Embroidered Basket

I finished up my little embroidered basket yesterday morning:

It's been so nice outside all week.  I like to sit on my deck and stitch but it's a little hard to take crazy quilting supplies out there so instead, I take simple embroidery pieces out there.  I'll sew this into a door pillow during the week.

I took my vintage embroidery pattern collection over to mom's yesterday and we sat and looked through them all and pulled some for new projects.  We have lot's of pretty new things to come!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Hand Embroidered Pillows

When I was in WalMart today, I picked up a 3rd package of alphabet beads.  Can you believe, there is only 1 "T" in the package?  But there are 4 "X's" if not more!  What is up with that!  Does anyone need alphabet beads with the letter "X"?  I have way more than I need!  LOL!

Anyway, now I can at least finish my Marie Antoinette quilt because I finally have 3 "T's" to spell out her name!

For now, I thought I'd share a few new things that mom made.  First is her Tinted Embroidered Butterfly Pillow:

I think Mom used a vintage embroidery pattern from my collection.  Next is mom's Crocheted Bonnet Lady Pillow:

Mom used a vintage dresser scarf to create this pretty cottage accent pillow.  Notice the flower beads on the green ribbon bows!

I also added a few of my Unique Handcrafted Greeting Cards to our Boutique:

I love the soft pastel colors of vintage greeting cards and use them often to make new ones!  Of course I add lots of glitter!

Well, those are my pretties for today!  I'll get Block #9 of my Marie Antoinette quilt finished up and have a photo for you soon!

And So My Garden Grows...

Finally, after what felt like a million French Knots, I completed the stitching on my vintage Vogart Dresser Scarf with the little black kitties:



As you can see in the bottom left-hand corner, my nose-y little Lucy just had to check it out!

Here's a closeup of one end:



Now, I'm going to coat it in "Spray & Wash" and run it through my washing machine. It's at least 50 years old and heaven only knows where it's been until it came into my possession. After that, mom will crochet a simple little border on it in pink variegated thread. Pink is my new favorite color!

With that project completed, my little Garden Quilt began to sprout:



Actually, this little corner of my garden grew pretty quickly! I'm trying to incorporate all the colors of the hankie flowers into each block. Stay tuned for progress photos.

I mentioned in my last post that I'm going to be doing a drawing for a mason jar filled with something nice! I'll post that announcement tomorrow so please stop by to enter the drawing.

I'd like to say thank you to everyone who leaves comments for me. Since I like to reply to everyone, but can't always find an email address, I'll reply here.

Tina, thank you for your comment. I don't envy you for what you deal with but I'm well aware of of challenge you face as I have someone in my life who also deals with that disorder.

Sheila, so glad to hear that you enjoyed the little Gingerbread Man design. I was very happy to send it to you.

Cheryl, thank you so much for all the kind things you say about me and my blog. I'm so happy to know that you enjoy it that much! And so glad you like the lamp that my dad made for me. It's one of my favorite things!

Sandy, no, I didn't make that doily. I don't have the patience for crocheting! My mom made that one. Occasionally, I buy unusual doilies at flea markets and antique shops but most of the ones I have were made by mom.

In other news, I've decided to expand my Etsy shop a bit. I won't go into too much detail at the moment, but for anyone who doesn't like to bake but wants to dig into my cookie jar, I'll be making that an option. More details on that coming soon.

Well, that's it for now! Have a great afternoon everyone!

Floral Pillow

Isn't is amazing what you find when you go through and organize your things? I was looking through my stitched pieces that need framing and I came across this little floral embroidered piece that I stitched years ago. Way back in the mid 1980's! It was a pre-stamped design. I did a lot of those back then.



I don't know why I never sewed it up. I guess I just forgot about it or kept putting it off. Well, it's sewn up now and sits in my wicker rocking chair with my cardinal pillow. I stitched that one a few years ago. The design is from my collection of vintage iron-on transfer patterns. It's crayon tinted.

Well, I've been grocery shopping this morning and I have some ground sirloin cooking up for taco meat. We'll have Taco Salad for dinner tonight. When that's done, I'll head over to mom's for a bit.

Easter Basket Vintage Embroidery Transfer Pattern

As you know, I am so looking forward to Spring. Driving home from WalMart this morning, all I could think about was how I've so had enough of looking at the filthy, sloppy, mess outside. I'm so much wanting to sit outside on my deck with some iced tea and having green grass, flowers and leaves on the trees to look at. I pulled out my little Robin bird Beanie Baby this morning and set him by the birdhouse that my neighbor made for me. I have it sitting on my thread cabinet. It's too pretty of a birdhouse to put outside:



Anyway, since my thoughts are very much on Spring, I stitched up this little do-dad yesterday:



As you can see, I crayon tinted it. If you would like to have the directions for doing that, you can find them in the sidebar.

And if you would like to stitch this sweet little Easter design, here is the pattern:



Click on the image to go to my Flickr site where you can download the large version. This is a vintage Artex pattern.

Cats & Quilts Counted Cross Stitch Series

Well, as you've probably all noticed, I've gone back to my old format. Sometimes we try to make changes and they work and other times, they just don't.

Anyway, I have loads of stuff to share with you today. First, I started a little Bonnet Lady from my collection of vintage embroidery iron-on transfers:



Like the little kitty I did over the weekend, I will be sending this to Pat for the Comfort Doll Project. If you would like to stitch this little design, here is the pattern:



Click on the image to go to my Flickr site where you can download the large version.

In other news, I mentioned last week that my counted cross stitch followers were saddened by my retirement. Again, changes just don't always work so we'll just say, that I'll be designing cross stitch on a part time basis.

I decided to do a series of Cats & Quilts designs. There will be one for each month of the year. I've completed January & February:





If you're interested in stitching this series, you can find the patterns here.

Finally for today, here are pages 29 & 30 of my 1936 Herrschner's Catalog:





Check out the prices on the DMC Embroidery floss! 5 cents per skein!

Well, we didn't get as much snow as they had predicted last night. Fine with me. And it's been bright and sunny all day. Nice change from that overcast grey that we've had so much of since the beginning of December. It's supposed to get really cold for a few days and then warm up again.

Well, enough of the weather. Enjoy today's pattern and catalog pages.

Goody's To Share Today!

Scott and I went to our favorite flea market this morning and I found a few neat things. First, a bagful of vintage embroidery patterns, none of which I have! They are odd things, most of them hand drawn or perhaps copied from commercial vintage patterns. Anyway, I thought I would share one with you:



I also found some vintage millinery flowers, some glass buttons which the dealer tried to pass off on me as antique but thankfully, I know the difference and a sweet little vintage embroidered towel:



I didn't get it on the scanner straight! Anyway, I need to wash and press it. I don't know what I liked about it. I see vintage embroidered linens all the time but this just called to me. It's a bit different than what I normally see. I may not use it as a towel but rather sew it into something. I'm not sure yet. I just liked it.

I also have a few more Fractal tags to share with you. I worked these up last week:





You can print these on cardstock and use them on handmade cards or as gift tags. Add glitter to them like I do!

Click on any of the images to go to my Flickr site where you can download the large versions.

Finally for today, I'm going to put my first 3 CQ ATC's together on the cards tomorrow. I'll post a photo when I have them ready.

Vintage Iron-On Embroidery Transfers

My in-laws have been here this weekend so we've spent the past 2 days poking around flea markets and antique malls. As you know, I collect vintage iron-on embroidery transfers and although my collection is quite large, every now and then I do find one that I don't have:



This one came from an all-night flea market that we went to Saturday night. No, we weren't there all night! We went after dinner and we were back by 8:00.

Anyway, I thought I'd share one of the patterns with you:



If you would like to stitch this sweet little design, just click on the image to go to my Flickr site where you can download the large version.

I just split my collection up between two plastic containers. I had them all in one box but I couldn't lift it anymore to get it off the shelf! Anyway, my husband got it down for me so now my transfer collection is easier to get to and I might actually spend a little more time stitching them. I've also used some of them to make cards.

Enjoy the pattern and have a safe holiday!

Little House Pattern

Last week, I received a package in the mail from Melusine. It was a package filled with sunshine in the form of vintage iron-on embroidery transfers! I know I've mentioned it many times here, I love them! I have been collecting these vintage patterns for years and years. They are absolute treasure to me!

My mom came over yesterday for a few hours to play with my treadle machine. She enjoys sewing on it as much as I do! She left just before Scott came home so I didn't have much stitching time and that's okay.

Since I don't have an update on my current button block, I thought I would share one of the pretty little patterns that Melusine sent to me:



Click on the image to go to my Flickr site where you can download the large version. This one isn't dated but most of the patterns are from the 1930's.

Thank you Melusine, for thinking of me! I love these patterns!

Finishes!

I decided to do finishing yesterday. I get a little crazy when my "needs finishing" pile starts to stack up too high!

The first project I did was this little Santa Ornament that I stitched up over the weekend:



He's very glittery!

Then, I did my little "Smiling Snowman" ornament:



I haven't decided yet if I want to put the tree up this year or not. If I don't, I'll hang this guy on a doorknob. This is one of my designs so if anyone is interested in the pattern, you can find him and his little friend over at my Etsy shop.

Next, I did these two little embroidered pieces:





These are 2 of my favorite vintage embroidery designs. The poodle is a Vogart pattern and I believe the bonnet girl is an Aunt Marthas transfer. I've stitched each of these at least 3 times now!

Anyway, I did these a while back and finally sewed them up yesterday. They will go to Pat for the Comfort Doll project along with the Blackwork Cat doll that I did last week. I'll mail them off to Pat tomorrow.

Once I got all that sewing done and the hand-work completed, I started on the Purple Cat Doll:



I'm sure I'll get him finished up later today. Tomorrow I'll sew up the last 3 cats that I stitched and I expect to them in the shop on Sunday. As I mentioned last week, I received several emails asking me if I would consider making up a few cats for purchase. So that's what these are for.

Today, I'll be doing a bit more finishing and then sewing up a few new blocks. I just can't imagine life without a sewing machine! And speaking of sewing machines, Scott told me that he'll be putting the cabinet for my antique machine back together this weekend. I picked the machine up from the Singer man yesterday so I expect to have photos for you very soon!

Blackwork Comfort Cat & Flea Market Finds

We went to a flea market yesterday morning and despite being a bit chilly, it was so very nice! Lots of new dealers that I haven't seen before! I had no idea there was so much vintage Christmas stuff still available! Most of it was indoors which helped with the chill outside. I found loads of vintage pins, all reasonably priced so I bought quite a few of them. I'll try to remember to take a photo when I have my camera out. At the moment, I have them laying on my table in the kitchen. Most have have rhinestones in them so they're very sparkly. Ya'll know I like my glitter!

I also found another vintage embroidery transfer. This is an Alice Brooks mail-away pattern for an apron and then the transfers for embroidery. I thought you would enjoy having one as this would be perfect for a crazy quilt project:



Click on the image to go to my Flickr site where you can download the large version.

When we got home, we decided that we had to go outside and clean up the yard a bit. I really dislike raking leaves! But I guess it's better than shoveling snow!

I'm still reading my books but I did start the stitching on this little comfort cat doll yesterday:



I'll start adding beads and sequins to this later today.

Vintage Embroidery Design - Cornucopia

Again, when I finished up on my computer yesterday, I curled up in my chair with my books and just read until Scott came home from work. I'm eager to get to some more stitching but it feels so good to just sit and read too.

So, since I don't have any stitching to share again today, I thought I would offer you another pattern from my extensive collection of vintage iron-on embroidery transfers:



Again, I chose this one because it's appropriate for the current season. This came from a pack of Artex Transfers. This would be lovely worked all in red (Redwork), or Crayon Tinted and then embroidered. See yesterday's post for the link to my Crayon Tinting tutorial.

Kris asked me if crayon tinting was washable. Yes, it is but only to a certain extent. Today's crayons don't contain as much pigment as they did back in the early 20th century so I wouldn't use it on something that would be washed constantly but a few washings should be ok. If you intend to do it on something that you want to wash, be sure to make your coloring quite heavy and heat-set it well with your iron.

In other news, I want to mention to my Christmas Mystery stitcher's, that Part 2 will be uploaded tomorrow morning around 6:30 a.m. Central time. Use the link that I sent to you last week to access the Christmas Mystery album on my Flickr site. If you need me to resend the link to you, just drop me an email and I'll get that out right away.

Flea Market Find

In Sunday's post, I mentioned that we were heading out to a flea market that day. It didn't turn to be terribly grand but I did find a huge pack of vintage embroidery transfers:



These are from the Superior Transfer Company. It isn't marked Superior but it has the iron on it which is their logo. Anyway, this pack is complete with only 2 sheets cut but all pieces are here and none of these are in my collection! A really nice find!

I don't have any stitching to share with you today. I bought a few books over the weekend so I curled up in my chair yesterday afternoon and just read until Dancing With The Stars came on. I love that show!

Anyway, I thought you would enjoy having one of the patterns from my new "vintage transfer" pack:



Being that it's Harvest Time and that Thanksgiving is coming up, this one seems to be a nice choice. Click on the image to go to my Flickr site where you can view and print the large version. I use a lightbox but you can tape it to a window and then using a washout blue pen, trace the design onto muslin or quilter's cotton. This pattern would be great for Crayon Tinting!

Enjoy everyone!

Quick note: here's the link to the Crayon Tinting Tutorial that I wrote last Summer.

Some Finishing

I did the finishing on a few things yesterday. I like to wait until I have 3 or 4 projects to finish and then do them all at once.

Anyway, my first finish is on these little Comfort Cat Dolls for Pats Comfort Doll Project:



I absolutely love making these! So there will be more. My first one came out to be about 7 inches high and Pat asked for dolls that were 6 inches. I just shortened my pattern a bit and they're the right size now. Can't you just see a whole basket of these little kitties?

The next finish is my little embroidered squirrel:



I made him into a doorhanger for my aunt for her birthday. This design is from my vintage transfer collection.

I also had time to stitch a bit on my Blue Santa Ornament:



All that I have left to do is to add my little kitty and few more little snowflakes and this will be ready to sew together.

Treasure Trove Of Vintage & Antique Patterns

I mentioned in my post on Saturday that we had planned on going to the flea market on Sunday morning and that we did!

I went with an open mind, not looking for anything in particular, just going for sake of being there, looking at all the great junk and spending a nice morning with my husband.

My open mindedness payed off! I literally found piles of patterns:







Those 1st 3 photos were one bagful that I paid only $2.00 for! All patterns are complete and uncut! There are only a couple of duplicates to what I already have so I'll share my extras with my mom.

Next I found these:



2 old Simplicity patterns for stuffed toys. These are so cute! At first I didn't think I'd ever make them. I bought them because I just love old patterns. After thinking about it, wouldn't these make cute CQ dolls? Maybe for Pat's Comfort Doll Charity!

The 2 patterns in the plain envelopes are floral transfers for pillowcases. I have to check my collection and see if I already have those. If I do, again, I'll share the extras with my mom.

My next treasure trove of patterns are these:



Piles and piles of old crochet, tatting, embroidery & quilting patterns. There are even some here for tennerif lace (did I spell that right?) and some for hardanger. These patterns are from old newspapers and magazines. Some were manufacturer give aways and some were send aways. Some of the things here are just ads in newspatterns for patterns that could be sent away for. They date from the late 1800's through the early 40's. There may be one or 2 from the 50's but most are quite antique and vintage!

The first thing I want to do with them is to pick up a notebook and some clear sleeves so that I can store them safely. I plan to somehow organize them, probably by type. Then, I am going to one by one, scan them and share them here. This is a wonderful collection and I'm sure some of you will enjoy working the patterns. Also, they will be great for research. I will include as much information as I can find on each sheet. Many have dates although some do not. They'll be permanently stored in an album on my Flickr site. I just need a bit of time to get them organized.

So those are my flea market finds from yesterday. All for under $20.00! Is that amazing or what?

One more thing that I would like to mention today is a couple of "give aways" that I have. These were in with that last batch of loose patterns.

First, if I have any collage artists or scrapbookers who read my blog, I have a couple of old hand written letters along with their envelopes. They're from the early 1900's. I will gladly send these off to the first person who emails me with a request for them. I think one of them is dated 1915!



Also, if anyone collects vintage needlecases, I have one that I will gladly send to the first person who emails me with the request. Please, US Residents only! (pamkellogg at kittyandme dot com)

Speaking of old patterns, you may remember the 1919 tatting booklets that I found at another flea market a couple of weeks back. I'm going to be scanning those one by one and sharing those patterns as well. Again, they will be in an album on my Flickr site.

So I have alot that I'm going to be sharing with you very soon. I just need to organize things a bit here first.

Vintage Embroidery Patterns

If you're into collecting vintage embroidery patterns like am, you might enjoy visiting The Vintage Cat. Special thanks to Birthe for sending me this link.

On the stitching front, I worked on my computer late yesterday and just didn't have the energy to stitch after that. I may be working late again today so we'll see how things go. I really want to put x stitch designing on the back burner for a bit and focus on stitching but the work keeps coming so I do it.