Five Good Vintage Finds

In the past week or so, I’ve had good luck in finding five vintage pieces to add to my ever-growing collections.  The first was from eBay – a 1930s era paper fan with artwork by Fern Bisel Peat (1893-1971).  I collect vintage scottie pieces and this one is in near-mint condition.

The back shows an advertisement for Triena children’s laxative (Allied Drug Products of Chattanooga) that was for sale by Farmers Mercantile in Nelagoney, Oklahoma.

I found three wonderful items in antique malls – a Homer Laughlin gravyboat ….

….a Jadeite bowl with lip ….

…. and a set of chubby pre-WWII made-in-Japan bird salt/pepper shakers.  I’m particularly drawn to these birds which were sold in dime stores in the 1930s.

The last item, and the biggest bargain, was found in a Goodwill thrift store for less than $3.00.  This Roseville child’s plate is well worn and faded, obviously used a lot, which I prefer in my pieces.  There was one in almost identical condition selling on eBay for $25.

It’s unusual for me to buy this many pieces in a short period of time, even at good prices, but when I see them, I grab them.

 

Click on pictures to enlarge.

From Scraps to Panels to Backings and Linings

In 2008, I made a nice hooded jacket out of some really cute Scottie fabric and ever since then I have been shuffling around a small bag of scraps, hoping to find the perfect project for them.  Since I reached my goal for 2014 of using up every small scrap I had other than special fabric like this, I’m a little ruthless in wanting to avoid saving any more small bags of scraps.  I decided to go ahead and use this material in one of my favorite ways – to make panels that can be used as backings for wall hangings and small quilts, backings for cushions, linings for tote bags and other small projects, etc.

The first step is to take all the crumpled pieces of fabric out of the bag and press them.  Then begin cutting them into pieces that will be formed into blocks.  I like to make 5-inch blocks partly because they are easy to work with and partly because my ruler is 5 inches wide and makes measuring/cutting easy.  So, first I cut any 5 inch blocks I can get out of the fabric.

Then, I cut strips 5 inches or more longer x 1-½ inches wide.

The rest of the fabric is cut into blocks, strips or rectangles at least 1-½ inches and on up to 5 inches.

The fabric pieces are placed in stacks – 5-inch squares, strips or pieces that are 5 inches wide, pieces that are various widths and shapes, and strips.

I start first with the various pieces and strip-sew them to one of the strips, using ¼ inch seams.

This sewn strip is cut apart …

…pressed….

…and trimmed.

Then, these joined pieces are sewn onto another strip, cut, pressed and trimmed until all of the pieces have been joined to something.  These joined pieces are sewn to other pieces to form a 5 inch block.

Any 5-inch wide pieces are to sewn together or to other joined pieces to form 5-inch blocks.  If I run short of fabric, I keep a supply of white or neutral colored strips on hand to finish off blocks.

When all of the fabric has been used, the blocks are sewn together in panels.  If I know the measurement for a particular project, I sew the blocks to form that size panel.  If I’m sewing for storage, I like panels that are two blocks across and three blocks down.  This happens to work well for the projects I make.  The panels can be joined or cut as needed.

The Scottie fabric gave me enough to make one panel that is 22-½ inches long x 9-½ inches wide.

I try to use this process whenever I finish up a project.  Any piece over 5 inches is saved but all of the other bits and pieces are sewn into something that can be used later.  It’s actually rather relaxing to do some mindless sewing like this after completing a project and at the same time, make good use of pretty scraps rather than dealing with them 7 years from now.

 

Heart of Ohio Antique Mall – Springfield, Ohio

Because of back problems the past two years, I haven’t been able to travel too far and my daughter and I have taken one day a week during the month of September for a “staycation” day in an area that doesn’t require too much driving.  We enjoyed our last day of this year’s staycation traveling about 1-1/2 hours to Springfield, Ohio.  We pass through the charming town of Yellow Springs and love to have lunch at Young’s plus a stop on the way back home for one of their renowned Bull Shakes made with cream from their own Jersey cows.

It’s about 30 minutes from Yellow Springs to a huge antique mall called “Heart of Ohio” with 650 dealers.  I found a treasure -a  handmade book rack that I would date to the 1940s with my favorite Scottie theme.  I imagine it was made from a kit and includes flaws like the very visible screws and holes drilled in the wrong place, but that made it more lovable to me.

When we got in the car, my daughter handed me something she had bought as a remembrance of our trip.

It’s Roseville and the chips (which I don’t mind) made it very affordable.  I love the little dog lapping up the spilled milk.

On the way home, I was telling my daughter I had seen a small “Made in Japan” Dutch planter which I talked myself out of buying.  Later that evening, she came out with another package that she was going to save as a Christmas gift – the planter I wished I had picked up.

This was a very successful day.

One week of our staycation we went to a favorite restaurant (Grand Finale in Glendale, Ohio) and our favorite local antique mall (Ohio Valley Antiques in Fairfield, Ohio).  We’re at these two places so often, I didn’t think about taking pictures.

Last week we visited an Adams County, Ohio, store.

The first week we stayed local with lunch at our favorite barbecue restaurant (Eli’s in the East End of Cincinnati) ….

…Stopped off at Avoca Park in Terrace Park …

…and did some antique store browsing in Milford, Ohio.

I’m beginning to really love this staycation idea.

Collectibles of the Week–Memories of School Days

I  have so many wonderful collectibles acquired over the last 80+ years.  Some were gifts, some were part of my life growing up, some are inherited, some were purchased at antique malls and thrift stores  – all are precious to me.  Some items are kept up year-around while others are brought out seasonally and on holidays.  Unfortunately, many priceless-to-me objects go undisplayed and unseen for years.  Each wek, I’m going to pull out an item and post COLLECTIBLE OF THE WEEK.

The day after Labor Day will always mean the first day of school to me, even though my grandchildren and great-grandchildren have been in school since the third week of August.  It just seems appropriate for school to begin again in September.  I brought out my antique granite ware alphabet plate (pictured above), made in Austria.  My daughter painted the old-fashioned school scene.

Birthday gifts one year were this 1930s era pencil box with the Scotties along with a little case that has a 1929 postage stamp affixed.

Inside the box are all the items needed to start out a successful school year, including a holder for a pen nib.  We used these pen holders and dipped the pens in an ink hole on our desks for penmanship lessons and adding new spelling words to a thin pad of paper that was covered in oilcloth.

I’m lucky to have my father’s two arithmetic books which he would have been using in about 1918-19.…

…and four of my mother’s books with notations from her eighth grade class in 1929-30.

I loved school from the first day to the last day of the last year and enjoy seeing these old keepsakes.

Collectibles of the Week – Covered Dishes

I  have so many wonderful collectibles acquired over the last 80+ years.  Some were gifts, some were part of my life growing up, some were inherited, some were purchased at antique malls, gift shops or thrift stores  – all are precious to me.  Some items are kept up year-around while others are brought out seasonally and on holidays.  Unfortunately, many priceless-to-me objects go undisplayed and unseen for years, so each week, I’m going to pull out an item and post a COLLECTIBLE OF THE WEEK.

I love all of the covered dishes I’m sharing this week.  The rooster and hen are on my kitchen window sill throughout the summer …

In September, I take down the chickens and put up the squirrel and acorn …

In November, naturally, the turkey has the prize spot …

The mini-dishes which are about 3 inches across the bottom are perched somewhere in the kitchen year around – a hen

…and a cobalt blue scottie

All of these dishes were birthday gifts throughout the years.  The rooster, turkey and squirrel go back to the 80s and 90s and are reproductions.  The large hen and the two small dishes are vintage, probably from the 1940s.

 

Collectibles of the Week–Scottie Cookie Cutters

I  have so many wonderful collectibles acquired over the last 80+ years.  Some were gifts, some were part of my life growing up, some were inherited, some were purchased at antique malls, gift shops or thrift stores  – all are precious to me.  Some items are kept up year-around while others are brought out seasonally and on holidays.  Unfortunately, many priceless-to-me objects go undisplayed and unseen for years, so each week, I’m going to pull out an item and post a COLLECTIBLE OF THE WEEK.

In line with my love of anything Scottie, I have a small assortment of cookie cutters.

The green-handled cutter at the top is one of my favorites, part of a larger collection of vintage cutters with depression-green handles.

I also like a red-handled Scottie and two plain vintage aluminum cutters plus a copper one from the 70s.

The card with the Scotty and recipes was a St. Nick gift one year and the red plastic along with the small aluminum cutter with an upturned tail give me a wide range of size and shape when I want to bake Scottie cookies.

Collectible of the Week – Stuffed Scottie Dogs

I  have so many wonderful collectibles acquired over the last 80+ years.  Some were gifts, some were part of my life growing up, some were inherited, some were purchased at antique malls, gift shops or thrift stores  – all are precious to me.  Some items are kept up year-around while others are brought out seasonally and on holidays.  Unfortunately, many priceless-to-me objects go undisplayed and unseen for years, so each week, I’m going to pull out an item and post a COLLECTIBLE OF THE WEEK.

To begin my weekly collectibles posts, I’m going to start with the last one I received.  My daughters and two grandchildren spent last week in Washington, DC, and brought back this wonderful little stuffed Scottie dog from the White House gift shop.  It’s named Fala after the Scottie that President Roosevelt had in the 1930s-40s and one of the reasons I’ve always been attracted to Scottie dogs.

During my childhood, there were Scotties on everything – clothing, decorative items, toys, linens, etc.  I’ve never owned a Scottie dog but love them as they’ve been represented through the years.

I already had a shelf full of stuffed Scotties from previous years and brought them down to dust off, photograph and feature.

Scottie in kilt (bought at a Celtic festival 15 years ago), Yomiko Classics large Scottie with shaggy hair and soulful eyes, (birthday gift ca 1990s)

 

Small Scottie with Mary Engelbreit tag (bought at the Mary Engelbreit store in St. Louis ca 1980s), large Scottie (a birthday gift ca 1990)

I feel happier whenever I look at one of these wee bonny pups.

Happy 2014 to All

Merry Christmas

Disappearing 9-Patch QAL – and a Doll Quilt

When I saw that Freda at Imperamagna was hosting a QAL featuring a Disappearing 9-Patch, I was interested but just didn’t want to get into a big quilt at this time.  Then, I thought maybe I could make a child’s quilt for my local Linus Project, and going even smaller, I could first make a doll quilt for my granddaughter’s American Girl Doll bed.

The doll is American Girl’s Kit from the depression era and her metal bed is the perfect color of green.  I had some Windham Storybook IV c 1930 Scottie fabric that was ideal and the Disappearing 9-Patch block was easy enough to be able to work with the small blocks.

In keeping with the 1930s theme, I added some rickrack to the top and bottom borders.

Now, Kit has all of the proper bedding, including my daughter’s hand-knitted bedspread.

I’m still participating in the QAL and working on blocks for my Linus quilt.