Speaking of Ann Jillian… Here’s a flashback to 1983 and Dick Clark’s Salute to Andy Gibb Special, in which Jillian and Gibb sang a sweet duet. (Andy was sooooo into cougars!)
Month: October 2013
1921 Brownie Costume
A vintage Butterick Brownie costume pattern; via.
Are You Ready For Some Football, Little Man?
An All American little boy football player bulletin board — bright colors printed on that 70’s natural burlap. Available for sale in our Etsy shop.
Disney: It’s A Living, Gretel
Going through stacks of records, I redisc-overed this gem from 1964: Walt Disney Presents The Story of Hansel and Gretel, with music from the opera by Humperdinck.
At first I thought it was this Engelbert Humperdinck, but it turns out it was by this one; thanks NPR. As disappointing as that was, there was another delightful discovery…
Along with Laura Olsher (narrator), Michael Donahue (Hansel) and Martha Wentwoth (Witch), the voice of Gretel was Ann Jilliann!
That’s a variant spelling of Ann Jillian — the extra “n” was also how she was billed for her portrayal of Little Bo Peep in Disney’s Babes In Toyland. Ann, of course, is to be adored for many things — among them It’s A Living.
The 16 year-old me adored that show; the adult me wants to watch it again. I can’t be the only one… Why isn’t that show available on DVD or Netflix or something?
Antique Witch Costume Brings Big Bucks, Some Assembly Required
This antique Butterick pattern for a witch costume dating to 1898 recently sold for $199.99. Images from the seller, wiskeycowboy.
See Also – Sewing Pattern History: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four.
Log Cabin Quilt Playhouse or Kennel Cover
Found in the October 1980 issue of Decorating & Craft Ideas magazine, this log cabin quilt design is a “wonderfully playful project”.
Make four large blocks, add a fabric roof, and slip the whole thing over a card table for a cozy fabric “homestead” that your children — and assorted household pets — will adore.
Perhaps it says more about me than my pets, but fabric and cardboard sound more like a meal to the dogs and the cats than a “homestead”. However, I do think this could be a cool way to camouflage dog crates and kennels inside the house.
Complete pattern and instructions are in the magazine itself. (Another post from that magazine here.)
Muddled Meanderings in an Outhouse
Poetry straight out of the potty, Muddled Meanderings in an Outhouse by Bob Ross features photos of old outhouses too. We’ve got a copy for sale at Exit 55 Antiques; you can call the store direct at 218) 998-3088 or contact us here if interested. Otherwise, there’s Amazon and eBay.
Retro A-Maze-Ing Halloween Cat Quilt
Perfect for the crazy cat lady in your life, this quilt is based on the simple designs found in coloring books. (We’ve long advocated using those illustrations for patterns.) From the October 1980 issue of Decorating & Craft Ideas magazine, the supposedly simple instructions are:
Look closely at our cat collection and you will find it really a..maze..ing (a network of fabric pathways that winde around this favorite motif.) This marvelous maze could begin with the selection of large, but simple, cat shapes, from children’s coloring books. Transfer them to fabrics, (reverse them for variety), and enlarge each one 1/4 inch. Working from the center out, and from the background to the foreground, arrange, then applique each shape onto the quilt top. (You might even become lost among all the possibilities.) Be sure to distribute sizes and colors evenly. Add pathways to fill in; embroider the details.
The Roof Is On Fire, Oh, And The IRS
We’ve been listing old Model Railroader magazines lately, and I loved my little model railroad when I was a kid. I had all kinds of funky buildings and stuff, and I even threw in some Robotech stuff that was the right scale, and all sorts of things that were wildly not to scale. On one hand, realism is a goal, on the other hand having weird stuff is par for the course. Hence, the existence of this:
Why the IRS? Who cares! Why not just a plain and austere IRS building for the train set? Of course not – burn that sucker down!
You can still buy the set today from Model Power, complete with flashing fire lights and a tiny smoke machine, all of which you can see here, with a special appearance by King Kong. Why not? Model railroad guys are freakin’ crazy.
Petalescence By Pretty Petals
Other than fabric stuff, we have no idea what Petalescense really is… Oddly enough, we do understand what the Pretty Petals are. Both were made by by Siro Craft (Division of Signiago & Rossi, Inc.). Ad on back page of the June 1987 issue of Crafts magazine.
