And… we’re back!
Posted on January 22, 2010
Filed Under the interweb | 2 Comments
I’m told ze comments are back in action. Sorry for the delay.
Phooey… Blog comments aren’t working
Posted on January 22, 2010
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If you’ve tried to comment on my blog lately, your comment probably hasn’t gone through. Something seems to be amiss. We’re working on it!!
Don’t Blame Me, I Voted for Mike Capuano
Posted on January 20, 2010
Filed Under me and my brain, politics, rant, the 'hood | Leave a Comment
… in the Democratic primary for the special election to replace Ted Kennedy in the U.S. Senate. Here’s a link to Capuano’s official web site, in case you’re not familiar with him and his positions. He was the mayor of Somerville and we loved him. He’s currently our representative in the U.S. House and I still think he does a great job. He’s got a lot more spunk than Martha Coakley. I’d like to think he’d have beaten Scott Brown, but maybe the outcome of the election would have just been that much more depressing had it been him instead of Coakley. It would have been a much more spirited campaign–I’m sure of that.
On to brighter topics…
And finally… My Collections: Vintage Christmas Ornaments–Miscellaneous
Posted on January 18, 2010
Filed Under christmas, collections, nostalgia | Leave a Comment
I’ll finish up with some favorite odds and ends.
Red and yellow with flowers

This one looks (to me) like a round grenade.


Red with blue dots

Gold with pink dots

Flowers

Tree

Silver, Red, and Green

Unsilvered lantern with pink and mica

This one is stamped West Germany.

Blue-green lantern

Pink and white with mica

Candles

Silver striped lantern

I really love these last two.
Plaid with red and blue

Plaid with red and white

And even more… My Collections: Vintage Christmas ornaments–Flocked and painted words and images
Posted on January 18, 2010
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I found this one at an antique shop in Montreal.

I have a larger one very similar to this but in worse condition.

Joyous Christmas


Silent Night

Merry Christmas


Santa on skis

Merry Christmas w/holly

Red Merry Christmas

Santa and stars

Now Dasher!


My Collections: Vintage Christmas Ornaments–Bells
Posted on January 15, 2010
Filed Under christmas, collections, nostalgia | Leave a Comment
I promised the ornaments would keep on coming! I’m wishing now that I’d taken better photos of them. Ah well… maybe next year.
So! Onto the bells! My guess is that these are from the 40s or 50s.


This one looks a little older.

It has a clapper inside it, so it rings.





My Collections: Vintage Christmas Ornaments–Hand-painted leaf and feather shapes
Posted on January 13, 2010
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I am especially drawn to these ornaments, many of which I believe are from the 1930s, though some are probably newer.
1. Probably 30s

2. One side

2. Another side

3. Probably 30s. This is a recent addition to my collection.

4. Probably 30s.

5. 30s or 40s

6.

7. Probably 30s

8.

9. Most likely from the 1930s, this is one of my absolute favorite ornaments.

10. This one looks a bit newer.

11.

12. Probably from the 1930s.

13. I love the translucent red glass of this one.

14.

15.

My Collections: Vintage Christmas Ornaments–Fruits, Seeds, Flowers, etc.
Posted on January 12, 2010
Filed Under christmas, collections, nostalgia | 4 Comments
Most of these ornaments are much older–probably from the 1930s, possibly 1920s.
Pine cones


I just got another lovely silver pine cone ornament, but I haven’t photographed it yet. I like the lightly frosted pine cones a lot.
Acorn

Grapes, berries, fruits


This next one might be a little newer. Note that the top is not as narrow as some of the others.


I’m not sure about this one. Cluster of berries?

Flowers, baskets of flowers, etc.
The rose


The top on this next one has definitely been replaced.

This one is tiny and would have likely been used on a feather tree.

My Collections: Vintage Christmas Ornaments–The Stripes
Posted on January 11, 2010
Filed Under christmas, collections, me and my brain, nostalgia, photography | 1 Comment
While taking down our Christmas tree this past weekend, I decided to take pictures of my vintage ornaments before putting them away. Over the next several days (weeks?) I’ll be posting pictures and any info I feel like adding about my collection of vintage Christmas ornaments. I won’t post every single ornament, but I’ll include quite a few of them. I also hope to post more about my much bigger collection of vintage Christmas postcards, and I may get into some of my other collections and treasures as well (socks, books, music). But I’m starting off with what gave me the idea–the ornaments.
In general, I collect what I like. I’m not looking for the most valuable items or necessarily for a particular manufacturer or artist. Instead, I’m looking for what appeals to me–and in the case of vintage ornaments, they have to be genuinely old, not reproductions. I think most of my vintage ornaments are from the 1930s-1950s. Perhaps someone with a lot of knowledge in this area will come upon these posts and tell me more about what I’ve got (and also let me know if I have any misinformation).
Just because, I’ll start with the stripes. Some of these are a bit newer–50s and 60s. I’ll share some older ones in future posts. The clear–or unsilvered–ones may be from the 40s. The story goes that during WWII metals were needed for the war effort, so Christmas ornaments produced during this time were made with unsilvered glass.



This next one seems older. The glass is heavier and sort of frosted and it shows a different sort of wear.




This next one also seems older to me. It’s a bit smaller than many, and something about the glass and the way it’s worn makes me think it’s older.


I love the colors of the one below.


Dolores Del Rio
Posted on January 9, 2010
Filed Under art, films, nostalgia, photography, the telly | 2 Comments
Watching Flying Down to Rio on TCM, I was moved to check out more about the film’s star, Dolores Del Rio. In my search, I came across some strange, wonderful, and sometimes creepy images.


(Photographer for the above two images: Slim Aarons)
A restyled doll by Juan Albuerne

And a beautiful one…
_02.jpg)
And a fabulous one…

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Rhapsody in Tweed cabled pullover for Ezra! using Tahki Donegal Tweed in Forest, from Fall 2004 Interweave Knits. I've just picked this one up again, so it's moving up in the queue!
Sweater with Cable Patterns pullover using Araucania Nature Wool Chunky in Mauve, from Rebecca Magazine Number 28
Heather Pullover using Classic Elite Wings in Larkspur, from Rowan’s A Season’s Tale... This needs the knit doctor. I'm going to have to frog back a little bit and redo the shoulder area. Long story.
Hush Pullover using Jo Sharp DK wool in Wine, from Rowan’s Calmer Collection
More scoop on my knitting endeavors can be found at my home on Ravelry (clicky here).
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