cuteness overload

I spent yesterday treasure hunting in Quakertown, Pennsylvania and it was a whirlwind trip because I went to four different antique malls and shops. Exhausting but I figured, since I'd driven an hour and a half, I might as well do as much as I could while there. I found some great stuff but I'm still processing everything (logging in prices and info for future reference, soaking and washing linens, then picture taking) so it will be a few days before I start showing you the goodies. But I couldn't wait to show you this sweet embroidered towel. Are these the cutest dog and cat portraits ever?



Amazing how just a few simple embroidered lines can convey such personality! Nice use of chain stitch for the bows, too. Click through to my Flickr page to see some closeup shots of the animals.

C is for...

Cats, of course! I love all kinds of embroidery but I always seem to be drawn to ones with cats and kittens. Yes, they're kind of sweet, but cats are very playful so lend themselves to all sorts of situations. Playing with yarn, jumping rope, fishing in goldfish bowls—you get the picture. Here are some things from my collection:


Embroidered quilt block


Vintage stamped-for-embroidery tea towel


Redwork quilt block


Embroidered linen guest towel


Embroidered pillowcase


Another tea towel; made into a pillow I called "Let's Hear it for the Boy"


Wait a minute—we're not vintage!

I had to sneak in a picture of my girls. See why I love cats so much?

slightly torrid

That's a quote from "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House", one of my favorite movies ever. Myrna Loy plays wife to ad man Cary Grant and when they finally move into that dream house, their daughter accidentally discovers her mother's diary from college in one of the boxes. She reads it and declares it "slightly torrid." The movie is full of funny lines in the style of dry humor that I particularly like, but you can rent it and see for yourself.

The point of this is that "slightly torrid" is a good way to describe a new embroidery pattern that I've just listed. The originals are a set of pillowcases from the early 1960s with ready-for-bed kitties perched on crescent moons surrounded by stars to depict the night sky.



The male, dressed in a night shirt and cap, holds a candle and the word "Able" is spelled out above his head. The female, looking very come-hither in an off-the-shoulder nightgown, rose, and cigarette holder has the word "Willing". Cute and silly and just a little risque—at least it was at that time.



I've wanted to trace this pattern for years but I only had the female pillowcase. I made a pillow from it and foolishly didn't make a scan of the piece before embroidering it. Then I found the male pillowcase but it was poorly embroidered. I can sometimes trace a pattern from a finished piece but it's more difficult. I started but wasn't happy with how it was coming along.



Last month I found the complete set—not yet started and with the original printed instructions. Yay! So here they are. The pattern, called Bedtime Cats, is available as a PDF or printed pattern. Also just listed is Lovely Lilacs, a pattern with a selection of lilac sprays for use on towels and a tablecloth/napkin set.

I'll make pillows again from the originals and now you can, too. Won't they look great in a vintage-style bedroom?

new embroidery patterns

I've listed some new patterns on my website—


For you cat lovers there's Kitten Capers based on a vintage nursery quilt. This pattern comes with a copy of the original directions for making the quilt although you certainly don't have to—the blocks would make really cute pillows, too!

And a fun pattern of animals in hats that I'm calling Party Animals, also based on a set of vintage quilt blocks—


Can you tell I like quilt blocks? A lot of my patterns are based on them, and I think I like them so much because they are the perfect size for pillows. That's certainly the reason I started buying them. And I always scanned and digitally-traced (my computer background helps with this part) each one to keep for my records anyway. Then I got the idea to share them.

I have lots more tracings in various stages of completion so look for more patterns soon. And I may at some point, start selling off some of the originals. It's getting so that, even if I embroider every day for the rest of my life, I'll never get to them all. Yes, it's an addiction :)

Special offer for blog readers during the month of March—Buy 1 embroidery pattern, get 1 embroidery pattern free! I don't think there's a way to set up a code for this in my shopping cart so, when you check out, write the word BOGO in the comments section and tell me which pattern (equal or lesser value) you want for your free one.