cathy of california

mad about macrame' owls, 1975

i was at a little crafty event last week and the conversation turned to macrame'. i was reminded of bill davenport's fantastic "treasury of macrame owls".

i got way into macrame' in junior high. plant hangers were my speciality but i did do at least one owl. i remember my inspiration for the owl came to me when i found just the right piece of driftwood that would act as his pearch. his eyes were big chunky clay beads.

owls have been and continue to be a such a wonderful source of inspiration to crafters and collectors.

(image from "mad about macrame" a hazel pearson handicrafts publication, 1975)

bloesem blog on vintage ceramics

i am feeling a bit under the weather so i won't be posting today. so instead i direct you to the amazing bloesem post on vintage ceramics. if you're not already of big fan (like me) of bloesem, i am sure you'll be adding it to your list of favorites.

(images via bloesem)

"seven seas" pattern towels by cannon mills, 1972

"the towels were photographed on the beach before we found that this was the "seven seas" pattern!"

the stylist for this shoot did an amazing job. just imagine how difficult it was to get those towels to look so smooth & clean on that wet sand.

these are the towels (in blue) i grew up with. i'm sure my mom probably bought them at the broadway.

(from "design u.s.a. - a collaborative effort by the broadway department stores and the california design department of the pasadena museum of art towards awareness of good american design" 1972)

mary blair tomorrowland tile mural, 1967

mary blair did alot of amazing work for disney. shown here is the tile mural she designed for tomorrowland in 1967. that's her (blond in the floral blouse) working on the drawings. mary worked with the interpace tile division of fransican ceramics to produce this masterpiece.

sadly this mural not longer exists. while it's not my place to judge their business decisions, it's too bad we can't visit this in person today and marvel at it's beauty.

(from a franciscan studio ceramics/interpace tile salesman's notebook insert, july 1967)

p.s. a couple of the shots are of artist millard sheets working on his mural for the interpace tile main office. stay tuned for that post.

lynn paulin does it again, 1972

i'm sure you remember our mistress of bargello needlepoint lynn paulin.
well here she is again, but this time she brings us crewel embroidery. this comprehensive book covers everything from the back stitch to turkey work and everything else in between.

that cute little owl was done with the lazy daisy, stem, satin, informal (long & short), van dyke, straight and pekinese stitches as well as french and buillon knots.

i think what i like best about lynn is that she's not afraid to use color!

(from "crewel embroidery" by lynn paulin, 1972)

a very exciting antique mall find

i just love antique malls. the image i used for the homepage of my website was found in a box of photos that i bought at an antique mall. it's a shot from 1966 of a gift shop window featuring some amazing papier mache items (see below).

when i was in palm springs last week to help my friend lisa set up her booth at the palm springs modern show, i made sure that i went to some of the great vintage shops out there.

i hit one of my favorite antique malls but really didn't find anything. but just as i was about to leave i took one last spin around and spotted it. there it was, the same orange papier mache bird candleholder from the photo!

now if i could only find that owl.........

i went to the world famous crochet museum in joshua tree, california

you might remember that a couple of months ago i did a post about the world famous crochet museum. well, this past weekend i took a little day trip to visit a friend who has a place in joshua tree and of course had to stop by.

there is no way i can possibly describe to you just how delighted i was to see shari's collection in person. i was practically in tears (of joy!). it made me so happy to see all of these little crafty creations in one place. each and every one of these crochet creations must have brought alot of happiness to the crafters who made them.

it's so special that shari has collected them and put them in a place of honor. i was so bummed that she was out of town & did not get to meet her.

here's a few shots i took. there are just so many goodies in there it was really hard to get pictures of everything. if you can you really should pay a visit.

ribbon straw an international handicraft, 1967

i'm on the road all this week for work so i won't be posting. but i will be leaving you with some of my favorite covers from the "hazel pearson handicrafts for fun library".

i love your comments but will not be able to approve them until i return!
have a great week. xoxo

plaster casting for fun or profit, 1966

i'm on the road all this week for work so i won't be posting. but i will be leaving you some with of my favorite covers from the "hazel pearson handicrafts for fun library".

i love your comments but will not be able to approve them until i return!
have a great week. xoxo

the art of decoupage, 1966

i'm on the road all this week for work so i won't be posting. but i will be leaving you with some of my favorite covers from the "hazel pearson handicrafts for fun library".

i love your comments but will not be able to approve them until i return!
have a great week. xoxo