This is an item I purchased on ebay ages ago, and although it was advertised as a tablecloth, I thought it might actually be a quilt top. I was wrong, though, because it is hemmed all around, it’s only one layer (so probably not meant to be a summer spread), and the seams are finished on…
These stockings took longer than I expected, but I’m sure I could streamline the process a bit. Locating suitable graphics from vintage stenciled stockings was a challenge, because so many of the them have tiny details and lettering that cannot be duplicated with my fusible web process. The Santa and reindeer were simplified from the…
This is my take on the classic red and white stenciled Christmas stockings from the 1940s and 1950s. I remember seeing these in the the dime stores when I was little, and I always liked the stenciled pictures. I’m not sure how they applied the white paint, but stenciling just wasn’t an option for me. …
Friendly Animals Picture Book Merrill Company Publishers, 1951
Turning the concept in my head into an actual lamp was actually not that difficult, if you don’t include the part where I accidentally managed to smear glue on one of the panels and had to completely redo it. I am thinking about making a similar lamp for a child’s room, but there are a…
Okay, this project ended up being a lot trickier than I expected. After cutting four prototypes of the Eiffel Tower testing different sizes, paper and glues, I finally came up with a plan that worked. It took almost the whole day to cut these four sides — I had to take breaks because my hand…
This is a fabulous book from Patricia (a/k/a Pillpat on Flickr) who has uploaded the most amazing collection of vintage illustrations. I love these images so much, that I am trying to construct a nightlight using four of the designs. With an X-acto knife, I am cutting the designs out of black card stock, and…
My father was a rifleman in WWII, serving as a scout in Company B of the 395th Infantry. He had been in a reserve unit, and was not called up until April of 1944, because he was older (33) and the father of two small children (my older sisters, Jean Ann and Sally). He was…
Today I received an email from Nicole at Follow the White Bunny, who wrote to tell me she was featuring my Water Drop quilt on the hand embroidery blog, Feeling Stitchy. I was very excited, and thought I should get busy and post a new photo of the top, since I have completed 8 more…
Eveline Foland created several series quilts for the Kansas City Star. The Horn of Plenty design with its pretty fruit appliqued blocks and cornucopia quilting was published in 1932. Kathy Delaney has published a lovely book, which includes both the original patterns and her updated designs, but she eliminated the embroidery, which is my favorite…
It’s a lot of fun figuring out how to replicate each one of the organisms, except when my plan goes completely awry. One of my favorite organisms is the one with the ruffly edge and the giant hairs sticking out. Hand applique was not an option for me on this one, but instead of my…
The Christmas present projects are going fairly well now. I am hand quilting the Cross-Stitched Tulips quilt top, and adding more organisms to the Charley Harper water drop quilt. It’s actually beginning to look doable after all. These pillowcases with the beautiful crocheted edging were purchased on Ebay. The crochet design is so unusual with…
This little topper was created from a rectangular vintage embroidered tablecloth I purchased on Etsy. There were a couple of rust stains on the linen that I could not remove, so I cut up the tablecloth, saving the four embroidered corners. This was a great opportunity to use some of my cute vintage French fabrics…
Once again it’s time for the wonderful Blogger’s Quilt Festival sponsored by Amy, at Amy’s Creative Side. For this festival, I actually have something new that I am pretty excited about. Question: When your daughter’s wedding is over, what do you do with all the stuff you have spent a whole year making — stuff…