Nostalgic Ads from the Back Pages

Things our moms really ordered in 1962! I love the small ads in the back of magazines. These are from March 1962 Family Circle. Still lots to mine from that issue. 

People were wearing thong shoes back in '62.

 Blue Willow dishes could be found in many homes.

Round playing cards did not take the world by storm. 

Circus tumblers were plastic. 

So were the "authentic" OJ cups.

But what did the suburban mom do with the Easter chicks?

 Maybe this is why Mom bought La Choy the first time. She served us this canned "Chinese" food and no one really was impressed. Especially Dad. Then, none of us had ever eaten Chinese food before so we did not know how bad it really was.

The Battle of the Bulge was won in Europe with this mysterious discovery.

 The corset made a come back, much to CoCo Chanel's dismay.

Quilting and needlework patterns.

Edith Head: Advice for a 1962 Wardrobe

The March 1962 Family Circle has so much I love. There is an article with Edith Head offering wardrobe advice. Head outfitted many a Hollywood movie actress including  Mae West, Audrey Hepburn, Kim Novak, and Elizabeth Taylor.

For more about Head see
http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/111450%7C0/Edith-Head-Profile.html

http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/10/30-fantastic-movie-costumes-by-edith-head.html

http://www.pinterest.com/camdesigns/edith-heads-sketches/

 

John Quincy Adams Quilting

I have been quilting JQA in a cross hatch. These photos also show the appliquéd motifs with embroidered edges.

Most of the other quiltmakers preparing presidents for Sue Reich's traveling Presidents Quilt show say they are still thinking. That makes me wish that instead of diving in after being inspired I had taken more time to actually do the work. I tend to work in a white heat. 

My biggest concern was that I cut away fabric from under the appliquéd motifs, but forgot to do that for the JQA photo and Mendhi letter. I don't like what is happening with them and may have to stuff that part...which would have been way easier before layering and quilting by inseting a piece of batting. It is a "make it work" moment. Hopefully a "happy accident" one as well. (Clichés homage to Tim Gunn and Bob Ross!)

I also have been reading a upcoming book on the culinary life of John and Abigail Adams, courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. In other words, what JQA ate growing up. Since he left Braintree with his dad for Paris when he was 13 he missed out on a lot of that good old American home cooking. Look for my review in a few days. I may have to try some of those recipes first!

Jane Austen Family Album

One more block done! West Wind for Tom Fowle, Cassandra's fiance who died in the West Indies.
http://austenfamilyalbumquilt.blogspot.com/2014/08/block-21-west-wind-for-tom-fowle.html

I still have the block from two Sundays ago to finish. It has a lot of pieces and I am still working on it.

1962 Illustrations: Household Management

The March 1962 Family Circle has some great illustrations for its article "Short Cuts to Easier House Cleaning" by Sally Pepper Adams, Equipment Editor. She suggests getting organized with a schedule. "Think about your house and the myriad things you do to keep it and your family running smoothly. Make a list of your social obligations--the school car pool, taking the children to the dentist, birthday parties, and so on. Then list the housekeeping chores you do every day, those you do once a week, and those you do monthly or seasonally."

It seems to me that any gal in 1962 who could do this had a quite marketable job skill set.

Keeping the equipment in running order and organized was essential

Weekly fridge cleaning

Children's clothes should be within reach

 

When you put away the winter blankets laundry, repair, then wrap them for storage.

Should the man of the house rule the roost? Virginia Stitzenberger said aye:
"I  often think of our household as a ship. From time to time each child may want the ship to take a particular tack, but there is a skipper at the helm who accepts his rightful responsibility for navigating the vessel. Everyone aboard knows that no mutiny will be tolerated, and that, no matter how tempting it is to explore icebergs or other alluring danger spots, the ship will be safely steered."

Bored children needed help finding projects to do. Perhaps because we were no longer running free outdoors without supervision. I mean, how many hours of TV could a kid watch in a day? Five? Six? That left a few hours to fill.

 The new packaging for canned ham was so safe even little Sally could open it up. A great help to a Mom with her hands, literally, filled.

Not an illustration but a photo ad, this boy's look is pretty disturbing. 

Flea Market Bargains

Several years ago I started a small collection of red and white crocheted hot pads after seeing a friend use hers for coasters. Today at the Royal Oak Flea Market I found a gal selling them for 50 cents each and bought up a whole bunch!

They are so cherry and fun. I just love them.

If you crochet you can get vintage patterns for free at Crochet Pattern Central and at Free Hot Pad Crochet Patterns

See Lori Holt's blog post on Bee in My Bonnet about her collection here..

1962: What's Cooking?

 The March 1962 issue of Family Circle had lots of ads for processed foods. My mom was a big processed food user. It was the culture of the time.



Remember that pudding cheesecake with a graham cracker crust? I think they served it everywhere.

Luckily the only time I had SPAM was when the Girl Scouts went on an overnight camping trip. We each had to bring our own can of SPAM to grill over the fire at breakfast

Just open the can. Make some Biscuit biscuits. Dinner served.

A typical lunch: packaged sliced cheese and canned soup.

I never had waffles for breakfast growing up. These ginger spice ones look GOOD. 

 Meat was standard fare for all meals.

 Vegetables were offered on the side, kind of like pickles or rolls.

Well, even the applesauce had a traditional colonial theme going on. Pennsylvania Dutch.