In the last couple of weeks I've completely disassembled my vintage pyrex and vintage enamelware displays in our dining room for cleaning. Since the shelves are open, they collect a good amount of dust and need to be completely dusted about once a year. I like to spread out the work over a few weekends since it's a bit of a time commitment. To be honest I had been putting this task off, but I'm so happy with the clean and tidy displays I've got now. I took photos as I was working this time and thought I'd share a few tips for how I dust and display my vintage dish collections. These tips would apply to any displayed dishes though, not just vintage!


First of all, with any deep clean I'd highly recommend moving everything off the shelf (or wherever your display is) that you're working on. This makes it so much easier to clean the surface. You'll need some space to work, I usually do this task either on the floor or on our dining room table.

My Dry and Wet Dusting Method

You don't need a lot of supplies, they main thing you'll need is a stack of microfiber cloths and an all purpose cleaning spray.

For the display surface I designate one cloth to remain dry and one wet. I first dust the surface with the dry cloth to remove the bulk of the dust. Then I spray the surface (of the display) with an all purpose cleaner and wipe it clean with a second cloth.

For the dishes themselves I do the same initial steps. I use a dry cloth to wipe away the bulk of the dust. I don't use any cleaning products on the dishes when I dust. Instead I wet a second cloth and keep it in a plastic container as I work. I wipe down the dish with the wet cloth, and then wipe it dry with a dry cotton towel to avoid any water marks on the surface.

Oil Wood Handles

I take this opportunity to treat any wood pieces too. After dusting, I apply a food safe wood oil (I use this one*) with a soft rag. After I few minutes I wipe it down with a clean rag to remove any excess oil, or reapply if it's really soaked in and needs more!

Remove any Price Stickers

I also found a few price stickers that I never removed so I went ahead and did that too. I like to use adhesive remove (I prefer this brand*) and a plastic scraper. I avoid using a razor blade because it can leave scratches or metal marks.


Once everything is wiped down and clean, it's time to put the displays back together! Here are a few tricks I've learned for making my displays look nice.

Tips for Stacking Dishes

To arrange stacking bowl sets so that you can see each bowl, I use small plastic deli containers* (we've gotten most of ours from takeout food!) in between each bowl. For the bottom bowls I set the container with the top facing up, as if I was about to fill the container with something. For the top bowl I place the container upside down. For me, I find this feels the most secure and looks good too!


For smaller bowl stacks I'll use whatever clear plastic I can find that's destined for the recycling bin. For this little bowl stack I used a dome lid that we got on a small container of soup!


Whenever I'm stacking pieces like these vintage pyrex casserole dishes that have lids, I make sure to flip the bottom lids upside down before stacking the next pieces, so that they're a little extra stable. You'll want to be careful anytime you stack things, since they'll be more prone to tipping over.


That's it! Pretty simple. I love having my vintage dish collections on display. I don't find a ton of pieces anymore, but I still love these collections so much. I two shelves dedicated to colored vintage pyrex. The display at the top of this post is most of my vintage enamelware collection, which includes Cathrineholm*, Dansk Kobenstyle* and Arabia Finel* pieces. Did you know you can actually buy new Dansk Kobenstyle* now? It even comes in new colors that they never previously made like pink and purple. I'd be super tempted it my shelves weren't already bursting!!

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial, or at the very least enjoyed the photos of my collections! I have lots of other tutorials for everything from quilts, pillows, bags, and holiday items to informational series and techniques. Find all my tutorials here: Tutorials. My online shop is filled with patterns for quilts and bags. Find my patterns here: Jeni Baker Patterns

Have a Great Day

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

May Monthly Report

Happy June! It's time for May's monthly report. See past reports here.


Keeping things short and sweet for this month's report! We've been spending time working outside whenever the weather cooperates. A few weekends ago I made a couple of planters for our front porch. I followed this youtube video. I'm really pleased with how they turned out!


I've pulled together most of the dining room, and now have all my vintage enamelware and vintage Pyrex out and on display! I love having it all together again. Here is my shelf with all my Cathrineholm, Dansk Kobenstyle, and Arabia Finel pieces.


I've been sewing, still working mostly on smaller projects. One of which was another little stuffed mouse! I made one for my Mom for Easter (see it here), and this one I made for myself. Her name is Penelope. I used this pattern, and my favorite tiny heart buttons.


To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I'm tracking my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track my here. Here is how I did in May:

May Fabric
Used up: 8.5 yards
Brought in: 9.75 yards
Net: +1.25 yards
Year to date: +23.25 yards

May Yarn
Used up: 0 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: 0 yards
Year to date: +218 yards

In terms of stashing, I did okay this month. I bought a few yards of plain canvas for some upcoming bags, plus a few goodies from Bijou Lovely. The rest was gifted to me, which I do still count! :)


One project from last month was this simple mini quilt that I made for my Mom for Mother's Day. I've been holding onto these panels by Suzy Ultman from Appleville for years. I still have a few pieces left, but it felt good to use up a few!

Two George photos this month, because why not? He's been his usual cute self.

Have a great month!

April 2016 Report

April ended up being an interesting month. Each week there was a different thing that was shaking up our routine. I traveled to lecture twice last month, and my Mom came to visit one week! I think after this week my schedule will be a bit more normal. I'm hoping the weather will start cooperating too, it's been pretty dreary lately!

A huge thank you to all of you for making my April sales a success! I really appreciate your support! :)


I did a lot of sewing this month. I felt so motivated to sew, and I think I sewed most days. Lots of smaller projects, some drawstring bags and pouches. I recovered my bulletin board, which really needed it. I made a few more garments and cut out a few more. I've been pulling fabrics for quilts, and scheming for a Summer full of sewing.


Still not knitting much, but I did pick up my second Fiddlehead mitten again. Hoping to get into the habit of knitting each night, even if it's only a few rows. There are so many things I want to knit, I need to go busy! I do find I am less in the mood to knit when it gets warmer, but it's always nice to have a few projects going just in case!

To keep myself accountable I'm tracking my yardage for both yarn and fabric. Here is how I did in April:

April Fabric
Used up: 45.875 yards
Brought in: 19 yards
Net: -26.875 yards
Year to date: +17.875 yards

April Yarn
Used up: 0 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: 0 yards
Year to date: -739 yards

I am feeling pretty good about how things went on the fabric front this month! I still brought more fabric in than I would have liked, but a lot of fabric went out the door too. A big chunk of what came in was six yards of a solid for a quilt background and two yards of white solid lawn to use for dress/bodice linings. Originally I wasn't planning on counting solids or true utility fabrics against my totals, but I changed my mind and included it. Other than that it was mostly garment fabrics and the fat quarters from my Quilty Box. I finished a bunch of projects this month, and also destashed some bundles which I counted as well. Chipping away at the big intake from last month!


For my other goals, I did alright this month! I finished my double wedding ring monthly goal, yesterday. I procrastinated, but it still got done so that's what matters. I'm just four wedges away from being halfway done! I made three garments this month including two new patterns, the Josephine Blouse and the Out and About Dress. I still haven't done much to get through my works in progress, especially some of the older ones. I need to focus on that in May.


I completed another month of Project 365: a photo a day using my DSLR camera.


George bunny is looking as cute as ever. He went to the vet this month for his check-up and got a clean bill of health!

Happy May!

Catch-Up

Sweet Finds colorway of Curiosities.

I can't believe Summer is already almost halfway over. Thankfully it hasn't been too miserably hot or humid for long this year. We seem to get a couple days of it and then get a little break. It's been especially pleasant at night, which is a good change from the last few years. I'm glad that we really haven't had to run our A/C too much, and I've actually been able to sew some in the back this year. I haven't been getting to a ton of sewing. I thought I was planning my summer out to include quite a bit of free time, but alas, not so much. It has been a bit more easy going, but not quite as relaxing as I was trying for. I'm hoping to tackle some more personal projects in the second half.


Micro open-wide pouch, made with a 3" zipper and sized down proportionately.

My patterns were picked up by another wholesale distributor last month (Checker), so that's been keeping me busy. Restocking my inventory, lots of folding stuffing and plastic bag closing. I can only store so much here in our little apartment, so it's a constant shuffle and reorder process over here. I ended up sacrificing about 1/3 of my clothes closet to make room for my Curiosities rolls! I need to take a big pile of things to donate pretty soon. I'm still mulling over having a sample sale, we'll see if I actually do it! I may revive my Etsy shop for it.


Making steady progress on my Stitch Block Cowl.

I'm looking forward to a sewing weekend with friends at the end of the month, it will be really nice to get away for a couple days! We've got lots of dyeing, sewing, and eating planned, so it should be fun! I haven't thought too much yet about what I want to work on. I have the hardest time deciding. I'm much more likely to just sit and talk rather than work. I never seem to get much done at retreats! That's okay though, I don't mind.


Added a second Cathrineholm platter to my collection!

Michael and I went on an antiquing adventure the other day, it was really fun. We picked up an old TLR camera that didn't work (which we didn't realize at the time, whoops.). We ended up taking the entire thing apart to try to figure out the issue. Turns out it wasn't working because of wear, not any particular thing out of place. It was cool figuring out how exactly it worked and tinkering around with the settings. We're hoping to pick up a working or perhaps more easily fixable one soon!


Wild black raspberries. One of my absolute favorite foods.

I love all the fruits we can get this time of year. We just got a Sur La Table here in Madison, and we didn't hesitate to sign up for a class. I had taken classes at one in Ohio when I was a kid and knew they had some cool offerings. We took a Spectacular Summer Pies class on the 4th of July, which was great! We made all butter crust for hand pies, a crostata, and a custard pie. They were delicious and it was fun to make a mess in someone elses' kitchen. I also tried baking angel food cake for the first time, and it was a grand success! I used my friend Deedrie's recipe and tips.


Milkweed, good for Monarchs!

We've been trying to get outside more and go on walks. It's been fun exploring the neighbor hood and enjoying the nature preserve here. Michael has started been getting back into film photography, so we've been going out taking pictures too. All thanks to the bursts of mild weather.


Isn't he just the cutest?

George bunny is finally done with his big shedding, now he is extra super soft. He has been getting to run around a lot. We got a new rug in the kitchen that covers more of the floor, so now he can easily get over to it without touching the linoleum. He bolts over to the kitchen when we go there, always thinking he needs a treat. He usually gets something because we can't resist him.

Have a great week!

Catch-up

Happy Wednesday! I realized this week as I looked over my tentative blog schedule for September that I hadn't done a "catch-up" type post in a long time. Summer came and went in a flash and I didn't do much to document it. Something about the change of seasons makes me want to reflect on the previous and plan out the next.

I ate this ridiculously good looking ice cream cone in New Glarus, WI when my family came to visit at the end of July. It was scotch coffee ice cream in a freshly made cone. It was as delicious as it looks!


I didn't do nearly as much garment sewing this summer as I had planned. I bought plenty of clothing patterns, and I even printed/cut/taped most of them. One thing I did manage to make was a pair of City Gym Shorts. It's a free pattern from the Purl Bee. I made mine with Dreamin' Vintage and they turned out pretty cute! I made some adjustments to the pattern for the next pair, but I'm happy with how these turned out anyways!


Issue 11 of Love Patchwork & Quilting hit stands last month. I wrote about my Geometric Bliss Quilt Market booth in my column this time! You can also find my tips for a successful craft stand or market booth on their blog, here.


Got my hands on a few skeins of Moonrover Yarn. I couldn't resist any longer!


I've been knitting away at my Pogona shawl for the Eat Sleep Knit 3rd quarter Yarnathon challenge. The shop's reward/customer loyalty system is a marathon based on the yardage you buy! There are teams (go Roboknits!), fun prizes and challenges for earning extra yards. I'm looking forward to finishing this one up, and I think I'll even make the end of September deadline! For more project info see my Ravelry page here.


I picked up a few pieces of vintage enamelware when my family was in town. A yellow striped Cathrineholm bowl and a blue Dansk Kobenstyle pot. Both were a steal! Now to find room for them, yikes!


I made refrigerator pickles for the first time this year, using cucumbers from my garden. I used this recipe and they turned out great!


As soon as I saw that Kayanna of June Craft was doing custom watercolor pet portraits I sent over a request for George! The resulting piece is absolutely beautiful and I really love it! I've since framed it and a few other pieces of George art, I just need to hang them!


Speaking of George! Here he is looking all cute!

Have a great day!

Sewing Room Refresh

Happy Tuesday! I finally have photos of my sewing room in it's new state! This past winter we seriously considered finding a new place. After having no luck and getting frustrated, we decided to stay in our current apartment and make the best of it. Part of this meant making the space work better for our needs. Michael built a desktop computer so that he could write from home, and it was not ideal to have it live on our kitchen island! The sewing room was the obvious place to squeeze in a desk for him.

See photos of my sewing space before, here.


Once we commited to spending the rest of our time in Madison living in this apartment, we agreed to invest in some furniture that would allow us to take better advantage of the space. This meant my dream came true of owning an Ikea Expedit unit! I went with the largest unit because, well why not! It houses most of my vintage enamelware collection, vintage sheet stash, and various other collections and supplies.


I also happen to have 50 rolls of fabric to store (woe is me!), and these cheap galvanized trash cans from Farm & Fleet have been a great solution. As you can see, I am still adjusting to this space, there are still a few piles here and there!



The Expedit unit in all it's glory!



I love being able to display all of my little knick-knacks and collections!


Michael's corner is pretty subdued compared to the rest of the room, but it gets the job done! We went with a Micke desk from Ikea. We are using nearly every inch of that wall, there is about a 1/4" of wiggle room! I'm still trying to figure out what to hang above the desk, I need another little shelf for more treasures! I love being able to have my serger out as well, makes it much more likely that I'll use it!


The lone window in the room looks out into the woods, which is a great ironing view. The white shelf holds my pincushion collection, which is getting a bit large! My Dad and I made the shelf together last summer.  The window sill holds most of my Hello Kitty tin collection and Minions!


The view above my sewing table is pretty unchanged. I do change out my bulletin board every six months or so, and I picked up a hanging file organizer at Ikea as well. Helps keep things semi-organized. My Lalaloopsy dolls and Unazukin dolls live in the vintage coke bottle box!

I hope you enjoyed seeing a peek into my workspace! It's been adjustment sharing my room, but it's really nice to have some company when I'm working. We like to let George have a run around while we're back there too!