Vintage Thursday Thingie: Embroidered Bonnet Girl Coverlet

I'm reposting this from September 2009-Bonnet Girls are just grown up Sunbonnet Sues. I'm sure CC would have liked this coverlet.

I purchased this outline embroidered Bonnet Girl summer coverlet on E-bay a few years ago…yes, it was a bargain-it cost me all of $10.00! I’m not sure when its from but I would guess the 1960s, mainly because of the brown fabric…course the orange could mean the 1970s. Its technically not a quilt as there is no batting-a summer coverlet.

Bonnet Girl quilts became very popular in the 1920s and have lots of different names...there's Umbrella Girl (my girl has both an umbrella and a bonnet!), Southern Belle , and Crinoline Lady !

I wish I could have photographed it better but here's a close-up of one of the blocks from the center row. The center row of blocks are the lightest and were done with orange to yellow graduated floss. This row also shows the most wear and there is even one block with half the umbrella/parasol missing.

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The outer rows are partially done with the graduated floss and then finished with brown.

( Wondering about what's peaking through? I'll get to that soon.)

This coverlet is tied-another one of the reasons that I love owning it! The ties were done with 100% wool so when the "quilt" was washed the yarn shrank up and formed these balls. The only quilty memory I have from childhood is sleeping at my Aunt Anne's and she had covers with these wonderful little balls on them!

This entire coverlet is made from sugar sacks! She used the best parts-with no printing-for the front.

The back is made up with sugar sacks turned so that the writing is inside the coverlet but it is still noticeable. Since there is no batting, it is quite easy to read. All of the sacks were 10 lbs. and were from two companies: The Amalgamated Sugar Company and the Utah Idaho Company.

With a little time spent with Google I discovered some fascinating things. These were both sugar beet companies. The Ogden, Utah plant was founded in 1898 and merged with other plants to become the Amalgamated Sugar Co. in 1915. A sugar beet processing plant was built in Garland in 1903 by the LDS Church and was merged with others from Idaho to form the Utah Idaho Sugar Company in 1907.

One of the bags says Chinook, Montana…a little research here informed me that there had been a large sugar beet processing plant serving the area, a large sugar beet growing center until “business collapsed among manipulations of the commodities market back in the early 1950’s”!
You can read here about sugar hoarding (over 5 million pounds!) in this NY Times article from 1919… I’m telling you the sugar business was not sweet!

I really love the back of this quilt-I love these sugar sacks! I love that they say “ A Product of American Farms” and “Pure Granulated” and “Fine Granulated Table and Preserving Sugar”.

I love this quilt…I love the woman who made it! She took sugar sacks and a bit of floss and made a summer spread-I like to think- to dress up her daughter’s bedroom.

I'm linking to VTT at Coloradolady...be sure to stop by and see all the wonderful vintage treasures.

Vintage Thursday Thingie: Vintage quilt book

Today I'm sharing a sort of "double vintage" treasure...this 1977 State Capitals Quilt Blocks book from Dover is composed of patterns collected by the editors from the 1916 Hearth and Homes Magazine series.

Hearth and Home was published from 1868 until 1933 and ran several quilt block series...their first and most famous was the State Block series that ran from 1907 until 1912. They simply asked readers to submit sewn blocks that they thought would be fitting representatives of their state. The editors then chose 48 blocks-one for each state. It was such a success that the magazine continued with an Outlying Possessions series followed by the State Capitals series.

This book is totally 1977...check out the little calicos used in the blocks on the cover...

now this is much better...bright colors for the illustrated blocks on the front inside cover...
and the back inside cover!
Some of the blocks have the original statements made by the women who sent in the blocks to the magazine...I particularly like the story that Mrs. L.W. Mathewson tells, "This design, pieced of blue and white, made a very attractive album quilt for a ladies'aid society, and sold for many dollars-everybody taking a share. The names of those who contributed were written on the white diagonal strip through the center, and outlined with blue marking cotton..." (Blue marking cotton would be blue embroidery floss or pearl cotton used to mark sheets with the owners names or initials).
Now remember these blocks are from 1916 and the templates given are all for hand piecing...no seam allowances are included. This was also very often true in 1977 quilt books! :) All of the blocks are said to finish 12" and these were not simple blocks!

I just love this Tallahassee block...you can see it above in bright pink, orange and yellow...and it is not an easy block at all. C.H. sent in the block and recommends sewing the quilt with all pieced blocks...yes, it would be lovely-you can see from the drawing but oh, my not easy!Hope you enjoyed the State Capitals Quilt Blocks and are maybe even a little inspired...anyone up for trying their state capital block, send me an e-mail and I'll send you the scan of your state's page.

For more vintage treasures, hop on over to Coloradolady...VTT's lovely hostess, Suzanne holds the key to all the wonderful vintage goodiness being shared this week.

Vintage Thursday Thingie: Botanical Print

I purchased this beautiful print in a shop in Pennsylvania...
and had it framed about twenty years ago.

It has been on the wall in our bedroom ever since ( and that's through three moves!).

This is a simple print of an engraving by Pierre Joseph Redoute (1759-1840). He was a wonderful botanical painter and illustrator and his patrons included Marie Antoinette and later Josephine (wife of Napolean). He worked at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle (the Natural History Museum) in Paris and also traveled to England to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew to study. It was in England that he learned the color stipple engraving technique that he later perfected.

His botanical drawings are still loved today. In fact, you can even get a cross stitch chart for the Cumberland Rose here.

To see more vintage treasures, visit Coloradolady. I know you'll just love what everyone is sharing today.

Vintage Thursday Thingie: Jewelry box and jewelry

I received this little jewelry box in 1971-it was a bridesmaid's present! Let's look inside...An assorted collection of "jewels"...

from the beginning of the 1960s to the very end-a name bracelet and my high school ring ...
from the 1970s-these little plastic pins...oh how I loved that purple fish pin. I usually wore them on little knit hats...
still 1970s...a gift from friends in Japan...
and finally 1980s earrings...oh how I loved those titanium ones-closest I ever got to owning anything in the Memphis style. ( I can't wear either anymore...only gold or I get an infection.)
Hope you enjoyed this peek into my 1970s jewelry box. To see lots of interesting vintage treasures, hop on over to Coloradolady and check out this week's goodies.

Vintage Thursday Thingie: Antique Deck Chair

This antique deck chair is from the 1920s. It is oak with a caned seat, back and leg rest. We purchased it in the late 1970s from an antique dealer in NYC and I don't know the name of the ocean liner it once belonged to or even if it ever saw the deck of an ocean liner!

Caned seating began in England in the 17th century and has been popular ever since. This chair is caned with the ever popular (and familiar) six way caning that forms a star like pattern. This chair is hand caned.

While researching for some photos of artifacts from the SS Titanic to add to my book review of Titantic survivor Lawrence Beesley's "Loss of the SS Titanic" (you can read the review here or just scroll down to my previous post) I found this photo of a deck chair recovered from the sea. You can see that the back and leg rest are wood slats and only the seat is rattan. The seat may have been recaned later- I have seen photos of pieces of caned seating recovered from the Titanic.Today, most caned chairs are "machine" caned-not sure how the actual caning is done but you can easily tell if your chair is hand or machine caned. All hand caned pieces have holes drilled in the wooden frame so that the caning can be individually woven through by hand with the pattern formed by which hole the caning is next woven into. Machine caned seats or seat backs are modular-there are no holes and you can see a bevel cut into the wooden frame around the edge of the caning covered by a band of caning. Both styles of caning look the same at first glance...so look closely! :)

For more vintage treasures, visit Coloradolady. She holds the linky key to all the wonderful vintagey goodness being shared today.

Vintage Thursday Thingie: Vintage Jewelry: A mosaic brooch

Today I'm sharing a small mosaic brooch that I purchased at an antique store in Minneapolis while a student at the U of M...yes, even then I loved "old things".I've played a little with the lighting so you can see better the wonderful work on this 1 1/4" x 1 3/4" piece.
On the back it says "Italy" and that is all I know about this piece...no idea how old it is and I don't think the antique dealer ever told me anything (I don't think I've forgotten although it was over 30 years ago.)

Now hop on over the Suzanne at Coloradolady to see all the vintage treasures being shared today!

Vintage Thursday Thingie: Advertisements from 1931

I thought I'd share today some advertisements from 1931. I had no idea that Baker's Chocolate has been around since 1780.


Today we can say that Baker's Chocolate is the Choice of Good Cooks for two centuries and thirty years! And why is it called Baker's Chocolate...not as I always assumed because it's used by bakers-but because Dr. James Baker imported the beans and made the chocolate and named the company for himself!

Only unsweetened chocolate was made by the Baker's Chocolate Company until 1852 when an employee, Samuel German created a new sweetened chocolate...leading to German Chocolate Cake. Got me on that one too...I always assumed the recipe had come from Germany!

If chocolate desserts aren't your thing...how about some Junket. Lots of recipes here...brought to you by the Junket Folks and there's Little Miss Junket on the box! Junket has been around since 1874.
And what would you make your chocolate dessert or Junket dessert in...Pyrex of course! Plain glass Pyrex-since its 1931-but you could get the whole 10 piece set for $5.15!
Click on the pictures to enlarge and you can read all the advertising copy! Hope you enjoyed these ads and if anyone makes one of the Junket desserts-please let me know!

For more vintage treasures, hop on over to Coloradolady...you'll just love what everyone is sharing today! I'm also linking to Saturday's Week-end Cooking at Beth Fish Reads

Vintage Thursday Thingie: Cook booklet

This is a funny little cook booklet exclusively filled with recipes for fried foods!
There is no date...but here on the back cover is the first clue: the lovely salt and pepper shakers say 1950s to me.Finally, inside some of the mystery is solved. This is a booklet put out by Spry Shortening! No wonder its all fried foods! (There is another vintage Spry cook booklet dedicated to baked goods.) Now look carefully at the Spry can-do you see the checked or gingham pattern around the name?

When Spry was introduced in the 1935-it was not in the blue gingham can. During WWII, Spry was not in a can at all-it was in a bottle…I’m guessing the metal was needed for the war effort. Both showed Spry written in green on a V shaped yellow background and both had the running baker holding a pie on the sides as the logo.

In 1951 out came homogenized Spry in a Blue Gingham can with a small running baker logo. "Homogenized" was only used in advertisements -not on the can.

“All Spry in the blue gingham can is homogenized” was the slogan.

In 1953- Spry in the blue gingham can now says across it: homogenized… exactly like the can in my cook booklet.

In 1955 a new can came out-no running baker at all-its the red and white can that I remember as a child.

So now we know that my little "Frying is Easy" cook booklet is a Spry cook booklet from 1953-1954! Pretty good solution to the mystery. And what is inside? Mmm, doughnuts!
Bet you didn't know that frying (in Spry, of course,) was so digestible! "...foods like those fried the Spry way are not only good-tasting but nutritious and digestible-as digestible as if baked or boiled." Too bad we all believed this...can we blame today's obesity problem all on '50s advertising copy?

Fortunately not all the recipes look as good as the doughnuts...here's one of those super weird 1950s concoctions. This one, like all "...the recipes in this booklet were carefully developed in the Lever Test Kitchens.."
A tuna fish sandwich, dipped in French toast batter, and fried in Spry! Honestly-did they ever taste the things they made! Though I have to say that if you were going on a breakfast picnic, the other filling might just fill the bill.

If you have a Blue Gingham Spry can-or you find one-what a fabulous rare find it is. After all, the Blue Gingham can was only produced for 4 years, from 1951-1955!

Hope you enjoyed my "Frying is Easy" cook booklet. To see more wonderful vintage treasures, hop on over to Suzanne at Coloradolady-the hostess with the mostess of Vintage Thursdays Thingies and the keys to wonderful vintage treasures. I'm also linking to Week-end Cooking at Beth Fish Reads.

Vintage Thursday Thingie: Portrait of Leo Baeck

This etching, a portrait of Leo Baeck by the Israeli artist Yehuda Bacon, is DH's. In the lower left hand corner of the etching you can see Bacon's etched signature...and in the margin on the right, below the etching, his actual signature. To the left of that is written in Hebrew "To Danny"...yes, this is a dedicated, signed etching to DH!
Yehuda Bacon (1929-), a Holocaust survivor, is still an active artist at age 81. His works have been exhibited in museums all over the world.

Leo Baeck (1873-1956), a prominent Reform Rabbi in prewar Germany, went to England after liberation from the Theresienstadt concentration camp. He later became Chairman of the World Union of Progressive Judaism.

To see more vintage wonders, hop on over to Coloradolady-our gracious hostess and holder of the key to many vintage treasures.

BTW, scroll down to my previous post for some embroidery transfer patterns of vintage cars!

Vintage Thursday Thingie: Silver Serving Pieces

Today I'm sharing some more silver serving pieces-these were my paternal grandmother's. These three serving spoons are European and from before 1920. How do I know this?
See the initials...DP intertwined. My grandmother's first name was Dora, hence the D. Now for the story of the P and why I can place and date the silverware by the initials.

My grandfather's older brother wrote his last name -which began with a P-with alot of fancy flourishes/curliques and I imagine that one of them dipped down. When he arrived in the US, the American immigration officer read that fancy P as a B and from then on my father's family name began with a B! :)

(As a kid I was very happy when I heard this story-I much preferred having a last name at the beginning of the alphabet...I didn't have to pay attention for very long during roll call!)

This is a serving fork and spoon...
Isn't this tulip pattern just wonderful? I've rarely seen such a naturalistic design on silver and you can see by the doily underneath how the design floats in the air.
Here are the marks...I haven't been able to find these anywhere. Anyone familiar with a mark that looks like a radio tower?
For more vintage treasures, visit Coloradolady-our wonderful Vintage Thursday Thingie hostess.

Vintage Thursday Thingie:Iron-on Embroidery Transfers

This is one of the most interesting and unusual iron-on transfers I have. It is for a baby quilt and includes the central embroidery pattern-a baby in its crib with a spray of flowers behind it, the feather quilting pattern, the scallop for the quilt's edge- all with written notes to tell you what part of the design you're looking at,the corner design for embroidery and a scale sketch of the quilt to help you place all the elements in the right spot! and
general directions that tell you the right size piece of fabric to cut and even where to draw guide lines on your fabric to help you place the elements....all printed in iron-on ink even though only the embroidery patterns will actually get transferred!

Did you know that iron-on transfers have been around since 1874? They were developed by Briggs and Co. in England and brought to the US two years later for the Philadelphia Centennial...and they were a big hit. Before that, perforated patterns were used with either a powder or a paste to mark the cloth and were pretty messy. Soon iron-on transfers were being offered by a lot of different companies...if the ad said "Warm Iron"- the Briggs Co. slogan-then you knew you were getting the real deal!

My transfers are from the 1930s-40s....wish I had some early Briggs transfers! You can see some scans of Briggs transfers here.

For more vintage treasures...hop right on over to Coloradolady-our hostess for all the fun!

Vintage Thursday Thingie: 1970s sewing machine

Care to whip up a peasant skirt or turn your jeans into bell bottoms? Bet this Singer Starlet sewing machine has been there and done that! Look how trim it looks in its carrying case!

And open...its a perfect 1970s orange and green!
This terrific looking sewing machine is not mine-its my friend Hannah's. Her husband found it next to the rubbish bin! and brought it in for her to look at and she brought it right over. They were afraid to try to see if it sewed-'course I wasn't! We opened it up and threaded it (a bobbin was already in) and I could see that it was really dirty inside. We plugged it in....and it sewed :) but not correctly :(. She's taking it over to the sewing machine man in Tiberias for a good cleaning and then a diagnosis....the motor is good and I'm hoping the problem is minor (or maybe just because of the dirt). I'll let you know ....I sure hope this beauty gets well soon.

To see more vintage treasures, hop on over to Coloradolady-our lovely hostess for VTT.

Vintage Thursday Thingie: Silver Compact

Last week as I was putting away my Samsonite luggage piece, I decided to poke about in the little pocket inside and look what I found! This little silver plated piece was sadly in need of some polishing (and if you look close, you can see the job is not yet finished) and under all that black tarnish I found this...and on the other side-this! A lovely umbrella girl! Now you know I just love umbrella girls-I would say this one dates from the 1940s. Look closely at her hair...can't you see her pompadour?
Did you notice the wonderful work on the handle? It should open and I bet there's a lipstick inside but it was a little stuck and I'm a big chicken and afraid I'd break it so I left it alone. But the compact opened easily...it looks hardly used!
To be honest, I have no idea when or where I got this silver compact...it was a complete surprise to me. So besides checking out all the lovely treasures being shared today over at Coloradolady...go check any old suitcases lying around-you never know what you may find!