I apologize for the quality of these images — the designs are from 1930s newspapers and were only tiny drawings used as an example of the mail order pattern you could purchase. Unlike the more familiar Nancy Page series quilts that were published full-size in many newspapers, the individual quilt patterns and quilting designs were mail order only. The…
This large paper folder contains more than the stated 3 dozen transfers, but, other than the design on the cover, I’m not sure they are original to this folder. Five of the patterns are identified as English quilting, and one is identified as Italian (the 5th pattern with double lines). They are quite large at 17″ square. I’m confused by the…
Finally I have finished this little quilt for the swap organized by Lori at Humble Quilts. The quilting is about as close as I can get it, which I think suits the scale of the miniature quilt (block size is 3 1/4″). The blocks are stitched with a diagonal grid, and the sashing is ditch stitched…
All of these patterns are from 1910-1915 newspapers, although the last one looks very contemporary. Click to enlarge.
I’ve never embroidered a frame, but I think these would be very pretty. They were designed by Sarah Hale Hunter, whose column appeared in a number of newspapers in the early 1900s. I always enjoy reading the original instructions, so I have included those as well, since they are minimal. Click on the images to…
A huge thank you to everyone for your birthday wishes. We had a wonderful girls night out and many karaoke songs were enthusiastically (if not perfectly) sung. My daughter, Emily, is an expert at event organizing, and I look forward every year to what has become a birthday tradition. Then, on Sunday, we had another…
Tiny Tots Paint Book Illustrations by Dorothea J. Snow Whitman Publishing, 1941 It’s a beautiful day in Seattle for the 4th annual Girls Night Out Birthday Dinner followed by singing karaoke at Rock Box until the wee hours of the morning. Tomorrow there’s another Birthday/Mother’s Day party at home with family. Lucky me!
If you happened to read the update on my last post, you know that I ran into a problem on the Shoofly doll quilt for Lori’s swap. I was about 3/4 done with the quilting when I encountered a block with weak fabric. It’s not unusual to run across unstable fabric when you’re purchasing antique tops…
UPDATE: What a drag — I was nearly done with the hand quilting, when I encountered a block with an unstable print. This is always a risk when working with these very old fabrics, and although I try really hard to catch any little pieces with issues, I missed one this time. 🙁 Now I’m going to…
I’ve decided to call this a coverlet, since it doesn’t really fit the definition of a traditional quilt sandwich held together with stitches, and it’s not particularly warm and snuggly, either. It’s going to be a sort of bedspread for a twin bed, but not floor length, and I’ll crochet a scalloped edge around the outside. Now…
I recently purchased folder of large vintage Briggs transfers which are labeled as quilting patterns. As I was looking at the designs, I realized they looked a lot like the large patterns I’ve seen which were intended to decorate cushions. After looking around online for cushion patterns that might also work for hand quilting. I found a…
These Scottie patterns are pretty cute, but do they look a little mad?
After much trial and error, I think I have finally come up with a plan for this quilt. The process of figuring out how to embellish and join these blocks required lots of stitching and almost as much unstitching. For some reason, it’s just about impossible (for me, anyway) to envision how embroidery and crochet is going to…
Here in the Pacific Northwest, we struggle to grow a decent zinnia, but we have beautiful fuchsias in so many amazing color combinations, which are particularly suited to our mild climate. My husband says to be safe, I should wait until Mother’s Day, but today is a gorgeous day, and I couldn’t wait any longer to…
Butterick #190 Carriage or Crib Cover