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How old is antique?

OK, boomers, do you remember those sewing cards – cardboard pictures that came with a shoe lace type string that you wove in and out of little holes that outline the shape on the card?. I just saw them advertised as "old-fashioned" sewing cards. Yikes, how did I get to be this old?

How about Coco Marsh, the chocolate syrup, with the toy surprise under the cap? I saw an"antique" Coco Marsh ad in a store. Or Shake-a-Pudding? Or Ayds – the diet aid caramels that would supposedly curb your appetite? Those was a long time ago, but come on, they are no where near antique. Are we they?

When I was little and my mother talked about her childhood I couldn’t believe that she could remember that for back. What was I thinking?

Img_1160We created some memories this weekend. Cousin Lena, here from Denmark, is preparing for her daughter’s Fall wedding. We visited Vancouver’s "Little India" yesterday and found this two-tone blue silk, for $10 a yard, destined to be her mother-of-the-bride dress. A trip to Birkeland Brothers yielded the Estelle Watercolour yarn so I can knit her a shawl for the special day. And one of Chuck’s dyed shawl pins is a perfect match for the yarn.

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19 responses to “How old is antique?”

  1. Jane Avatar
    Jane

    So when and where can we purchase one of Chuck’s lovely shawl pins? I think it would inspire me to knit something other then a scarf. Or maybe one of those pins would look beautiful on a scarf? When you guys visit us in August I wll have to take you to the Cracker Barrel restaurant where they have a section in thier gift shop with tons of “Old Fashion: candy like Razzels, Violets and Bonnamo Turkish taffy. Boy are you going to feel “OLD” when you see what’s there!

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  2. Marina Avatar
    Marina

    Since I have no knowledge of those things you mentioned, maybe I’m not so old after all 😉

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  3. Kristen Avatar
    Kristen

    I had fun sewing those cards. I remember ads for Shake-a-pudding and Ayds but never had either. Not that I needed a diet pill as a kid, but they sure made them sound like delicious candy!
    Your cousin is going to have one gorgeous outfit.

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  4. Megan Avatar
    Megan

    Hey, I used lacing cards like you describe – and I’m sure I’m not old – I’m only just getting used to the idea that I am a “grown up” 🙂 so I can’t be old!
    I have actually been trailing around your blog, wanting to beg for a copy of your diagonal rib scarf (please!) but I seem to have got distracted. Now I want to ask about the beautiful photo above as well – you have used two strands of the yarn (?) and some kind of twisted kind of stitch (?). (Yes, I am not a very experienced or skilled knitter (yet) so maybe this is a dumb question)

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  5. Beth Avatar
    Beth

    Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t remember any of those…
    Love the match between the pin and yarn. They were made for each other!

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  6. crazy for yarn in alabama: Darlene Avatar
    crazy for yarn in alabama: Darlene

    UGH….how well I remember!!! LAWD…I haven’t thought of Ayds diet candies in forever!!! Guess the name wouldn’t be too conducive for sales in this day and age would it?!
    Well…now that I feel all old and “antique”…thanks!! LOL!!
    LOVE the yarn…it will be a beautiful shawl!!

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  7. Suzanne V. (Yarnhog) Avatar
    Suzanne V. (Yarnhog)

    Okay, I remember some of those. I just blogged about “new lows”–those moments when your self-image collides with reality. There are some pretty funny responses along the same lines.

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  8. Beth Avatar
    Beth

    Oh wow – I haven’t thought about Ayds in forever! My grandma always had them in a drawer in the dining room. I remember sneaking them every so often … they were like candy to me … and they were coffee flavored.
    Thanks for reminding me of a great memory!

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  9. Dorothy Avatar
    Dorothy

    I do remember the sewing cards. Today on MSNBC I was reading about the “Summer of Love” – 1967 (the year I graduated from high school) and they were profiling some of the movers and shakers and where they are now. They’re a bunch of old people – Grace Slick is a grandmother, for crying out loud! Of course, that’s not too bad because of bunch of them were also dead. Excuse me while I go find my walker.

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  10. Angie Avatar
    Angie

    My 7 year old daughter asked me a few weeks back, “Mom, what was it like to live without electricity?” I almost fell off of the chair! The fabric and yarn for the shawl is beautiful. Such a lovely shawl pin as well.

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  11. Marianne Avatar
    Marianne

    I’m sure not antique but my childresn sometimes think I am 😦
    How could “we” ever have survived without a cellphone or internet ?

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  12. Marie Avatar
    Marie

    I love the colors. May I ask what stitch/pattern you are using? Thank you.

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  13. Monika Avatar
    Monika

    I’ve got the same yarn in my stash. I’ve knit a scarf with the same yarn, but different color. I love the shawl pin! And I DO remember those sewing cards, we had them as children and I liked to do them.

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  14. Mari Avatar
    Mari

    Mum, that’s a beautifully composed photograph!
    Funny that you talk about these “old” things; I had an idea for my bday party next week, some friends and I might have a throw back party to OUR childhoods…which of course include none of the things you mentioned, but will involve smurfs, NES, lunchables and fruit-by-the-foot. Maybe even some rowdy games of candyland!!

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  15. Lynne Avatar
    Lynne

    What a pretty shawl pin! ANd, boy, do I ever remember the box of Ayds in the dining room buffet! I think my mother hid them from us…as I recall, they didn’t taste too badly!

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  16. Kathleen Avatar
    Kathleen

    What a beautiful shawl pin. I love the point you made about antiques. Hope about Fizzies — those horrible tablets you put in water to make a fizzy drink. How about Weekly Readers? I remember that my mother had a pair of oven mitts that boasted they were filled with asbestos. I was leafing through a old copy of a Life Magazine (remember those???) and came across an ad by Exxon that boasted that they were pumping so much oil they could melt a glacier……Hmmm. Times have certainly changed.

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  17. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    The fabric, yarn and shawl pin are beautiful.
    Yes, I do remember the Ayds, sewing cards, and shake pudding!

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  18. Lynn Avatar
    Lynn

    I remember the Ayds diet candy! They were advertised all the time on TV in the mid 70s. They started going down hill in the early 80s due to the disease AIDS getting more air time. And I dont consider myself that old either!!!

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  19. Amy Avatar
    Amy

    Keep up the good work.

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