Embroidery and linens from the 1940's

have always caught my eye and captured my heart

so much in fact.............. that I embroidered this design this way..........

using black as the main border/trellis design color. I usually stay away from using the color black in large design areas when I embroider............

but this gave me that "40's" look that I wanted to achieve..........

don't you think??

 

I found this table runner with such a pretty crocheted edging..........

 

perfect for this embroidery design.

This is the kind of embroidery work I plan to sell when I get my vintage shop up and running!

I also experimented with a new technique..........to me.....it was something new to try.

tinting some areas with a crayon.

It is very easy to do,

1. Trace the design onto the fabric as usual.

2. Make the surface that you want to color clean and smooth on the front and back.

3 . Color all areas you want tinted heavily with white crayon.

4. With the color of crayon you want to use, tint over the white coloring, working in a circular motion.

5. Heat set with a hot iron by laying a white paper towel over the tinted area and pressing......you will smell the wax.

6. Remove the paper towel and if there is any color on it, repeat the pressing process with a clean paper towel. 

You can wash your tinted linen, but I would suggest doing so gently. The tinting will last and look beautiful for years to come!

 

Now back to the  1940's..............

 

I found this wonderful transfer at a antique/flea market.

It came from this Work Basket issue dated July 1945

Volume 10

 

This Work Basket transfer was a large 18x 22 inch sheet, rather than the small inserts that the later issues offered.

The peacock design is what made me pick it up.

There are also some beautiful dollies to embroider

and a wonderful cut work design.

As most of you know............I preserve any kind of vintage embroidery design I can find.............

and I spent a bit of time tracing these off to keep and to use at a later date. The transfer sheet itself was so very fragile because of the folds and age of the paper.

 

 

After I traced off the designs, I framed the original transfer sheet in a puzzle frame that was just barely large enough to do so. Now this wonderful transfer sheet hangs in my studio and gives me much inspiration throughout my work day of stitching.

How about you?

What is your favorite era...............for embroidery

or for any thing?

I would love to hear!



Grab your crochet hook..............

here is a sweet dish cloth pattern for you!

This is a nine patch granny square dishcloth.

I love it because it is simple to make and you can use up all of those little scrap pieces of yarn making it!

It is made by making a simple granny square .......squares and then stitching them together using needle and matching crochet thread.

I have made dish cloths using the peaches and cream cotton, which at times I find pretty bulky to use..........

do you feel that way??

And I love using the pure cotton yarn for it's softness and easiness to work with.

Both are very good to use in this pattern.

However, I used the regular crochet thread that one might use for doilies. I try to find a medium thread rather than a fine thread.

I have found that crochet thread does well for washing dishes and the weave just gets tighter when the cloth is washed. So you might want to make your piece a little larger depending on the size you want for a dish cloth.

I used nine squares to show for this piece, however, I think it would be a better size if you worked 15 squares if you decide to use crochet thread.

So here are the instructions:

 

You will need

Ecru or white crochet thread

Different scrap colors of crochet thread

0/3.25 steel crochet hook

 

To make a cluster

YO, insert hook in sp indicated, YO and pull up a loop, YO and draw through 2 loops on hook; repeat from * 2 more times, YO and draw through all 4 loops.

 

With center chosen color, ch 8, join with slip st to form a ring.

Rnd 1.  right side,

Work cluster in ring, ch 5, work cluster in ring ch 2. * work cluster in ring, ch 5, work cluster in ring ch 2; repeat from * 2 more times, join with slip st to top of beginning cluster. finish off; 8 sps.

 

Rnd 2 With right side facing, join Ecru thread with slip st to any ch-5 sp; (work cluster, ch 3 , cluster) in same sp, ch 2, 3 dc in next ch-2 sp, ch 2. *work (cluster, ch 3, cluster) in next ch-5 sp, ch 2, 3 dc in next ch-2 sp, ch 2. repeat from * 2 more times, joining with slip st to top of beginning cluster, do not finish off: dc and 12 sp

 

Rnd 3 Slip st in next ch-3 sp, work ( cluster, ch3, cluster) in same sp, ch 2, 2 dc in next ch-2 sp, dc in next 3 dc, 2 dc in next ch-2 sp, ch 2, *work (cluster ch3, cluster) in next ch-3 sp, ch 2, 2 dc in next ch-2 sp, dc in next 3 dc, 2 dc in next ch-2 sp, ch 2, repeat from * 2 more times, join with slip st to top of beginning cluster, finish off.

 Following all previous steps, make 9 squares or as many as need for desired size of dish cloth.

Putting it together

With wrong sides together, using Ecru or matching thread and working through inside loops, sew squares together, forming 3 strips of each square, and then sew strips together.

Edging

Rnd 1 with right side facing, join Ecru with slip st to any corner ch-3 s; ch 1, 3 sc in same sp. work sc evenly spaced across to next ch-3 sp corner,  3 sc in corner sp; all the way around to beginning. Join with slip stich to first sc.

Rnd 2

Ch 3, dc in same st, skip next 2 sc *(slip st, ch 3 dc) in next sc, skip next 2 sc; repeat from * around, join with slip st at base of beginning ch-3 sp, finish off.

 

How about you??

What type of thread or yarn do you prefer to use when you crochet a dish cloth?

I would love to hear!

 

 

 

How about you?

What type of thread do you prefer to make dish cloths from? I woud love to hear!

 





There's a shelf in my kitchen

holding up an assortment of things that I love................

teapots and teacups, covered in roses and flowers..........along with old platters............

and then there are the Atlas and Mason jars..................

I love them. I love the color of the blue Mason

and the intricate designs on the Atlas. Most of these jars came to me from my mother. My mother is the best cook...........ever................in the world.............I promise!

 Anyhow, one year at Christmas time, she labored and cooked away in her tiny kitchen and brought to my husband, myself, and our 3 small children.............these jars...........

filled with homemade fudge, chocolate drops..........and cookies of every shape and flavor. Some she filled with her homemade picante sauce.............which I can never make taste like hers........no matter how many times I make it.  Out of all of the gifts and guests that year.............

I remember this...........and think about that time each time I look upon these jars that greet me each morning.

I also remember a wedding supper that I attended. Each table had Mason jars filled with wildflowers that had been freshly picked that day.........

such a sweet touch to a special event.

This is one of the designs that I created for my

hope to get published.............I really need a publisher.............

embroidery design book.............

which I am still working on and adding to..........

A Mason jar...................

and you know I had to fill it with flowers................

It's on a blank piece of cotton fabric for now..............I can't decide what I want to make with it............

any suggestions??

How about you?

What do you like to put your picked or cut flowers in?

Is it a milk glass vase from your grandmother's............or is it unique shaped jar?

What flowers do you love best in your vases?

I would love to hear!



I have always loved shirts

with a plaid or checkered design. 

 Especially an open black and white checkered design like this. 

It is the perfect "blank canvas" to an embroidery artist like me.

The first thing I decided to embellish was the pocket. I could just imagine stitching flowers, leaves, and vines, spilling from inside and over the top of the pocket.................

 

like this.

 

(click on photo for a better view)

Already, this ordinary shirt is taking on a new life. Next, I am going to stitch flowers that drape across the other shoulder and onto the the upper back............

what do you think??

How about you?

What do you find as a great "blank canvas" when it comes to embroidery??

I would love to hear!



I finished stitching up baby items

that I previously posted about............

and they are now for sale in my Etsy shop

Yesteryear Embroideries

a collection of bibs created with nostalgic charm..........

and sweet baby shoes in sweet baby colors.

Now it's time to create something else.............

and at this time of year I have a lot of inspiration. The grounds here on the farm are bursting in vibrant colors from the Zinnia gardens I have planted.

Zinnia are my favorite flowers.

They always have the prettiest color palate.......from soft pastels

to bold and vibrant. I love them!

And what can be the best inspiration for an embroidery artist?............

to have a delightful , brightly colored visitor to buzz in and around the flowers. This is a perfect picture for embroidery design.......don't you think?

 

Also...............my favorite thing to grow are pumpkins. Every year I plant pumpkins out in the back of the grounds...........delighting in a walk to go out and see them. This year, I wanted to be able to look out of my window as I am writing and to see these large leaf vines and enormous orange globes. So I planted them in the front yard. As you can see, it turned out to be a good spot.

I have a pumpkin still growing and it is already 49 inches around! I also have decorative gourds growing. To see these and to read more on that subject, hop over to the farm blog by clicking onto the link.........

Eggs In My Pocket

 

So tell me. What is growing in your gardens now that fall is on the way?

What inspires you most..............butterflies gracefully floating and flitting..............

or a pollen heavy bumble bee making it's rounds to each flower?

I would love to hear!

 

Have you ever had a dream or desire that you have always wanted to see blossom and become fulfilled

yet, before you know, years have rolled by and you still haven't even started working on that dream?

That is how it has been for me. I have always wanted to to make this shed either into my embroidery studio or a shop where I could sell my embroidery along with other vintage things that I find along the way. All of these years, it has been used for every thing except for what it needs to fulfill my dream. It has housed baby chicks, baby ducks, a few mama cats and their kittens and all of the extra debris that I don't want in the house. Now that the children are all grown and have flown away, it is holding all of their things that they left behind. However, now that the children have flown away, my dream of having a vintage shop has been calling out even more. And now, I have announced it out loud to friends and family...............and now after all of these years.................it is finally going to be
my vintage shop...........appropriately named..............
Yesteryear.
Since my studio is called Yesteryear Embroideries.............this will be the sister shop to it.

 

I have been busy this past year, picking, buying and stashing away wonderful things like these vintage needlepoint pictures.

I was lucky enough to find them waiting on me as I opened the door of a little shop that sells an array of things I love.

The needlepoint is quite old and has one flaw in this picture only. In the upper right of the large rose, some stitching is gone.

This one shows just enough wear to make it shabby vintage.

I plan to sell vintage linens, along with my own hand embroidery

and I also plan to sell vintage pressed glassware that I love! I have my own personal collection of this kind of glassware and use it constantly.

I am hoping to spark passion for this as well as the use of vintage linens in my potential customers.

To make this dream of mine  blossom, I have a lot of work to do.  I have to remove all of the saved mementos and debris and move it into another storage.  

I have several pieces of old furniture that I am stripping and painting to display all of these things in my shop.  I need to paint the shop inside and out. I need to replace cracked windows and torn screens and I am in search of the perfect vintage screen door for the door of my shop.

 

 

I hung the needlepoint on the wall of my studio and am delighted at the vintage charm it gives to a space. Now work is slowly getting done................I hope to have my shop ready and stocked by spring of next year. I live very far out away from people, so customers dropping by will be slow at first. I am also selling on line.....................hopefully after folks start knowing that I am here, I will get a few to stop by.

How about you? What are your dreams and desires that you have put off?

What's keeping you from making them come true?

I would love to hear!

Things for baby...............I love every small thing made for baby..........

don't you ?

this week, my studio is full of ribbon, floss, crochet thread and small sweet baby designs,

all hand embroidered........... 

edged in hand crochet................

 

backed with pretty print fabrics.............

with added ribbon ties..........

and stitched  together

to make darling bibs.

I also made a few sets of baby shoes........

with sweet print fabrics of bunnies , sheep and flowers.........

in soft and colorful colors, ribbons, small buttons...........

with hand crocheted tops......

all ready to sell in my Etsy shop.

I love making these kinds of small things.............

how about you?

Do you enjoy making bibs...........

or crocheting a baby blanket?

I would love to hear!