Vintage Crochet Part 1

Hi everyone!

I recently got a lot of vintage crochet booklets off eBay the other day and wanted to share them with you! I so can't wait to jump into some of these and get to hooking, I love vintage crochet books so much...




And now for the slickest pair of crochet booklets you ever did see:

I told my husband I was going to crochet him one of these vests and he laughed in my face. Well, we'll just see whose laughing in the end...Muwahahahahaha!

Part 2 is coming soon : I've saved my two favorite vintage crochet booklets for another post. Have a great day everyone! :)

Space Age Vintage Knitting

Hi everyone!

One of my favorite things is vintage ads. One of my other favorite things is crocheting and yarn crafts. I so love when all of my favorite things come together to become one super awesome favorite thing. It's like scooping dark chocolate frosting right out of the can with a peanut butter cookie. (Sorry, I'm pregnant and hungry.)

Anyhoo, I saw this awesome 1955 ad on Ravelry and just had to share it with you. Presenting...

Space Age Vintage Knitting

(Image used with permission by Vintage Knits)

Are there any current yarn ads that come close to being this cool??? :D

Goodbye Miss Jane Russell

I was so heartbroken to hear of Jane Russell's recent passing.

(Image from: Bouquet of Tulle Roses)

She was everything fabulous, always glamorous, dedicated to her faith and refused to take crap from anyone. My favorite of her movies was (and is) "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". Her autobiography, "My Path and Detours" was so interesting and I loved her views on Hollywood and what led to her creation of WAIF (World Adoption International Fund).



Ah, her eyebrows: sharp as a razor blade. How I envy those brows!

Rest in Peace Jane Russell...

Every Little Breeze Seems to Whisper Louise

Hi everyone!

Now that we are expecting a second daughter come this May, I've been looking through some old family pictures in an effort to find a good timeless name for our new little one. :)

My mom found these pictures of my Great Grandmother Louise who died when I was still quite young but to this day I remember her as someone I loved very much.











I remember she had a coo-coo clock that hung on her living room wall and I just loved it! (Still want to get one of those!) She also had these three ceramic cats on her coffee table. They were all orange, in different poses with green jeweled eyes. I would play with them whenever we went over to her house.

I wish I had known her when I was older. There are so many things I would love ask her! But at least I have these pictures...

Going Bananas, Fifties Style

Hi everyone!

Wow, no post since June - yikes! lol Well, no worries I bring you sweet things in apology. :D During one of my vintage stops over the Summer I found this little gem. Actually it's not so little, this thing weighs a ton.

(Notice the grease pencil price, wasn't that sweet of someone?)

I was first attracted to it because of the great 1950s illustrations, like this one:

But once I looked at the Table of Contents, I realized just how "encyclopedic" this cookbook was:

There are many, many great recipes in this book but today I'm going to share the "Gold Nugget Cake" recipe with you.


Gold Nugget Cake

2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 sour milk or buttermilk
1 cup mashed bananas (2 to 3)
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 bananas, sliced

Sift flour, baking powder, soda and salt together. Add milk to mashed bananas. Cream shortening with sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Add sifted dry ingredients and milk mixture alternately in small amounts, beating well after each addition. Stir in flavoring.

Pour into greased pans and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool. Put layers together with Banana Frosting and sliced bananas. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake and garnish with sliced bananas. Makes 2 8-inch layers.

Banana Frosting

1/2 cup mashed banana (1 large banana)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup butter
1 pound (3 1/2 cups) confectioner's sugar, sifted

Mix banana and lemon juice together. Cream butter with 1 cup sugar, then add banana and enough of the remaining sugar to make mixture thick enough to spread.

If anyone tries this recipe, I'd love to know what you think! Do you like to cook from vintage cookbooks?

Of Ponies and Things...

Hey y'all!

Check out what I found the other day in my thrifty travels:

A little bit of Pyrex and a swank looking coffee pot but the most interesting thing is the one to the left: another one of those choppers! For those of you keeping count (why wouldn't you after all?) I now have three of these choppers I found in three different shops in three different colors...I smell a collection coming on! :P

And then, while traversing my basement which is dark and creepy and my husband refuses to go down into (picture me doing an Indiana Jones type cave exploration filled with giant bugs and poison darts that shoot from the walls), I found my My Little Ponies from the 1980s!!!

I've still got my carrying case, 7 ponies, 2 baby ponies, a baby pony buggy and various brushes and accessory what nots. (They all got a bath last night complete with conditioning hair treatment. I figured I owed them.) PLUS I found my Strawberry Shortcake dolls! Oh snap, I forgot to take a picture of those...hang on a sec...

Talk amongst yourselves!

Okay, I'm back! Here they are:

So they are nasty and filthy from being the basement over 20 years (I bought the house I grew up in a few years ago) and I'm not sure why Strawberry Shortcake is topless but there you are! I would assume the rest of their accessories are around here somewhere. I know I've got Raspberry Tart's pet monkey...hmmm... (and where the heck is Blueberry Muffin? That's her pet mouse Cheesecake there right? So I would had to have had her as well, yes?)

Ah well, that's for another day, another excavation I suppose. I can't believe I'm in my thirties and I'm already "vintage". *shudder* Wait, I love vintage! Nevermind, you can call me vintage. :P

Okay, I'm rambling at this point so I better stop while I still have readers...

Have a great weekend! :D

Etiquette for the Working Girl

And now, time for...

"Everyday Etiquette"

This week's etiquette lesson comes to us from the chapter entitled:

Let's join our lesson, already in progress...

I am a personal secretary for a major executive of my firm. When my phone rings should I say, "Miss Brown speaking" or should I say, "Mr. Carstair's office, Miss Brown speaking" or just "Mr. Carstair's office." -M.J.B. Flemington, New Jersey

You say "Mr. Carstair's office," and add, if you wish, "Miss Brown speaking."

-Hey Miss Brown, you just missed 5 phone calls while writing this letter asking how you should answer the phone. You're fired.

-Horshack would never have this problem: "Hello, Mr. Carstair-r-r's office!"

And that concludes another lesson in "Everyday Etiquette". Please tune in next week when we will learn what our calling cards should read when we're divorced and the ex dies. dum dum DUM!

**Questions and Answers from "Everday Etiquette: Answers to Today's Etiquette Questions" by Amy Vanderbilt, 1952-1956. Snark responses from "Maggi", 2010**

**Please note, all snark implied is just that, snarkiness. Please answer all phones correctly or we will descend into chaos...**