Vintage Treasures

As Lori mentioned on her blog we went to an auction last Wednesday. The wood panel fencing and chain link dog run I had intended to buy were rapidly bid up higher than I cared to pay. I was free to be frivolous!

I bought many more treasures than Lori did, I am weak willed that way. Show and tell for most of those another time and toast for breakfast and lunch all April I am afraid...

My tiny house has a tiny porch and I will confess I have been having (tiny) thoughts about a rocking chair. To my delight there was a very nice little old solid wood rocker at the sale and it came home with me. I also bought an old cream painted iron double bed, some vintage cotton damask table cloths, embroidered and appliqued sheets, and of course, quilts.


Strangely, this quilt is my favorite. It makes the point that something does not have to be complicated, or difficult to make, to be beautiful.

A piece of floral approximately 31" x 41" was surrounded by a mint green border 6-1/2" wide. There is no binding, the edges were carefully turned in and hand stitched with a double row of top stitching.


The quilting is all hand done, tiny even stitches about 14 to the inch. The center is simple cross hatching or diamonds, the border is a leafy vine.

This may sound weird but to me this quilt almost resonates with love. I can imagine the maker thinking about her grandchild as she stitched, no way of knowing what you were going to get in those days.

The edges are a little worn and as I intend to use it I will probably add bias binding if I can find the right faded floral, no use trying to match the green.

Y'all come back!

You Can Never Have Too Many Roses

Lori, her husband and I went to Mitchell on Monday and we had supper at Marlins. Marlins is a truck stop and they have a very good cafe.

Monday is half price burger night, I found it quite unbelievable that we all three ate for less than $20, and we were too full to clean our plates. I should point out I have very hearty appetite! If you are passing through Mitchell and like down home fare you will not go wrong eating there.

After supper we went shopping. I have been surprised at how many small things I take for granted at home and use daily that I just do not have here. For example a pencil sharpener.

The mats shown above have to be the ultimate bargain buy. Would you believe less than $2 each? Indoor outdoor, 24" x 36", Made in the USA and covered in pink and yellow roses!

As you can see I bought two, although I didn't realize they were different until I got them home, not that it matters. One is a Berber like texture and the other felt looking. I got one for my back porch door because Boysie tracks in a lot of 'stuff' and one for the bathroom, in front of the sink, soft and cushy for my feet and a lot warmer than the linoleum, prettier too.

On Tuesday we took an evening road trip to Orchard, Nebraska to sew with the Library Ladies.

Orchard is about 100 miles away and it is a neat little town. The local Historical Society has restored the old movie theater and moved in an old Schoolhouse next door which appears to be a museum complete with the smallest desk and chair sets you have ever seen. I guess there were no fat kids on the prairie in those days. The original Newspaper building is close by.

Not a lot of sewing got done on my part, well, none actually, but I did finally get to meet Quiltin' Library Lady and and her awesome group. It was just as unseasonably warm in NE as it has been here, we stood around outside and chatted for ages afterwards. Fun trip.


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A Pretty Rag Rug

A couple of years ago I blogged about making rag rugs.

This is the kind I make, strictly utilitarian from pieces of my husband's worn out jeans. Click the small one to get the bigger one.



My original inspiration came from some rag rugs I bought here in South Dakota at an auction. Those rugs were made from pieces of knit polyester, the fabric we all wore forty years ago. This particular multicolored rug is probably my favorite and is in my kitchen.



It is backed with a piece of lightweight denim and a look at the back shows how she made it.



Rows are approximately one half inch apart and she cut her squares at 2". The polyester knit does not ravel and washes like the old advertisements claimed, "easy care, wash and wear".

To people who have grown up with "treasures" like this they are no big deal but I am lost in admiration at the skill and imagination of the country women who found time to make things like this.

What do you think?

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Joy is a Big Stick

The move to South Dakota has been hard on the little guy in many ways. Click to enlarge image.

Boysie was born in nice warm Hawaii and lived all his life in a fairly isolated spot. He misses his kitty friends and his Daddy. There is no way to tell him it is not forever.

Now he lives in a little house in the middle of town, strangers walk and drive past his house all the time and he is not allowed to bark at them. To add insult to injury there is all this nasty white stuff on the ground and it is cold.

Today we found a big stick.

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The Plumber

Today Mr Winter came to fix a list of small problems which had been ignored by the last tenant. Mr Winter is the world's nicest plumber. I say so and so does Janet. We can't both be wrong.

Mr Winter is in his mid eighties and has been in the trade for 60 years. As he came in he remarked that he hadn't been in this house for years. After that many years he has probably been in most houses in this little town.

I am always interested in history and with a little encouragement he told me his brother had installed the indoor plumbing for "an old maid" who lived here in 1947. Mr Winter was still in high school and helped with the remodel.

As I had suspected, this house was not built with an indoor bathroom. Back in the day you used the outhouse in the back yard for the necessary and baths were taken in a tin tub in the kitchen. The back bedroom was cannibalized to put a bathroom in.

How happy that lady must have been her first winter with indoor plumbing!

Y'all come back!