Needlework Challenge

I know.  It's definitely NOT summer.  It was 10 degrees here yesterday, though we're back up in the 30s today. 

The reason I'm posting this is that it sort of inspired me.  This article came from my August 1951 Family Circle magazine.  This is so NOT what you would find in today's magazines.  Oprah would not feature needlework projects for all that summer spare time! 

What struck me was the assumption that needlework was just done.  Since it was already being done, the magazine thought they would suggest something that would be lightweight yet useful.  I guarantee you that doing needlework of any sort has never crossed my mind when it came to thinking about what to do on a summer day!  Yet, the clip above claims that these types of projects would be the perfect "hot-weather hobby.  Only small pieces to hold and handle."

BUT, it has crossed my mind on these 10 degree, snowy winter days.  I always think of the big things I could do.  For example, Anna at Pleasant View Schoolhouse recently featured a coverlet made from recycled cashmere sweaters.  I totally want to do that.  It would be so soft and luxurious and perfect for a quick cover up while doing homeschooling reading or watching a video with the family. (Click on the source link below her picture to go to the post.)



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 I would love to do that blanket, but I was overwhelmed just thinking about even starting it.  I have so many UFOs in my sewing area from years ago, that I'm embarrassed.  The Family Circle article, however, got me thinking about finding a SMALL project to do this winter.  I'm going to look around and see if I can find something that calls to me.  If I do, I'll post about it.

Do you enjoy doing small projects here and there?  Any suggestions?  I can sew and crochet.  I'm not a fan of embroidery, but perhaps I could revisit that and see if the decades that have gone by since my last project might have softened my view!  I'm intrigued and ready to create something!

Vintage Hygiene: Body

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This is the fourth and last post in my Vintage Hygiene series. (Click on links to read previous posts: HANDS, FACE, HAIR, or click HERE for all the posts at one time.)

Today's topic is the body.  One product came immediately to mind:  dusting powder.  Back in my youth (I refuse to call it "the old days"), my grandmother had these wonderful smelling round boxes of talcum powder--with the big giant puff!  I LOVED that stuff.  After a bath (not a shower at her house), we'd puff all over and dressed in our summer dresses.  With no air conditioning, it helped to keep you feeling clean and dry. They always came in pretty boxes and the smell was heavenly!

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The talc would also come in shaker containers.  I see those around a lot today.  Shower to Shower comes to mind.  Fun name, boring bottle.  The commercial I remember said, "A sprinkle a day helps keep odor away...have you had your sprinkle today?" 

Lovely containers are still being made.  I just haven't thought about it in a long time.  Now that I've done some research for this post, I'm starting to think that I need to add some body powder into my arsenal.  I imagine I could get some modern ones that look as pretty as these vintage ones do:

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Apparently, talcum is actually a bad guy.  Read this report that echoes several that I read.  I generally knew that I shouldn't buy anything with talcum any more, but I had no idea how really bad it is!

Talcum Powder: The Hidden Dangers

Pretty scary stuff!  The article mentions corn starch as a homemade alternative.  That doesn't sound as soft and pretty as the stuff my grandmother had.  Maybe it wasn't "the stuff" that intrigued me.  MAYBE it was


"the PUFF!"

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Now that's what I'm talkin' about!  Just put together Cornstarch + a few drops of lemon or rose essential oil + The Puff and we might be onto something!   Yep, I think it's really all about the puff.  Very feminine, very pampering.

(Off to order a puff.  A big, pink puff.)

the Value of Money--Part 3 of 3

This is the final post about Irma and her daughter Connie. (You can read Part 1 and Part 2 by clicking the links.)

That fall and winter she looked better-dressed on less money than she ever had. Our advice, formerly unwanted and viewed as nagging, was now not only accepted but sought. She took a healthy pride both in the responsibility she had been given and in her own excellent record in handling it.

Along toward Christmas we reaped another totally unexpected dividend from our investment in independence. up to that time, clothes had been considered definitely second-rate gifts. They were things you got anyway. But that year's Christmas list included twin sweaters, a sports shirt, and a pair of western-style pajamas instead of the usual knickknacks.

Her father and I have found that our own attitude has improved as much as Connie's. We look to her now as a person with good sense, able to understand a definite limit and operate freely within it. We no longer feel our generosity was a dangerous precedent. We realize, of course, that with rising prices and Connie's forthcoming need for such items as formal evening dresses, we'll have to step up her allowance to meet the situation. But the basic idea certainly works for us, and I'd recommend trying it with any teen-age girl. The amount, naturally, depends on whatever you consider suitable. But you can't lose anything except the original investment--and I'll bet you won't lose that.

THE END

I didn't want to comment throughout the article as I thought that would be distracting.  I thought it could speak for itself.  I don't have any teenage or otherwise daughters, but I certainly will use this info as a model for teaching responsibility with money to my son.  In fact, we've been working on this with him for about 3 months now.  I may do a post about that as I'm finding the same types of shining maturity that Irma did.

Are/did any of you work with your child(ren) about money in the manner of this article? Did you have a different way of teaching financial responsibility?  I would like to hear it as we're at that point in our child-rearing journey.  We're going to raise a boy who can manage his money!

Vintage Hygiene: Hair

This is the third post in my Vintage Hygiene series. (Click HERE for the first post and HERE for the second.)

Hair care has changed so much in just my lifetime. When I was born, the popular styles involved lots of teasing and hairspray.  A woman always had a "standing" appointment with the hairdresser who would shampoo and set the hair for the rest of the week. I remember my mother doing that and sleeping on a satin pillowcase to keep the style intact. 

When I was a kid/preteen, the styles changed to parted in the middle and straight. That worked out well for me! There was ONE perm situation when I was in 7th grade that I'd just as soon forget, though. My mother hated my "long, stringy hair" as she so nicely put it.  The humiliation I endured in my homeroom class the next day is with me to this day.  I thought I was off perms forever after that.

THEN came the 80s and early 90s--the era of serious perm-dom. I embraced the perm again, for several years.  About 15 years ago I got tired of all the fuss and went back to my naturally straight hair. I cut my own hair and I make it look as decent as I can, but I'm starting to get bored with it.

A year or so ago, I started reminiscing about how women used to work on their hair to try to achieve a certain style. I came across a blog called Bobby Pin Blog where a wonderful lady named Lauren specializes in vintage hairstyles. She even wrote a book (click the source link to see the information):

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I've owned that book for a while now. Every few months I get out my hot curlers and attempt one of the hairstyles. So far they haven't come out quite as they should, but it's fun to try.

Speaking of hot curlers, Lauren found a set on Ebay back in 2010 that was EXACTLY like my sister's. My sister is 10 years older than I am. She graduated in 1972 and she STILL uses the same set of hot rollers she bought as a teenager. Here's a picture of the case:

And the inside:

Have any of you tried a vintage hairstyle? Have any of you seen a hairstyle that you used to wear "back in the day" and you're a little miffed that it gets the name "vintage?" (HA!)

Personally, I would LOVE to be able to have Samantha's hairstyle from the first season of Bewitched. I know she got it with hot rollers because in one episode she was wearing the rollers.  In the scene you could actually see the front and back of the roller formation.  I kept pausing to try to see the way she rolled it. I tried it out. I did not succeed. The one word that came to mind was "FRIZZ!" I still want to make it happen, though. Maybe one day! 

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The Value of Money--Part 2 of 3

In last week's post (click HERE), Irma and her husband were having issues with their daughter Connie.  She was treating them like a money tree when it came to her clothes-buying habits.  They were at the end of their wits when they decided to analyze the situation and come up with a solution that they hoped would change Connie's perceptions.  Read on:

[Connie] needed to see her clothes outlay in relation to the family budget.  She needed to think of the various items in terms of suitability and continued wear.  Instead of which, she chose on impulse, and about a third of the time the item so loved in the store hung unused in her closet at home.  (Yep, just like the mall girl I mentioned.)

We decided to try turning the entire problem over to her.  We'd invest one hundred dollars in a bank account for her and let her spend it the way she wished.  The money would have to last from late September through January, and if she ran through it sooner, she'd have to struggle along with what clothes she had.  All we asked was that she keep a record of her expenditures.

Connie had a pretty decent wardrobe to start with, but she would need replacements and occasional small luxuries, perhaps a dress and a blouse or two.  Coats were not to be included--we weren't quite ready to turn her loose with such an important purchase.

We told her about our decision when school started in the fall. She was just fourteen that month.  Her eyes widened in awe at the vastness of the sum entrusted to her care.  She was thrilled with anticipation, and eager to start right in on the new project.  We had uneasy visions of the bank account's vanishing in the first two weeks.

It didn't.  It actually lasted past the appointed time.  And it did an incredible lot of good for the whole family.  The change in Connie's attitude was so dramatic as to be almost funny.  She turned, practically overnight, into a demon shopper who compared prices and quality with astonishingly good judgment.

I was invited to go with her on her first shopping expedition.  We spent many hours, but she bought nothing but a tweed skirt for seven ninety-five.  It would be fine for school, she decided, because it had flecks of color that would be a cover-up for inevitable smudges.

On later shopping trips, she proved just as sensible.  She bought only nylon socks, even though they cost more, because they lasted longer.  She concentrated on blouses and skirts instead of dresses, because they afforded more variety.  She began, and kept up, an account book that was excellent budget training.  By the end of six months, it also provided a bird's-eye view of which purchases had been worthwhile and which had been foolish extravagances.  Connie couldn't ignore those five-dollar white-fur mittens by burying them in a drawer, when they stared at her every time she opened her account book.

Next week: The Ultimate Results.

Vintage Hygiene: Face

"To be beautiful and natural is the birthright of every woman." ~ Constance Bennett, 1937

This post is part two of four.  The first post can be seen HERE.  This week's topic is skincare for your face.  I'm definitely not one who has flawless skin.  FAR from it.  I have second stage Rosacea, which means that I'm 48 and still break out!  It's not actually acne like the teenage years, so it doesn't respond to normal care.  It is definitely frustrating.  On top of that, my skin is very dry.  If I try to exfoliate, my skin gets bright red and is painful.  Fun, fun, fun.

I know that the biggest factor that I could change to improve the condition of my skin is to completely stop eating sugar and instead fill up on whole foods, especially veggies.  Also, water, lots of water.  I'm working on that.

Meanwhile, I've actually been using a product that was invented 150 years ago:  Pond's Cold Cream.  I love it!  I use it to remove my makeup at night.  After I remove all the residue, I put on a another thin layer for the night during the winter.  I don't need the extra layer in the summer. 

My favorite vintage tip for my morning routine came from the Vintage Notions book.  The advice is to use COLD water to splash on your face.  After that, dab up the excess water but leave some.  Then, take a little of the cold cream and smooth it around, letting it soak in before applying makeup.  I've seen a major difference in the smoothness.  Winter is still a challenge, so I'm working on the food and water to aid that!

For fun I came across a You Tube video from 1937.  Constance Bennett goes through her morning routine after waking up in a bed that I am now coveting.  Her maid is a pest, though.  I wasn't quite sure WHAT Constance would do if she bothered her one more time!

Oh, and if you're lazy like I am and wear powder "rouge," don't be offended.  Maybe she's right and we should try cream rouge?  Constance would know.

Next Week: Vintage Tips for the Hair

The Value of Money--Part 1 of 3

I went shopping for clothes last week. With all the clearance sales and coupons for even more money off, I figured it would be productive. I was right! I did really well and I've got several mix and match basics for rock-bottom prices.

In one store, I was standing in line behind a high school/college age girl. The cashier commented on the party dress she was buying. The girl said, "Oh, I thought it was pretty. I usually do that. I buy something because it's pretty, wear it one time and then it just sits in my closet. Sometimes I give it to a friend." I peeked at the price on the dress. It was "marked down" to $50. In a bag at my feet was what I found at another store. It was filled with clothes for my son. I had paid $56 for the clothes. Know what I got? Five turtlenecks for this/next winter in basic colors, five more turtlenecks for the winter after that, one sweater for this/next winter, two for the third winter, and a long-sleeved rugby striped shirt for this/next winter. For $56.

So, I was looking through one of my vintage magazines and came across an article about parents who were teaching their daughter to be wise with money, especially when it came to clothes. Though this isn't "series" day (that's tomorrow!), I'm going to split up the article into three parts so that you can read it, too.

Maybe someone of the younger set (maybe the girl at the mall?) will come across my posts and see something to inspire them to be wiser about their money.. I hope so!

Experiment in Responsibility by Irma Simonton Black
from Woman's Day, November, 1952

I suppose every parent is touched and pleased when his youngster exhibits signs of dawning adolescence--the small pin worn by a twelve-year-old girl hitherto scornful of ornament; the slicked-back hair of a boy who, a few months before, had to be examined around the ears for cleanliness.

But there's one place it's likely to hurt--the pocketbook. This is especially true with girls. Our daughter developed a high, wide, and handsome approach to clothes buying that, at times, left us wishing for the careless youngster whose favorite costume had been a western shirt and a pair of faded jeans. And she shared this trait with all her friends.

The loafers, for instance. Why, everyone wore loafers! A loaferless thirteen-year-old, according to connie, was in danger of social ostracism. We pointed out that her feet were narrow at the heel and that loafers would slip. We said they weren't good for everyday shoes. Connie got the loafers. They slipped at the heel and hurt her feet. but another variety would probably be more comfortable, she said. Her friend Ginny had a pair that she loved. At this point, her father and I put a collective foot down, although we were considered a pair of stonyhearted old fuddy-duddies.

Then there was the rosy-pink dress, seen and loved at first signt on a routine shopping trip for socks. THe dialogue went something like this:

"Oh, Mother, look! It's just what I need for Linda's party!"

She did need a dress. But she didn't need this one. I looked at the price tag and gulped. "But, Connie," I protested, "it's more than I had planned to pay for a dress at this time of year. In a few weeks you won't be able to wear wool. And this would need frequent cleaning, so it wouldn't be practical for school."

"Just let me try it on, please, Mother," Connie pleaded. "I don't have to get it just because I try it on."

We retired to the dressing room with a saleslady in tow. Need I tell the result?

The new dress looked adorable, and Connie's devotion to it lasted. But it returned from every outing with a spot and spent most of the early spring and the following fall at the cleaner's. The cleaning bills just about tripled the cost of the dress.

My husband and I surveyed the next years with dismay. Connie was just starting. What would she be like by the time she was sixteen? We hated the prospect of constant bickering and admonitions, but we certainly didn't intend to fall into the opposite mistake of letting Connie think she was the pampered darling of a couple of millionaires.

(What will Irma and her husband do? Will Connie become the great-grandmother of the girl that I saw in the mall? Tune in next week!)

Vintage Hygiene: Hands

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There are four areas that receive our regular attention, our daily ablutions.  They are: Hands, Face, Hair, and Body.   Well, they are four areas that SHOULD receive proper attention!

This post is one of four in which I will share vintage advice regarding these areas.  This was prompted by my walk down the aisles of the makeup and toiletries department of Walmart recently.  There. Were. Too. Many. Choices!  It made me want to run away.  I bought an eyeliner and a bottle of makeup because I was out of both, but then I was out of there!

In the past it was harder for the companies to promote their products than it is now.  The choices were limited.  In fact, in one of my cookbooks from the late 70s, there is a picture of a pantry with labels of blank construction paper on the cans!  Now when I go shopping, I feel overwhelmed and, frankly, annoyed.

When I saw an article from 1920 in the Vintage Notions book about care of hands, I thought it was refreshing and informative:

1. Try to feel pride in hands.  A woman's hands are an expression of herself...they say..., "I am strong and useful and you can depend on me," [and] she has reason to be proud of them.
2. Gloves are your friend: rubber gloves for hot water, work gloves for rough things, warm gloves for winter.
3. To wash hands:  use warm, not hot water and soften with a pinch of borax.  (Really?  I'll have to look into that.)
4. Apply soothing lotion after washing.  (The book recommends using almond or olive oil, glycerin with lemon juice, or glycerin with rose water.)
5. Using an orange stick wrapped with cotton, dip in cuticle remover and run around the base of and underneath the nails, pushing the cuticle back and cleansing.  Then rub on a little Vaseline to make them smooth and shiny.

Vintage Notions, page 26 and 75



I love that the first thing mentioned by the author is seeing our hands as something we need to care for because we depend so much on them.  I also laughed about the gloves.  I am the WORST about wearing none of the gloves mentioned.  I have them, I just don't wear them!

I think I will fill bottles with some olive oil laced with lavender essential oil and put one at each sink.  That sounds so soothing to my winter chapped hands.  (I know, they wouldn't be that way if I would wear gloves!)

Next week: Vintage tips for the face.

Vintage Advice: Clothes

Amazon link

Back in the summer, I mentioned a book that I was reading called Vintage Notions by Amy Barickman.  (You can read my review HERE.)  I recently came across the notebook in which I made notes from the book.  There was a veritable treasure of inspiration and information in the book, which is a collection of articles from the 1920s.  I decided that writing down those things that impacted me would help me remember them.

This week I decided to go through ALL of my clothes with a critical eye and pull together a real wardrobe for myself.  All the ill-fitting, faded, stained, and never worn items are going out, I say!  I'm a little fearful that there will be nothings left, but I will cross that bridge when I get there.

On page 18 of Vintage Notions, the author of the original 1920 article gave some guidelines regarding clothing choices.  I summarized them in bullet fashion in my notebook and thought someone else might find them useful.  As I said in my review, this book definitely earned its way into my permanent collection.  I recommend it highly for those who enjoy the wisdom and the nostalgia of vintage times.

• Buy wisely, and unless you have a definite use for an article, do not buy it.
• Be slim by being trim.
• Be attractive by being immaculate.
• One of the greatest virtues of the right clothes, rightly worn, is that they enable us to forget them and ourselves.
• When they are right enough for us to do this, we become our most likable and natural selves and, even if your features are not perfect nor perfectly assembled...[one day someone may whisper], "What a charming woman!"

With those thoughts in mind, I will look at my wardrobe carefully, find each useful piece, make sure it is (or by careful cleaning or mending) in excellent condition.  I love the word "immaculate."  That sounds crisp and fragrantly clean. 

I will try my best to make sure that the clothes I keep are not only "immaculate," but also fit well enough that I really don't have to fidget with them.  I HATE that.

Finally, I desire to go for the level of "charming" mentioned in the article.  I even looked it up to make sure I knew exactly what I was working toward:

• Extremely pleasing or delightful.  Merriam-Webster

Hopefully not too tall of an order for me.  I will do my best. 

Book Recommendation: "Vintage Notions"

(Click on the picture to go the Amazon info.)

At the library today I came across this lovely book. I was intrigued by the title--especially the secondary title which is "An Inspirational Guide to Needlework, Cooking, Sewing, Fashion, and Fun."

In thumbing through it I found that is a collection of articles written in the 1920s by a woman named Mary Brooks Picken. She began something called The Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences and wrote a textbook called The One-Hour Dress and How to Make It (a bestseller) and Thimblefuls of Friendliness which is a collection of Mary's wisdom and philosophy of life. Show wrote another 100 or so books on all the domestic arts as well.

This book is a collection of the best of Mary's work. It is arranged as a yearbook and is absolutely delightful. It may have to be added to my collection at some point. (I'll return this one to the library, of course!)

My interest grew after the introduction and I was completely hooked when I read a poem (written by Mary?) that espoused my philosophy of the importance of being a homemaker:

"Isn't it strange that Princes and Kings
And clowns that caper in sawdust rings,
And just plain folk like you and me,
Are builders for Eternity?
To each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass and a book of rules;
And each must make ere life is flow,
A stumbling block or a stepping stone?"

It just gets better after that! Please check your library and see if they own a copy. Perhaps it will be the same inspiration to you that it is becoming to me.

Decorum and Privacy--From 1946

When standing about in conversation, do you worry about where you should place your hands so that you look poised and confident? Should they go in the pockets? HEAVENS, No! How about behind your back a la Jo March (2 points if you can name the book reference!)? Unladylike, of course.

Well, if you've been stumped about this issue, I have help for you! Click on the picture below and all will be well:

If you were a teenage girl in the 40s, you might have had trouble with family members not respecting your space. (I still have trouble getting my 9yo not to follow me into the bathroom.) According to this excerpt from the July, 1946 issue of Woman's Day, it's all about mutual ("Mutual I'm sure!"--Name the movie referenced for another 2 points!) respect for one another's dignity:

A little privacy--a letter for just you and a place to experiment with the leg paint in--is something others have and you don't. Families are possessed of a very juicy curiosity about everything you do...No sooner do you stack your legs against the wall to improve the circulation, than someone bounds through the closed door and knocks herself out with gags about whether you're doing this to clear the brain or the skin that covers it. It's not that families are prying, although the brat stage is--it's just that they can't help being interested in what goes on in your life. Nor can they squash being funny about it. Certainly we, and probably you, are not above airy comments on our sister's dates. By and large this give and take is a very healthy affair. At the same time everybody in the club is entitled to privacy. It has something to do with respecting a person's dignity.

As soon as I've finished writing this post, I am SO going to go and stack my legs against the wall to increase my circulation! I'll skip the leg paint, though...

I have such a small family that privacy isn't really an issue. It just sort of naturally occurs (except for the bathroom company). I do think it's important to make some effort for DELIBERATE privacy. I don't mean "me time," per se, but rather a time to withdraw for a short while with requested (announced) lack of interruption to be able to refocus and think about all that we have to be grateful for and need to be ready to do. Think about your family, your circumstances, your responsibilities. Pray about them. Hear and obey the voice of the Father so that you can do what you're supposed to be doing, and do it well.

If you want to stack your legs while you're doing that, go for it!