I cannot count my day complete
'Til needle, thread and fabric meet.
~Author Unknown

Sharing a common thread with those who love the art of hand embroidery

Friday, February 28, 2014

For the weekend shoppers


 I have just added 40 items to my Etsy Shop........
from my vintage shop .
I have also dropped my prices considerably .....because even though I love all of these things..........I really love to see someone else want to use it in their home.
This is a covered dish that has roses all over it and inside of it. 
It is from Baum Brothers.......do any of you remember them?

It goes great on an antique vanity dresser

with a vintage hand embroidered vanity set.

I also have these little snack trays from Holland Mold Company.
They are so elegant

and are bundled together with matching place mats and napkins. 

This is an adorable handmade baby jacket. It looks like it was never used. 


It has little cross stitched roosters on the front. 

I also have lovely sets of delicately embroidered vintage napkins. These still have their labels on them from Portugal. Never used.!

This is a very collectible dresser dish. I just love that basket of flowers , don't you?

Remember that poinsettia table runner I was embroidering? Well I went with what many of you said and I crocheted a red edging on it. Now it goes wonderfully with this poinsettia vase!

I have also listed some of my depression era glassware. This dish is so pretty and I think it would be beautiful with pickles or olives on a dinner table, don't you?

This bowl has always been one of my favorites. I think it would be beautiful holding a colorful fruit salad. 

I have also listed a lot of embroidered towels. One can never have too many of those........don't you think?
Well, I hope you enjoyed window shopping! If you are interested in these items, or other items in my Etsy shop, please drop by to visit by clicking on this link.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Monday, February 24, 2014

Although my true passion is embroidery.........there is always something new I want to learn.........

and one thing I have come to realize is that when one has a glassware shop..........

over time, they wind up with a good amount of broken dishes..............


On the floor in the corner of my studio, I have what I call
 "my box of tears"
These are the pieces of cherished dishes that I have somehow managed to break........but could not find the heart to throw away......

So I decided to work them into mosaic pieces. 
Most of them have the most beautiful designs........such as this bird in the wreath of flowers. It broke in the middle but matched up perfectly. So I carefully chip away at the pieces until I like the size.........

and  I start working with mosaic grout to try to find a way to bring them back to beauty.

Some pieces I find as I walk along in places.........or in the old pasture beside our property, where once an old farmstead  was. 

I decided to mosaic a terracotta drain dish . I think it will be pretty to sit a potted plant on......or just to use in the garden room somewhere.......
don't you?

I plan to use some kind of water proof sealer to keep it protected. I love to do mosaic work at times when I am tired and just want to piddle........have you ever felt that way?
How about you?
When you break a cherished dish, do you throw it away?
Mosaic work is not hard to do.........so the next time you find your treasure in pieces.
make something pretty again with it.
And tell me about it!
I would love to hear!
Recipe reminder

I have a wonderful new dessert on my cooking blog that is such a pretty dessert to serve to loved ones.
Visit my cooking blog for the recipe.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Here are some things from my vintage shop........


Thank you all for your encouraging words about my opening of my vintage shop! I am so busy these days trying to get it all decorated and at the same time , trying to catch up on what I need to be doing around the house. I have decorated the walls of my shop and I will show you more as time goes on. This wall is all about roses. I have a hand painted plate in the center that I found at an estate sale. I wonder if the lady who lived there had painted this?. The two  oval needlepoint rose pictures are very old and I found them at a thrift store. There are 3 little metal roses on the wall that I bought from an import store. They were made in Mexico. Some things I have on the walls, I do not want to sell, but want to leave them for decoration............but there will be much on the wall for sale as time goes on.
As for customers..........no one knows I have a shop here yet..........except for friends. 
I am thinking about having a sign out front with balloons tied to it to get noticed on a weekend now and then.........what do you think? 

I wanted to show you all what I have just posted on my Etsy shop for sale. As I told you earlier, I want to pair up my embroidery, as well as vintage linens, with the glassware I want to sell. This is an  EAPG
(Early American Prescut Glassware) juice set. A little pitcher and 4 matching juice glasses. I also added a small vintage cloth that has been hand appliqued and I added 6 coasters that  I hand embroidered.  A perfect set to start any day of breakfast off with.........don't you think?

The next thing I have added from my shop is a set with a vintage bowl, vintage utensils and a handmade apron. 

This is a wonderful oven proof covered bowl from the Universal Cambridge Company.
They were in existence from the 1930's to the 1950's. 
( made in the USA)

When I saw this weathered set of vintage utensils, I just had to pair them with the bowl. The strainer has a hole, but can easily be fixed by weaving light wire throughout it, if desired. 
(from the A&J company, made in the USA)

and I added one of my handmade and hand embroidered aprons. It has a beautiful rose print to match the bowl and the green print leaves match the green handles of the utensils.  It has an over sized pocket with an embroidered rose.
( this was also made in the USA) .........lol
A perfect set for any collector of kitchen items. 
If you are interested in purchasing any of these items, you can go to my Etsy shop
or feel free to email me. 
Just so that you will know...........I don't want this to become a "selling blog" . I just want to show how embroidery can go hand in hand with dishware and glassware , and how great it is to use all of it together in our homes. 
Are there vintage items that  you like to use in your home?
I would love to hear!




Monday, February 17, 2014

What started as a dream.........has now become a reality

For the longest time, this shed has been a storage area for everything........
and it has also served as a home for baby ducks, baby chicks, and mother cats and their litters of kittens.
I always wanted to make it into a shop for all of the things I love to collect and want to sell.
For a month I have worked non stop , moving, packing, organizing, 

and painting until the shed looked like this.
For the past week, I have worked even harder and today, the last piece of glassware in my collection was placed on the shelf.

And now, my vintage shop........Yesteryear is open for business!
I painted the door a warm and welcoming red. I had planned to place an antique screen door I had found on, however, after trying to get it on, it was realized that the door had been cut.........crooked.......for what ever house it had been on.  So I will just hang a pretty wreath on this door instead. I still need to work on the outside yard.

Another great thing is, I decided to also make this my sewing studio. This is the area I can now work on my linen design and embroidery.

Here is the back portion of the shop. I placed a vintage table in the middle so that friends can come and have coffee and enjoy hanging out in this space.

I wanted  roses to be a main design theme  of my shop and  I have collected a lot of figurines and dishes with rose designs on them. I used and old pair of kitchen cupboards to display them in

and I placed the cupboard on top of an old large dresser.

I also place another large dresser beside it. The white dresser will hold all of the linens that I design and embroider. The wood dresser will hold all of the vintage linens that I have found along the way.

One of my favorite features is this old mirror that has been stored and waiting out in the garden well house for years. Now it has a home in my shop. 

Here is the collection of vintage depression era glassware that I have gathered up  for this shop.

Here is the other side of the shop.

All of the bottles and vintage dishware is here.

as well as kitchen items  and cookbooks. 

Here is a large set of pretty dishes I will be selling.

Since I could not use the vintage screen door as a door, I used it as a prop for my shop. I plan to hang kitchen gadgets and aprons on it.

This vintage lamp gives the shop a wonderful glow in the wee hours of night. 
I still have much more work to do, such as, hanging pictures and making more linens. 
There is so much more that I have not shown you that is on display.
I am hoping to sell all that I can............so that I can go buy more! 
I am planning on designing and embroidering linens to match much of the dishes and to offer these as a set for sale. Through the months,  I will be showing you these items and then place them on my Etsy shop for you to have a chance to purchase, since most of you cannot physically visit my shop.
I know along the way, there will be lots of changes as the shop grows and my hope is that I will have customers who love glassware and linens and love to use it in their homes. 
So, tell me.........what do you like best when you go visit one of your favorites shops?
What makes you want to come back?
What do you not like about shops that you have visited?
I would love to hear!

Monday, February 10, 2014

Buttons and patches and the cold wind blowing,

The days pass quickly when I am sewing.
Author Unknown

One good thing about cold snowy weather.......... when I cant get outside work done.............
I can get a lot of stitching done.
How about you?
Are you among the many who are getting severe winter weather?
Are you keeping your fingers busy stitching?
I would love to hear!

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Snow is falling on the dry Texas prairie ............

 
just yesterday the grounds were dry and crisp and I was in the middle of a confrontation with a hungry coyote.........
you can see more of this beautiful creature by visiting my country blog

In the wee morning hours, the snow came..........
I love looking out the window of my studio in between my stitching and watching the snow fall.
Before any stitching this morning,
Sophie and I headed out to say good morning to the chickens
and to take a walk in the woods. The snow was blowing

and all was quiet and still. I thought about sitting down and enjoying the solitude of this moment, but the seat had already been taken.

Underneath this white blanket, the fish are slowly moving..........

The faithful old mesquite tree that has always guarded our back yard

knows a secret, hidden beneath it's mighty limbs............
a message that spring is soon on it's way.
Here's hoping that wherever you are,
 you are enjoying the beauty around you and that you are safe and warm.