Clancy's

It'll be right there on the corner on the right hand side as you pull into town.  You can't miss it. 

It says, "Clancy's" in big red letters across the top of a white garage.  There are two pumps right out front.  Used to stick out like a sore thumb when it was new, but that's the place to fuel up or fix a tire.  Clancy's always been pretty handy that way.  He can fix just about anything with wheels, even wagons.  Most folks knew better than to ask him though, and he'd help folks if need be, but he'd mostly send 'em down the road to the livery.  See, his dad Virgil owned the livery so Clancy grew up fixin' things with wheels.  

It was rough on both of 'em when Clancy decided to open the garage.  Like any father/son operation, Virgil had hoped to one day hand the reigns over to his son.  Thing is, Virgil was still goin' strong, and Clancy was beyond the age when most fellas spring the nest.  The other thing both noticed but neither spoke of was the increasing number of auto-carriages about.  It took its toll on the value of the livery though Virgil kept the business side to himself.  

After workin' together from the time Clancy was old enough to recognize the tools asked for, going to work a couple blocks apart seemed like miles for both of 'em.  Neither wished the other any ill will; it 'as the opposite actually.  Each wanted the other to do well and 'as cautions not to take work from him you see.  The remarkable part 'as regardless uh how difficult it 'as for Virgil and Clancy to adjust, it worked out purty good for the town folks.  The wagons 'ud make their way to one end of the town and the auto-cars 'ud keep to the other so that horses weren't spooked near as much as in towns where the wagons and auto-cars were tryin' to get to the same place.  Oh there 'as the occasional foreigner who'd race through and stir up some havoc, but I s'poze that gave folks somethin' to talk about.

Why one time after Clancy had been open for a few years, it was Halloween.  Back then oft' times the young folks 'ud pull pranks on Halloween.  I don't hear uh that 'nymore.  Well those kids, they took a car that was parked at Clancy's and sat it right across the entry to the livery, and took a wagon and parked it right in front of the pumps so Clancy couldn't sell no gas, huh.  It was the darndest thing watchin' the folks who had to wait at both places.  Virgil and Clancy just kinda shook their heads and went to work to set it to right.  See the car, it didn't run, and the wagon was broken so it all took some doin'.  They ended up gettin' Hank Morton's big feed sled and team and was able to push the car up on it.  They got it back down to the garage, but gettin' that broken wagon up on the sled was a bit more of a challenge.  After a lot of work and pullin' uh ropes though, they managed.  How those kids did it in one night, I'll never know.  That seems like just yesterday.  I can still see 'em all plain as day just like they were.  Only most of 'ems gone now.  

The livery burnt down years ago.  Clancy's still there though, but doesn't work on many cars no more.  I should go see him.  I used to stop in when he got that machine.  You could put your coins in it and get a Coca-Cola straight from the machine cold as could be.  There were a few of us who'd stop by and visit while he was workin' on a car - or help if he needed.  Then in the winter, he always kept a pot uh coffee goin'.  He had him this empty coffee can and cut a slit in the top like so, and we'd all add to the can so he could keep makin' us coffee, huh huh.  

He's alright that Clancy.  If you stop in, you tell him I say Hi. 

(You should be able to click on the picture and be directed to the source.)

When Things Were Built to Last

Of course we've all heard about 

"in the good ol' days" and

"when things were built to last a lifetime."

Weather it was a car or a good metal axe head,

the oldies just seem to last.

Here is a perfect example~

For some time, I have attempted to be happy with

my big expensive Rowenta iron.

It's fine for Mr. LB's work shirts,

but for smaller more detail oriented projects,

it is just too cumbersome and finicky.

I had kept my little old Rival iron that I purchased many years ago

from a clearance bin for $7.00.

It worked okay, but the steam feature had issues

which is why I bought the new

"bigger and better" iron.

Well, a week or so ago, the Rival died.

Me being me, I couldn't just pitch it so I ripped into it 

to see what might be wrong with it.

A couple of things struck me as I broke into the thing.

First, it was put together in a way that the plastic pieces

clipped so they would break when pulled apart.

This wasn't a concern for me but meant it was not made to be repaired.

Next, the plastic type number was on the inside.

This meant in order to figure out if any portion of it was recyclable,

one had to dismantle the entire thing.

And lastly, the thing was just made to be temporary overall.

I was somewhat satisfied at least that I could recycle a portion of it.

It had many hours on it, so I really did get my $7 worth.

However,

this morning, I wanted to work on a couple of smaller things.

The thought of using the Rowenta did not bring pleasant words to mind.

Then I thought, "What about......"

"Yes, it's right there."

"Let's just see....."

HA!

I knew it worked as far as getting hot, because I plugged it in

before I purchased it at an estate sale several years ago - for $3.

I thought it would look nice next to some old quilts I have.

I got it down, attached the water reservoir, and plugged it in.

I tried it on a scrap of muslin, and

whatta ya know?

It works perfectly.

It's small, light weight and actually steams the fabric.

I then unplugged it to let it cool so I could dust it all off 

before I used it on a real project.

I am thrilled.

It just got me to thinking,

it's something I tend to do anyways, 

but if there's something I need,

I'll probably search for something old on-line before running right out

and buying the new plastic version.

I believe in the saying "buy quality and buy it once."

That's actually what I thought I was doing when I got the Rowenta.

Little did I know it was actually what I was doing when I got

the little GE at the estate sale.

I suspect it will last a long time.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

A "New" Hand Crank Sewing Machine

I would like to introduce you to Sweet Nell.

She is a Frister & Rossmann hand crank sewing machine 

manufactured in Germany in 1905.

There is quite the history lesson behind her.

You will find no badge or makers symbol.

She has beautiful Egyptian decals

even though some of them have seen better days.

She stitches like a dream.

So the story goes,

as stated above she was manufactured in Germany in 1905.

She then took a little trip to a distributor in London, England.

At some point between when she was manufactured

and the time she was sold in England,

there began a war (WWI)

at which time her badge was removed.

No decent Englishman was going to buy a product

that was made in Germany.

This made tracking down her history a little more challenging.

Once I figured out what brand she was,

it all kinda fell together.
A backwards F and forward R within the scroll-work.

I got her last weekend at an estate sale.

I now wish I could ask the owner (now deceased)

where she got it.

Was it from her family?

Did she pick it up at a tag sale or second hand shop?

She had 8? machines there.

This machine was made in Germany,

sold in England,

and somehow through travels that span 109 years and

will forever more remain a secret,

now resides at her new home in Oregon, USA.

This is just one of the reasons I love old relics.

I can hardly wait to stitch something other than scraps with her.

Until Next Time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

A Quilt Show and An Estate Sale

Talk about a weekend on the go.

Now I need a weekend to recuperate from the weekend.

Saturday was the Pendleton Quilt Show.

It was nice, not as many vendors as usual

which I am finding is kinda the norm since 2008.

There were of course some pretties:

 These 2 are by Jess Berry.

His work is all self designed and hand appliqued and quilted.

Sunday, while lazily roaming Craigslist antiques,

I ran across an add for an estate sale in Waitsburg, WA.

I was going to wait until next weekend

to go that direction for a few odds

but decided to go today instead.

The prices (on Sunday) at half off were fair.

The 'regular' price was what one might find

in a much larger city so perhaps fair in a different geographic area.

They were fair enough to find a few goofy little goodies.

 A whimsical frog tape dispenser.

 

                                                    This thimble intrigued me.  

It has a thread cutter on the side.

It's just sitting on the tea cup, because it's little.

Mr. LB went fishing today so

when I saw this picture, I just cracked up.

It's called "Pa & Ma Philosopher."

I got a few other things also,

that I neeeeeded of course.

I've been being good about saving so I almost felt guilty

after buying these things today.

Mr. LB laughed at me when I told him that and said,

"Just don't spend the mortgage."

May you all have a beautiful Sunday evening.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

My Newest Old Toy

I'm such a kid sometimes!

I'd like to introduce you to my latest toy.

I purchased it at a yard sale weekend before last 

and am just now getting to it.

When I asked if it worked,

the lady said,

"Yeah, but I think it needs a needle or something."

I said, "But the motor runs right?"

She assured me it did.

And indeed it does & yes, it does need a needle:)

She must have just used it for a display.

It has that great salmon colored case.

I am just enough of a nut,

that all my machines run.

What use are they if they don't?

Because I have a use for all ?11? of them you know.

I can't help it~ they just find me.

This one has an on/off button - black.

Then to run it, there is the little slide lever.

It is in dire need of cleaning, which

I'm hoping to get to today.

And maybe even add a needle:?)

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Antique LaMoyne Stars

These are soaking as I type this.

I don't even know how many there are.

I purchased them (quite reasonably)

last weekend.

There was a large quilt-top as well

of the same blocks

that I didn't purchase.

Now I'm kicking myself

and trying to get a hold of the folks

to see if they still have it.

Some of them had some

mystery spots so I used

Grandma's spot remover, 

then a wash with orvis,

and now a 'kinda' second soak.

There was a surprise in the bundle.

They all have a 'spotted muslin' background,

except...

It's the same size, 

same size of stitches and so forth.

Makes me wonder if it was a little joke

or if there was a story to go with it.

I will wait and see what I can come up with

as far as getting the quilt top
before I do anything with these.

My suspicion is that they are pre-1900,

but I'm not very good at quilt dating

with the exception of some crazy quilts

(yep the ones with the dates stitched into them:?)

heehee

~Have a wonderful weekend~

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

But When Do You Have To Admit It?

It was love at first sight.

I just love the extension of the pouring spout.

That shape is fantastic.

The fact that it will join this little group

is just beside the point.

Okay, so I will have to move the 2 tea pots

and rearrange my teacup collection

in order to do so.

It's okay...really...There's no problem.
But..but.. it was made in Italy,
and I didn't have one like thaaat,
and well just look at it....

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Can You Help Me ???

My latest find~

I got this quilt at an estate sale last weekend

for next to nothing because near the edges

it has some overly loved areas.

I actually set it down 

then picked it back up again.

It just spoke to me.

It is all hand stitched,

has an interesting pattern,

and a variety of quilting designs.

 If you look closely,

it looks as though the rectangle pieces 

were at one time a pinkish color

and the diamonds on either side of the yellow

were perhaps a green.

The focus blocks are all quilted the same,

but the solid white or 'open' blocks

are quilted with grids and scallops.

In some of the overly loved parts, 

there is some machine stitching and

maybe 'extra' binding stitched on

for good measure to repair it.

Some of the seams appear a little darker

because there was a peacock-blueish

color thread used to piece parts of it.

All of this said ~ I have no idea how old it is.

If you can help me,

please do so.

I would love to know more.

Thank you

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

At Grampa's Desk

Grampa was born in 1914, almost didn't survive the flu of 1918, lived through the depression, served in WWII, worked for many years at the lumber yard, and told his grand-daughter she would someday get his desk.
I always told him I was in no hurry to get it (because I knew what he meant by 'someday'.)

He lasted 97 years and was kind and intelligent until his last day with us.  
One of the items I found last weekend that I didn't show,

is this book.  The copy-write is 1918, the year before Grampa began school.
He learned 'The Palmer Method' of writing most likely from a book just like this.  Good penmanship was a sign of a good education.
Not to sound cliche, but my how times have changed.

As a teacher, I know the the English is the only language with two forms of writing (print & cursive,) and it would make much more sense to have just one.   Buuuut, the nostalgic romantic in me just loves cursive.  
I even taught a calligraphy class one term.  Not just with regular pens and pencils, but with old fashioned dipping pens.  I wish we still used them.  
They make even so-so writing beautiful.

I use them when I write letters. 
What is a letter? I hear young readers asking.
Here is an example written to my great-great-grand-mother from her Aunt Jane.  They are still here speaking of births, travels, relations, etc.
How many emails will be around 100 years from now?

And now, if you'll allow me, I would like to encourage you 

to sit and write a letter - 
to a friend, a relative, or someone who has touched your life.
If you have never used a fountain pen, and you have the opportunity, go ahead.  Give it a whirl.  You just might find yourself writing more letters just as I am going to do now~
at my grampa's desk.

PS Those are pictures of Grampa with a little ol' me on his lap.  They would probably look a little better in a pretty little frame, but he had them in these little plastic ones for as long as I can remember so I keep them as they are.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

For the Love of Lace

They say the first step is to admit it.

Okay, here goes.

I am addicted...to antique lace.

Am I alone in this?

I was at the local bargain counter and found a piece of wool.

I thought, "I will just look really quick at what else

there is."  In the 25 cent bin, 

I found this beautiful antique lace collar.

Oh, but it gets better.

I donate items there relatively frequently.

When I went to pay for the skirt and collar,

she said, "Oh, I'm not going to charge you for 

that little thing."  

Because, 25 cents was too much???

I thanked her immensely.

The pink ribbon ties must have been sewn on later.

I have a stack of vintage linens and laces up-stairs, 

down-stairs, lace here, lace there,  geesh.

Another fun piece - has a couple little spots - haven't tried to remove yet. 

 If you share this same addiction, there is

a wonderful little book you might enjoy.

It discusses the history of lace and the making

of it over the course of time.

Did you know that at one time lace was outlawed? 

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches