Embroidery restoration

is one of the services I also offer in my work.

 

As in the cute little child's vintage pillow case I have been working on for a customer.

The design is adorable. It is a pre-stamped pillow case from Vogart.

 

Much of the stitching has come undone and much of it was worked hurridly and in black. 

When going over the work with the customer, she graciously gave me the "creative license" to chose how I wanted to restore it.  

I removed much of the stitching, especially in the clouds

leaving only the top strip of the what was still in good shape.

I then embroidered it.

I left the brown embroidery in tact, but the faces of the cats needed some work.

As well as the clothing.

So much detail can be lost if the eyes are not embroidered with care.

And now the cats has some character

and their clothing has some life .

And now the pillowcase is restored ready for any sweet babe to lie it's head on!

I really liked the way this turned out............

don't you?

 

Remember the old chair I posted about in my last post?

 

Here it is with my embroidered panel on it. I decided to sand and stain the chair instead of painting it.

The cushion is also in pretty fair condition. I am going to either quilt a tie on cushion/cover for it....or maybe crochet one............

what do you think?

 

I love the way the dark stain brought out the colors in the embroidery.

Best of all, it matches my old sewing machine in my studio. It will make the perfect sewing chair.

How about you?

Do you have any linens with broken or unfinished embroidery?

If you would like it to be finished or restored, just contact me at my email on my profile.

 



It is amazing at what can be created

with a little bit of this...................

a whole lot of this...................

not very much of this................

and inspiration with just a few stitches on this....................

and it all comes to this!

 I started this back in May.............I had been wanting to stitch this for the longest time..........

and then last year around Christmas time, this old chair was sitting in the back of a pickup, about to be tossed and destroyed at the dump. The man who was dumping it, graciously handed it to me upon my aksing.

When I saw the blank canvas on the back of the chair..........the chair just seemed to call out to me............and I knew, I had finally found the right spot for the cross stitched piece. I just finished sanding and staining the chair last week. Now I will begin fitting the cross stitched piece to the back of this chair. I need to also cover the seat.

I will show how it all comes together in my next post.

How about you?

Have you ever seen something and knew immediately that you had to do something with it?

I would love to hear!

Mother of pearl buttons...............

I have always loved them and whenever I come across them at a sale...............

I have to take them home!

How about you?

I never throw any buttons away...............on old clothing I always snip them off and drop them into my various containers.

Where do you store your buttons?

The mother of pearl buttons, I usually store in old odd shaped jars or bottles...........

but for my designing space,  I love to put a few into some of my favorite vintage teacups.

I was curious as to where and when these beautiful buttons were made...........

so I did  a little research to share with you................

John Fredrick Beopple, an immigrant from Otlensen, Germany and farm laborer in Columbus Junction in the late 19th century is credited with beginning the pearl button industry in Muscatine, Iowa.

This is him in the photo above, cutting buttons.

While in Germany, Beopple made buttons from animal horns, but also experimented using fresh-water mussel shells.William Molis, superintendent of the water works, loaned Beopple $15 to move his hand made button cutting machine to Muscatine.

Muscatine is located at a bend in the Mississippi River where great amounts of clams grew.

On January 26, 1891, Beopple partnered with Molis and formed Beopple Pearl Button Company.

In 1898 Nicholas, Patrick and Thomas Barry boosted the industry into a modern commercial enterprise by developing automatic saws and drills.
Barry automation caused the pearl button industry in Muscatine to increase so at its peak from 1913-1919 one third of the entire population of Muscatine was employed in some aspect of making pearl buttons.Beopple later served as a shell expert at the Biological Station at Fairport, Iowaa few miles from Muscatine, in studying mussel shells of the Mississippi River.
During the preparation of the Dingley Tariff Bill,  Beopple was called as a pearl button authority to Washington DC.
Beopple died January 30, 1972

How about you? Do you love to collect old buttons? Is mother of pearl your favorite..........or do you have some other one you like the best?

I would love to hear!

Welcome to a tour of my country embroidered home.........

I often get emails from blog land readers and friends who ask if I, myself, use my own embroidered linens in my home...................

I  use quilted and crocheted items as well!

Yes! I do. Not only do I use my own, I also use vintage pieces. I also use the many collections of dishware and cookware, throughout my home. So I will take you on a tour..........

starting with my kitchen. I love to collect teapots, dishware, and jars........

an old hutch holds a variety of utensils and kitchenware...........

my kitchen is full of roosters, chickens and rabbits.

I use my embroidered aprons and quilted embroidered hot pads.

A drawer in my kitchen holds many crochet dishcloths and hot pads..........

some crocheted by me.......

some crocheted by others.........

I love them all.

My embroidered towels, many featuring chickens and pumpkins get a good use in my kitchen,.

In the dining room the dining room table displays a vintage cut work tablecloth.

I found this beautiful tablecloth in a flea market, unused and un-valued..........

I bought it for pennies. I use it everyday.

Some of my stitched pictures are in the dining room and the living room. Many are earlier pieces that I had stitched years ago.

An old vintage night table........I use for the living room is dressed up in a wonderful cut work piece.......

once again, found and bought at a flea market.

The hallway holds my miniature quilts that I make from time to time.However, I am about to move them onto my new embroidery /guest room , (once I get it fixed up) and I will hang family photos here.

The back entry way also displays my stitched photos, and quilts.

A close up of some of my miniatures.

Even the bathrooms do not escape my needle.

The guest bathroom holds an old vanity dresser, which I place a pitcher and bowl, some guest towels,

and embroidered dresser scarves.

I love pulled thread work as well.

Each bathroom has one of my crocheted rugs.

My personal bath has the towels, I just finished working on,

a crocheted rug,

An embroidered dresser scarf for my heart box collection,

I used pinks and soft greens when embroidering this scarf,..........

My miniature perfume bottle collection is graced with a crocheted doily that a dear friend crocheted many years ago..........she has long since passed, and I think of her each time I see this.

The bedroom for now has embroidered pillowcases. I am currently working on a quilt for the bed.

So as you can see, embroidery can fit anywhere in the home..............

I am not afraid of using stitched linens. I feel they can always be cleaned when stains get on them, and they can always be repaired when minor holes or tears surface.

How about you?

What is your decorating preference. Is it country.........romantic cottage.......

or modern?

Do you display or use some of your creations in your home?

I would love to hear!