Fun and easy ornament making with this beautiful starch and salt dough! -- My Workbasket

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A 1965 issue of Ladies Home Journal featured this fun salt and starch clay in their special Christmas issue. I was determined to make it, because why not really, and we now have some finished ornaments to show you and share the recipe! The recipe is pretty easy but does take one special ingredient. Don’t panic though, I was able to find it online with a quick search and even from Amazon. The clay itself is divine! Much smoother than salt dough, and it takes paint beautifully! Ours were painted with cheap regular craft paint, and even though our paint really is thin and awfulRead More →

Crochet Hot Mat made from a 1964 pattern- My Workbasket

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You guys, what happened to November?!?!?!?!!? Seriously. I know it’s December (omg!) but I DID do a project from the November issue and never got a chance to show you. I actually made this a few months ago, which makes it that much worse that I’m showing it to you late. The November issue featured this Hot Mat set that I thought was just SO fun, funky, and adorable, and I got straight to making them. Well, I got straight to trying to make them. Slight problem though, I could NOT get it to work. So I sent the pattern to my mom and askedRead More →

An overview of a Pack-o-Fun Magazine from December 1968 -- My Workbasket

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I’ve mentioned my Pack-o-Fun stash here before. In fact, since I won an eBay auction in August for a decent stack I since got a great deal a thrift store for another stack just a few weeks ago. My collection is quickly growing! Even more exciting is two random stacks and not a single duplicate! Just for fun, I wanted to share a few highlights from this December  1968 issue. I’m hoping to even make a few of these crafts this month! I have to say, that nativity, that’s a lot of matches. The mobile is quite simple and cute. You could probably make oneRead More →

The cover and craft highlights from a December 1960 magazine issue-- My Workbasket

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December 1960! When this magazine cost 15 cents to pick up at a newsstand, and as the handwritten note says shows “knit cuffs!” Also in 1960, the US was the first to legalize the Birth Control Pill. Queen Elizabeth made it known her family would be known as the House of Windsor. The Beatles made their very first ever public performance. Perhaps you were reading Lady Catterly’s lover, this year it was unbanned in the England after 32 years, or maybe you were more of the To Kill a Mockingbird type.  If you could afford $219.95 for a 23″ tv then you could watch theRead More →

The magazine issue of the month, November 1964. I'll be making some projects and trying some recipes. Plus posting funny ads! My Workbasket

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I noticed this issue has no sign of an address label! Perhaps it was picked up at a newsstand for 15 cents. If you drove to the newsstand you may have paid 30 cents a gallon for gas. I have to say I’m very glad that magazines and gas have NOT followed a similar ratio over the years! Imagine how much our gas would be right now! Pretty much every year has important events, 1964 was no different. The Civil Rights Act of 1964. Beatlemania was sweeping the nation, and those boys from Liverpool had people singing about holding hands. People were listening to a LOTRead More →

Cover art for the October 1966 Workbasket magazine- My Workbasket

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Ronald Reagan was voted in as Governor of California. Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sounds of Silence” was number 1 earlier this year. Cigarette packages got warning labels. There were lots of Vietnam War protests. The Miranda Rights came into being. The US Department of Transportation was created. Ladies were rocking the Mini-Skirt, which took several years to become such a popular trend (the designer Mary Quant started making skirts shorter and shorter in the late 50s.) Adam West appeared as what some people will still claim is the best Batman of all time. Star Trek also debuted this year. My Dad’s personal favorite, How the GrinchRead More →

Three different colors of the 1967 Beanie. A free hat knitting pattern! -- My Workbasket

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The 1967 Knit Beret did NOT work up like the picture showed but the finished result is beautiful and the pattern is here for free.  Since I wanted a ribbed hat I did the obvious thing and designed my own! This pattern is a little harder than the beret but still uses only basic stitches. Both hats knit up flat and are seamed shut. I do believe this hat can be blocked to be a beret as well, but since I’ll wear a beanie and not a beret I didn’t test that theory strongly. I know a plate does fit inside for the classic way toRead More →

The 1967 Beret, a great hat, with a simple knitting stitch. FREE pattern!-- My Workbasket

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In the September 1967 issue, one pattern I started immediately was this beret. Just one problem. At first, I overlooked the original stitch pattern and looked up an alternative. Turns out the stitch pattern IS there, but it isn’t actually right! The stitch pattern listed makes a beautiful stitch that I just adore, BUT it is not ribbed at all like the photo. I shared a picture on Instagram of how it didn’t match up, not even a little, not even at all.   As you can see, no ribs.   You can see the 1967 Ribbed Beanie on the left and the 1967 BeretRead More →

Highlights from the September 1967 Workbasket. I'll be making projects from this issue all month long!-- My Workbaskt

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September 1967, a time for Lonely Hearts Club (the Beatles released that famous album in June) but you won’t have  a lonely heart if you desire an interracial marriage. Thanks to Loving vs Virginia that was declared legal this year. 475,000 men were off in Vietnam, so you could have been lonely for them though. It was a year of protests and upheaval in many ways. Exciting things were happening and not just at war or protests against them. Evil Knievel jumped 16 cars on on his motorcycle. Elvis Presley married Priscilla. The musical “Hair” was showing off-Broadway. People were watching Doctor Who, The BeverlyRead More →

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When I first saw this pattern in the 1967 February magazine I thought it was broomstick lace, which I’ve always loved but can’t remember ever trying. Spoiler alert- It’s NOT broomstick lace! It’s actually a very easy knit lace pattern that mimics broomstick. It’s called the Estonian Shell stitch, and it’s actually very beginner friendly! The only actual stitch needed is the knit stitch, the rest of it is just moving yarn around. So when I started the pattern I ran into some difficulties. The top one being that it used a thick rug yarn, and not realizing that I had already bought some worstedRead More →

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I spent some time trying to finish up some projects in my workbasket, and one of them was this tatted edge from the February 1967 issue. I do know how to tat, both needle and shuttle, but I admit I am not well practiced and I struggle. I’ve discovered if I really get myself mentally into it first I do better. I can pick up a knitting or crochet project and just take off, but with tatting that is not so. Knowing that I opted to keep this edging quite short, and only made about 6 inches worth. After finishing, I did a four strandRead More →

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I promised in February that the Ripe Olive Empress Salad, Jello Mold,  would be made! There was a delay, but it was made as promised. Usually I buy my gelatin in bulk but when I went to a new bulk food store they didn’t sell it that way. I had to go buy Knox from the regular store. Since I had been waiting for my trip to the bulk food store it threw off my timeline a bit. Plus I don’t go to a regular grocery store often, so that made it take even longer.  Then one day the weather was good, so I optedRead More →

A hot pad made from the vintage Palm Loom tool

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I love an old ad. And this 1967 issue had a great one! Palm Loom, “Make Prize-Winning Rugs.” It was right there in the February issue, tucked between 40 yards of lace for $1, and a “Female-Dri” belt. So, I tracked down the Palm Loom on ebay, and after some browsing, watching, rebrowsing, rewatching, and finally some bidding I got one! $6 from Colorado. Luckily, not only did I track it down, but it came with the original paperwork; a full color sheet, and a page of black and white instructions (with quite a few testimonials.) In a box so well fitted it almost hadRead More →

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Do you ever start a project, or a meal, and from start to finish it is just cursed? Just every little thing that can go wrong does, and what should be quick and/or easy take forever or is very hands on. That happened to me Sunday night while cooking dinner. I started a full 30 minutes earlier than usual but every single thing went wrong. I somehow was behind, things that should have been in the oven by six didn’t get there until 6:15 or even 6:30. Things broke. Things leaked. Things went missing. It was just cursed from beginning to end. My roasted chickenRead More →