Disorganized Chaos

I love klezmer.

But as a former band kid, this made me die laughing.

The pattern is noted in the replies as coming from here

and it's intended to look like this

Those illustrations--and the 1940s/50s time frame of when the pattern was published--say to me that these were meant to be made from woven cotton calico

My own pertinent experience is in the other direction:

I used this pattern

to make this plush, using fake fur--which is on a knit base--as the pattern directs

Then I made it again using a woven fabric

and that's when I realized that the original pattern depended on the stretch of the knit to help round out the shape

So! While the vintage kitten pattern probably still won't look quite like the illustration when made from calico, it might look less like a creeper. Maybe.

First, lots of people are saying that sawdust would have been the most likely filling, and they're probably right. Loosely packed sawdust, though, but the idea of packing one of these with enough sawdust to make a pincushion is oddly tempting...

I don't think the shape shown in the illustrations can be achieved from this pattern, though. There need to be more seams and or darts for this to be round where it's supposed to be round.

However, I did try a few easy little changes to try to make it stop being quite so much...that

here it is compared to the first one I made

I'll put what I did under a cut, because I have already managed to make this a very long post

Able to resist the temptation to edit the pattern myself now that you did it, but not resisting the temptation to study other vintage patterns and how they shaped heads. I do like the big ol forehead gusset style.

Two people do not decide that they are "courting". One person decides to "court" someone else. It's an action, not a stage in the relationship. A man decides to court a woman because he wants to encourage her to have romantic interest in him. He's trying to win her favor. It's not an exclusive relationship--a woman could be courted by multiple men at once. She'll spend time getting to know the guy who's interested in her, but they won't officially define their relationship as one where they only show romantic interest in each other. If they reach a point where they want it to be exclusive, that's when you propose.

bizarrely, America has in many ways gotten more conservative about dating since World War II.

Also, following this, I asked my mom what her thoughts were on the matter, and she said that while she “wouldn’t put it in those terms” she broadly agreed, and thought that anyone expecting any sort of exclusivity when a marriage proposal wasn’t at least on the very immanent horizon was “nuts, honestly.” I hesitantly asked if she was including relationships with premarital sexual activity in that, and her response was “Of course. I mean, gosh, you know your Aunt Terri used to have a guy for every day of the week before she finally settled down.”

And this was when I learned, to my shock, that the oft-repeated story of how “Aunt Terri used to have a guy for every day of the week” didn’t just mean “Aunt Terri had a full dance card” but rather meant that Aunt Terri had a period of her life where she literally dated exactly seven guys at once, all of whom she was sleeping with (or, my mom was quick to disclaim, “well, fooling around with, I don’t know how far she actually went with any of them, but they were definitely all fooling around behind closed doors”), on a literal weekly rotation. Like, they had a schedule. A schedule that all seven of the guys knew.

and if you saw that meteor tonight then no the fuck you didn't

we observe no fucking omens we heed no fucking signs

there is no fucking destiny at play

we are going to have A NORMAL FUCKING WEEK so help me physics

Me: you will not earn what you desire by banging the cabinet door.

My cat: This is a test of wills, is it not? We shall see if your ability to put up with my incessant banging outlasts my eternal lust for snackie treats. Years of conditioning have hardened me for this purpose. bang bang bang

Me: ksst!

My cat, throwing herself to the ground like she's been shot: Oh! Oh I have been assailed in my own home! Have mercy, have pity! Surely in the cruel darkness of your heart there is some mote of goodness that might stay your hand! Do not strike me, I pray you!

Me: ok