The Golden Almanac Pictures by Masha Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1944
Lemoyne Star Medallion Doll Quilt
This medallion quilt was inspired by a photo of an antique doll quilt in Small Endearments, by Sandi Fox — the quilt in the photo is 23″ square, while mine is smaller at 16″. The top is made with fabrics cut from my stash of antique tops and blocks; the backing and binding are reproductions. Quilting is…
Designs Worth Doing, Ruby Short McKim
Mickie asked about other individual RSM patterns, so here is a newspaper design from 1926. Although I love these butterflies, I can’t imagine wanting to stitch them in all white, or even with “spots of color” as suggested below. I would probably stitch the whole butterfly in jewel tones. Nothing is more nearly a universal…
Winner — Magpies, Homebodies, and Nomads
The lucky winner of the book giveaway is Commenter #28, Benne. Thank you everyone for participating, and for your nice comments about Cirilia’s book. This was the biggest response I’ve ever received for a giveaway. Please check back in December when the usual monthly apron giveaway will resume.
A Gift Bib That Will Do for Thanksgiving or Christmas — Ruby Short McKim, 1925
You are probably familiar with the wonderful series quilts published by Ruby Short McKim and McKim Studios. Perhaps less familiar are the individual patterns which were published weekly in various newspapers. Here’s a cute embroidery pattern that caught my eye, because that’s an awfully big turkey he’s wrangling. Here’s a design for a gift…
Mariner’s Compass Doll Quilt
I can hardly believe I finally finished this little quilt, which has been hanging around here for about 15 years. I had quilted about two-thirds of the top with a diagonal grid, and I just wasn’t happy with it, so I ripped out the quilting and it took another 4 years for me to pick…
Book Giveaway — Magpies, Homebodies, and Nomads: A Modern Knitter’s Guide to Discovering and Exploring Style
This week we are celebrating the much anticipated release of Magpies, Homebodies, and Nomads, written by the lovely and talented Cirilia Rose. In addition to being a published author, Cirilia is a Brand Ambassador for New Zealand Mill Woolyarns, developing and promoting singular yarns for hand knitters, and she also happens to be the girlfriend of my son,…
Emily’s Halloween Costume — Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan
I promised I would show photos of Emily in her Desperately Seeking Susan jacket, so here she is in her wig and accessories with her best friend, Gianna. This is their third year dressing as various Madonnas, and there’s no end in site since there are a ton of different Madonna looks. I wrote about making…
Blogger’s Quilt Festival — Snowball and 9-Patch
I love participating in the Blogger’s Quilt Festival because it gives me an opportunity to highlight some favorite quilts from when I first started blogging and had very few readers. This quilt has a sad story with a happy ending, which I am just going to copy here from my original post in 2009. This…
Desperately Seeking Susan Jacket
For this year’s Halloween costume, my daughter, Emily, requested the iconic Madonna jacket from the movie, Desperately Seeking Susan. Recreating this jacket was one the most fun Halloween garments I’ve ever made, and I’m really happy with the way it turned out. Finding just the right fabrics was tricky, because Emily and I are kind of obsessive about…
October Apron Winner — Aprons Are Nice Gifts
Congratulations to Sarah (commenter #25), who is the winner of the October apron. Unfortunately, there is not going to be a November apron because I am swamped with other projects until the end of November. Hopefully, there will be a Christmas apron for December, which will be my 6 year blog anniversary. This is a newspaper apron…
Lily of the Valley Embroidery Design for Baby Frock
This newspaper pattern was designed by Eleanor Norris and published in 1912 on the women’s page entitled “Work and Play for the Idle Hour.” It reminds me of the dresses my sisters and I wore when we were babies. They were made in the Philippines out of lovely pastel cottons using techniques we would now call heirloom sewing, but…
October Apron Giveaway
Several readers have mentioned that they couldn’t imagine cooking in my aprons. Actually, an apron in my house gets a real workout, but I don’t mind when they get a little soft and faded from many washings. My new aprons sometimes begin their lives as hostess aprons, strictly for entertaining, until a few “accidents” happen,…
Housewifely Wisdom — Embroidery Patterns From 1920s Newspapers
Yesterday I posted Housewifely Wisdom pages with appliqué designs, but today it’s all about embroidery. First, a basket design for a bedspread, but I like the alternate idea of using these designs for the covers on porch chairs. Next is an apron that is supposed to work up quickly, but I would probably substitute colorful…
Housewifely Wisdom — Appliqué Patterns from 1920s Newspapers
Newspapers in the 1920s were huge, with many having weekend editions over 100 pages. In addition to the usual news, sports and editorials, there were also whole sections devoted to fiction, activities and stories for children, and women’s interests. My favorites, of course, are the old needlework patterns, which sometimes took up a whole page. The Housewifely…