Friday, August 30, 2013

Another Simplicity Dress From The 70's

Here's another dress from Simplicity, a blast from the past. I like doing this type of post, and I think I'll start doing them  more often.
This edition of Simplicity Fashion News is from 1971, and here you see an example of pattern number 9834 made up and modeled by a lovely young lady. Looks like maybe corduroy for the smock - a wonderful choice. I happen to love me some corduroy:

And here's the pattern itself, below: 

 I can picture a a young art teacher or kindergarten teacher wearing something like that.
 Pretty, cute, and practical.
And here's  pattern number 9843, for the outfit the little girl is wearing:
How sweet!

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Little Mistress Magpie

I found the cutest  pop-up books at a thrift shop, so I wanted to show you one of them today.
"Little Mistress Magpie", designed by L. Mayorova , translated by Tom Botting, and published by the "Malysh" Publishing House in the USSR. I could find no date, but they are definitely not brand-new:
The pages are either simple pop-ups, or they have moving parts.

You'll notice the slight differences before and after I have pulled the tabs on the examples below:






This next one may be my favorite:
Here you barely see the bunny peeking out:
 And  (below), now you do!
Colorful and cute, just the way a fun little children's book should be!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Once Upon a Time in Shingle Springs, California No. 1: The Shingle Mill

Good morning. Tina here. I am going to share the many photos I have gathered over the years of the now gone Shingle Mill, which once stood proudly in Shingle Springs. The town was named after this mill, which was run by horsepower and produced thousands of wood shingles, which were then shipped to Sacramento.
This is how I first remember it, standing close along the highway, and still accessible to curious explorers.
 Fencing helped keep it safe from souvenir seekers, but nothing kept it safe from time.
This is the only photo I have found showing the upstairs balcony.
 So many gold rush buildings were lost to fires.
 The old stone buildings have hung in there, sometimes.
I wish this one had. Over the years it lost its roof. Before they pulled it down all the wood and the chimney were gone, and the stone was crumbling.
 Shingle Springs doesn't look the same without it.
 I love the old John Deere sign, I hope someone salvaged it.
While I haven't found any information on what kind of stone was used for its construction, I am sure it was local stone.
 Nice load of wood, inside and out. Were they going to make more shingles?
I find it interesting how the lower front is a lighter shade, since it was protected by the balcony.
 I wonder how long it took to build this mill. The stonework is beautiful.
 During hot summer days it must have stayed cool on the lower floor.
 Easy shipping for the shingles with the railroad right across the street.
 You can clearly see the cracking of the walls in this shot.
Goodbye old mill. A shot of a town center which is no longer there.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Some Thrifty Calico Finds

Told 'ya I'd write about calico again.
Today, it's a few more thrift finds - like this pretty vintage tablecloth in a calico patchwork print. It's a big one, and it has a nice ruffled edge, to boot:
And colors straight out of the 70's:
I also found a great craft book from 1977 with this sweet lion placemat on the front cover; he's a calico cutie for sure!
 And I really could not believe my eyes when I saw this red "Calico Critters" boot stuffer kitty sitting on the floor (waiting just for me) at one of my favorite thrift stores! I've written about the Calico Critters Puss In Boots before - well, now I have another, and I picked him up at a very reasonable price:
I got this "pattern" of iron-on alphabet transfers in calico prints:
There aren't a ton of letters remaining, but I may be able to spell out something!

I find calico yardage and remnants like those shown above at thrift stores all the time.
Fabric doesn't get much "cheerier" than that!

Monday, August 26, 2013

4-H Attire

I found an old 4-H hat recently at a thrift store, and it set me to thinking about 4-H again. That, combined with Lori's mention of it yesterday compelled me to do yet another post. (I have written about it in a number of previous posts). I have a model now for my hat and neckerchief, so here they are again - front:
 and back:
 Going in for a close-up, front and center:
They look lovely on her, don't you think?
Here are my 4-H hats and pins again , worn all those years ago:
 And the one below is the one that I picked up at a thrift store because it had some pins on it that I didn't have, and I wanted them. I found the appliques on the bottom left at another thrift - and no, they do not belong on the hat; they're for the back corners of the neckerchiefs. The button at top right was a giveaway at the State Fair:
We would wear a white dress,  or a shirt or blouse, and a white skirt, or you could wear white jeans, a  more practical  choice for those members with a livestock project - and boys, of course!
We Gold Country Girls will always remember our 4-H Member days fondly.
Tina has some great old photos from back in the day, and I expect that she will share them, too, one of these days!
I know you will enjoy seeing them.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

A Great Trip To A Farm

Sis Lori here:
I went with another friend for a 4 day trip to see a coworker from days past. It was a 3 1/2 hour drive to Greenville, near Quincy. They live on acreage that they have turned into a regular farm from just land with lots of trees. Lots and lots of hard work over years time!!! I think we counted over 50 animals and that did not include goldfish in several cute ponds!! Here are just a few:
This is Mango:
                                               Rodeo:
                            
                                              Sierra Snow:

                    Two puppies she is fostering and bottle feeding, They had just eaten, thus the full belly!!!!

                   Sam, he watches over their property and keep critters away from livestock at night, plus                                                              keeping  us up a little late with his barking!!!!

                                                                 One of 5 cats, here's Pixel:

                                                                   Just a few of the sheep:

                                                        And one cow - forgot her name!

                                          Here's one of their 2 donkeys - boy, they are noisy when hungry!!!

We also went to the Plumas County Fair while there and had a corn dog with lemonade. There were some fantastic quilts on display, this one was so colorful!!!

Some of the beautiful animals we saw there. 4-H is very big there, all the Gold Country Girls were in 4-H for many years!!!



Here are the owners of the farm and our friends, Donna and Dennis:
Thanks so much!! We had a great time!