Looking back on a year full of stitches

I started to work on this Irish linen tablecloth and matching napkins in January

I also made heart pockets for the upcoming Valentines day

I made spring chick napkins to match 

a little salt and pepper set in my shop, 

and I crocheted a dish cloth and designed and hand embroidered a dish towel to match a 

a very vintage cup in my shop that I turned into a scouring pad holder.

I spent a few weeks in March making two sets of dish towels using a very vintage embroidery transfer, 

and as most of you  know.......I  LOVE  the insect world and get much of my inspiration

from their color and their whimsy-ness 

and capturing it in embroidery in April

In May, I re purposed vintage pillow cases into wonderful his and hers hand towels,  

In June I hand embellished a bath towel with this embroidery 

to match this vintage wall hanging set in my shop

In July, the publisher of Crazy Quilt Quarterly Magazine, Pam Kellogg, contacted me, to publish my miniature crazy quilt in her fall issue!

In August, I finally finished two sets of flower of the month coasters.

One for myself..........one to sell

In September I hurriedly designed, embroidered and quilted a baby quilt for my new great niece,

baby Taylee 

In October, I focused on more designing of roses to match some of my vintage dishes

In November I embroidered a hankie for a new grandmother

and now it's the end of the year and I am just almost through with the tablecloth and napkin set......

so Janice, in San Francisco......... it is almost ready to fly home to you!

Here's the best wishes for the best stitches to all of you in 2016!

It's a quiet time of year.............now..........

all of the wild, hard to tame grounds.........are entering their sleep phase......giving me more inside time to do my stitching. 

I look back over this year.........realizing just how much I had planned to do.........

yet didn't get near to getting it done.

It's this way every year..........and I am always frustrated with myself the next year as I 

work away at what should have been done so many months earlier.

I look over at my work basket............full of " UFOs" .......(unfinished objects) 

and wish I had two sets of hands to get them all done.  

But in stating all of this................I realize..........it's not how fast or how much I can get stitched and finished........

for me it's the process of creating and watching the piece

"bloom"

So with the ending of this year and the starting of the new one.........

my basket will still "runneth" over , but 

I will enjoy each stitch along the way.

This is my new year's resolution for my "work " life.

What is yours?  I would love to hear!

Wishing you a merry Christmas and a 

peaceful New Year!

One of the 12 " Flower of the Month Coasters" that I have embroidered........December

How did it get so late so soon?

It's night before it's afternoon.

December is here before it's June.

My goodness how the time has flewn.

How did it get so late so soon?

Dr. Seuss

Vintage plates have such a rich history..........

This lovely plate comes from Harker Pottery Co. circa 1940s-1950s.

The shape of the ware, called Royal Gadroon, has a raised pie-crust edge. 

Benjamin Harker, Sr. immigrated from England and settled on some land in the Ohio Valley near East Liverpool, Ohio to become a farmer. But the clay in the hills above the farm became a major source of his income. Finally in 1840, he decided that he could make more money by selling finished pottery than the clay and so he built himself a kiln and a small workshop on the river just north of the village. He hired a potter to teach the trade to his sons. And so began the oldest continually run pottery in the United States and the founding of an industry that exists to this day. 

For 131 years Harker Pottery produced everything from dinnerware to bathroom fixtures. After fighting years of flooding on the western bank of the river (left, postcard of Ohio River showing East Liverpool with Harker Pottery), Harker moved across the river to the east bank in Chester, WVa. (right). It shipped dinnerware across the nation. In the 40's and 50's, you could get your Harkerware as premiums at stores and in theaters. 

This is just one of the many lovely plates I have in my vintage shop.

No matter where I might be...........if I see an old plate for sale.........

I have to grab it up to place in my shop.

How about you?

Do you have a favorite plate or china design?

I would love to hear!

My great niece was born just a short month ago........

                       making my sister-in-law a new grandmother. I wanted her to have something special to mark this special milestone with..............

I had a few linen...........what  are actually vintage  napkins.........but with them being so thin........I decided to make something different with them. 

I traced this bird and flowers onto one.

                       

and began my hand embroidery work............

working the cut work method that I often love to do.

On one corner, I then embroidered the phrase.......

" when a child is born......so are grandmothers"

on another corner, I embroidered the baby's name and date of birth.

I did not want to crochet and edging because I wanted it to be light and dainty.....

so I worked an edging with my needle in variegated pink thread

giving the whole piece a pretty look

and turning the vintage napkin ..........into a keepsake handkerchief

I think I will do this each time my sister-in-law has a new grand baby.

I new family tradition.......of sorts.

How about you?

What special treasures do you create for those special moments in one's life?

I would love to hear!

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As most of you know I opened my vintage dishware and linen shop ( Yesteryear) over a year ago

many of you told me that soon people would show up..........

you were right! 

I don't have a steady stream of customers......

only a few at a time........

mostly because of how far away I live out of town.

But ....that's okay..........I love the whole process of 

being a "shop owner".

I love finding dishware and other vintage treasures to fill my shop with.

And also since many of you know how long it takes to embroider and finish  a  piece.....

while I am stitching away.........I don't have much to talk about here on  my blog...........

until my stitched piece is finished. So in between the stitches........

I want to show you some of the unique and sweet pieces from "yesteryear"

that is in my shop

Isn't this the cutest figurine ever?

She has never been used. A pretty pink vintage" A Mothers Work Is Never Done by Enesco Japan 1950s  Such a sweet figurine....... Still has the label on the inside of dish ( which reads, USE MY BASKET FOR HOLDING SOAPS, SCOURING PADS, ETC.) I have seen photos where the label is missing and the word " scouring pad" is written on the basket.

This would also be perfect to hold rings while doing the dishes or even to hold thimbles in someone's sewing space.............don't you think?. 

Even perfect as a surprise in  a Christmas stocking!

On the bottom the tag says by Enesco Japan This is an excellent condition vintage figurine, pink glazing is excellent. She measures almost 6" high. and 4 1/2 " wide. There are no chips, cracks,crazing......after all of these years.........she is still in wonderful condition.

When I first found her..........it was hard to decide if I really wanted to sell her or stash her in my collection.........

however, my first advice when opening my shop............from a friend who has been in the antique business for over 50 years.......was

find the things that give your shop the "feel" you want.........

then decide whether you are going to "be married" to that piece or if you can let it go.

So...........I decided I can let her go.........

and my friend is right............she is the perfect kind of item I want to sell in both my Etsy and my vintage shop. She may sit on a shelf for a long time.........or someone will fall in love with her and take her home. 

That is the whole "wonderfulness" of having a vintage shop.

How about you?

Do you collect figurines............or maybe dishes?

I would love to hear!

It's not what you look at that matters,

it's what you see. 

Henry David Thoreau

I finally sold the very heavy and large industrial

sewing machine that has been taking up space in my shop since the first day I opened.

Now that it is gone.........I once again have a "creative spot" to work my embroidery and design.

When I am in the middle of counted cross stitch or drawing out a design, I want to unplug and be away from the distraction of television or computer.

I have been spending much of my time here.........stitching the hours away.

I cannot believe it is already October. This is my favorite time of year.

However, it seems to be my busiest time of year. 

There is so much to do to end the work of the grounds and 

so much to do to start up the work for the holidays.

You might remember that I showed you a baby quilt that I made for my "great niece" that had not yet arrived?

Well............here she is........all in just 6 . 7 pounds.

Baby Taylee has now made me a " Great Aunt"!

So tell me..........what are you working on with fall time here?

Are you working on Christmas projects?

I would love to hear!

Also.......speaking of the holidays.....

I have found a wonderful pie .......perfect for the holiday table.

Cranberry Cheese Crumb Pie

Visit my cooking blog for the recipe

My Country Kitchen

While the morning glory climbs

the antique fence and blooms in different colors

I work my needle to create the perfect blooms on a linen tablecloth

It only takes a glance for me to get inspiration from nature

and to then  try to interpret it from floss

and into stitch. 

 I just wish I could be as fast at making them bloom as they do in the garden!

Rock- a- bye baby quilt is finished!

and is on it's way to wait in the nursery and to welcome in the new baby!

as you remember from my last post, my niece is decorating her nursery in black and white with a "rock music " theme.

I designed the quilt with the hand embroidery and applique motifs in the middle.......

I chose a pretty black, white, and gray fabric for the back of the quilt

I looks pretty quilted........

I also quilted large blocks of my niece's favorite colors to fill up the space............

And about 2 in the early morning hours............I put in the last stitch.

No matter what it is I am stitching on...........from a cross stitch picture........embroidered table linens.......to a small quilt.........

I am always thrilled to be finished...........but always feel completely drained..........

do you fee that way when your finish a project? But by that same afternoon.......my hands feel anxious to get to work on a new project.

Besides making my own children's quilts when they wee small........this is the first baby quilt I have made in a long time.

Tell me...........how many baby quilts or blankest have you made over the years?