Vintage Things

Right now I’m working on a project using vintage sheets, like these Vera Neumann sheets pictured above, so I had vintage fabric on my mind over the weekend. And I’ve been reading some of my childhood books and remembering how much I love them! I thought I’d share a few things.

Pictured above is a snowball quilt that I bought on ebay for not much at all. The fabrics are amazing and the entire quilt top is hand pieced. When I got it in the mail, it reeked of smoke and was yellowed. So I soaked it in the tub (which resulted in nicotine-colored water) and it’s back to white again with no odor. It’s on my someday list of projects to make it into a quilt. Love this snowball design.

Also, I ordered some things from this Etsy shop, and the owner sent me a few extra vintage goodies. Like these patchwork stars, pictured above. Perhaps the best part about them is the paper backing, which appears to be some type of farm newspaper. It’s nice to see this snapshot of someone’s life and time. Maybe my half-finished projects will be passed along one day to someone who can make something from them! They are certainly stacking up.

I’ve also been reading one of my favorite childhood books to my kids, The Fourteen Bears in Summer and Winter by Evelyn Scott (still available used, but expensive). I loved this book as a child, which you can tell from the crayon marks and torn pages. It’s the story of a bear family during the seasons. As my daughter pointed out, the bears are all girls (except for the father and the baby) and each girl bear has her own tree house with its own style of decor. I loved looking at the houses and thinking about which house I loved the most. I loved the whimsical painted furniture of the Dutch-style house, the clean lines of the modern house, and the cozy draped beds of the fancy houses. Looking at it now, I realize that I’ve never been able to settle on just one style! I always fight with myself about the materialistic nature of loving design, but I still do love pretty things. I’ll blame this book.

And another book that I had as a child and recently ordered used is the book pictured below, Tony the Magic Pony, written by C. Parma and illustrated by J. Sengler. Not only is the main character’s name Ellen, but the book has unique and charming illustrations. The little girl lives on a small island, but wishes for a magical pony, who helps her rope another island and make more space. I loved everything about this book.

I really do think the illustrations in our children’s books are important to helping our kids appreciate art. I had no idea how much I was connected to my childhood books until I had children of my own and started reading the books of my childhood. Like these here and here that I’ve blogged about in the past.