Using Vintage Kitchenware

I have to admit on a larger scale, the KitchenAid Stand Mixer is the way to go.  Set it and forget it.  But on small projects, I enjoy grabbing our vintage Sears Hand Mixer out of the utensil drawer and turning the handle around and around to mix whatever it is I'm mixing.  This piece was probably produced in either the 1950's or the 1960's. Of course the wood-handled utensils are much older, but I like this one because it has a finger grip that comes in quite handy.

"Sears" is embossed on both sides of the handle, as well.

It's just one of those things that helps connect me to a generation or two before.  This is kin to hand-washing dishes.  My grandmother moved into a condo that finally had a dishwasher but does she use it?  No.  She prefers the way she's always done dishes and that's by hand.  She feels she can get them done faster and put away far ahead of the time it would take to load the dishes in a dishwasher and run it through a cycle.

When we go down to the lake cottage, I have to hand wash the dishes because we don't have a dishwasher.  A few years ago when we remodeled the kitchen, my husband wondered if I'd like to have a dishwasher installed and I said no because really, I enjoy doing it the old-fashioned way.  But that's pretty much just down there.  At home I like the modern conveniences for the most part except for this hand mixer.  This has sure gotten a lot mileage lately!

Do you have a vintage item in your kitchen you choose to use over something current?

If you noticed the pie plate, I have two and they will be going into the antique shop for March's First Friday. Message me if you'd like first dibs on them!

The Priscilla Proving Plant

Last Fall, as part of a box lot I purchased at an auction, I found this Presto canning jar lid and glass insert.

Right before I listed this on Etsy, I honed in on the Priscilla Proving Plant embossed logo.

In all my years, I don't believe I've ever seen one like this.  Or perhaps I had and just didn't realize it at the time. Nevertheless, this Priscilla Proving Plant peaked my interest and I started to research it on the internet.  Isn't technology a wonderful thing because before long, I dug up a bit of information.  There's honestly not much about the Priscilla Proving Plant per se, but enough to draw together a bit of a conclusion.

It appears that the Priscilla Proving Plant was a springboard off the Modern Priscilla Magazine that was published between 1887-1930.  From Magazineart.org, I learned that Modern Priscilla began at Lynn, Massachusetts as a sixteen-page quarto devoted to fancy work, dress patterns, china painting and needlework in general at fifty cents a year.  In 1894 it was moved to Boston and eventually it was enlarged in scope to cover many other aspects of women's home life.  It absorbed Everyday Housekeeping in March 1912 and Home Needlework Magazine in May 1917.  The last issue was July 1930 after which it apparently merged into Needlecraft.

I imagine that the proving plant then merged with Good Housekeeping Institute because even today there is the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval and you'll notice that the Good Housekeeping Institute is also embossed on the lid.  But before that time, the Priscilla Proving Plant advertised in trade magazines.  Here are a couple of examples I found:

The Modern Priscilla magazine published cookbooks and other books as well.  Here is an excerpt about choosing home furnishings:

Now if you come across an old Presto jar lid and see the Priscilla Proving Plant logo, you'll know you have a time-tested and approved piece of history in your hands.

If you have additional information, I'd love your comments and I can add them to this blog entry.  :)

Love is in the Air

My booth is ready for the big First Friday Weekend!  I made a few heart chains and a couple of stuffed hanging hearts that I took pictures of yesterday. The rest of the booth looks the same as the pictures below.

The sign that reads, "Maud and Claude's Dancing Bumblebee Cottage" is a temporary one.  Keep watching for our permanent signs!  :)  Hope to see you at PNRR at the West Bottoms in KCMO tomorrow!

First Friday Weekend Ready

Pete N Repeat Repurposed in the West Bottoms of KCMO is decked out and ready for the First Friday weekend.  Here are a some pictures I took around the shop last week:

There are 2 freight elevators that service all the floors in the Central Bag building.  They are run by staff only.  I was quite intimidated at first, but am getting the hang of it now.  Such fun!

I brought one of the elevators up for this picture.  There are 2 lift gates to pull up and then down again before the elevator will move.

Enjoy the pictures of the various booths in the shop ready for you this weekend.  I didn't get everything pictured.  Well, I did, but several were blurry.  I need to learn my new camera better, I guess!

During this weekend there will be live music as well as food!  We all love food!  :)

Hope to see you there!