Untitled Document


	This month I asked our Apronite Jenny of LittleJennyWren some questions. Please enjoy her answers. 1.How has the Vintage world affected your life? Finding an online Vintage world has provided a fascinating glimpse into how others view times gone by and I love looking at the old fashions and homes. It has also made me look at aspects of my life and see that the way my husband and I choose to live is in many ways a 1950s way of doing things rather than the 2010 way. But rather than have all the vintage props we have more of a vintage attitude to family and life in general. I guess we are choosing what we see to be the good things from past decades up to the present and leaving the rest behind. My parents were married in 1953, my mother has always been an excellent, caring homemaker and mother and she is a great example to me of how to live with “vintage” values. 2.Do you think it doable to 'live Vintage' and if so, how do you? I don’t wear vintage clothes or try to have a home that is a vintage reproduction of a past decade. That said I do love the clothes from the 30s, 40s 50s and 60s and I have many vintage sewing and knitting patterns. I have always made my own clothes which now seems to be considered a vintage thing to do. We also live in a house built in the early 1930s which has had few structural changes in a neighbourhood of similar houses that mostly have not been modernised on the outside. I think about how my parents lived ( and still live) and they give the example of vintage living that I like to follow – putting family central to everything, raising children to be kind and caring, responsible and respectful, keeping a home that nurtures those who live there by keeping it clean and comfortable, creative and welcoming, sharing good food, respecting each others interests and hobbies, being neighbourly, not taking ( or buying) more than your share, taking care of what you own so it lasts. We don’t buy new technology unless we can see that it will enrich our lives and we don’t watch much commercial television so we are simply unaware of some of the fads being promoted. 3.Is there something tangible to be learned from the past that is applicable today, or do you think the new 'Vintage Craze' is just nostalgia? Every decade has a nostalgia craze for the fashions of a past decade, every generation of parents seems to think the current young people are the worst/most difficult/laziest. I think I have a slightly distorted view of current crazes because I mainly get my information from the net and I visit places like Sew Retro and The Apron Revolution and many others where people are discovering the fashions from 50 or 60 years ago and using old sewing patterns to make clothes. I think it is funny that some people take a pattern from the 1970s, the time when I was learning to sew, and are amazed that they can use the pattern easily and make something wearable from it. Most people are not making their own clothes or doing all their own baking and cooking, many don’t even do their own housework. And if they are, many are doing it because some lifestyle programme has told them to and there is a good chance that when the lifestyle programme tells them to do something else they will move on to that. But for some perhaps they will have discovered that they enjoy making or baking or gardening or cleaning ( or at least the benefits of a clean home). Clothing available in the shops is mostly of poor quality regardless of its price. The use of knit fabrics has meant that clothes can be cut out badly and sewn badly and still be wearable even though they mostly look awful. Because most people can’t sew and have no idea about garment construction they have less ability to be discerning when buying clothes. Many people don’t check the fibre content of the clothes they buy let alone check to see where it was made. So the more people sew their own clothes the more educated they will become about good quality clothing and perhaps the general standard of what is available ready to wear will improve. This goes for cooking as well. The more people try to make their own food and perhaps grown some of their own food the less tolerant they will become for the prepackaged rubbish available in supermarkets and they just might become more discerning and force changes in the food industry. We can change things by how and where we spend our dollars but we also have to be aware that the advertisers will quickly change their campaigns to try to make us think that they can give us what we are trying to do for ourselves. There is a lot to be learned from the past , from things that were done right , to mistakes that were made. Everything wasn’t great in whatever era you look at but some things were and we have the benefit of hindsight to be able to cherry pick the best and mix it with the good things from now. Choosing a simpler, more self sufficient life seems to give a more satisfying life in my experience. 4. You make wonderful, beautiful dolls, are they inspired by the past or vintage? My dolls are based on patterns from the early 1900s so I guess that is vintage isn’t it. The dolls are made from all natural fibres and can be made by anyone who really wants to make a doll for their child , so that is in the spirit of our can do ancestors. The clothes are inspired by the clothes I wore as a child in the 1960s. My mother and Auntie made all our clothes, both sewn and knitted. To have something shop bought was very special. We were not poor, it was just what a lot of mothers did at that time. My mum made most of her own clothes as well. She no longer sews but she is still an avid knitter. I do collect doll clothes patterns, mainly from the early 1960s. The 1950s and 60s were a golden age for children’s play dolls. Dolls that were a similar shape to the children who played with them were easy to come by. Many dolls available in the shops now are either fashion dolls like Barbie or baby dolls. So as most mothers, grannies or aunties at that time could sew there were lots of great patterns. I base some of my doll clothes on these patterns. I collect Little Golden Books, especially those illustrated by Eloise Wilkin and Corinne Malvern as well as other vintage picture books. Some of my books are from my own childhood collection and some I have bought more recently. I get inspiration from these pictures, also the illustrations of Mary Engelbreit and Jessie Wilcox Smith are just wonderful. The artwork on children’s clothes patterns from the 1960s particularly the patterns of Helen Lee are absolute treasures and always inspire me. I like my dolls to be dressed in natural fibres, they wear clothes that are suitable for play, they wear warm cosy cardigans and sweaters, comfortable dresses or trousers or overalls and little mary jane shoes. They have hand knit underwear and come with a nightdress or a pair of pyjamas. Proper clothes for children. 5. How does vintage or past ideas/ideals affect your art (dollmaking)? I think children should be children and we should respect childhood and give our children time to grow at their own pace. I don’t mean we should be trying to prolong childish behaviour into the teen years, the teens can be a magical time too especially if we have allowed our children to have an unhurried, non consumer driven childhood. So my dolls celebrate the beauty of that eyes of wonder time, the joyfulness and exuberance of little ones, their need for gentleness and their need to care for a treasured friend. My dolls are also bought by adults and often they by several dolls because the dolls seem to remind them of their own younger years. 6.What advice would you give to anyone wanting to either live Vintage, incorporate it or even use it as a source for inspiration in their arts and or crafts? I don’t live Vintage in that I don’t dress vintage or have a home that is a decorated to a particular era but my home is a true reflection of me, lots of second hand or hand made furniture, lots of natural materials, homemade curtains, crocheted rugs and patchwork quilts, lots of books, an old piano – you get the picture – plus a modern TV, computer, cordless phone. Similarly with my clothes I wear a lot of second hand or home made clothes or things that I have had for a long time mixed with occasional new pieces. I try to live true to myself and who I know I am. I think you need to look at the qualities that attract you to Vintage and build those into your life otherwise you will just look like you are trying to be something you are not or play acting and that’s not a real life. I am lucky that my mother did not routinely declutter and throw away my childhood treasures, and books. I guess she didn’t buy as much as people tend to today and the house was always tidy so the need for radical decluttering was not there. This means that I have relics of my own childhood to inspire my dollmaking. Even so I read and look at as much as I can from the times that interest me, social history from the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s fascinates me and I am sure it has changed the way I view the world and live my life. Taking the time to talk to people who remember those decades is also fascinating, listening to the music of the time and reading the novels written in your chosen era is a great way to get a feel for the people of the time. History is such a fascinating subject and the history of the 20th century is so accessible. 7.Do you think the vintage idea of community is have a renaissance on the computer screen? How has this helped you in your business/art/social life. I love the online community because it has been so easy to find people with similar interests. Truly I wouldn’t have a business if I couldn’t sell on the internet. The market for handmade dolls is relatively small and here in Tasmania it is minute. Blogs take you into people’s heads and homes and you can see so much great stuff. Of course it would be great to have the same kind of community here where I live and there are people who share my interests locally and I do meet with them but the online community is so convenient and has introduced me to so many ideas and books and films and on and on it goes. It is a wonderful resource. 8. If you could travel back in time to live what decade or year would you choose? Well , while I really like the 1930s and 1940s I wouldn’t want to go hungry or lose my home or have children only to have them grow up and fight in WWII, so I guess I would choose the post war period and on to the early 1960s. It was a time of great social change and I think that would have been exciting. I wouldn’t want to stay stuck in one time period though. That is not how people live their lives. My mother started out as a child of the Depression, a teenager during the war, a young mother and housewife in the 50s and 60s, a working mum in the 70s and 80s and a full time homemaker again in the 90s an on until now. My grandmother saw even more change. Our lives are shaped by all the decades in which we live and we take the good and the bad from each and learn and mature and hopefully become better people. There is a lot I don’t like about the present day, and some of the values of the post war years could make the present better, but I have great hopes that young people like my own three children will be able to make things more like the best of the Vintage times in the future . 9. If you could travel back in time and take one modern thing that would continue to work, what would it be? Well I guess it would be the computer but I think I would probably be too busy to use it. After you have read and enjoyed Jenny, let's discuss or say to her HERE.
Little Jenny Wren's Dolls Jenny makes beautiful dolls and I thought I'd hightlight a few of those. You should go HERE to see her complete Doll Gallery. "I have always, always loved needlecrafts have knitted and sewn my way through my life. I began dollmaking with the birth of my third child 13 years ago and I love it more with each doll I make. I take great pleasure in using the best materials I can find, some sourced locally from the bounties of Tasmania and Australia and some are the best from the rest of the world."-Jenny Now, after seeing these darling creatures, I am sure you are wondering if you could own one and you can. Check out HERE to order from Jenny.
About Jenny "I live in fresh green Tasmania with my husband and three children, my four cats, five hens and a very cute duck called Charlie. All my life I have made things with my hands - knitting, sewing, crochet, doll making - because I can, because I love it and because it helps my family be more self reliant." Much like most of us, Jenny loves vintage publication and I have to drool when I see a sampling of some of her Australian Home Journals.
To read Past Month APRONITE's storys, simply click on the Month. MARCH- Sanne, our Danish Apronite APRIL -Cedar-a Californian Apronite	Jenny says: I am totally besotted by the wonderful artwork of vintage children's illustrators such as Jesse Wilcox Smith and Mabel Lucie Atwell , Eloise Wilkin and Corinne Malvern. I love Little Golden Books and Ladybird Books and Enid Blyton tales. And we can see her love of these inspiring images in her dolls,don't you think? Mabel Lucie Atwell Eloise Wilkin

This month I asked our Apronite Jenny of LittleJennyWren some questions. Please enjoy her answers.

1.How has the Vintage world affected your life?

Finding an online Vintage world has provided a fascinating glimpse into how others view times gone by and I love looking at the old fashions and homes. It has also made me look at aspects of my life and see that the way my husband and I choose to live is in many ways a 1950s way of doing things rather than the 2010 way. But rather than have all the vintage props we have more of a vintage attitude to family and life in general. I guess we are choosing what we see to be the good things from past decades up to the present and leaving the rest behind. My parents were married in 1953, my mother has always been an excellent, caring homemaker and mother and she is a great example to me of how to live with “vintage” values.

2.Do you think it doable to 'live Vintage' and if so, how do you?

I don’t wear vintage clothes or try to have a home that is a vintage reproduction of a past decade. That said I do love the clothes from the 30s, 40s 50s and 60s and I have many vintage sewing and knitting patterns. I have always made my own clothes which now seems to be considered a vintage thing to do. We also live in a house built in the early 1930s which has had few structural changes in a neighbourhood of similar houses that mostly have not been modernised on the outside.

I think about how my parents lived ( and still live) and they give the example of vintage living that I like to follow – putting family central to everything, raising children to be kind and caring, responsible and respectful, keeping a home that nurtures those who live there by keeping it clean and comfortable, creative and welcoming, sharing good food, respecting each others interests and hobbies, being neighbourly, not taking ( or buying) more than your share, taking care of what you own so it lasts.

We don’t buy new technology unless we can see that it will enrich our lives and we don’t watch much commercial television so we are simply unaware of some of the fads being promoted.

3.Is there something tangible to be learned from the past that is applicable today, or do you think the new 'Vintage Craze' is just nostalgia?

Every decade has a nostalgia craze for the fashions of a past decade, every generation of parents seems to think the current young people are the worst/most difficult/laziest.

I think I have a slightly distorted view of current crazes because I mainly get my information from the net and I visit places like Sew Retro and The Apron Revolution and many others where people are discovering the fashions from 50 or 60 years ago and using old sewing patterns to make clothes. I think it is funny that some people take a pattern from the 1970s, the time when I was learning to sew, and are amazed that they can use the pattern easily and make something wearable from it.

Most people are not making their own clothes or doing all their own baking and cooking, many don’t even do their own housework. And if they are, many are doing it because some lifestyle programme has told them to and there is a good chance that when the lifestyle programme tells them to do something else they will move on to that. But for some perhaps they will have discovered that they enjoy making or baking or gardening or cleaning ( or at least the benefits of a clean home).

Clothing available in the shops is mostly of poor quality regardless of its price. The use of knit fabrics has meant that clothes can be cut out badly and sewn badly and still be wearable even though they mostly look awful. Because most people can’t sew and have no idea about garment construction they have less ability to be discerning when buying clothes. Many people don’t check the fibre content of the clothes they buy let alone check to see where it was made. So the more people sew their own clothes the more educated they will become about good quality clothing and perhaps the general standard of what is available ready to wear will improve.

This goes for cooking as well. The more people try to make their own food and perhaps grown some of their own food the less tolerant they will become for the prepackaged rubbish available in supermarkets and they just might become more discerning and force changes in the food industry. We can change things by how and where we spend our dollars but we also have to be aware that the advertisers will quickly change their campaigns to try to make us think that they can give us what we are trying to do for ourselves.

There is a lot to be learned from the past , from things that were done right , to mistakes that were made. Everything wasn’t great in whatever era you look at but some things were and we have the benefit of hindsight to be able to cherry pick the best and mix it with the good things from now. Choosing a simpler, more self sufficient life seems to give a more satisfying life in my experience.

4. You make wonderful, beautiful dolls, are they inspired by the past or vintage?

My dolls are based on patterns from the early 1900s so I guess that is vintage isn’t it. The dolls are made from all natural fibres and can be made by anyone who really wants to make a doll for their child , so that is in the spirit of our can do ancestors.

The clothes are inspired by the clothes I wore as a child in the 1960s. My mother and Auntie made all our clothes, both sewn and knitted. To have something shop bought was very special. We were not poor, it was just what a lot of mothers did at that time. My mum made most of her own clothes as well. She no longer sews but she is still an avid knitter.

I do collect doll clothes patterns, mainly from the early 1960s. The 1950s and 60s were a golden age for children’s play dolls. Dolls that were a similar shape to the children who played with them were easy to come by. Many dolls available in the shops now are either fashion dolls like Barbie or baby dolls. So as most mothers, grannies or aunties at that time could sew there were lots of great patterns. I base some of my doll clothes on these patterns.

I collect Little Golden Books, especially those illustrated by Eloise Wilkin and Corinne Malvern as well as other vintage picture books. Some of my books are from my own childhood collection and some I have bought more recently. I get inspiration from these pictures, also the illustrations of Mary Engelbreit and Jessie Wilcox Smith are just wonderful. The artwork on children’s clothes patterns from the 1960s particularly the patterns of Helen Lee are absolute treasures and always inspire me.

I like my dolls to be dressed in natural fibres, they wear clothes that are suitable for play, they wear warm cosy cardigans and sweaters, comfortable dresses or trousers or overalls and little mary jane shoes. They have hand knit underwear and come with a nightdress or a pair of pyjamas. Proper clothes for children.

5. How does vintage or past ideas/ideals affect your art (dollmaking)?

I think children should be children and we should respect childhood and give our children time to grow at their own pace. I don’t mean we should be trying to prolong childish behaviour into the teen years, the teens can be a magical time too especially if we have allowed our children to have an unhurried, non consumer driven childhood.

So my dolls celebrate the beauty of that eyes of wonder time, the joyfulness and exuberance of little ones, their need for gentleness and their need to care for a treasured friend.

My dolls are also bought by adults and often they by several dolls because the dolls seem to remind them of their own younger years.

6.What advice would you give to anyone wanting to either live Vintage, incorporate it or even use it as a source for inspiration in their arts and or crafts?

I don’t live Vintage in that I don’t dress vintage or have a home that is a decorated to a particular era but my home is a true reflection of me, lots of second hand or hand made furniture, lots of natural materials, homemade curtains, crocheted rugs and patchwork quilts, lots of books, an old piano – you get the picture – plus a modern TV, computer, cordless phone. Similarly with my clothes I wear a lot of second hand or home made clothes or things that I have had for a long time mixed with occasional new pieces. I try to live true to myself and who I know I am. I think you need to look at the qualities that attract you to Vintage and build those into your life otherwise you will just look like you are trying to be something you are not or play acting and that’s not a real life.

I am lucky that my mother did not routinely declutter and throw away my childhood treasures, and books. I guess she didn’t buy as much as people tend to today and the house was always tidy so the need for radical decluttering was not there. This means that I have relics of my own childhood to inspire my dollmaking. Even so I read and look at as much as I can from the times that interest me, social history from the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s fascinates me and I am sure it has changed the way I view the world and live my life. Taking the time to talk to people who remember those decades is also fascinating, listening to the music of the time and reading the novels written in your chosen era is a great way to get a feel for the people of the time. History is such a fascinating subject and the history of the 20th century is so accessible.

7.Do you think the vintage idea of community is have a renaissance on the computer screen? How has this helped you in your business/art/social life.

I love the online community because it has been so easy to find people with similar interests. Truly I wouldn’t have a business if I couldn’t sell on the internet. The market for handmade dolls is relatively small and here in Tasmania it is minute. Blogs take you into people’s heads and homes and you can see so much great stuff. Of course it would be great to have the same kind of community here where I live and there are people who share my interests locally and I do meet with them but the online community is so convenient and has introduced me to so many ideas and books and films and on and on it goes. It is a wonderful resource.

8. If you could travel back in time to live what decade or year would you choose?

Well , while I really like the 1930s and 1940s I wouldn’t want to go hungry or lose my home or have children only to have them grow up and fight in WWII, so I guess I would choose the post war period and on to the early 1960s. It was a time of great social change and I think that would have been exciting.
I wouldn’t want to stay stuck in one time period though. That is not how people live their lives. My mother started out as a child of the Depression, a teenager during the war, a young mother and housewife in the 50s and 60s, a working mum in the 70s and 80s and a full time homemaker again in the 90s an on until now. My grandmother saw even more change.

Our lives are shaped by all the decades in which we live and we take the good and the bad from each and learn and mature and hopefully become better people.

There is a lot I don’t like about the present day, and some of the values of the post war years could make the present better, but I have great hopes that young people like my own three children will be able to make things more like the best of the Vintage times in the future .

9. If you could travel back in time and take one modern thing that would continue to work, what would it be?

Well I guess it would be the computer but I think I would probably be too busy to use it.

After you have read and enjoyed Jenny, let's discuss or say to her HERE.

Little Jenny Wren's Dolls

Jenny makes beautiful dolls and I thought I'd hightlight a few of those. You should go HERE to see her complete Doll Gallery.

"I have always, always loved needlecrafts have knitted and sewn my way through my life.
I began dollmaking with the birth of my third child 13 years ago and I love it more with each doll I make.
I take great pleasure in using the best materials I can find, some sourced locally from the bounties of Tasmania and Australia and some are the best from the rest of the world."-Jenny

Now, after seeing these darling creatures, I am sure you are wondering if you could own one and you can. Check out HERE to order from Jenny.

About Jenny

"I live in fresh green Tasmania with my husband and three children, my four cats, five hens and a very cute duck called Charlie.

All my life I have made things with my hands - knitting, sewing, crochet, doll making - because I can, because I love it and because it helps my family be more self reliant."

Much like most of us, Jenny loves vintage publication and I have to drool when I see a sampling of some of her Australian Home Journals.

To read Past Month APRONITE's storys, simply click on the Month.

MARCH- Sanne, our Danish Apronite

APRIL -Cedar-a Californian Apronite

Jenny says:

I am totally besotted by the wonderful artwork of vintage children's illustrators such as Jesse Wilcox Smith and Mabel Lucie Atwell , Eloise Wilkin and Corinne Malvern.
I love Little Golden Books and Ladybird Books and Enid Blyton tales.

And we can see her love of these inspiring images in her dolls,don't you think?

Mabel Lucie Atwell

Eloise Wilkin