We feel it has been a very good thing to return to a vintage life. It has made us focus on what is important. We have gone back to basics and have so much more purpose in what we do.
White cotton fabric is something I keep on hand so I can make my own table runners, curtains, napkins and gifts.
In the past people did things that was more casual and did not cost anything.
This is where we would go swimming in the summer.
We went fishing often and ate what we caught instead of fishing just for sport. I am actually over on the side here with a fishing pole trying to catch the fish they missed.
These are some beans we picked yesterday. We live in the city on a small lot and yet we find places to grow at least some food.
I removed the strings and snapped them...
Blanched them.....
Drained them then plunged them in ice water....
Divided them for two meals, this was equal to one and a half cans of beans each pile.
And put them in the freezer.....
So the leftover scraps and strings from the beans go out to the compost...
It goes in the bin,
and gets turned under so it can make dirt. This is the working bin... We add grass clippings, leaves and kitchen scraps except for meat and oil. We turn it all under and it gets hot and composts down to dirt.
This is the resting bin...
The resting bin has made dirt so we can use for our potted plants or for adding soil to the garden. That is how we make dirt.
Ok, here is the naked little secret. This is one of my aprons that I wear a lot. It is now faded and has been worn for years. It was sewn at home..... Years ago,
many of us left our seams unfinished (naked). Today everyone wants the fancy, expensive sewing machines and everyone thinks they must have a surger. Sewing has gotten so complicated it makes my head spin. I am here to tell you that it does not have to be complicated. If we have the time we don't even need a sewing machine if we have fabric, needle and thread. An inexpensive sewing machine will do a good job too.
It is not going to pull apart, the threads over time will just jumble up and give you no problem. Actually when I was in school we had classes and we always left our seams unfinished. Sometimes we used pinking shears if we had a good pair, which I finally do now. But these are things we accumulate over time, not necessary to go out and buy them right away.
The same goes for embroidery. We do not need a machine to embroidery, just some fabric, needle and thread.
When we turn it over the back is full of thread but it is ok, that is how it was always made.
We have been brainwashed to a point as we have been constantly targeted to make us think we cannot live without so many things they want us to buy. But we do not need all of this "Stuff", Gadgets and expensive machines.
Two very old caps I have, a sleeping cap and a day cap. I did not make these, I purchased these a long time ago when I was studying lace making.
In the past ladies would get together to socialize and bring their sewing, knitting or needlework to someone's house. They would gather together and each one work on whatever project they were making at the time. They would most likely have tea.
Then there was the sewing bee and quilting bee where ladies would get together to unite in making one thing, usually to give it to someone that needed what they were making. I do believe there are still quilting bees around.
But times have changed and so much has been lost. I feel if people would return to a vintage life it would calm the world as it truly does seem to need calming.
Sometimes we feel overwhelmed because there is so much to do. Possibly we have something to do with that because we have overloaded our schedule or purchased too many things and we don't even have time to do the basic things that should be done. We all go through this but it means we need to take a step in the right direction to correct the problem.
Our children may be over stimulated and as adults that is our place to make good decisions by either never allowing too many electronics, activities and making sure they are in bed early. Children need time to develop their imagination. How to play with simple things. Learn how to live calm, help with chores and especially have time to read a book or have a book read to them.
I hope this is of some interest to you today. Grandma Donna
