My mother was an accomplished seamstress, and also loved to knit, cross stitch and needlepoint. She made these two little sweaters for Elliott and Emily shortly after they were born in the early 80s. I have no idea where she found the patterns, but they are so cute — she had extremely good taste. Elliott…
I just finished this second floral table topper, made with some of the same fabrics as the first one posted last month. This topper contains a smaller selection of vintage fabrics, but it has the addition of some old, hand-crocheted edging. The patches were already cut, so I was thrilled to discover that I had…
Last week when I was taking photos of some of the things I’ve made for my sister, Sally, she brought out this little doily which I had forgotten about. My mother-in-law also showed me a doily on one of her bedroom walls that I made for her. When I saw them, I did remembered making…
This topper was made with vintage floral scraps. The fabrics are probably from the 40’s and the weights vary, but they are not as heavy as bark cloth. Most of them had been curtains, drapes or pillows in their previous lives. The fabrics are so busy that I just noticed when taking the photo that…
This is a Mother’s Day present for my mother-in-law, Gail Gray. It’s made from 8 vintage Vera linen napkins — all different designs. In the 60’s and 70’s Vera Neumann (who was simply called Vera) designed beautiful scarves and kitchen linens, among other things. I always loved her logo with it’s distinctive signature and little…
My husband, Gordon, stitched this Monet painting in 1983 from a pattern by Pat Wilkie Keene. When we were first married, he taught himself to embroider because he wanted a monogram on the pockets of his dress shirts — he stitched a little “GHG” with a tiny satin stitch. He also cross-stitched Christmas stockings for…
My daughter, Emily, likes all things navy — especially anchors — so last year I started collecting navy-related vintage fabrics on ebay to make a tote bag for her. I found a couple of cute vintage twill fabrics and a feedsack piece that were perfect for the shell, straps and pocket. I purchased new fabric…
Every Easter I am reminded of all the beautiful dresses my mother made for me and my sisters. These three dresses are definitely the ones I remember most, because they are just so fabulous. In the photo we are perched on our giant living room chair — left to right, Mary, Sally and Martha. We…
Here is my first bag using the Portabellopixie pattern. I used vintage fabric to line the straps and some other vintage scraps for the interior and pocket. Since the outside strap fabric had a grid, I decided to do a little cross stitch there. I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out and it…
I made 66 of these reusable grocery bags which I gave as Christmas presents in 2007. The heavier fabric of an old tablecloth is perfect for these bags. If it has a small hole, you can cut around it, patch it, or just ignore it — it won’t matter. The pattern is one I found…
First of all, I want to thank everyone who made such nice comments about Marjorie’s Quilt and the Anniversary Sampler. It makes me very happy when other quilters and crafters like my work. In 2007 I purchased a lot of 50 cutter tablecloths for $50. A few of them were practically minty and I kept…
This doily was made by me for my mother in 1980 from a pattern in Magic Crochet magazine (Issue #4). I taught myself to crochet when I was in my twenties by checking out an instruction book from the library. My first projects were potholders — lots of potholders — each with a different pattern…
I made this book in 1985 for my daughter, Emily, when she was a baby. The pattern was complex, with about a million little pieces and lots of transfers. Each page has at least one (and sometimes four) colored fabric frames surrounding a letter and picture. It involves lots of machine applique — something I…
This pattern was called “Rock Garden” because the instructions called for gray yarn between the granny-type flower motifs. I think the gray looks good in the magazine, and I’m not sure why I decided to use an off-white instead. Mine doesn’t really look much like a rock garden. I made this in 1977 and I…
These Japanese books are available at the Kinokuniya Book Store (which is located in the Seattle Uwajimaya) for around $16. You can also buy them on ebay, but those sellers charge over $25. Although the directions are all written in Japanese, the diagrams are extremely detailed and easy to figure out. If you want to…