Forty Years Gone By

I thought I would share a few more scans from one of my old McCall's Needlework and Crafts magazine. These pictures are from the Spring/Summer 1968 issue. Could anything be more fresh and new?

To enjoy more like this, visit this set in my Flick account.

Have a delightful weekend!

Spring Spruce-Up

Although this is what I should have been doing today.. working on this piece of tatted doll lace to fill an underpinnings order.. ..this is what I actually did do. Astonishing how much volume a small box of papers can be once it is shredded. But these things do need done once a year, and tax time seems to be it around here.
So between the noise of the paper shredder all morning, and the guy up on the roof working on the new gutters, I didn't really get much quilting, sewing or tatting done today. But this was one of my favorite sights. You have no idea how long I've been putting off getting these gutters done. Not something you really want to spend your money on.. but now that I did, I can't wait to have the job finished!
And one really bright and colorful spot, because I can't let you leave my blog without something pretty.. These came in the mail today. Ever since Pip over at Meet me at Mike's got us going on the vintage children's books, I just HAD to get a few more illustrated by Fern Bisel Peat.
There is one more coming as soon as my check clears. Peter Rabbit. These are the most wonderful treasures.. wish I could show you each and every page.

My Easter Treasure

Thank you for each and every lovely comment. So many nice folks in the world. I will return them all for sure.
So yesterday I think I told you that my camera card died. I had to run into town to get another one, because I'm not one who can blog without pictures, and I wanted to show you my Easter present. This is absolutely awesome, isn't it? I can't believe she is mine! Her name is Miss Bright, and she comes in a lovely little carrying case. But she is so pretty, and works so PERFCETLY.. I can't bear to put her back in the case. She is sure to produce many lovely things for me to share here.
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The man brought the materials for the new gutters today. I know it doesn't sound very exciting, but I am thrilled to the top. Happy happy day.

Spring Morning & Down Under

I'm hoping you all had a very lovely Easter weekend with your friends and family.
Saturday as I was walking around outside with the guy measuring for our new gutters, I noticed some little lovelies popping up out of the ground out in the front yard. Some tiny daffodils. There are also tulips and hyacinth in the rock bed, but they were not quite as pretty as these at the moment. I took a picture of them this morning. Then my camera card died. boo-hoo.
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And I worked some on my baby quilt. I know this must be really strange, but one of my favorite things about hand quilting is feeling the underside, and looking under the quilting frame at the bottom as I go. Maybe its because there are no marking lines and the only thing you can see is the actual quilting threads. Or maybe its how the little shapes just puff out so smooth and fluffy. I'm using a percale sheet for the back, and it is so soft and silky feeling.. I am just imagining a little baby sleeping under it with this buttery yellow fabric against her skin.
This is from down under looking up.

"Andy and the Lion"

Once again, thank you Pip for the delightful week of children's illustrations. Be sure to check out all the others who are playing at "Meet me at Mike's". I have been seeing many that bring back memories, and have had so much fun going through my own collection.

I'm not sure what day we are on, is it the last one? I think I'm a day behind most. Anyways, if there is one more day I would like to ask, does anyone have a book about a little girl who counts pockets? It was one of my very favorites when I was little, and I thought I kept it but I cannot find it anywhere. No idea the author or copyright, but it would have been from the 50's. It starts out by the little girl saying she can put her hand in her pocket. Then she meets a child on the sidewalk who brags that they have two pockets, and they have marbles in the. The next child they meet has three pockets, with more things in them. It ends up with Daddy having ten pockets, and candy for all of them. Probably no one has it, but I just thought I'd give it a try.

Here is the book I'm sharing for today. Copyright 1938.All of the pictures are on one side and the text on the other.

"It was a bright day with just enough wind to float a flag. Andy started down to the library to get a book about Lions. He took the book home and

read and read. Andy read all through supper. He read all evening. and just before bed time his grandfather told him some tall stories about hunting lions in Africa.

Andy dreamed all night long that he was in Africa hunting lions. When at last morning came

Andy woke up. The sun was looking in at the window and Prince was tugging at the bedclothes. The lions had left but Andy kept thinking about them.

Andy thought lions on the back porch and his father had to remind him to wash behind his ears."

Skipping a few pages. On his way walking to school, Andy meets up with a lion.. who we find out later had escaped from the circus. He pulls a thorn out of the lion's paw and they become friends.

Elementary Primers

Have you all heard of "Dick and Jane" readers or primers? I learned on them, and always thought they were wonderful story books to read to my children, even after they were not using them in the schools anymore. I still had mine from when I was little, and picked some up here and there from library sales along the way. Of course not all of them were about Dick and Jane.There was Ted & Sally, Jim &Judy, etc. But I think probably my favorites are the Grimm series with Tom and Betty. I thought they started with "My Little Red Story Book", "....Little Green...", "....Little Blue.." etc, then went on up to the Little White House and on.

Until one day I found this one for fifty cents at a library sale. It is in totally awesome condition, copyright 1923 (the year my mother was born so that is kinda special to me), and guess who is in there?
Yep! Tom & Betty. The illustrations are by Mabel Betsy Hill. The book was published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. I will have to read up on this a little more to see when it became Grimm. Unless someone out there knows and can enlighten me. :)
Some of you will definitely think these pictures are near creepiness... especially the talking bank. I only included the pictures with snippets of the text. But the whole story is very wonderful. If you want to read it, you can find it at the end, in my Flickr set called "books".

Happy First Day of Spring

This delightful card came in the mail for me yesterday. Just in time for the first day of spring here in the USA. Made by my talented and good friend Helen. Those little grinning bunnies are her original drawings. I think they are teriffic.

Baby Quilt in Progress

So the baby quilt top I was working on is finished. I pinned and basted it yesterday and have it in the frame. Hung it up first for the picture..(it looks crooked up there along the top, but I think it just wasn't tucked up right for the photo), and now it is ready for quilting. I'm just doing diagonal grids 1.5" apart. It should go fast. The binding is the dark patch fabric.. so it will look outlined. I am just imagining a little baby girl playing on top of it. :)

Book post coming later today. Thanks Nanette for mentioning me in your blog! Sweet.

Mother Goose

In case you are just tuning in, I'm playing a little blog game this week with some of the other fun folks who have collections of vintage children's literature. If you'd like to join, I think there is still time. Just go on over to "meet me at mikes" for the directions.
Today combines two of my favorites in one. Mother Goose and one of my very favorite artists Fern Bisel Peat. Her whimsical drawings have always fascinated me. I adore the expressions she puts into her characters. And don't you love the way she "draws" fabric? Lots of her pictures are filled with printed colorful calico.
This copy is from 1932.
Of course click on any picture to see them more clearly.

These Eleven Elephants are too funny.

Two Little Gardeners - Vintage Illustrations

This is my original Little Golden Book from 1951. I have never seen it recopied, (has anyone)?? I wanted to include the inside cover of the book, because I really love the old way they used to be. Mine has lost its back cover.. boo-hoo!
The first page was already shown yesterday, so I'll now get along with the story. Totally NOT all the pictures from the book. I only copied most of them -not all, and only put part of them here. But if you want to see the rest I have, you can do that by going to my Flickr set.
I think the reason I always liked this story so much was because I grew up in a family of six children with little money. We lived out of the garden, so this was just like our daily lives in the summertime.


I used to have nightmares about this creature. Go here for the rest.