One thing that must get done is to make a patch for my nightgown. Georgie fancies himself a ripper, extraordinaire and tore a hole in the back of my nightgown when it fell off the hook onto the floor. Nothing is safe from his little hobby. Since flannel nightgowns are as scarce as hen's teeth, I decided just to patch the ones I have. My other one has a rather remarkable patch, made after I tore it on a nail. So now my nightgowns have patches fore and aft. There's something endearing and homey in a patch. It makes me feel connected to those pioneer women. Or was it Ma Kettle?
Another way I'm filling my days is sorting through my grandmother's button box, stringing the matching buttons together. It takes so much time to seek out matching sets in the big box when I want to sew something. I found this very pretty cameo among the buttons. I was trying to figure out how to create a chain for it, when I struck on the idea to string some cheap little beads and an some pearls from an old necklace. Very pretty and sweet. By the way, isn't that a pretty slip Madame the Bust is modeling? The picture doesn't capture the pretty lavender color. I love old vintage slips and snap them up whenever I find them at the thrift stores. They just make you feel like a lady when you wear them under a dress. Plus they make nice summertime nightgowns. They usually only cost a dollar or two. And it's fun to experiment with dying them pretty colors to match your wardrobe.And here's a picture of my little tuffet:
First of all, your footstool (I just realized "little miss muffet....sat on a tuffet"...now I can picture that!) is beautiful! That would cost so much to buy. Smart!
ReplyDeleteThe cameo is beautiful too. So rare these days too.
I love your lace. silly georgie. Pets can get away with alot due to their innocence! ha.
I have a favorite nightgown that must be 20 years old. I had another, but it eventually was so thin that it became rags for cleaning....same with old sheets....they get so soft and thin and comfy. I agree...why do we feel we have to be busy and Produce all the time! We have lost the privilege of being contemplative. I always marvel at the movies such as Sense and Sensibility and how they had time to visit. At least when I was young, we did visit relatives on Sundays, frequently.
I'm glad you have such common sense Jane! love,andrea
Thanks Andrea! A long long time ago I discovered my way to minister to others is not the same as others. The very fact that I don't fill my entire day with activities, allows others to feel to drop in and cry on my shoulder. For old men to stop and talk to me in the grocery store. They're lonely and I guess I look approachable. Because I'm not so dogged tired and busy, I notice little nuances in others behavior that perhaps would go unnoticed if I was too busy. Once picking up on someone's mood, kept them from committing suicide. Perhaps God uses me in a different way then most, but He still uses me!
DeleteSounds like your Georgie and my Zoey have the same hobby, LOL. I too have a stack of mending that I look forward to getting stitched back up. I love button boxes, when I was a child we would go to garage sales on weekends for fun, and us kids would get a few coins to spend. I loved most, when I would find little boxes with buttons and coins and little pretty rocks to go through and pick out how to spend my coins, some of the best treasure hunting ever. What a great idea to go through and match up the buttons on strings, a couple of years ago I went through my button collection and made up baggies of color groups, but that is about as far as I got. Your Cameo is pretty, what a great idea to string it up with beads, looks nice! After this post I feel the need to get out my buttons and bits and bobs just to look through them all. Hope you and Georgie enjoy your quiet week. :)
ReplyDeleteHmmm..that is nice to hear! (or in this case, read!) I guess people can sense it, for sure! I feel more at ease talking to the elderly. I think it is because when I visited my grandma, when I was young, (which was every day as she lived close by, so I would walk over) she used to send me over to the elderly neighbors on each side of her house, and tell me to say hi to them! (as they were usually on their porch or working in their yards). love,andrea
ReplyDeleteIt's the strangest thing Andrea. Elderly people will just come up to me a start telling me their life story. One time I was just walking down the street and this old gentlemen screeched to a halt, jumped out and tapped his leg. "Hear that? It's wooden" he said. Then he went on to tell me how he had some sort of infection as a baby and they amputated his leg to save his life. After I listened to his story for about 45 minutes and drove off! I never saw him before or since. Strange! Another old man came up to me and started talking in Italian! Guess he thought I knew the language. I just smiled and replied yes when he said capisce, which is the only Italian word I understand! My husband has the same sorts of things happen to him. People are always telling him their most intimate problems. It's really strange because both of us are very private people!
DeleteHi Jane, loved your post today about mending. My mother-in-law loves to do the mending and I haven't had to sew a button on since she came to live with us 12 years ago. I have a favorite apron, with autumn leaves on it that I have worn just about every day for the last 24 years. When Barkley was a puppy he was jumping and playing, and tore a hole in it with his sharp little baby teeth. Unbeknownst to me, Mom took it upstairs and spent the whole evening mending it for me. She sewed up the hole and used some embroidery floss to blend it in with the original design. It came out beautifully! I really treasure my little patched up apron and the love she put into it. Have a lovely evening ahead! Delisa :)
ReplyDeleteHello Delisa! Hope this means you are feeling better! What a lovely mother-in-law you have. My patch isn't so nearly as carefully stitched, but it does have snazzy little reindeer on it! I'm sure Barkley would never rip up anything on purpose. Georgie has a very naughty streak, I'm afraid. Barkley really needs to give him a good talking to on how to behave like a gentleman! To Georgie's credit, he does a bang up job on apologizing.
DeleteJust think...when you are in heaven you will probably meet all of these people and it will all be to your credit! love,andrea
ReplyDeleteFrom your lips to God's ears,Andrea!
DeleteOh Jane...what a lovely nightgown! :) Like you, I feel called to add such special touches to my clothing. It makes it more mine. Your cameo is just so precious. I started collecting them for awhile now, I don't have that many...but the ones I do have, I enjoy wearing from time to time.
ReplyDeletePeace be with you my friend, thank you for sharing.
m.
Thank you Maria! I just love those old vintage pieces. They really knew how to make feminine things back then. I was so happy to find this cameo. I really don't have very many things that belonged to my grandma.
DeleteI appreciate the term 're-purposing.' There is something quite satisfying about neatly mending an item of clothing so it can continue to be useful. I learned how scarce flannel nightwear is when my late Mother yearned for 'real flannel' pajamas. I located some good quality cotton flannel in pretty florals prints and made her several sets.
ReplyDeleteI have a little footstool similar to yours which needs a new cover. I'm sure I have some suitable fabric somewhere in my stash bins.
I do sometimes feel 'guilty' if I'm not keeping at the housework, there's always more that could be done. I love to spend time puttering with my sewing or reading and I tell myself that as long as the basic things are done and good meals on the table I have EARNED the right to putter!
Well I figure because I'm never sick, I can take a sick day from time to time. I'm sick of housework! Ha! I priced some flannel nightgowns in the catalogs. $70! That's about half of what I spend in a year on clothes. Did I mention I'm very frugal?
Deletedear jane
ReplyDeletewhat a lovely post.......i love it.
the footstool is gorgeous.i love all your photos......they are wonderful.
i wish you a lovely weekend,
love and hugs,
regina
Hello Regina! How have you been? I've been worried about you, since you haven't been posting very often. Hope your aches and pains are not back. Thank you for the kind words!
DeleteLovely necklace and gown! It makes me think of Edwardian clothes!
ReplyDeleteAlone for two weeks?? I would be listening to opera and soaking in the tub until I had to go refill the wood stove for more hot water! LOL Sounds like heaven!
I like your idea of stringing the buttons. I have the same problem when I need one... Ah, one more thing on the list to do! LOL
Enjoy your quiet time, Jane! You have earned it!
Went for a drive today< Matty. It felt so good to have the sun shining on me. Listening to Nat and Frank and a new discovery (for me) Diana Panton. Her rendition of Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars is swoon worthy!
DeleteMy blog log in was acting up yesterday, and I think it must have caused my comment to not be posted. I really enjoyed this post, and was thinking of buttons, and mending all day yesterday. :)
ReplyDeleteI was rewarded The Versatile Blogger award this morning, and decided to pass one on to you as well. You can check it out over at my blog. :)
Sorry to have put that bug in your ear, April! Ha! Thank you for the lovely award!
DeleteThat cameo is beautiful! It must be valuable. Great idea with the pearls. I bought a vintage slip at the second hand store, and I think I might look there again for more. I have to admit, I DO feel guilty if I am just sitting--which I rarely do--just at the computer, I do feel as if I must accomplish many things during the day. Guess I'd better get over that, huh?
ReplyDeleteI don't know why it was in the button box, Joy. As a result it has a little black spot on it, not sure how to get it out. Those slips are just so beautiful, unlike the plain shifts that the stores offer now days. Ah! Just feel like a lady when I wear one. And how the were cut on the bias really does nice things for your figure! Well now, don't feel guilty if you like to keep busy! Just different ways for different people!
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