Drunk Texting

I would like use that as an excuse for last night but I only had one glass of wine. All I can say is '85 Médoc kicks ass. I was all over the place! Or maybe it was the acme of a mood swing. Also, I was excited as a puppy (minus the piddling) to see people other than my close friends, reading my blog. Tonight is different. I spent a quiet evening painting with my neighbor and partner-in-crime. Right now I'm working on Don Diego de la Vega and the others are almost finished. I paint by the glaze method so most paintings take a few months

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A Warning About Blog Viruses

I can hardly believe it's been almost a month since I last posted. I got caught up in the holiday rush as usual and I also may have been ill. I'm not sure. Let me explain.   Just before Christmas  I was visiting a wonderful blog, Dordogne Quilter, and I think I picked up a virus while scrolling through the pages. I was happily reading about her collection of vintage Singer machines and suddenly started to feel a bit woozy. After that, things were very hazy but when my head cleared a few days later, THIS was sitting on my table

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When I look at it  I have confused flashes in my mind of Dordogne Quilter trying to justify to her hubby the need of more than one sewing machine,  memories of my grandma's quilt which disappeared about 40 years ago (and which I've always sworn to remake), a nice old man who needed help clearing out a house, and the sound advice of my friend at One Gals Trash who told me, " never, ever differentiate between want and need". I'm back to my old self now and have tended to this lovely Singer 15-125. I took her apart, lubricated her, and now she just purrs. Hmmm, that almost sounds like script from a bad porn flic. This little beauty will sew through anything you can get under her foot, including leather. Now I'm sooo glad I won the tug of war with hubby as he was trying to haul my tattered club chair out  to the sidewalk a few months back.  This brings my total of vintage sewing machines to 4. (I guess I really am ill)  Maybe hubby won't notice it but he's becoming suspicious of my old standby of  "Oh, I've had that for years". My friend Christine in Canada does this to her husband with animals. I'm not talking just cats and dogs. It's ponies, goats and chickens too .I believe the last incident involved him finding a sheep she was trying  hide in the bathtub or something like that, but I tend to exaggerate
Okay,  now I'm on a roll and that glass of lovely '85 Médoc is starting to kick in so I'm going to make a quick presentation of eveything else I picked up between Christmas and now, ( the wine is definitely at work, I've just made about 8 typos getting that last sentence out).
This next item is causing a bit of a problem because I didn't think about the fact that I can't just slide/hide it under the bed. But isn't it just the bee's knees?

And all the rest.
Art Deco coffee/tea set with bakelite handles.

Old key rack

Copper butter molds

Crystal cake stand

Petit fours stand

Art Deco perfume. The fragrance is still intact!

A '70's Lanvin dress, a brocade evening coat, a fur stole

Vintage cigarette paper dispenser and a lovely bushel basket that is printed with the name "Mussy".

I also found a  leopard print rabbit fur jacket but it is hideous beyond belief with raccoon tails on the underside of the sleeves and a huge fox tail on either side of the lapels. You want to see it anyway, you say?







Daniel Boone meets Sheena of the Jungle.

 

A Stitch In Time part II

I promised to  show you the first fully automatic machine produced in the French Singer factory back in  1957 ( which happens to be when I was born). This is the Singer 319k. I was attracted from across the room by the sea-foam green color and when I got close it was love at first sight. All the owners could tell me was that it worked. They had no idea what all those levers on the top were for and they had no luck finding the user's manual on the internet. I hesitated, for it did look rather daunting, but I knew I could get a straight stitch and zig-zag and that was enough for me. This machine was just too beautiful!

Once I got it home I  went straight to internet to see if I could find the manual in English rather than French. Not only did I get a hit on the first try, I also found a complete set of "fashion discs" which originally came with the machine. These discs, used with the levers, enable the machine to produce over 100 embroidery designs. Needless to say, at this point, I was near tears. How could this not be a sign that we were meant to be together?

What the hell is THIS ?!! It looks like something from "Alien Goes To The Gynecologist".  Anyone like to have a go?  It was in the accessory box along with lots of other strange and marvelous gizmos which I will show in the next post.

A Stitch In Time

I lucked out on a cache of sewing and embroidery magazines at the grocery store. Let me clarify this. Every Friday a nice gentleman shows up in the parking lot and proceeds to pull out of his van one treasure after the other which he sets out on long tables. Every week it's something new. Yesterday it was boxes and boxes of paper goods. The aroma of old papers is irresistable to me. The embroidery manuals are fantastic. I imagine myself, 60 years ago, sitting in the parlour embroidering my husband's shirts and hankies while he savors a brandy and smokes a pipe. The June Cleaver wannabe looks much more liberated and probably smoked as well. The machine she's using is the second fully automatic model to come out of the French Singer factory back in 1959.
On the next post I will show you the first machine.

18 Hands Between My Thighs

His name is Oscar. He's 16. I know that may seem young but he knows exactly what to do. What a ride he gave me! All muscle and strength.
Ok, now. Get your minds out of the gutter. I'm talking about the horse I rode today. A "hand" is the unit of measure for a horse, equal to 4 inches, so that makes Oscar 6 feet tall at the shoulders. Lets just say it was a challenge to get up into the saddle. I'm going to be sore as hell tomorrow but it was worth it. For now I'll start treating my muscles with a hot bath and a glass of Beaujolais Nouveau which came out today. Tomorrow will be spent in the garden planting and tidying up for winter.
Oh, by the way, my ass was not bigger than Oscar's!

Professor Mountebank's Miracle Cure

You've got to love the French. Only they can invent one remedy that treats two totally unrelated ailments. This one is for " sickness of the veins and ovarian dysfunction".
I wonder if they have something for earache and constipation?

The Horse's Ass

Good news today. A spot opened up at the equestrian center and after several years of no sports activity whatsoever, I'm back in the saddle. It will be good to get back into shape. The one question on my mind when I mount up on Saturday?
Is my ass bigger than the horse's ass?