Good Guy Prizes

When my son was little, I used to give him "Good Guy" prizes when he did something really nice or when he showed patience or was helpful to someone else--you get the idea.  Positive reinforcement.

It wasn't all the time, only for special occasions and when I knew the thing he did came from within.

I had a stash of little toys or novelties I would award. Sometimes by giving him a big, loud citation. Like:  "James Harris, for showing exceptional patience and self-control while waiting for a really long time at the doctor's office." Or "Being nice to your little sister by playing a game with her and saying funny things to make her laugh", you are hereby awarded this exceptional Good Guy Prize!"
Followed by a military salute and a presentation.

So one day I decided to take a pocket off one of his shirts, sew this Good Guy Metal in shish embroidery  and re-attach it to the shirt. He loved to wear that shirt!

And when it wore out, I took the pocket off and kept it.

Loom for Sale

This is an antique Rocker-Beater loom.

It dates from around 1850--maybe even earlier.

The wood is hand hewn yellow pine and probably came from the southern areas of the east coast.

I found it in Missouri in the late 1960's. It had been in an old mill before that.

I wove many a rag rug on this beautiful thing. And made a few tapestries as well.

You can seed why it is called a Rocker/Beater loom. The beater bar swings on this rocking chair type arm. The bottom is attached to the frame of the loom by way of a thin-cut flexible piece of wood which is attached to the frame on one end and to the rocker at the other end.

The dog is all hand-cut from wood and works well.

The only metal on this loom is a late-applied ring someone added at a later date to stabilize another dog.





All the heddles were hand-tied cotton string. There are small holes on the large side pieces where nail can be inserted as a guide to tiring new heddles. There are no heddles on the loom at the present, but they are easy to make and attach.

Also, the pegging in the warp beam have been removed.

This loom is for sale. If you are interested in buying it, please contact me via the comments section of this blog.

For a detailed story of how I found the loom, go to the index at the side of the blog and select "Looms".



I live in western Washington state in the U.S. Shipping would have to be arranged and paid for by the buyer.

For more information about historic looms, go to http://www.ohio.edu/people/deanr/rockerbeater/loomalbum.html.

TV and Web Discovery

I stumbled upon a program on cable about a business in Los Angeles called, The Way We Wore.

What a treasure for the fabric addicted!

The collection is amazing.

The website is
just as fascinating as is the blog:

http://thewaywewore.com/blogs/blog.




Think I'll go rifle through my stash and see what they might buy.  The buy too!

1960 Sari Fashions

Whenever I move, I always find some old file or thing that brings back memories. This is a pamphlet I picked up in India. It was an old printing then, but I thought it was interesting.

Formal clothes don't really change, do they? With a little tweeking of the style, these dresses might work even today.

I had a sari converted into a 3 piece outfit: A jacket, a pencil skirted dress with spaghetti straps and a floor-length gathered overskirt that opened in the front. If I could get into it now, it would still look stylish. (And I still have it packed away.)

I have a real soft spot for saris; they are such beautiful things. And I have 3 more stored in the original yardage, un altered.



Here's some suggestions from the 1960's of how a traditional sari can be transformed into the current fashions.

They must have been quite dramatic.  (Click on the picture to get the full page.)

Long time, no posts

Sorry I have let this blog coast for so long.

I have moved and unfortunately, my needlework has gone on the back burner. Hopefully, I will be able to get sorted soon. I do have a good working space that will be available once we are settled in and I hope to pick up my work once again.

In the meantime, I have discovered a very talented artist named Dan Moyer who creates whimsey.  He is currently doing a spin-off on the Blue Willow porcelain we all grew up with. He is producing versions of these plates called Calamity Wear with hidden disasters worked into the design.

Here's an example plate from the run.

And as if this is not enough, he has also been in the process of redesigning the traditional bandana.

Just for fun, I sent him this graphic of how the Japanese used a square of cloth to create shopping bags and other handy things.

Click on the images for more detail.

Going North

Time to pack up the car and head North. See you soon.

Ooops - Drapes

See the previous post - I just realized that I didn't post the finished project.

This is how the room looks now.