'Random Things' Category
Recovered Dining Room Chairs
Today we had a big snowstorm, and I finished recovering my six dining room chairs. There are several upholstery projects on my list, and this was by far the easiest. The fabric I used was a mint condition vintage barkcloth slipcover for a couch with three cushions, purchased on Etsy for $50. The 3 cushions [...]
Vintage Doll Quilt Kit — Rob Peter to Pay Paul
Last year I mentioned in a post that I was thinking of selling kits to make doll quilts with vintage fabric, and talked about what the kits would include. Several readers commented that my plans seemed overly elaborate (with pre-cut blocks and a sample block). Let me just say right now that everyone who said [...]
New Year’s Eve
Even though I’ll probably never host a New Year’s Eve party (several times I’ve actually gone to bed before midnight), I would love to be able to send out this adorable invitation. This is another one of about a zillion fabulous Art Deco items available at Puffadonna’s Etsy shop. I hope everyone has a happy [...]
Make It Yourself — Vintage Style Scented Valentine
For this project I cleaned up and tweaked a vintage valentine image I found on Etsy. I’ve never seen a valentine quite like this, so I thought it would be fun to try and reproduce it. The idea of putting a little perfume under the skirt really appealed to me, although Gordon thought it was [...]
Simple Gifts – 6 Heartwarming Stories by Famed Authors and Illustrators – Continued
Here are my three other favorite short films from this program. I’m sorry, but I can’t help it . . . it’s my nature to try and force others to read, watch and make things that I like. My Christmas (1:38) An entry in the diary of Teddy Roosevelt, age 11 Read by Dean Wareham [...]
Simple Gifts – 6 Heartwarming Stories by Famed Authors and Illustrators
Gordon and I first watched this PBS program in 1977, a year after we were married. We loved these wonderful animated shorts, and never forgot them. PBS at some point produced a VHS copy of this program, but unfortunately it was not broadcast again (to my knowledge) and has never been released on DVD. Last [...]
Paris Illuminé Lamp – Finished
Turning the concept in my head into an actual lamp was actually not that difficult, if you don’t include the part where I accidentally managed to smear glue on one of the panels and had to completely redo it. I am thinking about making a similar lamp for a child’s room, but there are a [...]
Paris Illuminé Lamp – WIP
Okay, this project ended up being a lot trickier than I expected. After cutting four prototypes of the Eiffel Tower testing different sizes, paper and glues, I finally came up with a plan that worked. It took almost the whole day to cut these four sides — I had to take breaks because my hand [...]
Paris Illuminé
This is a fabulous book from Patricia (a/k/a Pillpat on Flickr) who has uploaded the most amazing collection of vintage illustrations. I love these images so much, that I am trying to construct a nightlight using four of the designs. With an X-acto knife, I am cutting the designs out of black card stock, and [...]
PFC Lawrence Anthony Dellasega
My father was a rifleman in WWII, serving as a scout in Company B of the 395th Infantry. He had been in a reserve unit, and was not called up until April of 1944, because he was older (33) and the father of two small children (my older sisters, Jean Ann and Sally). He was [...]
Wedding Photos
Emily Gray and Aaron Robertson September 4, 2011 Georgetown Ballroom, Seattle
Feedsack Apron – Bartlesville, OK
One of the nice things that came out of our nostalgia trip to Bartlesville was a visit to our old elementary school and our church. The former church community center across the street now has a sign reads “Martha’s Task — Sew Original.” The front of the building is a store where lots of handmade [...]
Vintage Transfers — Blanding, Utah
On our way back to tiny Bluff, Utah after hiking down to the Natural Bridges, we stopped at a second-hand shop in Blanding. We have visited a couple of antique shops on this trip, but none of them had sewing items. This store is called Transitions, and it provides vocational rehab to all of the [...]
Beads — Santa Fe, NM
In the 70s, my sister and I tried making drawstring leather purses out of shammies on which we had sewn glass beads in Native American patterns — a project from McCall’s Needlework, I think. It was tricky to keep the lines of bead work straight, and the design became more and more wonky as we [...]
Socks — Taos, NM
When I’m on road trips, I like to buy stuff. On Sunday we drove 10 hours straight through the Oklahoma panhandle to reach pretty Taos, New Mexico. The old plaza is so cute, but also a bit touristy, with lots of souvenir shops. However, there are also wonderful galleries and many shops filled with beautiful [...]
Quilts
Embroidery
Family-Made
Vintage Finds
Vintage Fabric
Children's Books
Work in Progress
Other Needlework
Random Things