5 August 1956 “The Boldness of Mid-Century Interiors and A New Dress…Almost”

I thought for a quick post today I would show the boldness of the 1950’s interior. Now, certainly not all homes had such bold looks, just as today most homes don’t look like magazine shots. But, there was a bravery, an almost innocent brashness in the post war color scheme.
This bedroom has no apologies. And the color combination is like a jewel box with Deep purple and coral pink and touches of teal blue. It makes me think of the colors of a coral reef. In fact, when you see this color in the context of nature, you can really see its beauty. And you could even add some orange to this bedroom with pillows and it would work as it does in nature. And you can see the boldness of this color scheme in a bath. Here the Golds and Browns remind me of this moth. And this same color scheme, with the green of the leaf, works in this dining room of Heywood-Wakefield Furnishing.
Even the Early American and Colonial mid century home boldness is the key.The contrast of the rough pine open shelves with the bright modern vinyl floor works because of the deliberateness of the room. The chosen items displayed in the window and on the shelves.
This living room gives me inspiration for my own actual 1700’s house using the bold strokes and colors of mid-century. The clean starkness of a Colonial home is enlivened with a daring pallette of pinks and greens. The inside of the shelves pick up the colors of the sofa fabric and even the pink tones in the brick. The mid-century decorator had an almost Victorian approach to color. Though they were much more selective with objects than their Victorian ancestors, the colors remind me of the unhindered use of color. There seems to be a deliberateness and confident action in ‘what is right and what should be done’ in many things done in the 1950s. And though there were things we are glad to have moved away from, the feeling of rightness of place and mature decision seems to permeate the decade as a whole. That is something I have truly come to love about my project and the decade.
Now, onto sewing.That same boldness of color and decision surely hit me in the making of my latest dress. Though it is not yet done, I wanted to share with you my latest attempt.
I found this lovely navy fabric with the dots of red white and a lighter blue. It just screamed vintage, though there was not enough to make an entire dress. So, I chose to match the lighter blue dot and used a solid cotton. The skirt will be the solid blue and trimmed in the patterned fabric. I had wanted to make a peter pan collar, but it did not work out as I had planned. So I am taking the large scale ric rac you see and pinning it and placing it where I would like to cut the new neckline. It will dip in the back like this. Now you can still see the fabric above the ric rac, but I will pin the ric rac down and then cut the new neckline, hem it and attach the rick rack to the neckline. I adore the look and to me it was a natural conclusion. It has a determined action of color and boldness the old me may not have taken, but now, 1956 style, it seems, well, natural. I will share the dress when it is done with how I trimmed the edge of the skirt.
Well, that is it for me today, Happy Homemaking all.

4 August 1956 “Summer Recipes and a Gentle Warning of Things to Come.”

First off, some fun summer recipes:
This month I am going to be sharing the recipes from this article with you. Each section is broken down into a specific summer time meal. Today we are going to be looking at Simple Meals Done Fancy. (Click to see images larger)
And while you are making your fun summer meal, why not make an attractive place in which to eat it. I love that in this setting they took the color cues from the marigolds (which you could plant flowers near your outdoor seating it flowers to match your dishes you may already have) and the color of the birch trees. And yellow and gray is such a fun and yet sophisticated color palette.

Living in 1956 has become rather normal to me. Thumbing through my old magazines, I am always jotting down recipes or earmarking pages for future plans or posts. Sometimes I will see an ad and it will strike me first as a 56 woman. This ad did that.It seems innocent enough (Click to enlarge) but when I read the caption under the smiling girl I thought, “Oh no, that is not a good lesson to teach”. It reads: “Little girls are learning from their mothers that Dixie cups eliminate between meal dish washing. Used for after school snacks, juices, lunches, and bedtime drinks, inexpensive Dixie cups saves hours of work in the kitchen.”
Now, the 1956 me thought, that is sad. That little girl will learn to waste and how can it be Less expensive to buy more of a product you don’t need, when you can simply wash a glass? My older woman 50’s mentality kicked in and my War Time Thrift dander was up.
“That’s a shame” my 50’s persona said, ‘That young girls today shall learn it is easier to be wasteful and lazy than to merely rinse a glass or two until evening dishwashing time. And, they have dishwashers, which we never had in my day” Sometimes my 50’s persona can sound like a curmudgeonly old grandma, but it is true.
Then, of course, the ‘modern me’ poked her two cents in. “Ah, ha! They are already beginning to train the boomer generation to naturally shop and buy things to make life ‘easier’ without considering consequence to pocketbook or their grandchildren’s world. (It can be hard to keep the modern me quiet as well)
So, really not even a rant, gals, just a gentle warning sign. Here it is, mid 50’s, and we are training ourselves that it is easier to buy and spend more and have more garbage than to just take a second to wash out a glass. Did it start this way? Easier? : Okay, a few more dollars in the budget for this and that and though I am still ‘at home’ and could wash it out quickly, why bother. Now I have more time and oh, the tv to watch… Generations later: I can’t afford all these bills and I need to charge products I need and then work two jobs to pay for them. Now my dixie cups that cost one dollar cost me 50 with all the credit card interest. But, it’s so easy!
Is this an over exaggeration or did we start out innocently enough like this, a simple little ad for paper cups you throw away with a smiling little girl happy to ‘learn the ease of disposable living’?
Lately my need to rant has somewhat left me. I can feel overwhelmed when I spot such things creeping into our culture through my magazines, but what can I do? I know, we can just pay attention and be cautious of what we buy. Yet, I feel so bad for the countless seeming masses of people who will never even realize that they could lead a different easier more fulfilling life. What can one do? So, we smile and make our lives as rich as we can. I know my life is still better for having opened my eyes to my own modern world and the new generations. Overall I still feel rather positive about our future because then I think of all of you. How many wonderful people seem to be out there in Blog land with good common sense and the ability to ask, “WHY” and not just take their world at face value. To evaluate their lives and their decisions and make real choices to improve themselves and their children’s futures. So Brava and Bravo to all of you who do make a difference in the modern world.
Now, go make some of these lovely fun summer recipes and enjoy yourself! Happy Homemaking.

3 August 1956 “How My Garden Grows: with Vintage Style.”

  I have not mentioned my garden in some time. It is coming along nicely. And though this year is an experimental year, I believe I have learned some good and bad to approach next year’s harvest.
One major issue for me has been the amount of sunlight I get. While I had extended the fence and trimmed trees to add to the veg garden towards the road next summer, I now realize it will have to go the other way. This will be fine and will probably look nicer over all. That area will become fenced as well and within that garden off the house, my greenhouse will eventually be built. The joy of starting more things early and trying many plants year round will be exciting.
So, with my lessened sunlight, I think I am still satisfied with what I have grown thus far. I tried to keep it simple and planted one half of the garden just in tomatoes. They are all heirloom varieties, and if you recall my earlier spring posts, are interesting as well. I have two rows of a green variety that when ripe stays green. I was at first worried as they grew very tall, about 5 feet now, but were not flowering. But, in the past two weeks have taken off and blooms abound as do ripening tomatoes.
My French Pole beans have taken off and are over six feet high now.They have not begun to flower and I was concerned, but read in one of my vintage garden books that pole beans need to be trimmed at the top once they reach the top of the structure  you are growing them on (for me that is cut pieces of bamboo that I grow myself). So, I am hoping if I trim off the heads of all the new runners, the energy from the plants will go into blooms and we shall have a bumper crop of beautiful blue French beans.
My cucumbers I started indoors with my tomatoes and they are doing rather well. I have trained them to climb up the side of the house that shares the veg garden bed. They are doing fairly well, but I misplaced my tags so my two varieties, slicing and pickling, are now mingled and a mystery. It should matter little as you can eat or pickle any cuke really, but shame on me. For fun, and do to lack of space in the veg garden proper, I decided to plant my heirloom antique pink squash in my flower boxes. They got planted later than I would have normally done so, but they are thriving.And they are covered in lush bright blooms the size of a baseball.I love the thought of eating a squash that has not been altered since the 1800’s and perhaps even Jane Austen partook of them. Squash blossoms, themselves, are also wonderful to eat as a blossom. If you stuff them with a soft cheese or anchovies and then deep fry them, they are delicious.
Now for the fruit. My grapes I adore. I am so happy that I was able to get six year old root stock ( grape stock needs to be at least three years to flower) and wish I had bought more. They are ripening and growing very well and I promise myself that half of the harvest shall go to a small batch of wine.The blackberries are beginning to ripen. Besides the few bushes I planted, we also have a field of them through which we ride every day on our bikes on the way to the shore. I keep watching them and waiting for there to be masses of them turned their rich purple black, for pies and jams await!
We have one little espaliered apple tree. Its fruit is ripening. My plan this fall is to get as many apple trees as I can and plant them along the fence I installed this summer and train those to also be espaliered. Fruit trees can be espaliered or trained in many ways. This is the idea I would like to have along my fence. This allows one to get much fruit from a small space. They can form rows or fences themselves. Or even be in an ornate pattern. It is a very ancient art, but for my purposes, it will be to get much fruit from a small space and allow low areas in front of them to be planted with other things.
While on the subject of fruit, Gussie was kind enough to pick tons of blueberries from our local farm. We have had blueberry pie, fresh blueberry pancakes this morning and the rest shall be jam.
I was having a rather busy day yesterday and so wanted a quick pie to use some of the berries.It tasted wonderful and though it set better after one day, it still was firm enough to enjoy in 15 minutes or so, as I put it in the freezer.The rich bumps and tart sweetness of the fresh berries almost had the taste of a cobbler.
My recipe for this fast and easy berry pie.
50’s Gal Easy Blueberry Pie
Crust
1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers. This is about one sleeve.
1/3 cup white sugar
6 TBS melted butter
cinnamon and nutmeg to taste (It is also good if you use cinnamon graham crackers)
Simply crush up the crackers. Some of you may have a food processor, but for we vintage gals here in 56 I used a potato masher and my hands. Then melt the butter and pour it in. Pour in the sugar and any spices. Bake at 375 F for 7 minutes and you are done. It couldn’t be easier. Press into 8-9” pie tin. Let cool. I, however, put it in the freezer while I made the blueberry pie filling.
Pie Filling
4 cups fresh blueberries (That is a quart I believe)
3/4 cup water
2 TBS flour
1/2 cup sugar
Take one cup of the blueberries and put in a pan with water and sugar and a dash of salt. Stir on high until it starts to boil. Then lower heat and keep stirring until it thickens about 5 minutes or so. Next, take the rest of the fresh blueberries and just stir them in until all coated. Now take your pie crust and pour in the berries. That’s it! You are done! Very good with whipped cream or, as we had it, vanilla ice cream. Next time I will zest some lemon rind into the cooking berries, but even without it, wonderful.
Since our staycation, we have really felt we are on an extended holiday. Our home really feels very much the summer house on the Cape. We bike almost every day to our little town or the shore. There is swimming and sun bathing, trips to the library and our local cafe’s and little sandwich shops. I have never been so happy to sweep up sand before!
Here are a couple shots of our enjoying our summer get away.
 This is Gussie and I along the canal on our way home from the beach.And here is Gussie and I at the beach. You can see our old bikes and dresses add to the atmosphere. It seems normal to me to ride in my dresses and I prefer it. It makes it so easy to slip out of them and into the cool waters ( I have my bathing suit on underneath of course).
A funny story about our old bikes. Having mostly ridden mountain bikes before my project the ‘girls’ bike I bought for my project was new to me. It took me a few trips to stop raising my leg over the back of the seat, especially as it was rather un-lady-like in a dress. It then dawned on me, “Oh, that is why girls bikes are this way” and I then stepped through, easy as pie. Then my vintage friend was over the other day, inspired by we and our old bikes, and had found herself an old vintage bike on criaglist. It was also a girls bike and after watching me get on, said, “Oh, I have been getting on like a boy”. Then, another friend of mine was over and used one of our old bikes to go with us and watched me and also commented that she was mounting the bike with the ‘boy back leg swing’. Really silly, I know, but it was one of those vintage moments when you think, “Oh, that’s why women’s bikes have the lowered top bar”.
Well, until tomorrow then, Happy Homemaking.

2 August 1956 “Take Me To Your Leader…Er, Uh…I Mean Your Lawn: Robots and the Atomic Age.”

Many times I will come across things in my vintage magazines that surprise me. This was one of them. A remote controlled robotic lawn mower. I love this on so many levels.
First off, the idea of robots infiltrate the Atomic Age. Rather as an aggressor or a helpmeet. (first photo from this wonderful Flickr stream HERE of robots, Second photo from wonderful 1956 movie, Forbidden Planet) The advanced and sudden surge of technology due to WWII lead many people to expect a rapid advance in such things.
Second, the new obsession with the lawn. Prior to the world wars, lawns were really the province of the upper middle and upper classes. Big estates and large homes had the staff to maintain their endless green stretches. It was a form of decadence that allowed the leisure classes to have garden parties, ornamentation and places to put the pool and formal gardens. After WWII, the every man had his own little plot and home ownership was really up. Returning G.I.’s were promised a land of milk and honey, their own home, a happy beautiful wife, 2.5 children, a good job and of course a beautiful lawn to maintain. Yet, to the community minded 1950’s family, it was also a reason to socialize and be a part of the neighborhood, not a means to keep out others. It brought the family together with raking and mowing and the neighborhood with bbq’a and block parties.
Finally, it ushered in the beginning of the new product push. The lawn and garden chemical. Promises of beauty with ease was everywhere and we sprayed and poured and crystallized our way to a beautiful lawn. Of course, we were unaware that the chemical warfare of WWII was now the new money maker for burgeoning middle class desiring the perfect lawn. Things are not always better here in 1956. If only I were truly here and could help others to see that we are perched on the verge of such a great future. Sure, we can have a lovely yard and we should want to improve, but if only we could hold onto the 40’s Victory Garden and give some of that space over to veg and fruit. Yes, there is everything we need at our new local Grocery story, but to grow our own is part of our colonial and frontier heritage. And let’s embrace advancements such as robot lawn mowers, but also realize the joy in pushing the old heavy man powered beast around the yard as well.
I always feel that same sort of sadness and nostalgia when I think of such things. I, too, want that land of milk and honey, but I am sad how our modern 2010 world has been sold out from under us. To be those happy determined people of the 1950’s but not to slowly allow ourselves to be lead down the path of ease without consequence, we were promised, what a world we could have made! So, in many ways, my vintage life is an attempt to regain that. Firmly planted in 1956, but recalling the war year gardens, the canning and thrift of my childhood in the 1930’s and the determination of my fictional grandparents in the 19th century, all can culminate into a new modern way of living.
But, I have to admit, I do still want a Robot Helper, don’t you? Even if I will have to deal with this crazy Robot repair man. Although in 2010 where tv repair and such is no longer a profession, I am sure our future robots will be ‘throw away’ whenever the ‘new i-Robot’ comes out.

Oh, and remember we pronounce robot:  ROW-BITT here in 1956.

1 August 1956 “Oh, You Beautiful Doll: Betsy McCall”

In the May 1951 issue of McCall’s magazine, the company introduced Betsy McCall. She was a little girl “five going on six” that included a story of her life and dolls of she and various family members and friends that you could cut out.
This was the first image of her ‘family’ and was introduced as:
“Betsy is five going on six and she lives in a little white house with a porch and a yard to play in. Her mother and daddy and Nosy, her puppy, live in the white house too. Nosy is six months old. Betsy and Nosy and Betsy’s friends play together all the time. And every month now on they’ll come to play with you too.”
As time went on, Betsy’s images changed with various artists. She was an immediate hit and soon after, in 1952, Ideal acquired the rights to make a 14” Betsy McCall doll. Then American Character followed with their 8" doll in 1957.
Betsy McCall have been made as large as 36" and also in 20" and other sizes. During the 50’s you could also get many patterns for her clothing for the doll. At first, you could see she had very much a little girl wardrobe, but as time went on in the 50’s she was often given more adult clothes.  Like this where she is given a wedding dress. So, in a sense, one would imagine themselves as Betsy and getting to dress up as they would want to themselves. This was all pre Barbie (she was not introduced until 1959).
So, here she is in her first appearance in that May 51 McCalls. You can click on the image to get a full size version you can print out for yourself.
Now, for my purpose, here is how she would look this month in August 1956.(You can click and enlarge here as well)
The site where I found these pages is HERE. The owner of that site was kind enough to scan all the pages in a large format so you can download and print them to play with your little girl or even yourself. It is worth a visit to see the transformations of Betsy’s image and her clothing and follow the history of the doll. There is an obvious difference from the first Betsy to my 1956 version as you can see. I actually prefer her look in 51, but in the 1956 version you can already begin to see the movement towards the more modern line and coloring we will see into the early 1960’s.
So, what does all of this “Betsy Business” have to do with my project? Well, both inspired by my research of her and also inspired by our July Apronite of the Month, Jenny, I thought I would try my hand at doll making. I have never done any such sewing, only just learning to make dresses (slowly but surely) since my 55 project. I figure it will be a good exercise in fine tuning my sewing skills.
And, the best part and what really got me thinking about it was when I found out that in 1956 McCall’s patterns introduced this version of Betsy you could make yourself. I was lucky enough to find the actual Vintage pattern on ebay (copyrighted 1956) and the happy news was that the pattern had been cut out in the 50’s and the fabric for the doll body was still pinned to the doll.I am very excited to have vintage fabric to make her. And you make all her clothes you see pictured as well.
Another thing that is so lovely about this particular pattern is you can see that one of the dresses you make for the doll is the same as this month’s, August 1956, paper doll: the striped dress wtih the red jumper.
Then, further research revealed to me that they have a reproduction of this original pattern.which I also purchased. I wanted to see the difference in the instructions and suggested materials. I noticed the modern version has less outfits to make and they suggest unbleached muslin for the body while the original suggests cotton (which I have found a similar shade to the vintage in Egyptian cotton). The old pattern has a face transferthat you iron on and then stitch in her features with embroidery thread. So, for the vintage version, I will do that. The modern version just has the same face, but you are instructed to copy it with pen and acrylic paint. However, I have decided to scan the face and manipulate it and change it a bit and then print it on iron on transfer printer paper for the modern version. I figure that way I have made the vintage in its intended way and the modern one I can interoperate how I like.
What shall I do with these two dolls when and if I complete them? I haven’t a clue. I have no children and none of my friends have little girls. My nieces are close to me in age and have no children themselves. If she is not too dear to me, perhaps I would try to sell her, I am not sure. Either way, I think the process shall be fun, frustrating, rewarding, and a great learning experience. I can already guess how hard it shall be to sew her tiny clothes.