Vintage Skills and Style in the Modern World
But this one was really delightful, so I’ll share it.
Summer salads are lush and lovely, but winter invites minimalism. Lettuce forms the base of this one, but spinach, cooked greens, or massaged kale would be good, too. A crisp apple and crunchy broccoli stems co-star in an unlikely, but delicious, pairing.
When everything in the modern world is focused on convenience, and “hacks,” and recipes that take 30 minutes, there’s something to be said for slowing down every once in awhile. Tedious projects give us the chance to build our concentration, unplug from the frenetic pace around us, and test the depth and variety of our vocabulary of curse words.
And thus, gingerbread houses.
So did “smart homemakers” in 1948. I know this, because I happened across the December 1948 issue of Mademoiselle’s Living Magazine, which is, explicitly, the magazine for smart young homemakers.
I love home magazines, and this one, from the late 1940s, did not disappoint. Continue reading “6 DIY Christmas Decorations From 1948 To Try (Plus 1 NOT To)”
There are a lot of things I love about summer, like trips to the beach, working in my garden, not shivering while waiting for the bus, etc. However, I have the heat tolerance of a popsicle. Being excessively warm transforms me from a reasonable person into an angry, wilted mess. A hot sunny day often gets my chronic conditions a-flaring, and let’s not even talk about how easily I sunburn.
These various things being the case, it is not surprising that I am not keen to turn on my oven in the heat of summer. However, I’ve been baking a lot of my own bread lately, and I’d like to continue to do so. Bread baking keeps the oven going at 350-400 degrees for about an hour. The natural conclusion is to buy bread. OR bake it at four in the morning. OR bake it all now.
Enter the freezer, my hero. I’m baking loaves of bread, wrapping them up in foil, and filing them away for summer time.
Food storage has been an issue for humans for a long, long time. It’s why we learned to dry, pickle, bake, boil, and roast. It’s why we figured out canning, and refrigeration, and flash freezing. Having a ready supply of food has meant the difference between survival and death for most of history.
In more recent, vintage-y times, food storage was a way to be thrifty and prepared. Homemakers stored the bounty of their summer gardens for winter, so they didn’t have to rely on store bought products. During World War II, American homemakers were encouraged to grow and can food, so that factory produced stuff could go to the troops and people who couldn’t preserve their own food. This is why victory gardens were such a big thing, and people could get extra sugar rations for canning.
My own reasons for preparing food are a mix of thrift, preference, and a desire to shake my puny fist at our corporate food system. But since I don’t have a summer kitchen, or a root cellar, or basement, or any of the many appealing options for storage that have seen housewives through the ages, I will first have to make space.
The world (and Internet) is full of makers. That’s why I’ve joined the 2016 Vintage Pledge. Thanks to fellow blogger Raven Gemini of Revisionist Vintage, I actually remembered that the Vintage Pledge is a thing, and signed up for it.
The basics are thus:
Sewists and knitters around the globe commit to using vintage or reproduction patterns to make a number of things of their choosing. They share their projects on a dedicated Pinterest board, and use the #VintagePledge hashtag, and eventually there are prizes and such. It’s a great way to see what other people are up to. I’m in it for the inspiration.
So here’s my #VintagePledge:
I, Megan, pledge to make at least three vintage style garments, using fabric and patterns I already own.
This is what’s known in the crafty world as “stash busting.” As a person with very limited storage space, I’m sure my fabric stash pales in comparison to many. This is fine by me. I want to be a person who uses fabric, not a person who stores it. I have two dresser drawers devoted to fabric, and I try hard to keep it strictly to that. However, lately it’s been getting a little crammed in there. There are some pieces I’ve been saving for “something special” which so far seems to mean, “the inside of this drawer.” It’s time for them to live their best life.
This should be fun.
