Colorful Tablecloths

I haven't shared any great reads for a while.

Here's a book I purchased for my overflowing bookshelf.

  I'm cleaning out my craft bins and closets

 to make room for great new items

 such as this great resource featuring

 vintage tablecloths by Schiffer Publishing.

Yvonne Barineau and Erin Henderson, the authors,

give readers four different tablecloth sections --

floral, fruit and veggies, conversational,

and the geometric and abstract.

The photographs of the tablecloths

 by David DeHoyos are wonderful!

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the

 tablecloth descriptions and pictures,

 I especially loved the information provided

about cleaning and storing vintage tablecloths

 given in Chapter 5. 

The manufacturers' information in

Chapter 6 along with the photographs

 of the manufacturers' tags are incredible.

My only disappointment was that the price guide

 was limited to pristine and tagged tablecloths.

  Thus, all suggested price listings

 were on the higher estimated end.

  The authors did give an explanation

 for this in the introduction,

but the buyer of this book still be expecting

 to find help for pricing their vintage

 no longer tagged and probably not pristine tablecloths.

This is a GREAT book to own.

Colorful Tablecloths: 1930's-1960's Threads of the Past

Yvonne Barineau & Erin Henderson

A Schiffer Book For Collectors

With Price Guide

To Read More Reviews or find it on Amazon, Click here.

Amy

"I'd druther quilt . . . ."

A People and Their Quilts

by John Rice Irwin

(Schiffer Publishing Ltd.  1997.  214 pages)

My quilting mother shared this unique book with me.  Although  A People and Their Quilts isn't new, I wasn't familiar with the book until she shared it with me.  Perhaps I missed this find because it really doesn't fall under the "craft" book classification. 

John Irwin, the author, is an historian and founder of the Museum of Appalachia located in Tennessee.  Irwin traveled rural Appalachia interviewing and photographing quilters and their quilts.  The result is a wonderful volume that gives readers the stories behind many vintage and antique quilts.

In some of the Appalachian homes that Irwin entered, the quilter had a raised quilting frame.  I have never seen a raised quilting frame like those pictured in this book.  Apparently, when the mother and her daughters were done quilting, there was a pulley system in place (often in the family living space) so that the quilting frame could be raised to the ceiling.  With space being at a premium in many old homes, having a raised quilting frame was a great way to keep the quilt project accessible but out of the way all year.

Here's an example of a raised quilt frame that could be lowered when desired:

(Thanks to Joann at Scene Through My Eyes for the use of her photo)



A People and Their Quilts provides great inspiration for quilters and crafters, and gives the vintage linen lover just what she wants . . . the story behind that lovely piece of needlework.

"I'd druther quilt than eat on the hungriest day ever I seen" 

Ethel Hall of Kentucky answering Irwin's question about her quilting.

To see Amazon.com's information regarding A People and Their Quilts click here .



Springtime is so lovely!

Amy

"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save;

neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:"

Isaiah 59:1

Have you seen or used a raised quilting frame?

A New Use for Vintage Hankies!

Wow!  Marsha Greenberg is one talented clothing designer -- on a large or small scale.  When I say small scale, I really mean small scale -- try Barbie size, for example!  Although Marsha does design women's clothing, I know her for her vintage handkerchief designer line.  It's amazing.

In 2011, Running Press published Hankie Couture:  Handcrafted Fashions from Vintage Handkerchiefs, which features 125 gorgeous dresses on Marsha's custom-made doll.  The book features a pattern to get wanna-be hankie dress designers like myself started.   For vintage handkerchief collectors or admirers, this book is eye candy overload.

Marsha Greenberg also sells her handmade creations and her book through her colorful website. 

Visit her by clicking hankiecouture.com.

Do you have some vintage hankies?

Amy

"And I give unto them eternal life;  and they shall never perish,

neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."

John 10:28

Dinner with the Family

You'll have to set out your tablecloth if you read this book.  I brought a copy home from my local library and was pleasantly surprised by how well the authors captured my attention.  It wasn't that I expected to be bored -- I just didn't expect to be so entertained.  The Hour That Matters Most:  The Surprising Power of the Family Meal has four authors.  The authors comprise a psychologist, a therapist, and two moms who are the creative force behind the Dream Dinners business model and store. 

I have felt for a while that I needed to make more of an effort to bring my family to the dinner table more often.  My work schedule on some days goes later than my husband's, and more often than not, we found ourselves facing the TV eating supper at separate times.  When my son's soccer season begins, it's even more difficult to bring us together at the same time.  I'm sure that's why I checked the book out when I saw it on the library shelf.  The title hit a sensitive nerve.

The book is a quick read and is filled with Dream Dinner recipes.  Other chapters cover what to talk about and what not to talk about at the table, what benefits eating together will have on your family, and how to prepare frozen dinners for rushed evenings. 

I know I'm getting my own copy of this book.  If you need a copy, too, click here 

One item that I have included at meal time this past year with great success is the Red Plate.  Every once in a while, when we have dinner at the table, I serve my husband or my daughter or son their dinner on the red plate.  They love this!  Sometimes, we tell the person who has been awarded dinner on the red plate why we think they are special.  Sometimes, my children will try to award themselves the plate.  They've had to learn that they never receive the plate on a day that they ask for it.  Even my middle school daughter who has since dubbed many things "not so cool" still covets the red plate.

My red plate has been in my family for quite a while.  I found several online just like it at ebay if you'd like to get one for your family.

Have a happy dinner with your family.

Amy

"And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him (Zacchaeus),

and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house."

Luke 19:5

Do you think Zacchaeus set out his best?