Vintage Thursday Thingie: Japanese Imari Porcelain

This is a Japanese Imari Porcelain covered rice bowl. It is decorated in a underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze enamels in a fashion typical for this type of porcelain.
You can see the that it is painted with colored flowers and fans in panels around the outside of the bowl.

Imari ware was made at Arita, Kyushu and was very popular in Europe and took the name from the port that it was shipped out of. You can find out more about Imari ware and see some wonderful pieces here.

Small stylized flowers only in underglaze blue decorate the inside of the bowl and lid with bands of decoration around the rims.

Inside the raised foot is the porcelain mark-Aoki-believed to be a family mark (potttery production was often carried on by the same families for generations-with family secrets as to glazes and decorative designs).
It is very hard to specifically date a piece like this, the mark was used for a long period, so the piece could be from as early as the late 19th century until the mid-20th century.

I bought this piece years before I went to Japan...in 1971, now don't laugh, at Dayton's Department Store in Minneapolis, Mn. Don't ask me why but Dayton's imported alot of antique Imari ware pieces for Christmas 1971 and sold them in their regular china department! (You can see some wonderful pictures of Dayton's-inside and out-here.)

I was an art history student and heard about the sale from a professor and rushed right over. My sister was getting married and I thought-what an unusual wedding gift! I got them a beautiful platter and bought this rice bowl for myself. How did I pay for them...with my very first credit card!

For more vintage treasures, visit Coloradolady! and join in the fun of Vintage Thursday!

Vintage Thursday Thingie: Unusual Cow Bells

I thought I'd share today my pair of cow bells. The ones on the left are Korean...the ones on the right-unknown!

I purchased the Korean cow bells years ago (1972) at an open air market in South Korea.

The other set of bells I bought here in Israel at a small folk art/antique shop. I really don't know where they are from but I wonder if they could be from India. (Anyone have any thoughts...I'd love to hear from you!) A lot of Israeli students take backpacking trips through India (much as I did in South Korea) and I wonder if one of them brought home bells....maybe. The little bells themselves look similar in shape to Indian bells but I've never seen them hung, just loose.

To see more vintage treasures, visit Coloradolady...bet they know more about their treasures than I do about mine!

Sunlight and Shadow quilt: String quilt style

I've been fooling around with this Sunshine and Shadow block for a while now. Here,
and here. Both of these are foundation pieced with equal width strips...
but now I'm doing them String pieced! Oh how liberating....how quick and easy...and a great way to use up scraps-lots and lots of scraps! Finally!

Remember what my ironing board looked like last week...well, this is it today. 42 blocks-all sewn with just some trimming left to do!
I love this! I love this so much I have joined Stephanie String Quilt Challenge so this will be just the first String quilt this year! Yes!

To see what other String Quilt- bitten- by- the- bug quilters are up to check out the list on Loft Creations side bar ( visit anytime using the button on my sidebar :).

Here's a quick peak at three finished, trimmed blocks!
The start of a fun, fun scrap quilt!

Vintage Thursday Thingie: A Sundae and A Vintage Chocolate Sauce Recipe

Do you know why this creamy delicious dessert is called a Sundae? First created in the early 1890s -the where is disputed-both Evanston, Illinois and Two Rivers, Wisconsin claim it- the why is not-the ice cream sundae was created to replace the ice cream soda on Sundays because blue laws had been passed banning the sale of ice cream sodas on Sunday. Lucky us!

The ice cream in my vintage Sundae dish is fresh and the marachino cherry is too, but this easy and delicious chocolate sauce is fresh made from a vintage recipe.

Chocolate Sauce

1 cup cocoa

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup Karo syrup (light or dark-I use light)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup cold water

2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine everything, except the vanilla, in a small saucepan and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Boil 3 minutes, (stirring occassionally), add the vanilla and its done. That's it! Cool, refrigerate, and pour over ice cream or use to make chocolate milk. Mmm, delicious!

For information about my vintage Karo syrup cookbooklet, check out my VTT post from last year here.

To see many wonderful (but probably inedible) vintage treasures, hop on over to Coloradolady, our wonderful VTT hostess.

Tidying my sewing room!

I've been busy cleaning my sewing room...I can't believe how many days it took. Organizing the fabric in my closet went quickly, it was when I started on the little plastic drawer cabinet that I got stuck-mired in little bits of fabric.

This drawer was the last and the worst-its the drawer I just toss bits in when I'm cutting, sewing and (bad girl) after I've finished a project. You can see what I mean. But its done! Doesn't that look nice, all ready for a new year (because I don't think I'll change my habits!)

Here's the strip drawer, now all nice and organized and replenished too!

I was smart though. While I was cleaning up I kept my next project in mind and pulled the fabrics and strips-all darks-that I knew I would want and laid them on my ironing board. Do you use your ironing board as an extra table?

My next project, a bed quilt for DS - now at Uni and with his own apartment, will be these strips and these red squares...more about this later when I've actually sewn something! :)

Vintage Thursday Thingie: painted wood plate

This is a Czechoslovakian painted wood plate. It is looks like inlay but it isn't, its painted.


Its from DH's "collection" of vintage things. I'm not sure how old it is, there is no mark at all on the back, but probably the mid-20th century. (It is definitely no later than the late 1960s).

To see some lovely Czech painted boxes from the 1920s, go here.


For more wonderful vintage treasures, stop by Coloradolady and join in the vintage fun.

Finding hidden treasure

Welcome to 2010!

I've been busy since the start of the new year, unfortunately not sewing! Classes are starting this month so there's been alot of lesson planning and writing up cutting instructions, etc.

In January I always clean my sewing room....and oops, look what I found! A stack of 12 9-patch blocks...I do remember these (actually I think they're from 2 years ago-I just put them away last year a little too well :) . Not sure what I'll do with them yet but I'm thinking of making more-I have more of the beige fabric in the closet and then we'll see.

I still have a bit more cleaning up to do-the little plastic chest with 4 drawers where I throw my cut offs and little bits in is bursting at the seams...wonder if I'll find any more "bured treasure".