Showing posts with label Treasures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Treasures. Show all posts

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Old Pins in a bag of "Junk"

I love to buy old buttons and pins from antique stores or garage sales.  It's always interesting to see what odd things you'll find. 


This is a United Hagie Seed Twine pin.  Perhaps the "5" is for someone's anniversary with the company, or a landmark anniversary for the company.  If you look closely you can make out the kernels of corn around the perimeter of the pin.  The red bucking mule is interesting as well.


I've seen these Women's Relief Corps pins before - immediately under the badge hangs a "25 years" plaque with attachments for additional plaques for every 5 years served.  The WRC is the official auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR).


A cute little Farm Bureau charm


West Midland Farmers LM pin.   I don't know anything about this organization or the significance of the pin.


3 gallons of blood donated to the Red Cross!


I have no idea what this pin is for.


"Dedicated to Excellence - CCC"
The picture doesn't do justice to the pretty red jewel in the center.  I could not find another example of this pin online, so I don't know what "CCC" stands for, or why this pin was produced.

That's all for now!









Thursday, February 14, 2013

Treasure Chest Thursday - The Doily Box, Part 6

Some really nice items in this week's installment -


I loved this "swirl" pattern so much I started a bedspread from a similar pattern ten years ago.  I'm still working on it... not very diligently, obviously.    But I love this doily!

I like the shape of this doily, reminds me of something you'd set a butter dish on.


Someone did a lovely job on this dresser scarf.  The picture does not do the embroidery justice, and the crocheted border is so vibrant and lively!

And one of my very favorite sets from the Doily Box - 



This is probably a couch set, with the two birds in the center for the back of the couch and the two smaller birds on either side for the arms.  It blows my mind that anyone would want to sell this, but I'm always willing to give an orphaned doily a good home!  Below, a close up of the larger piece -




 Thanks for sticking with me through all these doilies!  There may be more later.  :)




Thursday, February 7, 2013

Treasure Chest Thursday - The Doily Box, Part 5

A few more...


What you can do with a plain piece of linen and some thread...

And below, a dresser scarf from a garage sale.




The embroidery is done very heavily both on this bird, and on the fronds of the plant above it.  I have no idea how old this item is, but the embroidery on the tail still feels very thick and luxurious to the touch.


A simple pattern, but I love the colors.


I love this intricate pattern.


Having made a similar doily, with all the beautiful daisies around the border, I know how much work went into this.  Beautiful job, Unknown Crocheter!




I have a particular weakness for vintage crocheted potholders, and this one from a yard sale found a new home with me.



That's it for this week!


Thursday, January 31, 2013

Treasure Chest Thursday - The Doily Box, Part 4

For those of you who are still with me, thank you!


Nothing fancy, but I do like the square look of this doily.



Another garage sale find, and they came as a set.  Perhaps a plate mat and coaster?


Another vintage purple doily.  If it's purple, I'll buy it!


I think this creation is to be used as a doily - obviously done from a "cutter quilt" with a crocheted edging.  Too thick for a dishcloth, not thick enough for a potholder.  Looking at the points of the stars, it makes me wonder if those pieces were made from another quilt. (A quilt made from a cutter quilt, which was made into whatever this is)


I do love doilies like this - intricate (and labor intensive).  Someone put a lot of love into this.



This is unusual - about 10" high.  I found it at a garage sale, and had never seen anything like it before, so I had to have it.  

Guess what?  That's right, there's more.  I told you this was a big box!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Treasure Chest Thursday - The Doily Box, Part 3


 Another installment of The Doily Box!



I love any sort of doily that's out of the ordinary, and this neat "square in a square" design is right up my alley.  I'd love to find the pattern.  Below is a similar doily in variegated thread.




I have no idea what to say about this.  The significance of the two pineapples at the top of the doily are intriguing... any ideas?



Here is one I made - I like traditional patterns with bold colors.  Something different.


Someone had a lot of patience to makes all these small flower motifs...





The embroidery on this vintage dresser scarf really caught my eye.  It's done with a heavier, twisted thread, and has an almost "relief" feel to it.


I saved my favorite, at least for this post, for last.  I love crocheted butterflies!  And this one is large - about 24 inches across, likely made for the back of a sofa.  I found it at a garage sale.  It's a little frayed in one spot, but I don't know why anyone in their right mind would want to get rid of such a beautiful piece!  And the previous owners were probably wondering why anyone in their right mind would want to BUY such a thing!  

But wait... there's more... next week!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Treasure Chest Thursday - The Doily Box, Part 2

More from the Doily Box:



This doily, old and tattered and stained as it is, is one of my favorites.  It was made by my great-grandmother, Elvirta Knutz.  I don't know when she made it, but I remember seeing it on my grandmother's couch when I was young, and my grandmother gave it to me when I moved into my first home back in the 1970s.


Here's another garage sale find.  I love the colors!



Who remembers silver asbestos mats?  I picked these up from a garage sale.  My grandmother had similar ones on her kitchen table, and it was a *big* deal to get to pick out a new cover and put it on for her.  Note the Good Housekeeping seal on the back of this mat - a little ironic, knowing what we know today about asbestos!

More to come~





Thursday, January 10, 2013

Treasure Chest Thursday - The Doily Box, Part 1

I've heard it said that you can't keep everything.  I'm living proof that it's not true!  However, there comes a point in every packrat's life where she has to start looking at her stuff with a critical eye.  This morning, it was my "Doily Box," which was overflowing with "who knows what."  Here are a few highlights of what I found:



This cute little hand-embroidered napkin holder is something I picked up at an auction sale in Princeville, Illinois.  It has family significance for me, as the lady who did the embroidery is a distant relative, Eloise Bliss Graves.  Her husband, Leo Graves, was a second cousin to my grandfather; I don't think they had seen each other since the 1940s.  What wonderful timing that I was in Illinois at the same time they were holding their auction!



I got this beautiful embroidered card-table cloth at a garage sale, a frequent source of the things in my Doily Box.  I look at these items and wonder about the woman who created them.  Did she fall asleep at night designing her next project, as I so often do?  When did she do her crafting?  As she watched her children play?  While she was watching television or listening to the radio?  Was she a farm wife, or did she live in town?  I love the history of these items as much as I enjoy the items themselves, but most of the time the history is lost.


And one final item for this post - lovely embroidered flowers gently swaying in the warm summer breeze.  A welcome thought on a cold winter day!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Inside Grandma's Sewing Machine Table, Part 3

As I headed downstairs to continue cleaning the basement this morning, I thought I had finished going through my grandmother's sewing items, and had things much less interesting to sort through today.  However, in cleaning out the shelves under the stairs, I found her sewing baskets:


This was the one she used the most when I was young, and in later years, it was delegated for the "better" sewing things.  Her everyday one was the brown basket, which sat with the old photo albums on the small wire stand by her front door:


Inside these baskets were many packages of rickrack and other old trims, most of them still unopened, in the original cellophane packages.  I can certainly use them for my own sewing projects, but something just seems wrong about opening them up and sewing with them.  I guess for now Ill just put them back where I found them and think about it. I'm not sure an old package of bias tape or piping is worth much, but seeing that old label is like a trip back in time.

Some of today's interesting finds:


There were two of these little rulers from the "Medical Sickness Society" in London.  I don't know how old these rulers are or where they came from, but this business appears to be a financial services business, at least in 2012.


When I first found this item, I thought it might be a maraca (hey, I've found stranger things in my basement!) but turns out it's my great-great-grandmother Nettie Graves' darning tool.  Had it not been labeled as such, I never would have known.  I would have kept trying to shake it and get some sort of rhythm going.


This little mending kit must have been a promotional item from The Lampe Market in Huron, South Dakota.  The inscription reads in part: 1889 - MEATS - 1927.  Since the market was still in operation in 1930, I'm guessing this mending kit was made and distributed in 1927.


Another promotional item was this shoe horn from Osborn Clothing Company, also in Huron.  Oddly enough, I do remember as a child my grandmother showing me how to use a shoehorn she kept in her sewing basket, perhaps this one.  While the Lampe Market had closed shop before my time, Osborn's is still in business.



In Part 2 of this series, I found a small mending kit for silk stockings; today I found a full-fledged mending kit, with 10 different shades of floss.  The box still has cellophane covering the bottom part.



And this item... I was reading a blog post by Nancy, owner of My Ancestors and Me, at her other blog, Joy For Grace, on the topic of "Unsewing."  This looks like the perfect tool to use in "unsewing."  One end has a thin blade, the other a sharp pick, and a handy cap for each end.  It's only stamped with "Rip 'n Pik."  Looks so useful I almost hated to pack it back up!  Looks to me like a "Million Dollar Idea" if someone would brings these back into production.

Sad to say, the rest of the afternoon spent cleaning the basement was not nearly so much fun...


Sources:
1930-31 Huron, South Dakota City Directory, R. L. Polk

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Inside Grandma's Sewing Machine Table, Part 2

Inside Grandma's sewing machine table, I found some of the neatest sewing/craft items from long ago - who remembers doing embroidery?  Or liquid embroidery?  My great-grandmother, Elvirta Knutz, did a lot of both, as well as crocheting.  She made a lot of beautiful pillowcases, so delicate and dainty with beautiful ladies, such as this one, decorating the opening ends...


I found numerous iron-on transfers, from silhouettes to cowboys to graceful ladies, flowers and butterflies.

And then there's Barnacle Bill.  According to Wikipedia, "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" was a bawdy drinking song, of which the first printed version appeared in 1927.   The song inspired a Betty Boop cartoon and two movies.  In the first Popeye the Sailor cartoon, Barnacle Bill was used as the inspiration for what would become the Bluto character.  Wikipedia furnished the lyrics of the song, and since this is a family blog, I won't repost them here!  Nonetheless, I was a little surprised to find Barnacle Bill among the iron-on transfers!

Who remembers bobbins like these?


These are a set of "Sta-Tied" braided elastic shoelaces.  They are thick, and quite stretchy.  I can't imagine these wearing out any time soon...  The Nov. 28, 1958 issue of the Mason City, Iowa Globe-Gazette features an article on the Sta-Tied Lace Co. and their new shoestring, said to be most ideally suited for sports footwear.  The University of Iowa and Notre Dame University athletic departments had already begun using their laces.

Tiny rick rack!  Never seen it this small.

And lastly, this most interesting mending kit, apparently for silk stockings -
The directions say to "Tear off Run-Arrestor Wand like any match book stick.  Moisten with tongue and touch both ends of stocking run.  Mend before washing."  Included are mending threads of many different shades.
This item was manufactured by the Real Silk Hosiery Mills, Inc. of Indianapolis, Indiana.

That's all for now, but more to come.