Blackwork Flowers

The past couple of weeks I've been stitiching away at a little flower medallion pattern that I found on Pinterest.  I was going to make a little bookmark out of it.

I started with the boarder first, which should've been left for last. Eventually, I made a mistake in the second medallion of flowers.  I was going a bit off pattern, and messed it up in a big way.  I will have to rip out the second medallion and repeat the first one, which is what I should've done in the first place.

 

 

The boarder (incomplete below) is from my Blackwork Made Easy book by Lesley Wilkins.

 

Ugh, so full of mistakes...I'm going to start another blackwork project soon.  Hopefully the new project will have fewer mistakes in it.

That's all for today!  Until another time, have a happy stitching day!

Forgotten General Store

This is so very interesting!  This forgotten General Store (I believe it's located somewhere in Britain), is amazing!  Check out the link below.

 

http://www.messynessychic.com/2014/05/12/diy-dad-buys-a-derelict-fixer-upper-restores-the-forgotten-1920s-general-store-he-finds-inside-it/

 

 Seeing this made me think of all of the "general stores" I've seen in local museums.

First, there is the General Store at the Buffalo Trails Museum in my hometown of Epping.  This "general store" is just a cubical.  The Buffalo Trails Museum is amazing and takes up most of Epping's main street.  I'm just so glad that it is still being cared for and is still open after all these years.

 

Buffalo Trails Museum--Epping, ND

My favorite part...the Cheerioats box.

 

Second, there is the general store museum building in Stanley.

"Hello Mr. Grocer Man.  How are you today?"

"Oh, not so good.  I've been feeling a bit stiff lately."

(*sound of crickets chirping*)

Ahhh...T'ain't funny, McGee.

Flickertail Museum-Stanley, ND

This would've been back in the day when you TOLD the grocer what you wanted, or gave him a list, and he would gather your supplies for you.



Flickertail Museum-Stanley, ND



My daughter loves the checker game there in the Stanley store. 





2009







2014



Third, there is the general store in the Rugby museum.

Pioneer Village Museum-Rugby, ND

Pioneer Village Museum-Rugby, ND

The store in Rugby even has the cracker bins!  Next time I am there I will ask if I can peek around the counter to see the actual bins (I'm guessing they are made of metal--to keep the mice from chewing through, but maybe not). 

Pioneer Village Museum-Rugby, ND

The fourth general store we toured was in the museum in Kenmare. Their general store is inside a bigger building.

Pioneer Village Museum-Kenmare, ND

Pioneer Village Museum-Kenmare, ND

And last we have the general store at the Dale and Martha Hawk Museum in Rural Wolford, ND.

This store was located in the small town of Nanson, ND.  It even contained the meat cooler/display case that it used into the 1980s.

 

Dale and Martha Hawk Museum-Rural Wolford, ND

 

Dale and Martha Hawk Museum-Rural Wolford, ND

 



Dale and Martha Hawk Museum-Rural Wolford, ND



 It's so much fun to look at these photos again, to zoom in and to look at all of the interesting cans, bottles, and boxes of products from long ago.

That's all for today.  Until another time, have a happy vintage day!

Vintage Butter Churn Jar

When someone offers me a vintage item (especially for nothing) I always try to find room for it.  It reminds me of that saying, "There's always room for JELL-O"...well, there's always room for one more little jar, tin or bowl on my shelves.

 

A couple of weeks ago my father-in-law dropped by with this amazing find. Thank you Poppa Terry!!  His neighbor was cleaning out the garage and didn't want it, and she wanted it to go to a good home.

 

Isn't it a beauty?!!
It's a bit rusty in places and a paddle is missing from the churn, but I still love it!

 

I cleaned out the 4 quart jar with soap and water and dusted the metal parts with a damp cloth.
And here it is all cleaned up and displayed on my counter top.

 

 That's all for now!  Have a happy day!

Vintage Bathroom Items

People say you don't have a collection until you have three of something.  After this summer, I can honestly say I have a collection of vintage bathroom items.

 

 

My dad gave me the Band-Aid box.  He had a whole box of the old, metal, Band-Aid tins that he'd picked up somewhere.  They were all vintage and most had been written on in permanent marker.  This was the only one with the cool 1960s lady graphic on it.

 

Then just the other day my dad brought me the little, tin, Ex-Lax box!  Thank you Dad!

 

I quickly gathered all of the vintage "medicine cabinet" items I could find and arranged them all on the groovy vintage towel I rescued from my father-in-law's rag bin (he was going to use it for
clean-up when replacing our toilet!!)  I squealed/screeched so loudly in protest that I'm sure the dogs down the street heard me.  The towel was just too pretty, too vintage and in too good a condition to become a plumber's rag, so I swapped it out with one of my old Walmart towels.  He gladly made the trade with a chuckle of disbelief.  "Why would someone want an old towel??"  Maybe because someone is teetering on the edge of being a crazy vintage collector.

 

The jar of Vicks VapoRub is from a little antique store we visited in Williston and the Q-Tips (with wooded sticks) I purchased at the flea a few years ago. 

 

 I am very happy with my little collection of bathroom goodies.  Now, if I just had an old tube of Pepsodent I'd be even happier!  That's the thing about being a collector, there's always another amazing find just around the corner!

 

Until another time, have a happy vintage day!

Antique Mall Finds

On every trip through Moorhead Minnesota we always stop at the antique mall along the interstate I-94.  Hubby takes a little nap in the car while Autumn and I go in and browse for a while.  We always find a little something that catches our eye.  This time around THREE things caught my eye!

 

 

The GE clock was a last minute decision.  It doesn't work, but I just couldn't leave it there.  It's just so red and square and screams 1960s, which I usually don't go for, but this one I really like!  It lives on my vintage goodies shelf and adds that little pop of red.

 

The gloves that that unique, striped V shape and bow at the bottom so I couldn't pass them up either. And the navy blue beads....well, it's good to have a few navy accessories and they were a good price, so they came home with me as well.

 

So, no BIG purchase, just little ones, but I love them all!

 

That's all for today.  Until another time, have a happy vintage day!

 

New Embroidery Towels

A few weeks ago I stopped into Hobby Lobby.  They had recently rearranged their needlework department and I wanted to see the end results.

 I was pleasantly surprised to find a whole new section of hand-towels suitable for embroidery!

 

There were so many towels to choose from, some in packs of two or three!  I really liked the pink checkered set, and the cherries set.

In the end only one came home with me, a simple primary color striped cloth.

 



 

I'm in the process of embroidering a chicken on this towel and it should be done by the end of next week, so stay tuned!

 

Until another time, have a happy stitching day!