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Goody Bag: Vintage Hankies

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My mother said there are always three hallmarks to a true “lady”

  1. She always carries a handkerchief.
  2. She never smokes on the street.
  3. She would never use a swear word (“Even if her hair was on fire.”)

Which is very funny coming from a woman who, 1. Taught the neighborhood children five ways to say “Asshole” in French, 2. Once got kicked out of a bank for smoking in the safety deposit vault (“What? This isn’t a gas station, asshole.”) 3. Told me to blow my six-year-old nose into a map of Tennessee the day I had a cold and there wasn’t a tissue to be found in the car. (Johnson City: I sincerely apologize.)

As you can imagine, I have been fond of handkerchiefs ever since.

Project and Image courtesy of Tif Fussell

Mostly I like to collect the fancy ones that look like they were never used, but recently, after becoming a fan of Dottie Angel, I have developed a soft spot for bright white hankies with delicate details. I keep saying that one of these days I’ll get around to making one of her glorious projects, like these curtains, but sadly it has yet to happen. One day I’ll do something great with my hankies, but in the meantime, I’m giving away a ready surplus to one special person….

This Goody Bag Giveaway includes

·        15 vintage hankies, various sizes, all of them in excellent condition.

This week’s Goody Bag Giveaways are open to anyone, anywhere, no “following” necessary. To enter, leave a comment answering the question below. No more than one comment, per person, per post, please. Be sure your email address is included in the comment or via online profile. All Goody Bag winners will be announced 8am CST Monday, September 26, 2011

Question: My mother thought a handkerchief was one of the ultimate “ladylike” hallmarks; what other ladylike behaviors did your mother teach you?
Example: “Ladies always cross their feet at the ankle”…“Ladies never order a drink in public”… “A lady is always the first to say thank you.”
Note: I’m not asking or suggesting anyone follow these maxims, I just think they make for *interesting* discussion!

Goody Bag: Vintage Lace

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I adore lace. Old lace. Good lace. Handmade lace. Natural fibers and yellowed at the edges. Fifteen years ago, I saw a bunch of Croatian nuns making silken tatted lace by hand and have been hooked ever since (Watch this video. It’s Crazytown!) I love the look. I love the feel. I love the smell. I can’t get enough of it. It’s an art form that appeals to my inner grandmother and compulsive need to keep my hands busy.
But, thing is, since I don’t have the patience to make it myself, I acquire it. Big time.
If I see a good piece in a thrift store for less than $2.00 I’ll snap it up and squirrel it away. I hide it away like a dog with a bone…all secretive and selective…I bury it in tissue and plastic bags, only to rediscover it when it comes time to move house.
And here is the bigger problem: I don’t do anything with it. The lace just piles up in my closet. I appreciate the artistry too much –cutting it up would feel like a sin. I have no problem busting up a crystal vase, or reupholstering my couch in faux fur…but cut up an old doily? NEVER.
Then, this summer, Dale and Aunt Nancy went and cleaned out her attic and found GOBS of stuff their relatives brought over from Switzerland back in the day. Good stuff. Better than most anything I ever picked up in a thrift store. Oy.
So, now, not only do I have my own collection, I have Aunt Nancy’s swiss stuff too. Know what that leaves me with? A ridiculous surplus.
What does that leave you? An opportunity!
But Peaches, what am I going to do with all that lace?
     
Here, let me show you…
Salvaged Doily Table Runner; Lace Necklace; Starched Lace Lamp

 Now all you need are the supplies!

This goody bag includes 30 pieces of vintage lace in a variety of shapes and sizes. All items are old/used, most of them pre-date WWII. Some are damaged and/or stained, but I would consider them all to be in overall “good condition.” Some are handmade, some are machine made, but to the best of my observation, all items are made from natural/non-synthetic fibers. There is no “acid lace” in the bunch (like I said: it’s the good stuff).

This Goody Bag Includes:

  • 11 doilies, 6 -12” in diameter
  • 8 handkerchiefs with lace edging
  • 6 pillowcases (three pairs with lace edging)
  • 2 table runners
  • 1 peach satin and lace bib
  • 1 knit lace collar (21” diameter)
  • 1 round tablecloth / jumbo doily (37” diameter)

One Time Condition: If you win this goody bag of vintage lace, you have to pinky swear to do something with this stuff. Put it on display or turn it into something else. It’s been hoarded in the dark too long. It deserves a good home!

This week’s Goody Bag Giveaways are open to anyone, anywhere, no “following” necessary. To enter, leave a comment answering the question below. No more than one comment, per person, per post, please. Be sure your email address is included in the comment or via online profile. All Goody Bag winners will be announced 8am CST Monday, September 26, 2011  Sorry, this giveaway is now over and the comments are closed.

Question:

What is, or was, your favorite thing inside grandmother’s house? Was it a special pink potholder? Or a crystal ashtray? A collectible spoon rack? Please share!

Update 9.21.11: This post has been up less than three hours and already, the remarks below are some of the most fun and heartfelt comments I have ever read (here on this blog or anywhere, ever). Even if you don’t have any interest in entering the giveaway, I suggest you take a minute to glance what people are writing. No where else on the internet can you read about coin coffins and square dancing skirts in the same place! 🙂

PS: If you like vintage treasures, be sure to check back Thursday afternoon!

She Comes in Colors

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For anyone who has ever felt old before their time, hush up and watch:
 
This lovely lady, Ilona Royce Smithkin, is the living embodiment of youth. Optimistic, open minded and living for every moment, she doesn’t give a rip what anybody says or thinks about her appearance. She isn’t wasting time accommodating some aesthetic expectation set down by me, or you, or Vogue magazine. She is beautiful. She is 90. She is what I want to be when I’m a grown up.
Oh crap.
I am a grown up.
When did that happen?
Many thanks to my pal Justin for introducing me to Ilona via my new favorite blog, Advanced Style, a blog devoted to people of a *certain age* who are living high on the hog with gobs of style. So inspiring! Love it. Love it. Love it.

Grandma Lucile’s Beer Can Alligator

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By popular request, I present to you, Grandma Lucile’s beer can alligator with genuine pearl teeth! Ta Da!

I told you it was amazing.

The whole body is made from a 20 old fashioned beer can tab tops laced together with green felt. Simple, yet genius. Suppose you could make it with the regular can tops you see today, but I don’t think it would come out as well. The feet and head are snipped directly from aluminum beer cans.

And THE TEETH! I wish I had a macro lens on my camera so you could see the teensy weensy stitches she used to sew in these tiny pearls. For someone like me who is hard to impress on the craft front, this little gator blew my mind.

Wait ‘til Christmas and maybe Bird will let me take some photos of Grandma Lucile’s holiday village. There are a dozen different yarn’tastic structures, each more intricate than the next! A courthouse. And ice cream shop. The general store. The windmill. Every house has a music box. One of them plays Edelweiss. I think it’s the post office. Who knew postal workers loved Julie Andrews?

Hip-Hip-Hooray for Grannies!

PS: Did y’all see Michele’s latest Make it Good Challenge? Check it out!

Grandma Lucile’s Tissue Box Fashion Show

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Y’all have to see this. 
It is so cool. So grandma. So seventies.
I adore love want NEED it.
Never thought I would be publicly professing my adoration for a yarn laced tissue box cozy, but sometimes I surprise myself. And lets be honest: this thing is amazing. 
I think we need to give it a name. Or a federal holiday. Suggestions?

This wondrous creature belongs to my friend Bird, who inherited it from her Grandma Lucile. I never met her in person but I can gather from the remnants of her craft stash alone, when it came to making nifty stuff, Grandma Lucile knew how to Throw Down. 

Someday I’ll have to show you her beer can alligator with genuine pearl teeth. It’s superb.

 So I was over at Bird’s house last Sunday when she pulled this out of a bag. I initially thought it was a cute and sentimental reminder of someone she loved very much, but then she yanked on the Velcro and was all “Look! You can mix and match!” and then I was all “MOVE OVER. IT’S MINE.”
That was a greedy moment on my part, but you can’t use terms like mix and match around me. It’s the hot button on my inner hoarding tendencies. 
Despite my insistence, the tissue box cozy will be staying with Bird. To squelch my need for acquisition, she was kind enough to humor me with a fashion show. A grand time was had by all.
*Someone* is going to be spending some quality time in the yarn isle this weekend.