Antique Patterns G*A*L*O*R*E

Just when you think the Internet has clammed up and erased all goodness in people, you run across a site like Antique Pattern Library. If you're anything like me and really into crafting and history, then you really need to check out this site. The gracious folks there have scanned and uploaded knitting, crocheting, tatting and other assorted needlework booklets from as far back as the 1840's to the 1920's. Really spectacular stuff!

View the catalog here.

Oh, and Elizabeth and I went to the Market Street Media Foundry on Saturday, as promised, and meandered through a very old and very rough building in search of art. We were not disappointed. The most unique items I saw were created by Chimes Design. She actually rescues discarded dishes and paints the most whimsical little designs on them. I especially liked the birdies. I love the idea of rescuing things (obviously), but all of those dishes I've ignored at Goodwill all these years have the potential to blossom into something totally new and beautiful. How cool is that?

You can find these and other designs at Chimes Designs Etsy shop. Absolutely charming!

Afterwards, I dragged poor Little E over to West End Architectural Salvage on 9th and Cherry downtown. It was on our way home, essentially, and I haven't been there in a very long time. And I'd never visited The Basement. You wanna talk about creepy? I felt mixed feelings, surrounded by beautiful claw foot bathtubs, rusty tin ceiling tiles, and various other pieces and parts. I felt that at any moment Leatherface from Texas Chain Saw Massacre would jump out of one of the dark corners and seriously put an end to a lovely afternoon. We hoofed it back upstairs in short order. As we ran out the door, the owner asked us, "Did you find anything you didn't need?" I thought that was quite clever. You, sir, will find my aura of terror in your basement!

E caught the crafting bug, so we had to rush home and work in the medium of her choice, polymer clay. I suck at polymer clay, even though I own nearly all of the requisite tools. We made a few beads, and I experimented with using my antique circus stamps to make charms out of a clay blend E created from purple and green that wound up brown. I played a little with painting, but I'm not feeling it yet.

Speaking of antique patterns and crafting and such, I need to scan and pimp out the darling baby book illustrated by Dulah Evans Krehbiel I purchased several weeks ago at Found Things. (And, no, it's probably not OK to "pimp out" a baby book, but it sounds cooler when I say it like that.) I scanned it once already and started enhancing the scans in Photoshop. I came upon a perfect combination of Adjustment Layers and Blend Modes, but when I went to apply them to the next page I realized I'd just merged the layers, saved the file, and thus erased all of my steps. Way. To. Go. Sometimes, that "Save Often" adage works against you. Here's to starting over!