Author: mjkisner

Follow-up with the Retro Dress and Aprons

Just a quick post to show you the final pictures of the retro 1952 dress and the retro 1940s aprons. The dress was made for my oldest granddaughter (17) in California. She and her family visited this past summer and spent time in several thrift shops and the local antique store looking for “vintage” clothing. We had fun at the fabric store finding patterns for retro clothing…meaning made new but in a vintage style.

Follow-up of the Retro 1952 Dress

We ended up with this pattern.

After she and her family left town, I had the challenge of making the dress with no way to “fit” it to her…I had just her measurements! You can read about the process of making the dress at this link:

https://marykisner.com/making-a-retro-1952-dress/

Fortunately, the dress fit just fine, but it didn’t “look” like the pattern picture.

I finally figured out the skirt was full, but it just didn’t look full. It needed a gathered slip to give it shape! So, I ordered a slip and mailed it to her. Now, the dress looks like what I imagined…EXCEPT…since she wasn’t here, I couldn’t estimate the length of the slip. I left it alone and mailed it to California. Of course, the slip is about 4″ too long!

However, she loves it! I guess it could be a new fashion statement…with the lace showing. Warning to my son…if she decides she doesn’t want the slip showing, you’ll either have to mail it back to me or cut it off and hem it yourself! (Luckily, he knows how to do that!)

Follow-up of the Retro Aprons

Then, I found a pattern for a set of Retro 1940s aprons.

I knew I wanted to make one like the pinafore apron and possibly the half apron, like the one in green on the pattern. If I made two, then both my granddaughters could bake together! You can read about making these aprons here: https://marykisner.com/making-a-retro-1940s-apron/

The pinafore apron was a real challenge and the half apron with pockets was much too complicated! (I don’t remember the apron I made in Home Ec. class around 1960 being this complicated.)

I can’t decide if I’m just out of practice in following complex instructions or if clothing construction procedures have been simplified over the years.

The pinafore apron turned out fine:

The half apron (in purple) was hard to photograph and needed to sit above the waist.

Of course, without my granddaughters nearby I couldn’t check the aprons for length. Turns out they were willing to put them on and send me a picture. They said they loved them! Hopefully, the next time they bake cookies they’ll remember to wear them!

That’s the story of Mary making retro clothing so far. Who knows what I might try next?

Revisiting Ideas for a Handmade Christmas

I was reminded (by Facebook no less) of a post I wrote one year ago today. It was a great reminder for me because I’m still making and gifting these items…but since I already posted about each project, I usually don’t post about it again. I’d like to share it here to give you some ideas for a handmade Christmas by giving you the link to the original articles:

https://marykisner.com/tis-the-season-part-1-paper-soap-and-fabric/

and the follow-up post: https://marykisner.com/tis-the-season-part-2-clay/

The first post describes (and links to the original posts) how to make gift bags and boxes by recycling pictures from calendars, guest soaps from melt and pour soap bases and making hot or cold neck wraps from fabric. The second post deals with polymer clay projects. If you’re looking for ideas for a homemade Christmas, give some of these a try. Enjoy!

Every Diet Has a Power Bowl

While I was sorting books for the yard sale last week, I took the time to look through my cookbooks. I realized I had cookbooks with recipes focused on plants, whole-grains, beans and meat. I’ve found good recipes buried in diet cookbooks for vegans, vegetarians and followers of a Keto diet. When I looked across the covers, I tried to figure out why these particular books appealed to me…no matter what foods I’m focused on.

The most recent book I picked up, Keto Power Bowls by Faith Gorsky, finally struck a chord! It seems most of the books on my shelf showcase a recipe in a bowl!

I’m sure the plain white bowls are necessary to display salad or soup in pictures, but I think I’m attracted to the concept of a meal in a bowl. So, whole grain recipes start with rice in the bowl with steamed vegetables on top, while the Keto Bowl starts with lettuce or cauliflower rice with cooked meat, onion and cheese on top.

What always sucks me in is the bowl concept! I love beautiful bowls! Curious, since my dishes are plain white. I’m always checking out handmade earthenware or ceramic bowls at antique stores or thrift shops. Frequently, they are not dishwasher safe. I’ve tried to restrain myself so I’m not stuck with dishes I have to wash by hand.

I finally went online and found some ceramic bowls for salad or pasta that could be fun. This set, from Amazon, made me smile:

These are a little bigger and deeper than the ones that come with my dishes:

Then I was looking at other choices…for soup…and ordered these (also dishwasher safe):

So, no matter what I feel like putting in the bowls, I can guarantee I will smile each time I use them!

Dogwood Trees: From Flowers to Pumpkins

We have a lovely row of Japanese Dogwood trees across our front yard. Most of the year they are like other deciduous trees with leaves in the spring that grow, turn colors and fall off in the fall.

Along about June, these trees have beautiful white flowers that look gorgeous when they all blossom at the same time.

The blossoms last several weeks and the center of each blossom is the seed pod. They continue to grow all summer and by October they turn a bright orange! Looks like little pumpkins all over the tree!

Just to show you the size of the seed pods, I picked a few.

I first thought I could collect a few and use them as decorations around the house…NOPE! Within a day or two they turned an ugly brown.

Bert also discovered when they fall to the ground and he runs the mower around the trees…they become splattering projectiles. What a mess!

Happy October!

Getting Ready for the Yard Sale at the Boalsburg Fire Hall

I’m getting my stuff ready to head to the Boalsburg Fire Hall to set up for the indoor yard sale that will happen tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday, October 6 & 7, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. We’d love to see you there!

Participating in a group yard sale is a little different from doing one on your own. Having a yard sale on your own is a lot of work…just sorting “stuff” throughout the house and taking over your garage can take days or weeks! Then trying to put a price on each item is tough when you can remember how much you paid for items in the first place. You really have to be strong and be ready to let go of your “stuff.”

A yard sale that is also a fundraiser for a group has a few additional activities. Once the items have been collected and priced, everything needs to be transported to a central location…in this case the Fire Hall!

Here’s my car packed with “stuff” …some is mine, most was donated by other family members and friends. Bags are filled with books, games and other “collectibles.”

In addition to the “stuff” to sell, I was tasked with baking cookies to sell. So a few days ago I baked 3 dozen oatmeal-raisin cookies and 4 dozen Snickerdoodles. They are bagged and ready to sell along with chili, soup and hot dogs provided by others.

I will spend the afternoon today at the Fire Hall to unload and set up “stuff.” One thing we learned from previous sales was how much we wished we had background music during the day. I remembered that and packed up my tiny BOSE speaker and will plug it in next to my phone.

My phone can select all the songs on all the albums I have downloaded and “shuffle” them. It should be an interesting mix of songs…from Alan Jackson to Elton John and Backstreet Boys to Enya. Hopefully, with the shuffle, no one artist will be too overwhelming. I’m not sure if the tiny speaker will fill the Fire Hall, but I’ll give it a try!

I really dislike doing a yard sale by myself…just too much work for a few bucks. Maybe when we’re ready to move, we’ll have a “moving sale” and I’ll be more motivated to get rid of “stuff.” Having this sale with the Ladies Auxiliary to the Boalsburg Fire Company is also a lot of work, but it does generate quite a bit of money for our group and always ends up being an enjoyable day with friends!

Yard Sale to Benefit the Boalsburg Fire Company Auxiliary

The Ladies Auxiliary to the Boalsburg Fire Company will hold their indoor flea market/yard sale this Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., October 6 & 7, 2023. Please plan to drop by rain or shine! With everything being held indoors at the Fire Hall you can browse in comfort. This event is held twice a year and is a major fundraiser for our group. We use the funds to keep the kitchen up-to-date and donate much of our profits to the Fire Company. The sale in the fall usually features various Halloween and Christmas items.

If you don’t live nearby, check out the activities of your local Fire Company. There may be similar activities in your area. Most Fire Companies are supported by local volunteers and various fundraisers help with their equipment needs.

This flea market/yard sale offers a table for a fee and local folks can display their own items for sale. The table fees support the work of the Auxiliary. The Auxiliary ladies fill up 3 or 4 tables with donated stuff and that money also supports our work.

I’ve shared pictures of past yard sales in two posts. You can see them here:

https://marykisner.com/flea-market/ and https://marykisner.com/exploring-an-indoor-yard-sale-or-flea-market/

If you’re nearby, we’d love to share this indoor yard sale with you! Sale is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on October 6 & 7. Rain or shine! Come support the Boalsburg Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary!

Making French Apple Cake

Fall is definitely the time I see many recipes for apple desserts. I often get inspired to try, one more time, an apple pie, an apple crisp or even an apple cobbler. Unfortunately, I have yet to be successful with any of the standard recipes! I have no trouble cutting up the apples, but for some reason my finished products are runny and the toppings are flavor-less. Bert will eat any of my attempts, but it takes the fun out of it when I am unsuccessful…time after time!

Have I got a great apple recipe for you! I found this on www.allrecipes.com called French Apple Cake. This “cake” was easy to put together and made a nice flavorful dessert. Of course, it called for dark rum, so what do you expect!

Most every recipe I download I usually retype and reformat the instructions to be more like the ones in my Joy of Cooking cookbook. When instructions are given in sentence form, I end up either missing an ingredient or combining things in the wrong order. Here is the way I revised the recipe:

The first time I made this cake, I used a round cake pan. It worked, but once the cake was turned out on to a plate it was hard to cover it to put it in the refrigerator. this time I used a Corning-ware casserole dish that had a snap on plastic lid. Worked much better!

If you follow the recipe above, here are some pictures of the process:

Cut up 3 large apples into very small pieces. Keep covered with water until ready to add to the cake.

Melt a stick of butter and mix into the sugars.

When butter and sugars are mixed, add the 2 eggs and flour mixture. Beat until smooth.

Add 3 Tbsp of rum (optional) and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and mix until smooth.

Drain and fold in the apples until evenly mixed and transfer the batter to a buttered pan or casserole. Dust the top with sugar.

Bake for 45 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Remove cake from oven and let cool in the pan about 30 minutes.

If you used the cake pan, flip it out onto a pan, remove the parchment paper and flip again.

Top with cinnamon and sugar (or powdered sugar).

Check it out! Apples were perfect, cake made it not runny! Success! Next time I’ll leave out the rum, but Bert liked it!

My favorite way to use apples!

Making a Retro 1940s Apron

When was the last time you wore an apron? Do you have a novelty one to use when you barbeque, or a heat resistant one to protect you when you drop that Thanksgiving turkey into boiling oil? Maybe your job has an apron as part of your uniform or you grab one when you’re dressed up and want to pull a dish out of the oven. I don’t think I have a single apron anywhere in my house and I haven’t made one since 7th grade Home Economics class…a long time ago!!

In the 1930s and 1940s when fabric was scarce our grandmothers and great grandmothers used aprons to protect their expensive clothing. Those aprons were often made from colorful feed-sacks or repurposed sheets to save money. My mother seemed to have a hankie in every pocket…long before affordable paper tissues. Bert remembers his grandmother always had wrapped homemade candy in her apron pockets that he looked forward to with every visit.

With my granddaughter’s interest in vintage clothing, I thought I could easily make an apron like the ones from the 1940s. Haha! Easy is not the right word to describe making retro 1940s anything!

I should know better by now. A few weeks ago I made her a dress from the 1950s and was amazed how complicated every step was. Maybe I just haven’t made clothing for many years but it feels like in the last 10 or 15 years the methods of construction have been simplified or the instructions in patterns have better step-by-step illustrations. You can see more about the dress I made at https://marykisner.com/making-a-retro-1952-dress/ and the final result on my granddaughter at https://marykisner.com/success-with-the-retro-1952-dress/.

I’ve been bothered for several weeks that something was missing with the dress. She loved it but you really can’t see how full the skirt is. I finally figured out that the dress needed a half slip…it could even be a crinoline (remember that stiff scratchy stuff?) No, that would be too much. I just ordered her a cotton slip with gathered layers. That might make the dress look more like the picture…at least if she wants to look like 1952! We’ll see!

Anyway, she was so happy about the dress and I was feeling accomplished about making it. I started looking at other retro patterns. I found this Retro 1940s Apron pattern and figured it didn’t look too hard. Again…haha!

I was interested in trying the red one with the lace along the side of the bib. This would be called a pinafore apron. She hasn’t really asked for an apron, so it will be a surprise. Who knows? Maybe it will be useful as a Halloween costume or on stage in a play. She’s headed off to college next year but she does like to bake. Actually, this project will keep Grandma Mary busy, so that’s all that matters.

I won’t try to go step by step, but here are a few pictures as I worked on the apron:

Gathering the eyelet lace:

Figuring out how the bib and straps went together:

Getting the lace attached:

Here is the front of the finished apron:

And the back, with the straps crossed:

If I decide I need an apron, I don’t think I’ll make a Retro 1940s one…at least not from this pattern. If you need an apron, may I suggest choosing one from a kitchen supply store or a novelty one with a clever saying!

Sweet Potato Success

One surprising and delightful result from our 2023 garden season was our success with growing a sweet potato plant in a big pot. It all started with one lonely sweet potato that was forgotten and had started to sprout on the kitchen table last spring.

Bert planted it in a huge pot by the patio and it wasn’t long before the plant made an appearance.

It survived munching by the wandering bunnies and finally made blossoms.

A few days ago, Bert dumped the whole pot into the wheel barrow. What a surprise! The whole pot was packed with roots and small sweet potatoes. Unfortunately, I was so excited to check it out I forgot to take a picture of it! Impressive!

We worked at ripping the mass of roots apart…and it was a solid mass! Here is what I saved from the roots. There were another two-dozen small sweet potatoes hanging from the roots…they were cute not worth the trouble to save.

Basically, I had one large, ordinary-looking sweet potato (on the right) and about a dozen weird shaped potatoes that I think I can clean up, cut into chunks and boil or roast.

When sliced into rounds they roasted quickly. The skins were thin and helped to make them crunchy!

So, that was a fun addition to the garden this year. Maybe next year we should plant a sweet potato in the fenced garden by the patio so it could spread out! We’ll see!

Blog Update Success September 23, 2023

Thanks for your patience! I spent the week trying to figure out what was happening with my website. Many components didn’t work. I couldn’t place pictures or update various things. I was faced with making a decision about how to get tech support…without buying a plan for about $100/year…kind of like Best Buy’s Geek Squad.

Luckily, I have a very patient computer literate son in California who was able to walk me through what to look for and was even able to “share” my computer screen so he could explore things. Turns out I had run out of memory storage and for only an extra $50 or so I could increase the storage…and magically, I can now place more pictures! Yea!!

So, I will continue on with the various articles I had all ready to go to press. Let me know if there are topics you’d like to know more about and I’ll see what I can do! You can email me at marykisner@comcast.net.

Enjoy!