Reading Material

Author: Vintagified / Labels:


I bought 4 cool 1920's books yesterday ....


2 volumns of 'Confessions of an Opium Eater'
1 volumn of The Vampire and other poems by Kipling
1 Volume called Dreams by some guy I don't know.

They all look suitably fun and twisted. And are short enough to fit on the bookcase of display.

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Thoughts on war, frugality and patriotism.

Author: Vintagified / Labels:

To most of us now, patriotism and supporting the war mean sticking a flag on our car, or putting a yellow ribbon up somewhere. We support it in a very generalized vague way, with no real connection or feeling of connection unless a relative is in the military.


This was not always so in our country. I am not a historian so I cannot say for sure when the switch from 'We are all in this together' to 'Well thats the government's job' took place, but it most assuredly has. Maybe it is part and parcel of the 'America is the wealthiest and greatest place on earth' myth. The idea that we should have to ask our citizens to sacrifice any of their comforts while we are at war, might indicate that things are not as rosy here as all that. Or maybe people just got out of practice in doing things to support our country after the general disapproval of Vietnam.

Either way...I have been thinking and noticing this more as I read old magazines. Sure, everyone knows that WWII had a huge amount of 'Do your part' stuff to it. But looking back further, so did WWI, and I am only now seeing it in periodicals of the time.

For me this is a very chicken-egg question.

Did Americans become more self centered materialist because they stopped being asked to sacrifice and support war efforts? Or did our emerging self centered materialism cause us to stop listening and making the sorts of sacrifices our grandparents did?

What would happen if we really were at the breaking point, and had to stop being able to buy new clothes due to wool shortages, and only light and heat one room due to coal conservation efforts?

Would the average citizen stomp like a 2 year old in a tantrum, or do we still have some kernel of the grit and determination of our ancestors, deep down, and would be buckle down and cope?

I don't think I will get to find out, but I would really love it if I did get to see it.

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Knit your Bit!

Author: Vintagified / Labels:

http://www.nationalww2museum.org/calendar/knit-your-bit.html#1


They have 3 patterns (one from each prior year) in both knit and crochet...but also take any gender neutral scarf you make.

I have downloaded patterns and will get started this weekend.

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Magazines teach you things!

Author: Vintagified / Labels:

Or at least my favorite vintage magazine, Modern Priscilla does.


I recently picked up a lot of 11 more magazines, which arrived tonight, so I was flipping through and there was a page from one in 1918 that had several notable women all giving opinions on the topic at hand.

Under one of the pictures I see the words 'Miss Jeannette Rankin adds to her other distinctions that of being the first women to sit in the Federal Congress of the United States'

I boggle for a moment, and recheck the date on the cover, September 1918.

Ok, that is just a tiny bit odd being so close to when the right to vote was granted...so I go out to the internet to check this all out.

Sure enough, google 'first woman in congress' and Miss Rankin pops up. And she is a doozy of a woman, and I wonder why I have never ever heard of her.

She was elected to congress from Montana, where women had been given the right to vote in 1914. She was elected in 1916, and went to congress in 1917.

Only four days after taking office, Jeannette Rankin made history in yet another way: she voted against U.S. entry into World War I. She violated protocol by speaking during the roll call before casting her vote, announcing "I want to stand by my country, but I cannot vote for war."

In 1917, she opened the congressional debate on the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, which passed the House in 1917 and the Senate in 1918, to become the 19th Amendment after it was ratified by the states.

But wait....there is more.

After her first term, Montana re-positioned its districts, leaving her in the lurch so to speak, and unable to be re-elected.

but she ran again 24 years later, on the eve of WWII and won and once again the vote for war came up. Rankin went on to announce, “As a woman I can’t go to war, and I refuse to send anyone else.”37 The war resolution passed the House 388–1.

This obviously ruined her political career, but she continued to be an activist for peace until she died and even considered running for senate again in the late 60's, in theory to vote against Vietnam.

She lived to be 92 and died in 1973.

I am aghast that I have never heard of her. Was I just not paying attention in High School?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeannette_Rankin



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Lingerie Bags

Author: Vintagified / Labels:

I made a set of lingerie bags as a bridal shower present, so here they are.














It starts with a pattern,in this case a vintage
transfer pattern retraced on a light box














The design is then transfered to the fabric using a water marker. The markings literally vanish if you get them wet.


















This is a close up of the work just after the guide marks are washed out.

















some Ironing, sewing and fussing and voila!




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I know I know...

Author: Vintagified / Labels:

I never update....sighs.

I am going to try and be better about this....

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Household Tips from Modern Priscilla April 1922

Author: Vintagified / Labels:

Here are just a few Household Hints from my favorite magazine.

When I use chocolate frosting containing butter I always put the frosted cake in the oven for a few seconds, leaving the door open. The result is that all spatula marks and rough spots disappear, and the frosting is smooth and glossy. Care must be taken however, not to let the frosting get too hot or it will run.--A.L California

(This method may be used successfully with other frostings-Ed)



And possibly the first Mocha!

My family enjoys a beverage which I make by adding a little instant coffee to the cocoa paste before adding the hot water or milk. The amount may be varied to suit individual tastes. Mrs. J.E.L. New Mexico

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