Creating Vintage Charm-My Inspirations for all things Vintage

 





In Celebration of the launch of a new magazine

 Creating Vintage Charm

I am posting my inspirations for creating and decorating Vintage style

"Masquerade"

"WildHeart"

"Southern Belle"

    

I would be hard pressed to pinpoint just where my vintage obsession with antiquing, quilting, sewing and crocheting started.

Could it be I got it from my Great Grandmother  Mary E Lee, whom I stayed weekends with in Clarksville Indiana, and remember the hum of her sewing machine smack dab in her formal dining room of her vintage home, she always had handmade flannel nightgowns in the drawers of her guest room in all sizes for all her guest to chose from when staying the night. She taught me how to crochet, I walked around for forever practicing the single stitch chain. I still remember the smell of her cellar that she would send me to go get a can of pears, or peaches.  She upon her passing had many quilts just completed in her hutch, I was 9 and I received a handmade Sunbonnet Sue Quilt and later in life her Kitchen Prayer Ladies  to remember her by.



Granny Lee's Prayer Ladies I have in my corner cabinet by dining table

Some of my Crocheted bed dolls

Filet Crochet angel, doilie and a barbie bed doll, Granny Lee taught me to crochet.

Another Doll I crocheted

Dolls, Doilies and filet crochet.




After Granny Lee passed my family was devastated, soon afterward we moved from Indiana to California, it was then that I became close to my Gramma Lorine Sharp, whom I spent many weekends going to the beauty shop getting our hair and nails done and then to a few yard sales. Lorine Sharp was a beautiful lady whom always spoke with a lilt to her voice, she never came out of her room without full makeup and jewelry . Her house was decorated in Roses, and she collected antique plates and Glass figurines it was from her that I received some of my most prized antique figurines and plates, my love for rose gardening and my ability to can food. I remember helping her can green beans and her giving me a case of them as payment to wrap and put under the christmas tree each year for my momma.

Lorine Sharp (Gramma Sharp)

some of Gramma Sharp's figurines I inheritied

This Angel Planter was on my Gramma Sharps table for as long as I can remember I inherited it and cherish it!

One of my Doilies with Gramma Sharps figurine, this one reminds me of Gramma Sharp!

Doily I crocheted with  Gramma Sharp's soup toureen

My passion for growing cutting and giving away roses came from Gramma Sharp these are some roses
from my Garden

Or could it be I got my love of all things vintage from my Grammy Faulkner on my fathers side from Maine whom I lived by at a very young age and remember visiting in 1st grade on Christmas holiday.  I remember a very spry little woman whom at 4 foot 11 piled her beautiful white locks ontop of her head in a bun and was still almost  half the size of m 6 foot 2 Grampy I wish I could have gotten to know both of them better, but I still own the purple and white aphgan she crochet for me at christmas my 8th year. My brother, sisters, and I could not wait to open our christmas box from "Grammy and Grampy" each year as there were always molasses cookies, popcorn balls , and some crocheted mittens and hat sets, or aphgans.

Grammy and Grampy Faulkner

Antique frame with 1888 Portland Maine Farmhousekeeping Magazine I have this hanging

in sewing room to remind me of my Maine ancestory/relatives.

Or could it be Momma, Barbara Faulkner whom I remember always having a passion for "hitting the sales" I cannot count how many weekends were spent  going to the "sale barn", "auction", "yard sailing" and in our later years "hitting the antique malls or Estate sales". This is the woman that for weeks before christmas you could hear her sewing machine humming after you went to bed. And then, under the tree you would find the coolest barbie clothes made out of the scraps of  material that your new school clothes were made out of, they were wrapped professionally on cardboard with cellophane and somehow she found matching shoes, these were made to look new from the store. Didn't she know I cherished them more because they were handmade? She was ahead of her time as I had barbie clothes that matched my outfits! My momma taught me how to quilt, she has many beautiful  antique figurines, family heirloom quilts some over 100 years old and beautiful rose glass plates . Mom now heads a quilting group that produces many baby quilts to underprivledged mothers through a hospital organization. I almost lost my mother February before last and she fought very hard for her life and was revived twice and in the woods for weeks and hospitilized for a month. 6 weeks after being released from hospital she was back to quilting for charity and and taking her great grandaughter "yard  sailing" , such a strong woman! Never take momma's for granted. cherish every moment.

Mom at 28 when we lived in  Indiana

Bear Paw Quilt I made for my son

Mom also helps me hunt for Vintage linens to repurpose into bags or aprons, little girls dresses and tops for Moms

Some of our recent finds

This vintage lienen will be a two sided server apron

I love linens with ladies on them and all things rosey!

The deer will be a mother daughter christmas aprons, and I just have to make shanty's version of a "coach bag" out of the bottom one......

More Ladies, will make beautiful little girl dresses

I love the "winners circle horse"

My Crafting passions (craziness), have included making 10 quilts in  6 weeks to have a "Quilted Christmas" for my family,  crocheting with cotton lace to make many Antebellum Barbie Bed Dolls and  Rose Doilies galore .  I have in the past had a local  "Shabby Chic" antique booth  and I refinished furniture .  But of late I have enjoyed making handmade bags out of Vintage inspired designer materials and making aprons out of Vintage linens,. recently I have "started seeing my own designs in my head and putting them to paper" and  cutting and sewing my own apron patterns and am inspired by the smallest things. My creation last night was inspired by this vintage mask  that was tied to an old rusted iron window crate that I bought "Antiquing" last Saturday.

Lovely vintage mask

This fabric rosette and antique door pull bought the same day also inspired me. I put it on the apron for a tea towel holder, it is of course removable for wash....

Here it is "The Masquerade"  my original design.  I need a good mannequin to model it!  The sides flounce out just a bit like Marie Antoinette,

By Sewing, crocheting, quilting, canning and decorating with a vintage style it somehow makes me feel  grounded and closer to my loved ones that have passed. I hope to teach my children and grandchildren some of these skills to carry on to the next generations in order to keep family traditions alive!

Sherry

I am having a Grand Opening Give Away for my ShantyGirl Etsy shop details in top right corner

Thanks again!