Found: Colorful Notions And Assorted Sewing & Craft Supplies

Useful and colorful things always catch my eye when I am out "thrifting".

I love it when I find vintage appliques!

 (All of these were found long before the Covid19 pandemic).
I swear, one of these days I am going to cover a denim jacket or shirt with all of the wonderful appliques I have collected over the years.

 Hand-sewing things onto heavy denim would be a difficult task for me, with my arthritic hands, which is why I haven't yet begun THAT ambitious project.
 I'd prefer a jacket rather than a shirt, and I don't want to iron or glue them on; I want them to stay PUT.
And all of this stuff, below, was given to me by a dear friend when her mother-in-law passed away:

 I think I may end up selling some of the lace in my Etsy shop...

....whenever I get around to it.

More Signs From George Nathan

Today I wanted to share a few more great vintage George Nathan signs.
This one cracked me up:

 When I found this one, below, on eBay, I snapped it up, because the price was very low - it's  a large one, and it's one of my favorites:

 I found this next one at Mountain Treasures, where we have our booth:

 And I found this one at a thrift store:

I have seen a lot of them over the years, but I'd never come across this last one before, and I absolutely love it!

A Beautiful Baby Quilt Top

Today, I just wanted to share a few photos of a beautiful baby quilt top that is for sale at Mountain Treasures here in Sonora.
(At least, it was still there a few days ago - I'm not sure about today!)
 Another vendor brought it into their booth.
 I've never seen anything quite like it.
"H" is for House:

I'm sorry, I only got one shot that sort of shows the whole thing. It was hanging up, and I did my best:

"F" is for Flower:

"J" is for Jack-In-The-Box:

"T" is for tree:

"W" is for windmill:

"L" is for lamp:

The price tag is/was $40.00, and I just happen to think it's truly a lovely vintage patchwork piece. Even it it was not finished and made into a quilt, it would be precious hanging on a nursery wall!
Mountain Treasures is a collective with forty-plus vendors, and is located at 13643 Tuolumne Road in Sonora, California.
Phone 209-532-3356 (Sorry, we do not offer shipping services, and items are available at the store only.)
We are working on getting a new Instagram account set up for the store, but have run into a couple of glitches.
If we get it up and running with regular photo posting, I will share that info here on my blog.

Charlotte Patera

I found a nice framed print of this poster, below, at a thrift shop a while back.
At first, when I spied it from across the room, I thought it was the crewel, but then upon closer inspection I realized it was a print.

 I remember the cashier making a comment something like "Well, that sure is a nice frame, but I don't know about the picture."
Now I ask you: what in the world is wrong with some people?
 For one thing, um ...  nobody asked her.
 I was buying it, so obviously I wanted it for some reason, right? Like gee - maybe because I LIKED it?!
 Do you think, maybe?
Oh - and the frame is nothing special at all. It's just a plain frame. Whatever, lady.
Her comment was unwanted and not at all appreciated.
Because I think it's completely fabulous.

Anyhow, when I got it, I knew nothing at all about who "Char '74" was, because my print does not have that information at the bottom, that you see, above. I guess the person who framed it had cut off the bottom to fit it into the frame.
A Stitching Exhibition?! At The Nut Tree?!
We used to LOVE going to the Nut Tree, back when were kids.
 Well, I surely do wish I'd been able to see that exhibition back in 1975; it must have really been something special.
Some time later, I found a partial photo of the poster when I was looking through my copy of "Vintage Craft Workshop", a great book authored by Cathy Callahan, who used to write a wonderful blog called "Cathy Of California", that I loved reading. The book is outstanding - you can find it on Amazon.
(I also found an article about Cathy on another blog, "While She Naps" - you can find it here.)

I kept looking up information, and I was so surprised to discover that Ms. Patera had actually lived close to where I grew up!
I'm sad to say, she passed away one year ago today.
You can read her obituary here.
 Oh, how I wish I had known she lived in Cameron Park!
Because I would have loved to have had the opportunity to meet such a talented  stitchery artist and author!
 Honestly, I would have tried to call her or something, because maybe I COULD have met her - maybe I could have even seen some of her beautiful work, in person!
I also discovered that I already owned one of her books, when I saw the cover, I recognized it immediately, and went and found it on my book shelf.
I have written before about "The Applique Book", back in this post.
(Please go back and have a look; I think you might enjoy seeing some of her fabulous designs!)
And I had even written a post about one of her designs four years ago - The Artful Artichoke (click here to go back and read about it).
She authored other books, too, including some about Mola techniques, and this one, "Cutwork Applique":

And here are some examples from that book:

 The "Sun Symbol":

 And a gorgeous dress:

 Now I want that book, too, of course!
I'll find myself a copy, you can bet on it.
You know, I am not much of a needlework person, nor a seamstress, but I so greatly admire the talented women who are, and were, and all of the beautiful items they create/created with their handiwork.
And I just wanted to write a post about Charlotte Patera, so that if you have never heard of her before, perhaps if you come across one of her books, or see a photo of  her work, you might now remember her name, as well.
What a talented lady she was.

Found: Colorful Vintage Afghans

I'll admit it - it's difficult for me to pass up a colorful vintage afghan!
Especially when it is extremely inexpensive, or, better yet - free.
That happened to be the case with the three you see here:

And besides, - they're warm....

And they're cozy...

 They're bright and pretty:

And I just plain LIKE them!

New (Vintage) Vera Neumann Finds

 It dawned on me that I hadn't done a Vera Neumann post in a while!
That's not good - let's remedy that situation right here and now!
First of all today, I have some bright cloth napkins to show you that I found at a thrift store:

Big, gorgeous flowers:

And another gorgeous set of napkins with the golden glow of the sun:

And that dear little Vera Ladybug:

 I found these two completely fabulous vintage linen tea towels, both with their original labels still present:

 Beautiful colors on each - and in paisley, no less!

 Lori gave me this pretty scarf for my birthday last fall:

And most recently, I found a vintage leather belt and a butterfly bath towel:

I believe that's it for today.
I'll always write more posts as I come across more great vintage Vera items to share - it just might take me a while!

Then And Now # 108: See's Decorated Eggs For Easter

Here's wishing all of you a lovely Easter Sunday, and if you are very lucky, perhaps the Easter Bunny may have left you a beautifully decorated egg from See's Candies.
This advertisement from 1974 shows you what they looked like back "Then":

Yellow roses:

And pink roses:

And here's an example of one decorated with pink roses "Now":

The lovely picture above was part of an insert that came in our newspaper, along with a coupon.
 I wasn't able to make it to a See's Candies shop in order to use the coupon, unfortunately!
Have a wonderful day, everyone, - whether it includes chocolate, or not!

Lori's Trip To New York October 2017 - Post # 2

On our second day in New York on the street outside our hotel these food trucks were lined up. 

Kimberly wanted to try one out and she did. I don't remember what she had, but she enjoyed it!

Just a few of the things that we thought were interesting as we walked the blocks to find the Highline......

These were some of the cool features on the High Line which is best described here:

The High Line rail-trail is an urban marvel, stretching 1.5 miles and towering almost 30 feet above street level through several neighborhoods in the lower west side of Manhattan.
The first section of the High Line was opened in 2009 and runs approximately 10 blocks from Gansevoort Street to the north entrance at 20th Street.

 The second section of the High Line, from 20th Street to 30th Street, opened in June 2011 and doubled the length of the current trail. In September 2014, a new segment, known as High Line at the Rail Yards, extended the trail farther north to W. 34th Street.
The corridor was built in the 1930s to remove rail traffic from streets bustling with industry. The elevated design improved street-level safety and allowed freight cars to roll directly into the buildings so that workers could load livestock and meats at the slaughterhouses and agricultural goods at factories and warehouses. The corridor fell into disuse in 1980. While owners of property under the High Line lobbied—unsuccessfully—to level the structure and make way for development, the neglected corridor quietly turned into an overgrown natural landscape.
In 1999 Chelsea residents Joshua David and Robert Hammond founded an organization to preserve the demolition-bound corridor as a public park. Friends of the High Line waged a hard-won battle that resulted in the support of city officials, and in 2005 the transfer of High Line ownership from the CSX Rail company to New York City.
To experience the High Line is to have a rare view of the city skyline and the Hudson River, with the amenities (and restrictions) of a popular public park. The finished portion of the greenway artfully incorporates characteristics of the old corridor. Sections of original railroad track are visible in the concrete slab designs that make up the surface of the path. Other sections of the trail reveal original art-deco steel railings paired with modern wooden benches that organically connect to the concrete surface.
Heading north from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District, you pass through a series of unique features, including the Gansevoort Woodland, Washington Grasslands, Sun Decks and Water Features, Chelsea Grasslands 23rd Street Lawn and a wildflower field. The grasslands and gardens have been planted with many of the wild grasses and other self-seeding plants found on the corridor during the 25 years it lay dormant.

 The overall effect is a wholesome combination of organic beauty and stylized form that will leave you longing for more.

 

    Just a cool quote I thought was appropriate for a storage unit advertising!!!

  

If you get a chance to be in New York City, don't miss this High Line walk; it's a wonderful one and you can take your time and occasionally sit and rest and you will end up at the Chelsea Market. At least, that is what WE did, anyway - and that was Awesome!
 More about that coming up next in Post#3!!!!!!