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First of all, no I didn't make this quilt. I bought it on ebay because I really wanted a vintage quilt, especially now that I'm working on one of my own. I've always loved them, but now that I'm making one I have lots of questions about all the details and I wanted to have one up close so I could sort of refer to it.

Then I saw this one and fell in love with it, I love the colour scheme with lots of white, and so many charming little floral and plaid vintage prints. Handmade quilts can be very expensive but this one was surprisingly not, and I think I know why. Vintage quilts seem to be valued on a few factors as far as I can tell, such as the overall condition and the evenness and size of the hand stitching. Patterns that are rare and especially one-of-a-kind are worth more. Quilts that have some history, such as a date and signature are in demand. Then there is the overall artistry, the way the colours and patterns work together.

This quilt is nicely quilted, but the stitches are a little uneven, the patches aren't perfectly aligned, and the stitches which seem so small to me are actually only 6-7 per inch which is good but not considered Expert. And this basket style of quilt is fairly common.

But these little flaws appeal to me, and helped me decide how I'd like my quilt to be. Not Expert, but still very appealing.
Some of the patterns look surprisingly modern, but I think that's because everything old is new again these days and a lot of designers take their inspiration from these old prints. I think the 1930s is my favourite time for fabric. This quilt is so nice because when I'm in bed I can just gaze adoringly at all the prints...
In the meantime I've started quilting my blue Irish Chain quilt... very slowly... Read the rest of this post

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I started a quilt at the workroom a month ago by cutting out strips of blue patterned fabrics I had collected from my stash. I started cutting fabric before I'd decided exactly what to do, mainly because a quilt is such a big project I thought I should just start or I never would. I thought I might just do horizontal bars of the blue prints.

Since then I was re-reading Jane of Lantern Hill for the nth time and discovered something funny. When I was little and read the book she described her bed as a wooden "spool" bed and I imagined something shaped a bit like a wooden spool of thread, but shorter and wider in proportion. Reading it again now I realize that a spool bed is actually one with turned wooden posts, which is exactly what we have(this links to an old post that has lots of "before" pictures of our house too).

So when I came across her description of three quilts that her father gave her for their new house on the island I looked them up online. The one she put on her bed is an Irish Chain, and I decided that was exactly the pattern I would like to do for mine. It's fairly easy to make, and pretty and has that lattice look I like. Also I wanted lots of white in the background so all the prints wouldn't look too busy.

It's very simple. First I cut 6" squares, then divided each one into thirds, ie. 2" x 6" strips (below right). Then these are sewn together alternating the colours with plain white (below bottom left). You do colour-white-colour, then half as many that are white-colour-white. Each of these are then trimmed into thirds again (below top left).Then you piece together squares that look like a checker board. At this stage I trimmed each square again to make sure it was just the right size. These squares are then alternated with plain white squares. Once you put it all together, you don't see the checkerboard pattern, but a lattice, ie. diagonal lines of coloured squares. Especially if you kind of squint your eyes when looking at it.

I laid out all the squares onto a sheet so I could see how the quilt would look and Bradley helped arrange them so that there was a good balance of patterns.
So far I've sewn together all the rows, and now I need to join the rows to each other to finish the quilt top. Which I'd like to do in time for the Workroom quilting Sunday and then I will work on basting the quilt top to the batting and backing.
I say impatient because I've rushed through a lot of this and it's not as perfect as I'd like. Little mistakes tend to compound and the squares don't meet perfectly at the corners throughout as they should. I realized partway through that I should be using the hem guide that came with my sewing machine and it's made a huge difference. I've had to rework a few pieces to make them the right size, but it's going together fairly well now and will probably be nice once it's done. I hope!

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from plan59.com

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My first son was born on Valentines Day and so this day is one of a kind and very special for me. He has his own home now so I called him to wish him a happy birthday much earlier than I normally would. I knew he was not awake and had every intention of leaving him a voicemail. I was quite silly in my message and I told him that prior to his birth he had kept me up all night and what time he was born, very early in the morning, so I thought I would call and wake him up to tell him how much I love him and I wasn't about to wait a minute longer. He said he really enjoyed my message and said he didn't know what time he was born at that time in the morning. In his baby album we even have a photo of the clock at that exact time. Funny, I guess I never told him. I think I will get the kids baby books out and share some other facts with them that they don't know surrounded the time of their births.

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The best way is to find one abandoned on the street, thrown out by someone who just doesn't appreciate it. I'm still haunted by the one I found several years ago, kept for a bit, then decided I didn't need anymore. I know now that it was a suitcase from the 30s, and it would be kind of nice to have it now.
But I lucked out (after some fruitless searching yesterday on Queen W), when I went to the St. Lawrence Sunday Market flea market. I have to admit that I'm definitely a night owl, so I usually get down to the market by around noon. But I'm haunted by an old work friend who asked me when I usually go to the market, and was shocked by my answer. He assured me that by noon only detritus was left, and there was no point in going. That's the word I always think of, ringing in my ears: "detritus... detritus... detritusss..."

So the last couple of times I've managed to get there by around 9 or 10. (Still not the recommended 5am but I'm more likely to stay up until 5am then get down to the market by then.) And I have realized that there is actually better stuff the earlier you go. It starts to get crowded by noon and some of the tables do seem to be picked over.

When I went today to look for a vintage suitcase I was lucky because usually you never find what you're looking for. (You do end up with things you didn't even think of, such as the tiny box of gramaphone needles pictures at the top of this post.) But I actually found one seller who had several vintage suitcases and was very friendly and patient as I opened them up and tried to decide which size, which colours, which condition, which lining. I love the one I finally picked, so while I'm no expert here are the features I can suggest that you might want to look for.

1. materials: some are made from cardboard, some leather and some are made from coated wood. Mine is made from coated wood and I like it because it's sturdier than cardboard and it has that charming textured finish typical of the 30s/40s suitcase.

2. condition: I was tempted by one with a crack but decided it would be better to have a sturdy one that definitely won't fall apart. Mine has corners reinforced with little metal plates which will help protect it against damage from knocks.

3. smell: definitely check that it doesn't smell musty, especially as that will probably transfer to anything you put into it.
4. latches/hinges: should work easily and seem secure. Ask if there's a key because that's always nice to have.

5. lining: I like pockets and compartments of any kind, and of course colour and type of fabric depends on your taste. I love the grosgrain ribbons in mine that are meant for securing the contents, presumably with a jaunty bow. The satin is a sort of pale tan/grey/champagne kind of colour.
6. outer appearance: Some have stripes, some a mock wool plaid kind of pattern, or you can move ahead to the 60s/70s and get a psychedelic floral number. Mine is mustard yellow with a cream border, and it has a nice nubbly texture that looks like fabric. I suspect that suitcases with a label with the name of the manufacturer are more collectable. It's just nice to know where things come from.

7. size/comfort: mine was large enough to be useful but isn't too heavy and has a comfortable handle.

8. price: you decide, I paid $30 which was well worth it to me.While I was at it I found these darning eggs. The little pink one is apparently a "baby" darning egg. Not sure but I guess it's for darning little booties and such, although I don't like to think of some poor baby wearing worn out socks. This is possibly why I've never seen a "baby" darning egg before but since I bought it at the same place with the suitcase and other darner, the seller gave me a big discount and I couldn't resist the charming little thing.

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Hamburger and hot dog cookbook art, 1958, Suzanne Snider, Today, More, Home

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This is a nice little project that you can do quickly and use up some of those bits of fabric. If you've been working on something big or complicated, it makes for a nice break. This is also an excellent beginner's project.

It started with a set of eight blue napkins I found at Goodwill, they were such a pretty blue and nice soft cotton fabric. I've had a small piece of turquoise pictorial satin that made a beautiful combination. I'd been saving this scrap but never knew what to do with it. It's a bit droopy, so I paired it with a fairly sturdy plain turquoise cotton for the backing. I'm not crazy about interfacing, I use it sometimes but I didn't want to here. You could though if you want to really make your rings crisp.Step 1: (above) cutting out your fabric. I wanted eight rings so I cut eight strips of fabric as large as I could from the little piece I had, then eight matching pieces for the backs. (You could use the same fabric for front and back of course - in which case you would just cut one piece and fold it in half lengthwise). The pieces should be around 6" long to go around a typical napkin, and it's up to you how thick to make them. My pieces were cut 3" wide, for a 2.5" finished size. I wanted them to be large enough to see the little scenes in the fabric.

Step 2: Place right sides together and pin in the middle. Then sew down each side, with a 1/4" hem.Step 3: Turn the ring right side out
Step 4: Press flat. Then tuck inside a 1/4" hem on one side and press. Then tuck the other end in to make a loop. Pin in place. Handsew together using blind stitch. I sewed the outside, then turned the ring inside out to sew the inside. As you go you can tweak the way it's tucked together to make it neat.
Done! I love how they look with this vintage linen tablecloth. I found this one at the St. Lawrence antique shop for $10.

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at Tikiranch
(2007)

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from American Girl and American Boy.

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Illustrators of the Mid-20th Century (thanks to Leif Peng)

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Maggie Summers

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Today is my birthday; I turn another year older and it occured to me that from now on I want my birthdays to move along at a snail's pace...really slow! Vintage queen of the escargot!

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from Wardomatic

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It's been such a busy weekend for us and so very hot here. The temps hit 103 with high humidity. We are long overdue for some rain and are trying to keep everything green and living.

I just had to take a moment to post this beautiful vintage hat with lovely silk and velvet milinery flowers. I had the good fortune to come across it at a sale recently and was tickled pink! See the tiny vintage rhinestones, oh I love when I come across such wonderful finds.

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What a find! I recently stopped by an estate sale and found this 1890's Ladies Home Journal filled with victorian illustrations and articles.

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When my husband and I have two days together it is always jam-packed. Working full time and cramming in all the to-do's and wish lists on the weekends is always a challenge.

After the Market my husband and I went and purchased a ton of stone for our new landscaping project and are off to purchase another ton today. We're making progress. I also had time to plant two more delphiniums that I lost in the cold snap in March.

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I feel I've been neglecting my needle book posts..so I'm going to try to catch up a bit. We've had a busy time recently, mainly because we just bought our first house! We didn't think we could afford one in Toronto, and were planning to just buy a slightly bigger condo, but after not really seeing anything we liked, we extended our search a bit and found a little house just at the edge of our budget. I keep telling people that it's very small (it's a 1-bedroom bungalow), because I don't want people to see it and be disappointed. I have to admit that my first reaction on seeing the house was to laugh, because it looked so tiny. But while it also needs redecorating throughout, it definitely has potential to be a really lovely little home. We'll be moving in at the end of July and I'll be sure to share our decorating pictures then.

We also had a trip to New York city recently, and stayed with a friend in Hoboken. Lucky for me he had already found the "ribbon district" and had lots of great shopping tips. The ribbons at the top of this post are all from M&J Trimming (1008 Sixth Ave.), a store that will dazzle the ribbon lover, but also has buttons, lace, purse handles etc. All my favourite ribbons were from the front of the store, in a section devoted to embroidered ribbons, with many fancy ribbons imported from Europe as well.
To balance out this splurge, I also found these lovely ribbons (above) at the Textile Museum sale last week, the place where I like to stock up on crafts supplies for the coming year. The one on the bottom is my favourite - many thanks to my friend Sarah who found it first but let me have it!

Around the corner from M&J Trimming are more ribbon, button and bead stores, including the Martha Stewart recommend Tinsel Trading (Tinsel Trading 47 West 38th Street New York), and a similar store I discovered called Store Across the Street (Store Across the Street 64 West 38th Street New York). And if you're in that neighbourhood, I recommend the beautiful Bryant Park nearby as the perfect place to have a drink and sit down and look over your new ribbons. There are lots of little iron table and chair sets for anyone to use.We also went to a couple of flea markets. At the first outdoor parking lot (junky type) flea market I found a beautiful antique compact for $5 and a Noel Streatfeild book I hadn't heard of (New Shoes) for $1. It was across from an expensive looking indoor antique mall which we didn't visit (too much to do, too little time!) The second flea market was a few streets over in a parking garage. We could have spent hours in there but were getting a little tired and hungry.And speaking of ribbons, I picked up these bargains at Kate's Paperie on Broadway in Soho which was having a moving sale. This was also near to my other favourite stores, Pearl River Trading, Anthropologie and Kate Spade.And last but not least, my catch up wouldn't be complete without finally sharing the adorable little rabbit made for me by the lovely and talented Susan!

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