Missouri Star and State Historical Museum of Iowa

As I researched for our trip to Des Moines, I quickly realized that Hamilton, Missouri was on our way!  This town is the home of the Missouri Star Quilt Company, whose video tutorials… Continue reading

Favorite Textile Books from the Year

These are three great textile books I came across this year.  Maybe one would make a great gift for a fellow textile aficionado, or maybe you need one for yourself! Costume and Fashion… Continue reading

SalvageHappy — The Steamboat Arabia

My husband needed to go to Des Moines, Iowa for business, and he figured that driving would be almost as fast as going to the airport, dealing with security, and then trying to… Continue reading

Pattern Books from the 1970s and 1980s

We have reached the end of the great collection of pattern books that I picked up in an online auction.  Handwritten notes clipped into these books show that the original owners, Minnie and… Continue reading

Pattern Books from the 1960s

We are getting close to the end of the huge collection of pattern books I bought at an auction, and I remember this era well.  I lived through it with deep disappointment because… Continue reading

Pattern Books from the 1950s

As the year comes to a close, it seems like a good time to dip back in to the pattern book collection I got at an auction in the spring. The 1950s brought… Continue reading

One Warp, Six Variations

In an effort to use up my yarn stash, I returned to a project I had first woven in 2015, and I ended up weaving six table runners. This Handwoven magazine cover from… Continue reading

ScrapHappy November 2023 — Scraps from Many Lives

Back in 2012, I sketched a plan for a way to use all the vintage handkerchiefs I had gathered up over the years, and this year I finally got around to making it.… Continue reading

The Endeavourers’ Reveal Day — Circles and Squares

I am part of an online art quilt group that completes quarterly challenges. This time our theme was “Circles and Squares.” I spent about two months wondering what on earth I would make… Continue reading

Recipes from Old Cookbooks

Updated to include the recipe for frozen pudding from the 1908 cookbook, especially for Kate Chiconi. 🙂 Mixed in with the needlework books that I got in my awesome auction haul, were some… Continue reading