Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Friday, April 11, 2014
Wow, I didn't mean to let this sit fallow for a month. But it's not entirely my fault. First, I had computer issues. The hard drive started acting up big time. We put in a new drive, replaced the (also) faulty CD-ROM drive, then installed Windows 8. It worked ... until it didn't. This was not a Microsoft problem, though: I managed to track it down to a really old version of a program that I like. So now I guess I get to upgrade. I have another program I can use instead, so there's no hurry on the upgrade.
The plumbing problems are best not mentioned. No, really. No one mentions plumbing unless they have to, right? Then there was the minor(ish) finger injury. That kept me from typing with any accuracy for a while.
Plus, I've been busy working on new items for Steam Cat, and plodding along with book plotting. At some point I'm just going to have to sit down and write, damn it.
Anyway. I'm back - I hope.
It's a gorgeous day here, but too windy to get out and work on the patio as planned. I needed some thread, so I worked that errand in with a thrift store run. But of course. And oh, yes. I found stuff!
First, this lighted makeup mirror:
It's probably from the 1930's, and still has the sticker from Acme Specialty Manufacturing, which is
still in business. It needs some touch-up paint, but it still works. Someone added a new cord in the 60s, but everything else is original. It works, too.
Unfortunately, I didn't have a coyote to pose with it, so that's Gwladys Pendelbury modeling today's second find:
This hat probably dates to the 1940s. It's absolutely gorgeous. Like many thrift store hats, the veil is practically gone. The stitching is all by hand, and it's amazing work.
There's not much on the web about Evelyn Varon. She apparently started in France about 1914 and then moved to New York at some point. I've seen hats as late as the 1970s that carried her label.
I like going to the store where I found this hat. They have what I affectionately call "bags o'crap." The take small items, bag 'em up, and you buy the whole bag. Even though the bag is clear, it's sometimes hard to see what's in it. I've hit some amazing fabric and trim jackpots there. Anything in the bag that I can't use I just donate back. The bag I grabbed today had some fabric of dubious value and a lovely vintage fur collar. I draped the collar on Honoria Glossop and took a picture:
Lovely!
I also bought a set of plastic cups that look like large coffee shop cups that I will use to display the coffee sleeves I'm working on for Steam Cat. I want to display them on cups, but I don't want to use branded paper cups or ceramic cups at the next show. Ceramic cups + cement floor = disaster. Why yes, I am a klutz.
Have a good weekend!