A Good Day at the Antique Mall

On Saturday, my daughter and I went to one of our favorite antique malls, Miller’s in Lebanon, Ohio.  I found a set of salt/pepper shakers from the era I like (late 1930s-early 1940s), marked “Japan” and a good addition to my Dutch collection.

My daughter found the real treasure – a 1931 Lebanon High School yearbook which also included the 7th and 8th grade classes.  There on the 8th grade class roll was my mother’s name, Martha Mount.  Unfortunately, she must have been absent the day the pictures were taken since we didn’t recognize anyone who looked anything like my mother at that age.

This was a new, modern high school at the time and I remember my mother saying how overwhelmed she was by the big campus and large classes after moving there from the little town of Morrow, Ohio, in the 7th grade.  Just think – a laboratory and a cafeteria!

I made a copy of a snapshot of my mother in her 8th grade graduation dress – one she described as “beautiful”, probably made by her mother.

A picture in the year book would have been nice, but just to find something from so long ago with my mother’s name is exciting.

A few years ago I wrote a blog about last-day-of-school dresses that my mother had made for me and the one dress I didn’t like that looked like her 8th grade graduation dress.

https://lillianscupboard.wordpress.com/2008/06/14/last-day-of-school-dresses/

Collecting Collectibles

Sometimes I wonder how I’ve managed to accumulate so many collectibles.  Here are two recent examples.

Yesterday, my older daughter and I stopped by an estate/yard sale and rummaged through the small items.  I found this small Hull pitcher for $3.00.  It has a repair on the handle, but I like these small containers for flowers, so that doesn’t bother me at all.

I worked in an office for most of my life and enjoy vintage desk accessories.  I saw this note/calendar pad for $1.00 and picked it up immediately.

 

Then I opened it and saw my father’s name “John Applegate” (he passed away in 1978).  That cinched it.  My father kept his harness horses in Barn A at our local county fairgrounds and we thought there was a very slim chance that the notation “BLD A” might refer to him some way.

I Googled the company name, Shepard & Young Tool Co., and found it was a business based in Birmingham, Michigan, incorporated in 1956 and dissolved in 1986.  It’s not likely, but possible, that someone used this corporate giveaway to make some notes here in Ohio.  Either way, I like the piece which has a 1960 calender.

So, I have two more collectibles to enjoy.  The pitcher will be used throughout the summer for the fresh flowers that my daughter arranges and the desk pad will set right by my computer with a refill of fresh paper.

 

Merry Christmas

Mini-Quilts Inspired by a 1940s Tally Card

I have always loved the use of Scotties in 1930s-40s designs and have a large collection of all sorts of things.  Among the items I collect are tally cards from that era and I found a really nice one for only 25 cents at an antique mall recently.  I thought the design would work well as a fused applique for my mini-quilt rack.  The card measures about 3×3 inches and the little spot above the man’s hat is a tiny ink blot on the card.

Update:  I’ve had a few questions about what a tally card is.  In the 1930s-40s, card games in the home were very popular, especially bridge for the ladies (followed by a light lunch and a rich dessert). Hostesses liked to provide cute tally cards which were kept as souvenirs.

I scanned the card and printed it out in a 6×6 inch size, leaving ¼ inch borders for the seam.   I flipped the picture when printing so it would face in the same direction as the original card when appliquéd.  I like Lite Steam-a-Seam 2 sheets for fusing.

On my first version of the piece, I omitted the gentleman and added another tree.  The pieces were fused onto a pale peach 6-½ x 6-½ inch background and secured with a zigzag stitch using invisible thread.  I used a fine line permanent marker to add a few of the features such as the bark on the tree and the dog leash.

Then, I added fabric to finish out the piece and border to measure approximately 12 x 15 inches.

I liked the piece, but it didn’t have the airy spring look that I wanted, so I made another fused center, this time keeping the gentleman and changing the position of the tree.

I used 3-½ inch blocks called Right and Left from my Electric Quilt software  to complete the quilt.  This time, it had the springtime appearance I wanted.

I’ll have to look through my collection to see if there are any more designs I can use for my mini-quilts.

Happy Easter, Everyone