I’m happy to have a diversion from making napkins and crepe paper flowers. This was actually a really fun project, and it was quick and easy to make from stuff you probably already have (if you’re anything like me). Both backs are constructed from one vintage pillowcase with a crocheted edge, and the embroidery is…
Emily loves Martha Stewart wedding crafts, and this banner was one of the first things she asked me to make. This worked well for us since we just happen to have two adorable little boys in our family, so Maxwell will be the ring bearer and Oliver will carry the banner. A printable file meant…
This adorable vintage bridal shower gift wrap ended up being the inspiration for our shower decor. All the flowers will be peach, yellow & pink, and I found some small paper parasols in turquoise. Since I am not a big fan of shower games, Emily suggested a craft; after a little brainstorming, we finally came…
I ended up making lots more of these than I originally anticipated. They looked so cute that I kept thinking of other places to use them besides the aisle — like around the edges of the buffet tables — on the stair railing where the girls will enter — or up high on the patio….
Sometimes I think I should change the name of my blog. It’s not that I haven’t been working on projects — it’s just that they aren’t very quilty. Hopefully, once the wedding is over and my retirement commences (which occur on practically the same day), I will be back to making quilts. For the past…
My sister, Sally, has a huge table in her new house, and she has a hard time finding cute cloths that are large enough. I hope she likes this table runner which I made with an assortment of vintage fabrics. The adorable vintage pixie fabric was purchased on Etsy — and I still have lots…
Here are the last two outfits for Shirley (at least for this year). Because my sister, Mary, is a nut for Halloween, it seemed like a good idea to make an outfit for Shirley to wear at Mary’s annual Halloween party. I thought about making a costume, but in the end I decided to try…
The past week has been devoted to creating this Christmas gift for my niece, Jennifer. After I made the Halloween topper for my sister, Mary, I had this idea to make a birthday topper that Jennifer could use for all three of her adorable children (Max, Oliver & Marjorie). At first I thought of using…
Over the past few days I have been frantically working on Christmas presents and the Embroidered Christmas Quilt. Work has temporarily stopped on hand quilting the Antique Album Quilt and piecing the Grandmother’s Flower Garden Star. It’s crunch time now. Here are two new dresses for my sister’s Shirley Temple doll made from scraps of…
When my sisters and I were growing up, each of us had one special doll. I don’t remember the name of Jean Ann’s doll (she is 12 years older than I), but I vividly remember Sally’s Toni doll, my Miss Revlon doll, and Mary’s Shirley Temple doll. Sally made wonderful doll clothes for all three…
My mother made these ornaments for us when Elliott and Emily were in elementary school. It was a happy coincidence that they match our Christmas stockings which were made years earlier. My mother was obviously attracted to these Charles Ross designs, just as I was. Mother was self taught in all kinds of needlework, and…
I found this filet crochet piece on ebay. I’m not sure of it’s age, but it is in perfect condition and not yellowed at all. It makes a perfect little pillow to go with Marjorie’s Rhyme Land Quilt, which I made for her when she was born last December. I think the pillow looks pretty…
One more present down — many more to go. Table toppers are so fun to make, and I think they’re especially pretty if you have some vintage decorator fabric scraps in your stash. These bark cloth pieces were left over from a round of tote bag sewing. Bark cloth is generally pretty expensive, but I…
Emily just sent some photos of her Halloween costume this year. It’s from one of our favorite movies, The Birds. Amazingly, there are people who have never seen the movie, or any other Hitchcock movie for that matter. I think that’s just sad. We managed to find a bottom-weight fabric that was close to the…
Recently I purchased an entire set of “Make It Yourself” books — 20 volumes of neat 70s projects, including knitting, crochet, sewing, embroidery, rugs, crafts, and of course…..macrame. These were published by Columbia House in 1973 and each volume came with it’s own folder of full-sized patterns — all the other patterns are in the…