Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day and other stuff....

I did finish my 4 letter happy word for Tonya...cake! It is a little longer than the requirement but big cakes are better than small ones...that is my story and I'm sticking to it. Actually the k is toughest letter I have done so far (at one point it was huge and I kept trimming it off a bit at a time so worried it wouldn't look like anything but chicken scratch when I was done with the rotary cutter!) So if any of you folks doing three letter word run a bit short...just call it kismet or teamwork or whatever...my big cake will take up the slack!


In honor of Mother's Day I thought I should post a photo of my Mom. She isn't a quilter but she did encourage me to sew or quilt while I was growing up. She let us keep the sewing machine on the dining room table for a couple weeks while we worked on "major" projects and supplied me with bits of fabric to play with.

Last week an elderly woman in my guild gave me this box of quilting patterns. A friend of hers gave it to her a few years ago and she wanted to pass it on. Last night was my first chance to go through it...how fun! (The box cover is very appropriate for what is inside!)
It is like opening a time capsule. Inside were patterns for quilting and other needle arts. The dates range from the late 1920's to the mid-50's. There are three main sources - Kansas City Star, a farming magazine, and batting wrappers like Mountain Mist.

It wasn't all about quilting...there were lots of fashion tips too....
If I could knit I might consider making that hat on the top left...reminds me on of one worn in a Sherlock Holmes episode by one of the heroines....I am going to make copies of some of the papers then box it all back up.

14 comments:

BarbCarol said...

My birthday is 28 July - and copies would be just fine with me.
I love to go to estate sales just for the chance of buying the old sewing boxes. I have found such fun stuff - patterns, buttons, sewing accessories .
Please blog about anything you make using the patterns.

Karen said...

Love your happy word and the old patterns are wonderful.

Loris said...

Great lettering there. I hope to get some letters out myself. I love how they look in quilts.
Enjoy those old patterns. What a treat to look into the fashion past.

jovaliquilts said...

I love your CAKE! I would never have thought of that as a 4-letter happy word, but it's so obvious when I see it!

Tonya Ricucci said...

I know, K is a pain in the patootie. Look at how excellent yours is! hmm, maybe we should be sewing our own bloomers and corsets...

quiltmom anna said...

What a fun gift, Siobhan- the patterns and fashion tips would be fascinating especially to someone like yourself, who loves antiques and old things...
What a nice thing to do-
Your mom sounds like a wonderful person- what great a gift she has given you when she gave you the opportunity to explore and experiment with fabric...
Happy Mother's Day!
Hugs,
Anna

Millie said...

Have a great day. Love to see the old pictures and patterns.

Tammy said...

What a great find all the old patterns and such, so sweet of your friend to pass them on. You're "cake" turned out great!!

AnnieO said...

I'm in Tonya's word game too, but have yet to get anything sewn. I like your cake! OMIGOSH those patterns are a treasure---I agree with the time capsule comparison. Opening my Grandma's sewing boxes is a bit like that, vintage everything. Enjoy!

Victoria Findlay Wolfe said...

wow! what a fun giftie!
Hope you and your mother had a lovely mother's day!

;-)

Cher said...

what a great block you made! I will start mine soon- I think your k came out great.

Dionne said...

What a wonderful 'get'! You are so very fortunate. I love those little 'time capsules'

I love CAKE! d I would never have thought of it, but its a PERFECT happy four-letter word.
Cheers,
Dionne

julieQ said...

See? You can have your cake...and not eat it too! Hmmm, that did not go right, did it? Very pretty vintage patterns.

Clare said...

Cake is a very happy word, especially 5 minute choc CAKE! M is my bete noir.

That really is Christmas come early. I love your idea of copying everything and then putting it back as it was.

Me and shorts - comme toi!