Vintage Thingies Thursday: Rosey Grier's Needlepoint for Men

Father's Day is almost here, and what better way to celebrate than why commemorating those crafty men out there. For this Vintage Thingies Thursday, I bring you Rosey Grier's Needlepoint for Men, published in 1973:

Some of you may remember that Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier played football for both the New York Giants and the Los Angeles Rams in the 1960s and later he began a successful acting career.

This is a fortunate find from a used bookshop, and I just couldn't put it down. I don't think that there is another book like it in existence! How could someone just give this rare little gem up? It is signed by Rosey himself:

A couple of photos of Rosey in action:

 

Surrounded by a few completed projects.  I like the frog pillow:

The caption says, "Me, with most of my menagerie.  I may be too old to sleep
with a panda, but I sure can needlepoint one."  Too cute.

An example of one of the easy needlepoint designs in the book for the guy into sports (and by the way, enlarge the photo and you can print it out and use it too!):

 

A photo of Rosey with a finished commissioned canvas:

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Vintage Thingies Thursday.  Be sure to visit the other participants at Coloradolady's blog.  And a happy early Father's Day to all the dads out there, including my own, who played poker with Rosey a few times and told me that he's a really nice guy!

Madison Avenue Monday: Ribbon Becomes You

From Vogue Knitting Book, Spring-Summer 1961

Summer Giveaway from Dizzy Little Kingdom & Serendipity Vintage

Thought I'd do a little giveaway with the wonderful Deanna of Dizzy Little Kingdom blog!  I was given a quilting book and as I don't think I'll ever have the patience to quilt I thought it should go to a new home. 

We are giving away a set of fat quarters from Mark Lapinski's Home collection:

 

 
and the book 100 Best Full-Size Quilt Block & Borders which you will love if you are a quilter:

To enter, just leave a comment at Dizzy Little Kingdom by Wednesday, June 16th at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. And while you're there, won't you take a look at Deanna's handmade art dolls  and some of her amazing quilts?

Good luck!

A Step-Saving Kitchen from 1949

I've been floating around the web looking for 1930s and 1940s kitchen color schemes (due to my new swedish weaving/huck embroidery kitchen towel fascination) and I came across this charming video for a U-shaped kitchen designed by the Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics:



I love some of the ideas in the design (and I love the Bakelite radio installed by the telephone)!  Did you know that you need at least 36 inches of counter space to mix bread dough properly?

As for storage, I like the idea of standing racks for baking pans above the counter rather than below, and the storage bins above and at counter height are brilliant for saving counter space.  Though I do think there are some flaws in the design.  For example, storing items above a stove is only asking for heat-damage or loss of flavor/nutrients. 

What do you think of the step-saving kitchen?

Madison Avenue Monday: If You're Ready for This Much Fashion...

...then you'll be able to sail a boat with these pants!  (But I love 'em anyway).

From Needlecraft, Spring-Summer 1973

My New Obsession

Swedish weaving...a.k.a. huck embroidery....

Can you believe I learned how to do this yesterday?  It is so EASY and yet looks so complex.  I'm copying the design off of a 1940s/1950s era kitchen towel.  Leave some comments if you'd like to see how it's done and I'll devise a tutorial.

Winners: Gift Certificate Giveaway

Wow -- many of you must have had plans over the weekend to have had only three entries for this quick little giveaway.  Well, I think all three entries win a gift certificate!  Ladies, please register for an account at Serendipity Vintage.com and I'll add your gift certificate balance right away.

Congratulations!

Surprise Giveaway! Win a Gift Certificate to Serendipity Vintage.com

As I have been puttering about the house on this fine Memorial Day weekend, lamenting that I didn't plan a weekend getaway to some exciting place, I realized that no small number of you must be at home for the long weekend as well.

Although I have a joint-giveaway planned with another bloggy friend coming up soon, I thought it might be fun to give away a couple of $5 gift certificates to SerendipityVintage.com for those of you stuck at home as I am on a holiday weekend.

Just leave a comment telling me about your plans (or lack of them) for this weekend at the end of this post.  One comment per reader.  I will select and announce two winners by random drawing on Tuesday, May 31st.  Contest ends at midnight Pacific Time on Memorial Day, May 30th.  Good luck!

Craft Update: Crocheted Lap Blanket

Just a quick post to say that I've finally finished the lap blanket for my grandmother!  It matches the shawl that I made eons ago.  It's a very, very simple design, just double crochets and a border of shells:
 

 

I have a giveaway in the works for you crafters out there...stay tuned!

Vintage Thingies Thursday: The Egg Divided

A friend just gave me this charming little pull-out recipe booklet from the April 8, 1938 Family Circle magazine, and I thought I'd share it with you (click on the images to enlarge):

Just a quick Vintage Thingies Thursday this week!