Wayback Wednesday: Handmade Rugs

 

Wayback Wednesday this week is looking at handmade rugs.  I recently watched a British video about hooked rugs.  The lecturer mentioned that in Britain, people used what they had.  In contrast, she suggested that in the U.S. folks used kits instead.

I know that some printed rug backings were sold.  Some of them you can see hanging up in this old photo of a local drygoods store:

I don't know about the rest of the country, but I know in my state women didn't just rely on kits.  Many were designed by the makers and possibly because it was a more frugal way to create.  On this blog post at the Silly BooDilly, there are many rugs featured that weren't kits and women used what they had or drew things themselves.

I don't know if my great-grandmother made hooked rugs or if her own mother did.  But she sure did make braided ones.  Grandma was always making something and I remember watching her braid.  My mother has three of these pieces at her house.  Here are two I took photos of:

There's a lot of gray and dark green tones in these rugs from Grandpa's clothing.  One of the reds was an old coat of one of my great aunt's.  

Do you remember having handmade rugs in your world while you were growing up?

Have a safe and happy day!

Catching up

 

How was your weekend?

I took an extra day off yesterday because I had to go get bloodwork and some tests.

Our weekend was good and the weather was particularly good on Friday and Saturday.  Saturday was my gardening day.  The morning was so fresh and humid free.  I put in as much time as possible.  It felt great!

Lucky did not fare so well over the weekend.  Too many local fireworks really unglued him.  I ended up giving him Benadryl Thursday and Friday night to help take the edge off.  I always feel so bad for dogs during this time of year.  I bought this patriotic fabric a while ago but I still think it should illustrate dogs crying, howling, and shuddering...

Thankfully, that appears to have passed.

We are back to hot and very humid weather.  It's really uncomfortable in the sewing room so all I accomplished in the last few days was to cut all the pieces for Paula's quilt.  

The heat reminds me why I probably abandoned Christmas in July years ago.  It's just too dang hot to be sewing upstairs.

Fortunately I have plenty of handwork to complete in the cooler living room.  This past week I finished a number of table toppers including 2 Christmas ones.  For whatever reason, I can't get the photos to my computer.  I'll show them when I can.

So that is all for here.  Hope you are all staying cool and doing well!

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Lucky Grooming

 

Lucky is the only dog we've had that doesn't mind grooming.  In fact he runs around like a happy mad dog when we get there.  One of the reason is that Jessa has two poodles as well...a standard and a toy.  I wish I could get a photo of all three of them together but they move too fast as they play.

I took a comic I found to Jessa.  She loved it!

Grooming day always leaves Lucky exhausted.

But the next day and for a few days later, he is very unnerved about the haircut.  Apparently he can feel things he couldn't before the cut. 

He'll be barking a lot the next few days because of the Fourth of July.  It already started on Sunday night with locals letting off fireworks.  It's an awful time of year for dogs.😒

Hope you are all having a great day!

Wayback Wednesday

 

Life has been pretty quiet on the "This and That" front.  I've always wanted to do posts on retro things---so here we go.  If you have something you think of nostalgically about, email me!  Today's odd topic:  

Children's Hangers

When I was a kid, I only had one wooden hanger but I loved it.  I was always certain this was older than me.  I loved the little girl and often wondered if she had a story.

I have a few other wooden hangers, gifted to me by a friend:

Some other charming hangers include:

The charming plastic ones.  The ones with cutwork are adorable but I doubt many of them survived:

Multiple children:

Some look homemade (and older):

Cute ones from Germany or Scandinavia...?

As much as I love all these things, I really never knew what to do with them.  But then I saw these ideas on Pinterest:

Along that line, I gave Linda a 1940s hanger that had clothes pins strung on it.  I'm sure it was to dry women's stockings but Linda uses it to dry her herbs!

The reason hangers were so important was because people had less clothing than we do now.  They had small closets (like in my house) and they needed their clothes to last as long as possible.

Do you remember any of these?

Have a safe and happy day!

Christmas in July

I'm fairly certain it's been years since I started Christmas presents in July.  When the grandkids were young, Christmas was so much fun.  I liked Christmas so much that I even listened to carols in July. 

Nearly everyone has everything they need but I thought of a few sewn things I would like to gift this year.  So far, I have mostly just ordered supplies and I'll share finished items as they happen.  

Last Christmas I gave mother a table top holder and a wide variety of small hangings to put on it.  This is one of her favorite things this year and she loves changing the hangings (I made more than one for most months).

I'm now making a similar gift for my sister-aunt Kathy.  I was hoping to get it done for her birthday in July but I'm fairly certain that won't happen. I'll shoot for Christmas.

I also want to make a lap quilt for my brother Jim.  He's the brother who lost his wife last year and then got very sick.  Anyway, he deserves another quilt.  The one I want to make this year is sports themed (the other I had made for him and Janet; it featured flowers).  Some of Jim's sports fabrics just arrived:

How do you feel about sewing for the holidays in July?

Have a safe and happy day!

Flower Friday: June 27, 2025

 

Happy Flower Friday!  How have you been doing?

This week has had challenges for all of us.  We've been coping but I'm ready for some (hopefully) cooler weather this weekend.

It's that time of the season that I do some weeding and little else.  It's too hot to be transplanting flowers.  I do have specific things I still want to get done but that will have to wait.  

We also have the challenge of the catbirds who have a nest in the upper garden.  They are not tolerating any of us being there.  Lucky things this is funny, I don't.  Let the catbirds raise their younguns in peace.  They are here every year and I enjoy them.

Sue sent some lovely flower photos!  I love this picture of a "road lily" 😀

Her rudbeckia is blooming!

Sue's Butterfly Weed:

In my garden, we've had some challenges.  Many of the ferns burned.  I've had these ferns for nearly 30 years and this never ever happened before.

The astilbe is blooming and as you can see, the hydrangea is wilting in defense against the sun.  It's nothing to be too alarmed about.  The bushes are fine by morning and then do the same thing when the temperatures rise.

I hope you have a cooler and fun weekend!

Stay safe and well!

Having a Heat Wave!

 

Well, it seems like most of my readers (if not all) are experiencing the heatwave.   Today should be the last day of our wave.

We've been doing okay.  Dawn walks.  Morning visits to check on my mom and then staying indoors until about 7:30 p.m.  
As I said I would, I am doing a lot of hand sewing.  I have some vintage linens that I've always wanted to do something with and had made some small table top hangings over the weekend and finished on Monday. 

 This had been a cover for a mixer but it was too small for my KitchenAid.  So I finally made it into a wall hanging.  I think he is cute!

Then I made this one:

 

Way back---women used to make or place linens on the toilet tank.  The above piece was meant was likely created for that since most of those doilies were water themed.  This piece makes me laugh because the dog is cute but it also reminds me of my childhood.  

I had a great aunt that had embroidered, crocheted, or lace pieces everywhere in her house (kind of like a feminine craft explosion).  I always felt like we had to tip-toe through her house because it was so overwhelming.

Anyway...this piece is the closest we are getting to swimming this week.  It's too hot for me or Lucky to be out even if there is a pool.  Plus the air quality is terrible.

Speaking of Lucky, he is absolutely woeful this week because we have been stuck in the house.  

Hopefully today will be the last day of the heatwave and life can return to normal.  Hope you are all faring well!

If by any chance you have a photo for Flower Friday, send me an email!

Have a safe and happy day!