Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday. If you have a love for vintage things, well....you have come to the right place. We have a "dog-gone" good time each and every week!!!
If you are new to this party, please take the time to
read and follow the instructions for participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday, click HERE. I try and keep things fairly simple, so please make sure you follow the instructions. Please only ONE link per week. Lastly, if you link in, LINK back to my blog, so everyone can see all of the vintage goodies being showed that day. If you don't link back here, they won't know who to visit......thanks so much.

Reminder: No post for me this week. I hope to be back next week....refreshed!



Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday. If you have a love for vintage things, well....you have come to the right place. We have a "dog-gone" good time each and every week!!!
If you are new to this party, please take the time to
read and follow the instructions for participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday, click HERE. I try and keep things fairly simple, so please make sure you follow the instructions. Please only ONE link per week. Lastly, if you link in, LINK back to my blog, so everyone can see all of the vintage goodies being showed that day. If you don't link back here, they won't know who to visit......thanks so much.

Reminder: No post for me this week. Scroll down to see previous post about my break.



Monday, August 16, 2010

I always said I'd never do this......but I am doing it.

After two years...I have decided I need to take a break, as hard as that is to admit. I may take a week, it may be two.....but it is much needed. I have a lot going on in my life right now and I need to focus on those things.

I will have a link up for Vintage Thingies Thursday even in my absence so you can all link in and still play along. I however, will not be posting anything during this short break.

I know I promised to follow up on my transformation projects...those will be the first things I pick up with after my break. I will miss you guys, but it is a must on my end.

I will see you soon.....

Friday, August 13, 2010

A Recap Of A Busy Week....

To recap this week, I decided to do a post about what has been going on around here so when things do slow down, I'll be able to look back and remember what fun I have been having this summer......while I sip sweet tea and catch up on a movie or two.

Somewhere in the midst of everything there has been lots of packing....and boxing things up....not my treasures mind you, my daughters.....and guess what??? The son's stuff will be transferred into boxes next......

I won't mention how I feel about any of that......it is really best that I don't.

I totally scored with this FREE bar stool from Craigslist........wait till you see what it looks like now......

Score again....this $5.00 end table from Goodwill......wait till you see what it looks like now.......


 
This was the slam dunk for sure.....$45.00 from Goodwill. Had the mirror too, but the re-do did not involve the mirror. WAIT till you see what this looks like now...........

I may or may not have inadvertently inhaled way too many of these fumes along the way this week......remember, always use in well ventilated areas......cans should warn that in 100 plus degree temperatures in the back yard with no breeze is really not a well ventilated area.....just sayin'

This Van Gogh print was another Goodwill find. It had a great wooden gold frame, (old lady gold) and it soon met with a can of spray paint and sealer. Beautiful print in a much more updated frame for only $8.00. I wonder what Van Gogh would have thought about covering up the (old lady gold) frame with black paint....at least it fits more in the decor of a super urban chic girl.

In the midst of all the goings on, I may or may not have had to trail behind the smallest members of our household when they took it upon themselves to break open the dog food sacks and help themselves. Notice Sophie licking her lips....ahem......and no, they were not hungry....they are very well fed. Sophie would eat until she popped....literally.

She even had the nerve to try and haul away the evidence..........

This sweet girl had no part of those shenanigans....she ran as fast as her little legs could go to warn me of the naughtiness going on in the back yard......and if you believe that one....well, you will also believe all these projects were completed without a little mishap along the way.......next week.....I'll show you the results and the process of each of these transformations.

Have a great weekend....we will be headed southbound I35 to Austin on Saturday......our second job kicks in...."Mom and Pop Moving Company" you know the ones with the slogan....."we haul and carry heavy stuff for free"  and in case you are wondering....we need good strong help, apply in the comments section!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Vintage Thingie Thursday : ....And a Oink, Oink Here.......

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday. If you have a love for vintage things, well....you have come to the right place. We have a "dog-gone" good time each and every week!!!
If you are new to this party, please take the time to
read and follow the instructions for participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday, click HERE. I try and keep things fairly simple, so please make sure you follow the instructions. Please only ONE link per week. Lastly, if you link in, LINK back to my blog, so everyone can see all of the vintage goodies being showed that day. If you don't link back here, they won't know who to visit......thanks so much.

Let me first off state for the record, I DO NOT collect pigs!!! Even if we all know that three or more of something does constitute a collection, I DO NOT collect pigs. It just seems I have a few that live in my house and I enjoy very much.

I have had these little salt and pepper shakers for a long time.I found them at an estate sale a few years back and think I might have paid around $3.00 for them.

This little pig pitcher was one of the first pigs I think I ever purchased. I found him in a  clearance booth at a local antique mall in Ft. Worth well over 10 years ago. I thought he was so cute.

This is a very special cookie jar to me. It belonged to a family member's mother and I was thrilled when I was the lucky recipient of this great little pig. He is very old, and full of charm.

There is lots of crazing on this cookie jar and chippy paint and some of the glaze has worn off in some places. He is VERY heavy, and I don't use him for fear of damaging him further, but I do enjoy him very much and he is a special piece.

This is another salt and pepper set that I found at an estate sale. I loved the soft pink colors on these little pigs.

These two little musical pigs were Goodwill finds. I think one of the pigs is missing his instrument, but they were cute and stamped Japan on the bottom. I knew they were old, so they came home with me for a whole 50 cents.

I honestly, can not remember where this pig came from.....my memory fails me. This little guy is a bank. A very old bank. No stopper on the bottom of this guy. My daughter has a large collection of pigs, and at first I thought this might be one of hers, but I don't think so, I must have picked this one up somewhere on my treasure hunting.

The back side has a cute little curly-Q tail and it is stamped on the bottom "made in Japan"

Hope you enjoyed my "not a collection" of pigs today. I had not idea until I started looking for something to post about today I had so many......imagine that! Have a great weekend everyone....it will be a busy one here. Lots to do and not enough time to do it in....ever have one of those weekends???

Thanks for stopping by today and linking in to Vintage Thingie Thursday!!! See ya' next week for more vintage goodies!!


Monday, August 9, 2010

Decisions.......

photo from flicker
.....each one no matter how large or small leaves a footprint on our lives. Sometimes it's like a small indention in the sand...other times it is like a sinking hole in the mud.

photo from flicker
Some folks learn rather quickly that swift decision making will land them in the mud again...so they tread on light ground. Others seem to spend their whole lives stuck digging mud out from the soles of their shoes due to bad decision making.....stuck, never moving forward.

Today, I am trying to figure out where I land in this landscape of life....some days it sure feels like a muddy mess.....other days.....a beautiful sandy beach.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Dear Friends.....Pray for Bo from Blinks 'N Winks From Brown-eyes

When God Speaks....we should all listen. That is the lesson here today and I wanted to share that with you.

Our sweet friend, Bo from Blinks 'N Winks from Brown-eyes did just that a little over a year ago. We were all shocked when Bo made an abrupt exit from Blogland....we have missed her....but she is so very thankful that she heard God's voice and listened. The real gift in listening...was more precious time with her love.....Sonny.

It is with a heavy heart that I let you know that this past week, on Thursday morning, Bo discovered her wonderful husband of 41 years passed away in his sleep, leaving her and this life. It was a shock, he was doing well....no warning.

Many of Bo's friends I know share in this great loss and sadness with Bo and if you would, remember Bo in your prayers during this difficult time.

Bo's husband, Sonny was one of the sweetest souls I have had the pleasure to meet. He welcomed my husband and I into their home and we felt instantly we had known him forever. A avid gardener and what a thrill it was for him to share his love of gardening with me on a tour of his yard. I will never see an azalea plant blooming that I won't think of Sonny from now on. This world will miss "Sunny" he was like a ray of sunshine.

If you would like to send a card or note to Bo, you can mail it directly to me and I will get them to her, as I am not sure I should put her address online....I hope Bo does not mind me sharing this sad news with you all today, I know you love Bo as much as I do and want to be able to pray for her and let her know you care.

The lesson is simple....said by Bo herself....."it is only a reminder to treasure every moment that you two share on this earth" .....because you just never know.

Cards can be sent to: Bonita Allen, c/o Suzanne Melkoski, 729 Winnie St. Ft. Worth, Tx 76112

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Vintage Thingie Thursday : Vintage Feedsacks

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday. If you have a love for vintage things, well....you have come to the right place. We have a "dog-gone" good time each and every week!!!
If you are new to this party, please take the time to
read and follow the instructions for participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday, click HERE. I try and keep things fairly simple, so please make sure you follow the instructions. Please only ONE link per week. Lastly, if you link in, LINK back to my blog, so everyone can see all of the vintage goodies being showed that day. If you don't link back here, they won't know who to visit......thanks so much.

This week I want to show you a couple of feedsacks I found some time back. The thing about these two feedsacks were the fact they still had the original labels attached. I love the fact that the paper labels were still there. These were not one of my thrift-ed bargains....but sometimes the items warrant a little more spending than normal.

I love the yellow with the blue bachelor button flowers. Both sacks are so cheery and I was surprised by the overall size of these when I first found them. Oh, how I wish I would have seen the day when grains, rice, flour and sugars were sold in pretty fabric bags....I think they should bring that practice back to present day!!

I found this poem on line and thought it fitting to add to this post..and no, I don't recall ever wearing feed sack underpants....and isn't that so sad....to have missed that error in time by a few short years.

The Flour Sack - A Poem

When I was just a maiden fair,
Mama made our underwear;
With many kids and Dad's poor pay,
We had no fancy lingerie.
Monograms and fancy stitches
Did not adorn our Sunday britches;
Pantywaists that stood the test
Had 'Gold Medal' on my breast.
No lace or ruffles to enhance
Just 'Pride of Bloomington' on my pants.
One pair of panties beat them all,
For it had a scene I still recall-
Harvesters were gleaning wheat
Right across my little seat.
Rougher than a grizzly bear
Was my flour sack underwear.
Plain, not fancy and two feet wide
And tougher than a hippo's hide.
All through Depression each Jill and Jack
Wore the sturdy garb of sack.
Waste not, want not, we soon learned
That a penny saved is a penny earned.
There were curtains and tea towels too,
And that is just to name a few,
But the best beyond compare
Was my flour sack underwear.
~author unknown


I found this information on line about feedsacks and thought it was interesting so I thought I'd include it in this post.

.....The thrifty farm wife quickly discovered that this cotton bag was a great source of utilitarian fabric to be used for dish cloths, diapers, nightgowns and other household uses. Manufacturers decided to take advantage of this and started offering sacks in various prints and solid colors as a marketing ploy to create loyalty. It would take three identical sacks to make a dress, for example, and the farmer just might be induced to buy more that way.
It was not hard for the farmer to purchase his goods in feedsacks. The flour industry consumed the largest share of the feedsack market with more than 42 percent. Sugar was next with 17 percent followed by feed, seeds, rice, and fertilizer. These feedsacks came in different sizes, and the quality of the cloth varied with the item it carried. Sugar sacks, for example, were much finer in weave. By 1914, sacks came in 10, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 pound sizes, although these sizes varied by manufacturer. President Roosevelt standardized sizes in 1937. A 50 pound feedsack measured 34 x 38 inches. A 100 pound sack measured 39 x 46.

I have been to several flea markets where the vender claims the swatches are actual feedsacks. The paper labels were easily removed from a feedsack and even with older ones the label has often been removed. So how do you know for sure you are buying an authentic feedsack. The weave of the fabric is not a good indicator as fabric like this could also be bought off the bolt as well back then.

The best indicator is a line of holes from the chain stitching that once held the sack together. And if you look at this one, it is not straight at all...in fact, both of these sacks had the most crooked stitching I had ever seen at the top of the sack.

This shows a sample of the chain stitching....

I don't know what I am going to do with these, I really don't see myself cutting them up....we'll have to see. One thing I did notice is the quality and weave of the fabrics used in these sacks. I can say this much, there is no comparison to the high quality $10.00 to $15.00 a yard fabric we find today in the quilt shops. Far from it. And imagine, this free with purchase sack made of fabric made wonderful quilts that are so treasured today by many. All the worries of fading, rotting, not holding up for generations to enjoy don't seem to apply to these feed sacks used by quilters from yesterday....and they were free. I can not help by wonder about the hype around fabrics sold at quilt shops...sorry....but true! If we could purchase our things in feedsacks now a days, I'd never step foot in a quilt shop for fabrics again...I'd shop my local market or feed store.....just sayin'.

Happy Vintage Thingies Thursday everyone!! I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead filled with love and laughter.



Monday, August 2, 2010

Cleaning Vintage Linens and Quilts Tutorial

I have had several emails and comments wanting instructions on cleaning vintage linens and quilts. Because if that, I am going to repost and update my original post on cleaning vintage linens here today.

I have cleaned hundreds of linens using this method and I'd say 90% of the time, they turn out good as new. There have unfortunately been a few times when I have damaged some of the original cloth in old dresser scarves due to the fact that the piece had been folded for so many years that the fabrics were just too fragile at the fold lines and I did not realize that in time.

I did not trash these, as the work is still wonderful, I use these "accidental" pieces to maybe re-purpose them in the future. I'd say that this type of thing has happened maybe less than 5% of the time. So please, take what I have to share with you here and just be aware nothing is ever 100%.....but this is darn near!

 You will need: White Vinegar, Biz and Oxi-clean. (sometimes, I have a hard time finding the Biz, and have to check several stores to find it. My local grocer will order this if I ask, so keep that in mind if you have a hard time finding it near you.)

You will use:
Per gallon of water
1 scoop of Oxi-clean
1 scoop of Biz (Use the Oxi-clean scoop, not the scoop in the Biz) If you are mixing up 4 gallons of water, like I did here, you will need to use this recipe times 4 for it to be the correct mixture:

For example:
4 gallons of water
4 scoops of Oxi-Clean
4 scoops of Biz - using the Oxi-Clean scoop


In my original post, I was heating the water on the stove so it was very warm. I still do that if I am cleaning mostly WHITE linens.  I do not boil the water, I just heat it till it is hotter than from the tap. If I have several colored pieces, I just use the hot tap water. You can do this in the sink as well. Here I have them in a bucket.

My original post stated I usually soaked these for 24-48 hours. I have since stopped doing that. If the whites are really soiled and dirty, then yes, I do soak them up to 24 hours. But, I check on them and make sure they are not already clean and just sitting in the solution. I have found you really only need to soak these until they are clean.


For quilts......I run almost luke warm...NOT HOT water in the bathtub. Due to the colors in the quilts, I never use hot water. I add the soaps and usually mix it up times 5  for a half tub of water. (Pay no attention to the dirty tub....it was going to be cleaned, but decided to soak this quilt first...then clean) Yes, I sometimes have a dirty tub, with a son who works in a messy job some weeks, I don't get to it too quick.....just keepin it truthful! 

The colored water is the gunk being pulled from the fabrics. All that yellow discoloration you find in vintage linens...this is what is in the water. I usually let these quilts soak for maybe an hour or so. I check on it and if the water is REALLY dirty, I drain and repeat for about another half hour. Handle the quilt very gently.

This is a vintage apron I soaked in the sink. It washed up really well, with just a few spots that would not come out.

Once the quilt has soaked well, I rinse gently in the tub and hand wring. Then I wash it in the washer on gentle cycle with a very mild detergent. I add about a cup of vinegar to the rinse water and run it through the rinse cycle twice. The key is to get ALL the soaps out of the quilt and any vintage linens.


This is a picture of linens I had rinsed ( I thought well) before I added the vinegar, and once I added that,  you can see there was still soap in the fabrics.


And as always, I love to hang all my vintage quilts and linens out in the sun to dry. HERE is another quilt once it was cleaned. See the pretty white blocks? They were as yellow as yellow could be, it looked like the blocks were a sand color. Now, back to the original bright colors. This particular quilt once it was washed pulled a bit where the binding was sewn onto the quilt. I just restitched it by hand and it was as good as new. I have never had that happen with any other quilt, just this one and it was easily repaired. Once your quilt is dry, you can toss it in the dryer for a quick fluffing.

I hope that answers any questions you may have. If a piece has rust spots, this solution does not take the rust spots out...only the discolored yellow and most stains other than rust. There are rust removers you can purchase and I have been told that works well, but I have not tried it. For me, if I can get the piece back to the original white and bright colors, that is enough for me.

Good luck with this, and if you are as nervous and I was when I started using this solution, just start out with a small piece and work your way up to something larger, that is what I did. After I discovered I was not going to ruin my treasures, I tackled a quilt and it worked wonderfully.

I always use this same solution to soak and clean vintage sheets. I have a stack of vintage sheets waiting to be transformed into a quilt. The first thing I do when I bring them home is fill the tub and soak them before I wash them in the washer. Then line dry. They clean up so pretty I think and really makes them look fresh as new.

I guess you could say, I have a great love for vintage linens, but have a hard time bringing them home without cleaning them up right away. And when the process is as easy as this one....that makes it all the better!

I am linking in today with Smiling Sally, for Blue Monday...as I think it qualifies...lots of BLUE in this post!

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