Dog Days of Summer Revisited! SALE!!!!

The Romans referred to the dog days as diēs caniculārēs and associated the hot weather with the star Sirius. They considered Sirius to be the "Dog Star" because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog). Sirius is also the brightest star in the heavens besides the Sun. The term "Dog Days" was used earlier by the Greeks (see, e.g., Aristotle's Physics, 199a2).

The Dog Days originally were the days when Sirius rose just before or at the same time as sunrise (heliacal rising), which is no longer true, owing to precession of the equinoxes. The Romans sacrificed a brown dog at the beginning of the Dog Days to appease the rage of Sirius, believing that the star was the cause of the hot, sultry weather.

Dog Days were popularly believed to be an evil time "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies" according to Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813.

If you Knit, Crochet or Sew, or know someone who does, cemetarian can help cool down those Dog Days of Summer with patterns for swim and play. From the 1930s through the 1990s. We have Knitting, Crochet and Sewing patterns available.

And just a reminder, to help you beat the Dog Days of Summer approach, we are offering a Doggie Discount. Until Aug 15th use the coupon code Dog Days and receive a 15% discount on your total at checkout.

I admit it, I'm a swim suit addict.

And when I found this 1949 Fashion Layout on the history of "The Bathing Suit" I thought it was the neatest thing since sliced bread. There are 8 pages (15 counting front and back) of historical swin suits and modern re-enactments of swim and bathing scenes, along with color layouts of many stars and starlettes of the summer of 1949. Including Marilyn Monroe. It a fun look at Mid Century fashion and how far fashion had come in less than 50 years. Compare to today's suits and you might be surprised.


Click on the record player to hear my fav 60's swim wear song.










You can find this layout and several others similar to it at www.cemetarian.com

Shades of Summers Past

We are having an unusually warm spell even for North Texas. It was in the 90's this week..........too hot for April, and we're hoping that it's not of sign of things to come. Between the hot weather and finding these 2 fabulous swimsuits one with the coverup.........I've been reminiscing about the summers of my childhood and teen years.

I grew up in the water. Literally. From Memorial Day to Labor Day my family spent every weekend at Lake Texoma camping, skiing, swiming and loafing. Not to mention Camp Fire Camp (Camp Rio Roxo) and 2 weeks vacation. During the week I spent every day at the swimming pool and was a member of the municipal Swim Team. So I went through about 5 or 6 swimsuits a summer.

One of the reasons I mention this is because it was very important to have at least 2 suits at all times. One for the lake and one for the pool. Texoma is formed from the Red River and they call it the Red River for a reason...............red sand. Red Sand kills a light colored swimsuit quicker that a cat can lick it's behind. And chlorine kills a dark colored suit the same way..........so all us girls had Pool Suits and Lake Suits.

The 2 suits I found this week came from the same Estate. Obviously she also divided her time between the pool and the lake. This first beauty is a Jantzen white over blue suit with white organdy eyelet cover up. (No need for a cover-up at the lake cause ya just threw on shorts or a towel and lived in the water)



And the 2nd pretty is a Sears Sea Stars 2 pc which still had red sand in it (but I got it all out and it's ready to go). Boy did that sand bring back memories.............warm nights, campfires on the beach, stars overhead, the boy from Dallas in the next campsite............OOPS....too much information.


Both of these lovelies can be found at cemetarian on eBay.

No April Fools! It really is almost Bikini Weather

It doesn't matter if you prefer the skimpiest of bikini's or more modest vintage cover-ups, we have lots of swim and playsuit patterns. From the 1940's through the 1990's, there is something for every decade. Come on over and check out the Swim/Playsuit and Sports & Casual categories. And I've got 150 scans in the pipeline that I'll be adding in the next few days.