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Entries in Vintage (11)

Saturday
03Oct2009

Page's Soft Cotton Knit Dishtowels

There's something so beautiful about a soft, well-used vintage dishtowel.  I often find myself marveling at all of their wonderful neutral shades.  Some are a warm cream, others have honey tones and some stone grey.  I especially love their red details and stripes which range from bright tomato red to rich red wine.  My vintage towels were the inspiration for these Soft Cotton Knit Dishtowels which make drying the dishes feel like a luxurious treat.  Lucky for us, Blue Sky Alpacas makes Organic and Dyed Cottons in all of these beautiful neutrals and reds.

This is one of the simplest and most satisfying knitting projects you'll pick up this fall.  I loved how easy and fun it was to experiment with different striped patterns just by switching from one color to the next.

If you'd like to give your kitchen a bit of that old world feel, check out my Soft Cotton Knit Dishtowels Project Journal and make some of your own.  Enjoy! -- Page

Posted on DateOctober 3, 2009 | Authorpurl bee | Print ArticlePrint | | | in , , , , , | Comment17 Comments
Thursday
17May2007

Gee's Bend: Architecture of the Quilt

gees.green.jpg

Gee's Bend, Alabama, is a little place that has made a big impact on us and many, many other quilters and quilt lovers.   The celebrated quiltmakers of Gee's Bend have inspired thousands of people with their powerful community spirit, distinct patchwork style, and endless creativity.  At the Purl Bee we've mentioned these special quilters more than once or twice; their work touches everything, from postage stamps to knitted sweaters.  Although the first major exhibition of their work was a decade ago, there is much to discover by just looking through a book or catalogue, or visiting a museum or gallery.

If you've never had the pleasure of seeing these quilts in person, we encourage you to visit Gee's Bend: Architecture of the Quilt, a travelling exhibition that originated at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in a museum near you.  The show explores the relationship between the extraordinary construction of Gee's Bend quilts and the idiosyncratic buildings that populate their isolated area of Alabama.  Images of Gee's Bend evoke the lived-in, tumble-down history of the place, and illustrate the environment that produced the quilters.  Both quilts and buildings bear the ingenuity and resourcefulness of their creative makers, from log cabin or "Housetop" quilts to the overlapping wood boards on a barn or the brightly painted cinderblocks of a shuttered grocery store.

gees.blacksquare.jpg 

Anyone who loves crafts will appreciate the strong bond between the homes these quilts adorned and the houses themselves.

The exhibit continues through 2008, so mark your calendar!  

The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD
June 17 — August 26, 2007

In addition to the Gee's Bend exhibit, the Walters Art Museum will also present Linda Day Clark:  The Gee's Bend Photographs, featuring Clark's portraits of the quilters and their surroundings. 

Tacoma Museum of Art, Tacoma, WA
September 22 — December 9, 2007

The Speed Art Museum,Louisville, KY
January 2 — March 23, 2008

Denver Museum of Art, Denver, CO
April 13 — July 6, 2008

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadephia, PA
August 2 — October 2, 2008

The quilts featured here were made by Candis Pettway (top), and Lucy T. Pettway in the 1970s. 

Posted on DateMay 17, 2007 | Authorpurl bee | Print ArticlePrint | | | in , , , , | Comment6 Comments
Wednesday
14Mar2007

Collecting Buttons

buttonshamrock

Buttons: indigenous artifacts that are fleetingly and eternally utilitarian.  Like coins, baby teeth, and postage stamps, buttons find their way into the edited debris of our lives, our collections. They signify everyday life in a direct way, from one hand to another.

The buttons pictured here are part of a collection amassed by my mother-in-law's mother-in-law from the 1940s through the 1980s.  She curated her buttons - thousands of them - and arranged them into fantastic compositions on colored card stock and fabric.  The materials vary from highly polished wood to shimmering pearl to brittle plastic and bone.  Her tastes seem to vary, too.  buttons3.jpg

There seems to have been a gold period, a floral period, and a taste for red.  She embellished the cards with embroidery thread and stationary shop notions. She made animals, flowers, and abstract patterns.

Although I look at these collages today, completely fascinated by their eccentric creativity, the family tells me that this was a rare hobby for a law school educated housewife and mother of five. Today, this collection seems precious, like a diary that reveals her thoughts.  But she didn't think of them that way; buttons are useful tools, even when they are decorating the fin of a fish. Many of the embroidered compositions have been raided. 

I can imagine her, acute, accomplished, eyeing the assembly, searching for just the right button for a particular garment.  Although each piece is clearly rhythmically designed, she did not hesitate to pluck buttons off the cards and put them to use. 

That's the thing about buttons; you are supposed to use them.  Using them does not diminish their beauty.  In fact, the beauty is intensified. 

-- Isabelle 

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Do you have a few favorite buttons?  Share a photo of with us in our Button Button Flickr Group!

Posted on DateMarch 14, 2007 | Authorpurl bee | Print ArticlePrint | | | in , , | Comment5 Comments
Tuesday
06Mar2007

Hide and Seek: Finding Vintage Patterns on the Web

 crochet bunting.jpg

You can find lots of vintage knitting, crochet, and sewing patterns online.  Some are fabulous, others are cryptic. The difference between a good pattern and a bad one is often a matter of being prepared.  Vintage patterns can be a great teaching tool, as well as a place to experiment. 

When using an old pattern, be sure to read all the way through the pattern before you start. If you are following a knitting or crochet pattern, make a swatch to approximate the correct yarn and gauge  for your pattern. Try to familiarize yourself with the terms used in the pattern.   
 
Here are a few sites we visit for inspiration from the crafts of yesteryear:

Soft Memories vintage pattern resource website is a subscription service that also offers free patterns like the Baby bunting pattern above.

march.iron.on.pngPattern Bee is a family-owned business that stocks hundreds of vintage iron-on embroidery transfers, including a free set of flower-of-the-month illustrations.

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Decades of Style provides nearly a century worth of sewing patterns painstakingly reproduced for modern crafters with a full range of sizes.


Posted on DateMarch 6, 2007 | Authorpurl bee | Print ArticlePrint | | | in , , , , , , | Comment5 Comments
Monday
19Feb2007

The Lure of the Loom

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Fiber artists of all stripes will enjoy this fantastic website a Purl customer shared with us: Eloomination, a site devoted to palm-size looms for hand-weaving. Little looms enthusiast Jana Trent presents ideas, patterns, and a gallery of projects, as well as a history of this craft. 

weavettepic.jpg 

weavvettefashion.jpgTrent even shares her collection of vintage patterns as free downloads, like these fabulous fashions from the 1930s.  

You can make almost anything, from hats and scarves to tablecloths and blankets.  We love the simple styling of the vintage patterns, and the exciting innovations of the contemporary projects.

You can weave with any fiber. Cotton or silk, wool or ribbon; you can create different textures and styles using different yarns. Weavette looms are a nice way to experiment with new color and texture combinations.

Purl has a variety of Weavette looms in different sizes and a Weavette book for inspiration, instructions, and stitch patterns. Thanks, Jana, for sharing your passion for weaving with us!

Posted on DateFebruary 19, 2007 | Authorpurl bee | Print ArticlePrint | | | in , , | Comment3 Comments
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