer and thought of another place I hadn't looked before.  So, digging through all the old quilt tops and scarves on the top of the dresser in my closet, a little treasure appeared.  This box contains old letters, photos, newspaper articles, a love letter and so many other clippings and memories going back to the 70s.

I intend to savor each piece . . . one a day to make them last

Letters from my Mom going back to 1970

and from my cousin Sue, Aunt Patsy and Aunt Ruth

and my sweet dear Grandma Laura a letter and Christmas card

Photo of my Aunt Inez being visited in the care center from her husband Clif, plus memory of her death in 1996

My sister's graduation notice (1961) and a sweet letter from her namesake Candy

Newspaper clippings of Dad as City Clerk and Mom with my cousin Craig in our local Crosby Courier

I will keep the love letter to myself.  The old oak box will come as a future blog post. 

Never did find my glasses!

Scavenged Fabrics From Mom

 Years and years ago, while visiting my Mom in Minnesota, I was allowed to look through the trunk that held her fabrics.  And she said I could pick out what I wanted.  That included as much as could be taken home with me on the plane.

I have put to use so many of those vintage fabrics that she sewed with most of her life.  Been saving these pieces ever since . . .

They are printed cotton samples.  The colors are reminiscent of the 50's to me.  Remember pink and brown together and that certain shade of green?

Since it will be a rainy week as predicted, I decided I would make small heart pillows with yo-yos.  Each piece is just under 10" x 13" and there are two in the groups that match.  So maybe a pair of similar pillows.

Here is the first one made this morning . . .

Ruffles and yo-yos and rickrack . . . all vintage from my stash!

Thanks Mom ♥

Dreaming of warm sunny beaches

 Way back in the 80s, in order to escape Minnesota winters, my parents flew down to the very southern tip of Texas. When I could get off work and family obligations, I would fly down to visit them. Mom and I loved to go to Matamoros, Mexico and shell all day. Of course all our treasures came back with me to Spokane, and we've been hauling them from house to house every move since.

 Asked t.o.b. if he knew where that box of shells might be, and he knew exactly where it was in the garage, brought it in and the memories rushed back.

 Here are a few photos I took using the light of new snow outside my slider.

Pastels so soothing to the eye

Clam Shells ... I couldn't get enough!

Some were almost colorless

And I wish I had a dollar for every sand dollar we picked up

This is about one/tenth of my collection.  What oh what do I do with all of them?

 

Memories of Fall at the cabin on Agate Lake, Minnesota

You can have the hot, humid, mosquito summers of Minnesota's Lake Country 

and you can have the cold, icy snowy winters that never seem to end 

but

I do miss Fall in Northern Minnesota with crisp cool days and glorious colorful woods 

  Looking up

Looking down

At the ready!

Feeling a bit sentimental today

 Today is my mother's birthday and it got me to thinking about her gardens.  One of her favorite flowers was the gladiola.  I remember her sending me to school with a bouquet of glads for my teacher while in grade school.

I have never attempted to grow that type of flower.  Usually stick to the tried and true petunias, alysum, and other easy to grow annuals.  But this year I expanded my horizons with three new and different perennials.

Several years ago, my mother~in~law gifted me what has become my favorite vase ~ a 1930s Tiffin Poppy Black Amethyst satin glass jewel!  It is perfect for my little front porch with the brightly colored "new-for-me" variety of brown~eyed susans, Indian blankets and cone flowers that adorn my back yard today.

The colors make me so happy!  Thank you for the memories Moms ♥

 

silk purse/sow's ear

 Turns out smoky overcast skies are great for photography!

Years ago my son gifted me with a cedar planter box.  It has four legs, a deep bed and measures 3 ft x 4 ft.  Allows me to plant flowers standing up.  Last year ... nothing because of COVID.  Couldn't even get to the nurseries.  

But this year, OH MY, flowers galore!  The heat we've been experiencing has been a good thing for flower~growing.

 Never have I been able to grow sweet potato vine so lush and thick.

Fascinating Trims

What I've been doing on these days where the temp has risen over 100 degrees ~

Digging in my boxes of tangled lace and trims and wrapping them on cards perchance to list them on etsy or eBay after summer is over. None of them are antique but many vintage pieces ... mostly yardage.  I've only separated a few of the many I've collected over the years.

Kept my hands busy during these days stuck inside!