peas and carrots

"Me and Jenny goes together like peas and carrots" —Forest Gump

I've run out of linens with food themes to cut up for pot holders, so I've started embroidering my own fruit and veggie motifs. The two designs shown here are both from a vintage apron I found last summer. There was also a yellow squash on the apron but I've yet to find any fabric that goes with that :)









Patterns for all three vegetables are available for free on my Stitch School blog. They'd be really cute on an apron or tea towel, too, and you should be able to do any one of them in less than an hour.

Next up are birds, Scotty dogs, pears, and grapes. Then I really need to stop with the pot holders and move on to something else for a while.

This coming weekend is the Linen-Button theme weekend at Shupp's Grove flea market in Adamstown, PA. I hope to find lots of great things to work with through the winter—especially handkerchiefs and eyelet for sachets, vintage fabric, and maybe a few feedsacks, too.

still here

My friend Melody popped in to my last post to ask what's up and if I'm OK. I am OK, just very busy. I had to see a specialist about my continuing knee problem, which is not serious but will take a long time to heal. So, I wasn't able to function very well for a week or so while resting it. Having to hang out in bed for days sounds like it might be fun but definitely isn't. You can only read so much, watch so many movies, and do so much embroidery!

And I heard that an online friend is closing her business after many years. I'm happy that she's going to pursue something else now and understand her reasons. But it threw me a bit, too, because she's always been an inspiration. My first thought was, "OMG, if she can't do it then how can I possibly?" Business has been very slow and all these thoughts go through your head—is it just the bad economy, am I doing something wrong, are my prices OK? It's easy to blame yourself.

But, instead, it pushed me to do some marketing for my business—something I'd planned to do anyway. I sent a mailing with a catalog, sales policy sheet, etc. to a bunch of retail shops where my products seem to fit. I've heard that this often doesn't work, but I've already got a very nice wholesale order from a store in Philadelphia, and hope to hear from some of the more local shops in the coming weeks.

And then I sold a pillow, and another, and another. I got an email about a local craft show that sounds interesting. Things are looking up again.

I've also completed the move of all Stitch School posts to their new home and replaced the list here with a small banner that links to the new one. Look for new stitches soon!

p is for peony . . . and poppy

The garden is just exploding with flowers. Everything seems to be blooming early this year and very abundantly, too.

The inside of a perennial poppy. The pollen coating the stamens is purplish-black in color—it looks like velvet.

a frustrating day

Thanks, everyone, for leaving thoughtful and supportive comments on my last post. It's nice to know that my peeps have my back :)

The one thing you can say about living in a democracy is that not everyone is going to be happy with what results. You may be against health care reform. I may not be happy about my tax dollars going to fund unnecessary wars. That's the way it goes. The fact that we can speak out and express our opinions means a lot.

Coming out (so to speak) has been freeing and I was interested that some commenters would be more likely to support me based on my views. So, I guess it goes both ways.

But, back to what you're really here for. I had the most awful sewing day yesterday. I'm working on those new products I mentioned and I'm quilting a layer of patchwork fabric over two layers of felt—so lots of fabric. Everything was fine until I put a new needle in my machine and started a new spool of thread. Then things went to hell very quickly. The stitches went wonky, the thread snagged, the needle broke—three times! I finally gave up and switched to my newer Bernette. The problem with that is the foot is too wide. You see, on my old Singer the pressure foot is exactly 1/8" on the right side and makes a perfect guide to topstitch 1/8" from the seam. The Bernette is twice as wide and there's no good way to line it up properly. So I'm having to draw a sewing line with fading marker and it's taking me way too long.

I don't know if the problems can be attributed to the needle (maybe I need a heavier one), the new (but same as I always use) thread, or the fact that I used a less expensive felt. My prototype used wool felt inside because I had a piece lying around. The felt I bought the other day (besides being less expensive) is obviously different—it slips and slides easily and just isn't as nice to work with. But will wool felt make this product too expensive to produce? What to do, what to do? See, designing products isn't so easy after all!

I know you're all trying to guess what I'm making and I'll give you two clues. They're almost always square and you use them in the kitchen :)

differences

In the five years I've been blogging I've noticed something. It's a tendency, when you find someone with similar interests, to identify with that writer and to believe that you have more in common than your love of crafts. Maybe you think they share the same religious beliefs, or political ones, or whatever. You only know about people what they choose to reveal so maybe that's true. But more likely, it isn't.

Ninety-nine percent of the time I talk about crafts but once in a while something related to my political beliefs slips out. And invariably there's an anonymous commenter who calls me out about it. And decides to stop reading or delete me from their blog roll. Fine. The blog world is huge and it's probably better that they go elsewhere to find like-minded friends who believe what they do. The delete function is a wonderful tool.

I use it myself all the time. When I read a blog that talks too much about whatever I don't identify with, I'm gone. Not because I don't like the person who wrote it but because I want to read about things that interest me personally. And that applies to all the types of blogs I read, not just craft-related ones.

So, if it offends you that I identify as a progressive/liberal (no, that doesn't mean I support everything that our president is doing), as a feminist (equal pay, equal opportunity), as non-religious (religion is personal and I was brought up believing that it's crass to talk about it in public), as not having children (really none of your business), or anything else, please hit that delete key.

To the person who wrote recently, referring to me as "one of those people" and assuming they knew what I was referring to and thereby proving my point perfectly, you'll probably be happier elsewhere. As for healthcare reform (which was not my thought, but thanks for bringing it up), I think a society can be judged by how they treat their citizens—all of them—not just the ones who look, act, or think like us. And no, I didn't get what I wanted—far from it.

I'm the kind of person who filters everything I say through my head anyway. Some people would say that's a good thing but it takes a lot of effort. And I get very tired of doing it. If I have to chose every word I write carefully so as not to offend then I might as well give up now. As I wrote to one of those anonymous commenters last year, it's my blog and I'll say what I want in it. I will try to keep politics out of it—I already do—but I can't promise I'll always say just what you find acceptable or comfortable.

Now, I have a busy week ahead. First I'm off to the post office to ship a button order to Norway (that's a first) and then into the studio for tons of sewing. I've been designing a super-cute new product (I'll show you soon) and finishing up a new batch of tea towels and mini wallets. Craft show season is coming!

strike up the band

I'm so glad that I broke down and bought a laptop because I can sit on my porch and work—just like I'm doing now. I have a pile of embroidery projects to finish and a blog post to write, and it's a really gorgeous day—almost 80 degrees.

The woods behind my house are full of the sounds of birds. It's like an orchestra and it's fun to try to identify which birds are calling. Some sites I like for identifying birds are Bird Jam, eNature, and The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds. All have audio clips of bird songs to help you figure out what you're listening to.

Today I have the chattering of goldfinches in the big pine tree beside the garage, chickadees singsong calling for mates, and something else that I can't quite identify. Maybe the Baltimore Oriole since it's just about time for them to return.

My friend Siobhan, who lives in Belfast and writes a blog called On the Lagan for the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) in Northern Ireland, has a great post about bird sounds posted within days of mine. Great minds think alike, I guess. Anyway, it's a wonderful blog if you're interested in birds (UK or otherwise—they're really very similar to what we have here, although sometimes called by different names), plus she's a much better writer than I am :)

40 things

Borrowed from Small Town Mom because I haven't done a meme in ages and I can't think of much to write about today :)

1. Do you like bleu cheese? Yuck...no
2. Have you ever smoked? No
3. Do you own a gun? Yes, and I'm a pretty good shot, too
4. Favorite type of food? Love Mexican, and Vietnamese
5. Favorite type of music? A little bit of everything. Right now I'm listening to a lot of jazz and Celtic music
6. What do you think of hotdogs? They make me think of summer barbecues
7. Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee
9. Can you do pushups? Haven't tried for a while but I could probably manage a few
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? A silver and coral bracelet I got on my honeymoon in Sanibel Island, Florida
11. Favorite hobby? Embroidery, but you could have guessed that :)
12. Do you have A.D.D.? No
13. Do you wear glasses/contacts? Glasses, yes. I hate putting things in my eyes so contacts are out for me
14. Middle name? Kathleen, after my grandmother
15. Name three thoughts at this exact moment? I wish my knee would stop hurting. I'm ready for lunch. Is the sun going to come out today?
16. Name three drinks you regularly drink? Sparkling water, iced tea mixed with orange juice, Pom Wonderful iced tea
17. Current worry? Money
18. Current hate right now? Having to pay more for health insurance every month than I do for my house
19. Favorite place to be? Home
20. How did you bring in the new year? I was asleep so I must have missed it
21. Someplace you'd like to go? Italy
22. Name three people who will complete this. No idea; you really have to be in the mood to do these things
23. Do you own slippers? Yes, several pairs
24. What color shirt are you wearing? Navy, orange, yellow, olive green, and white print (my $10 Target tee)
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No, I'm a jersey sheets kind of girl
26. Can you whistle? Not well, but yes
27. Where are you now? In my studio
28. Would you be a pirate? Will Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom be there?
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? I really can't sing, so don't even attempt it in the shower. Or anywhere else.
30. Favorite girl's name?  Claire
31. Favorite boy's name? Aidan
32. What is in your pocket right now? A candy wrapper
33. Last thing that made you laugh? Something crazy that my cats did
34. What vehicle do you drive? VW Bug
35. Worst injury you've ever had? Bursitis in my hip
36. Do you love where you live? I love my house but I wish it were somewhere with more fun stuff to do
37. How many TVs do you have in your house? Our one television died about a month ago and we're missing it much less than we thought we would
38. How many computers do you have in your house? Four. Not all in use at the same time
39. If you changed your job, what would it be? I really liked working at the library when I was in college
40. If you were granted three wishes, what would they be? Good health, financial security, and world peace would be nice, too

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?

family history

In four years of blogging, I don't think I've ever talked about one of my favorite hobbies—family history or genealogy. That may be because it's an on-again, off-again thing with me. I work very hard on it for a couple of years, reach a dead-end, and put it away again for a while.

I recently got involved again when my husband's cousin contacted me about their parents' trees. I reactivated my account at Ancestry.com and, just like that, I got pulled back in.

I thought I'd write about this subject now that it's census time. I hope you're all returning yours promptly. After hearing about the many objections to the census I was expecting a lot of really intrusive questions but it literally took me three minutes to fill out. Compared to some of the past censuses where they wanted to know how much land you owned, how much money you had, where your parents were born, etc., they asked very little this time around.

In case you don't know, census records are released to the public 70 years after the information is collected (the waiting period is to protect the information on living persons) so they can be invaluable for genealogy purposes. Right now the most recent one you can research is 1930 and 1940 is due to be released in April 2010. A huge deal if you've traced your family to 1930 and want to move forward.

I can't tell you how much information I've gathered from past censuses. I know that my cousins have Native-American blood because my mother's brother married a woman whose grandmother was Cherokee. I know that my husband's maternal grandfather was a butcher in Kentwood, Louisiana in 1920. I know that my grandmother's family in Alabama had children named Daisy and Beulah. I've found birth dates, immigration dates, occupations, children I didn't know about, whether people lived on farms and owned or rented their houses. I've found widowed grandparents that moved in with children after their spouses died. All useful clues.

My Moir ancestors came here from Scotland in 1841, Bittenbenders from Germany in 1733, Kelly's, O'Malleys, and Harrisons from Ireland during the Potato Famine. My husband has Cottones from Sicily in the early 1900s and McCaffreys and Kellys from Ireland in the late 1800s. It's really fascinating.

I've been working on my tree since 1980-something so I've been able to find out a lot of information. If it's something you want to try, start simply with your parents (or grandparents if they're still alive). Find out names and dates of siblings and any information they can remember. You never know what information will be useful in the future.

And you might be interested in watching the new genealogy-themed show on NBC called Who Do You Think You Are? The first episode traced Sarah Jessica Parker's tree back to the gold rush and Salem witch trials; the second was Emmitt Smith's journey from Burnt Corn, Alabama back to Benin in Africa. That's not to say that you'll find someone famous or important in your tree, but you never know—it could happen!

a St. Patrick's Day recipe

So, are you all eating corned beef and cabbage tomorrow? With a very Irish last name like McCaffrey (and O'Malley and Kelly on my side of the family) you can guess that my answer is yes. I'm actually not that crazy about the taste of corned beef but it's once a year and I do love all the vegetables that go with the traditional boiled dinner. I like to cook the onions and cabbage together but prefer the carrots and potatoes done separately. It just tastes fresher that way.

But, however you cook yours, give this tangy mustard sauce a try. It tastes wonderful and is guaranteed to clear out your sinuses while it's cooking. Don't take a deep whiff without a tissue handy :)


Tangy Mustard Sauce
1-1⁄2 tablespoons butter
1 egg
1⁄3 cup light brown sugar
1⁄4 cup granulated sugar
1⁄4 cup prepared spicy brown mustard
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄8 teaspoon black pepper
3⁄4 cup cider vinegar


Melt butter in a small saucepan, then set aside to cool. In a small bowl with an electric mixer, beat egg with sugars and mustard, salt and pepper until combined. Beat in vinegar. Stir mixture into cooled butter, mixing well. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to boiling, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat, simmer for 3 minutes, then serve hot.

latest vintage finds

It was nearly 50 degrees here yesterday. We still have plenty of snow—no matter how warm it is there's so much of it to melt and it's going to take a while. Since it was so nice and I've been feeling really cooped up the past few weeks, I made a spontaneous trip to the local antique mall. And came home with a bag full of great stuff.

A pair of Mr. and Mrs. embroidered cat pillowcases



Two funny little embroidered farmers, done mostly in cross stitch



Lots and lots of hankies to make sachets with, but two that I don't think I'll be cutting up. Both are in autumn colors and I just love the designs. So modern!





Some buttons, rick rack, aprons, embroidered napkins, and two vintage purses round out the batch. It was nice to get out and shop and I'm looking forward to all the upcoming events and trips farther afield to my favorite antique malls and flea markets this spring.

come sail away

Remember the cute sailor duck stamped-for-embroidery quilt block I showed you last summer? I finally got around to embroidering the block and what inspired me to complete it was this extremely cute sailing-themed fabric I found at JoAnn Fabrics last week.



Isn't it perfect? For my color choices I picked up ones from the fabric and this worked up so quickly I could hardly believe it.


Still need to finish the anchor!

I'll probably combine this with another contrasting fabric—not sure what yet— and make a boy-themed pillow for one of the shops I sell at. And I think I have another block around here somewhere so I can make two pillows!

Ahoy, matey!

redecorating project

I'm forced to take it easy today since my bursitis is acting up again. I've been doing some repainting—the first step of the bedroom redecorating project—and all the up and down motion of getting on and off the step ladder has stressed my hip once again. Sigh... it's hell getting old.

I promised to tell you about this project anyway so now is as good a time as any. I've moved my studio into the attic space which is slightly cozier (a nice way of saying 'smaller') so I'm going to have to be a bit more organized than I have been. But, what I gain in the process is a functioning third bedroom.



In choosing colors for this room I started with a piece of vintage fabric—a Waverly polished cotton from the 1950s-60s—that I found tucked under a stack of tablecloths at an antique mall. Don't you just love the colors on this? I've planned the whole room around them, starting with that pretty blue-green for the walls. Benjamin Moore #619 Copper Patina to be exact. I had a moment (actually several) of panic when I first applied the paint because it looks sickeningly mint green in the can. But it dried much darker and looks perfect on the walls.

I'm going with lavender for the sheets (to match those little speckled flowers), and the original inspiration fabric will become accent pillows on the bed. And remember that wonderful quilt top I bought several years ago for $15 at an antique mall? If not, you can see a bit of it in the top photo of this post. The predominant color of that quilt exactly matches the walls as well. There's a local quilt shop with a quilting machine that will finish quilts so I need to stop by and see what's involved in that process. I have just the top so will need to find a backing fabric that coordinates with everything.

I have a long length of lavender woven cotton (almost a linen-like texture) and will make a tablecloth for the round bedside table and more accent pillows for the bed. I have no idea yet what to do with the windows and floor except that I want to keep it very simple. And I really need to work in that lime green color from the fabric somewhere, too. Most decorating projects are an evolving process, so I'm not exactly sure what it will look like in the end. I'll post pictures when things are more settled!

turquoise

I'm happy to hear that the Pantone Institute chose my favorite color as color of the year for 2010—turquoise!

"Combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, turquoise inspires thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a comforting escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of well-being."


Some pictures of turquoise items in my collections.

fresh start

Happy new year! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday.

I'm happy to report that the website redesign is almost complete. I still have the eyelet trim pages and the fourth page of plastic buttons to do. And the links page. Whew, there's nothing like having to redo every single page of your website to make you realize how many pages there are. Hundreds, maybe thousands - I lost count! Anyway, it's mostly done and, if you go there, you probably won't experience too many problems finding your way around.

Someone commented about my craziness in combining the holidays with a website redesign and it made me think of those silly 1980s books about women who do too much. Yes, that would be me. But I knew the holidays would be slow on the website and it was the perfect time to do it.

So, a new year, a fresh start. By now I know better than to make new year's resolutions, but I am trying to get my studio organized. That's complicated by the fact that I'm moving it back into the attic space and turning the room it's in now to a third bedroom. I have cool plans for that - all based on colors from a vintage polished cotton fabric I found last year at an antique mall. I'll share when I get more into the actual doing part of the process.

I have lots of things planned for this year. Tons of vintage goodies (more buttons, sewing patterns, and some very cool vintage aprons) to photograph and get listed. Stitch School will be getting a new home on it's very own blog. You can visit now but I'm still early in the process of moving old posts over so you won't see much there yet. I'll be accepting ads and links to other hand-embroidery and needlework blogs so let me know if you have one of those and want to trade links. Guess I'd better design a new banner for that, too. There's so much to do!

vintage treats

You'd think that working at home would give me lots of free time to get ready for the holiday. Like doing some decorating, wrapping presents (at least I have presents), and baking. But so far that hasn't happened. Now that Christmas orders have slowed, maybe I'll get some time this week.

I'd like to try this recipe that I clipped from one of those 1960s women's magazines I found at the flea market. I haven't made fudge for ages and coffee, chocolate, and pecans sounds like the perfect combination of flavors to me. Here's the recipe in case you'd like to try it, too. I'll let you know how mine turns out.



Coffee Dot Fudge

3 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup light cream
2 tablespoons instant coffee
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
dash salt
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 6-ounce package semisweet chocolate pieces
1/2 cup broken pecans

Butter sides of heavy 3-quart saucepan. In it combine sugar, milk, light cream, instant coffee, corn syrup, and salt. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves and mixture come to boiling. Then cook to soft-ball stage (234°), stirring only if necessary. Immediately remove from heat; add butter and cool to lukewarm (110°) without stirring. Add vanilla. Beat vigorously until fudge becomes very thick and starts to lose its gloss. At once stir in chocolate pieces and pecans. Quickly spread in buttered shallow pan or small platter. Score into squares while warm and, if desired, top each with a pecan half. Cut when firm.

Better Homes & Gardens, December 1961

an amazing embroidery project

I'm not posting this to intimidate those of you who are just learning embroidery. Trust me, some day your work will be good enough to tackle more ambitious projects than the ones you're starting out with. Although this project may be more ambitious than you'll ever do, keep in mind that much of the work was completed by ordinary people who spent a few hours or days of their vacations helping out. I had to share because the finished result is so amazing and gorgeous. The Boston Globe published an article about the project a few days ago but I would have missed it if Kathleen Fasanella hadn't mentioned it on her Fashion-Incubator blog.

Three years ago Plimoth Plantation was planning an exhibition on how America's founders dressed themselves and wanted to re-create a lavishly-embroidered 17th-century women's waistcoat as the centerpiece of the exhibit. They approached Tricia Wilson Nguyen, a specialist in historic needlework, to see if she would lead the ambitious project.


Photo by Ed Nute

“I told them they were totally crazy,’’ said Nguyen. She knew it could take hundreds of people thousands of hours to do the intricate needlework, using a centuries-old embroidery stitch few people know. As if that wasn’t enough challenge, the materials needed - silver gilt threads, hand-cut sequins - had been out of production for centuries and would have to be reinvented.

The design is based on two jackets in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. It's a tight-fitting linen waistcoat heavily embroidered with curling vines, silver gilt stems, gold sequins, gold and silver metal lace, and a wild assortment of flowers, leaves, birds, insects, and three-dimensional butterflies.


Photo by Ed Nute

The project, which was unveiled a few days ago, took three years, cost $12,000, and took the embroidery skills of more than 250 people, most of them volunteers, to complete and construct the jacket. You can follow the story of it's creation on Nyguyen’s site Thistle-Threads and on Plimoth Plantation's The Embroiderer's Story.

A few months ago they received some bad news. Because of budget cuts and fund-raising shortfalls, the museum was forced to cancel the exhibition that inspired the jacket. Although Plimoth Plantation will still own it, the jacket will spend the next two years at the Winterthur museum in Delaware, which has a large collection of textiles and needlework. After that, it will return to Plymouth in hopes that the exhibition will be revived.

Nguyen is convinced that the jacket is the most ambitious embroidery project since Queen Elizabeth ll’s coronation robe and contends it is as fashionable now as it was in the 17th century.

“It’s very stylish,’’ she said. “I hate to say it but, God, it looks great with jeans.’’

I've been wanting to go to Winterthur for ages (it's a couple of hours drive for me) - this might be just the attraction to get me there.

sticky fingers, sparkly stars

When some of the shop owners where I sell asked for holiday ornaments for their stores, my first reaction was "I don't have time for this." I'd been doing so much sewing and the thought of making one more item wasn't very appealing. But, I hate to disappoint, so I asked myself what else I could do that would fit in with the Primrose Design look. Here's what I came up with—and what I've been working on for the past week. There's a lot of down time with these while they dry in between the steps, so you can easily jump back and forth from other pursuits. I've been doing bookkeeping and I'm quite sure you don't want to hear about that!


An almost finished ornament—I'll probably add a few more pearls

Here's are the supplies you'll need to make these:



• flat unfinished wood stars*
• a drill for making the hanging holes
• white acrylic paint (FolkArt 901 Wicker White)
• glue (Aleene's Glass and Bead)
• buttons (white, pearl, rhinestone) in a variety of shapes and sizes
• seed pearls, or pearl beads
• decoupage medium (Plaid Mod Podge)
• sewing needle
• thread for hanging (I used metallic silver)


Put some paper down on your workspace—this could get messy!

1. Drill a hole in one point of each star. A power drill really helps because they have a tendency to break or crack. Don't get too close to the edge.
2. Paint each star with acrylic paint—a couple of coats, and don't forget the edges.
3. Now for the buttons. Start at the point with the drilled hole and place a button over it so the holes align. This is where the hanging thread will be added later. You can either apply glue to the wood and then press the button on or apply it to the button itself (that's where the sticky fingers come in). You'll get the hang of arranging them after a while. You'll want a good mix of sizes, shapes, and shades of white, and to cover the surface without leaving too many open spaces or overlapping the outer edges too much. Use smaller buttons on the points and larger one toward the center.


Vintage buttons!

4. After you have a base layer of buttons, go back and add a few more to cover any open spaces. Flat buttons can rest on top and buttons with shanks are perfect for filling smaller oblong openings. The seed pearls are to fill any really small holes, especially near the edges. You're going for a layered, crusted look—think royal treasure storeroom or pirate's treasure chest—the more the better. I wanted an all-white look for mine but you could add silver or gold beads, trinkets, or charms. It's a small "canvas" so anything smallish will work well.


It's hard to be neat with this glue but it's shiny so adds to the sparkle.

5. Once you're happy with the results, let the whole thing dry.
6. Paint the back side with the decoupage medium for a shiny, glossy finish. This works as a glue, too, so you can add a little logo or message that you've printed on paper to the back. If you do this you'll need a few extra coats (with drying time in between).
7. Take a needle and make sure the hanging hole is clear (it gets gummed up with glue and paint and Mod Podge). Then string your hanging thread through the hole and knot it. And you're done.



Six of the finished ornaments are off to Hello Bluebird today but I've got plenty of buttons left so I'm going to keep going. They're really pretty and I'm sure I'll find a use for them :)

* You can find these in craft stores like Michaels and A.C. Moore. My local stores only had one size and I wanted something slightly larger, so I bought the 4" size at Woodworks, Ltd. They have a wide variety of shapes including primitive stars (less-sharp points) and hearts.

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?

thanks

Thanks for all your kind words in comments to yesterday's post. I ended up going to bed really early Saturday night because I was so tired after the show, but I woke up to three orders, got two more on Sunday, and shipped three more packages this morning. So, I know it isn't a matter of people not liking my things. They just seem to live in places like California and Texas!

The area where I live is tough. The malls are packed every weekend but small independent stores, not so much. And that's why, as much as I'd love to open my own shop, I hesitate to do it. It would look great—sort of an extended version of my craft booth—and I have so many craft-making friends with businesses that I know I could pack it full with cool things to buy. But would anyone here buy it? I just don't know how to get people to appreciate handmade things, and the effort that goes into making them. With the continued economic problems that's a harder sell than usual.

Didn't mean to ramble on about that but what I wanted to say was that I did meet some great people at the show. The booth next to me was a jewelry designer from a local bead store and she said I should stop by to talk about consigning some of my small accessories. I heard about some of the local shows that will be good for next year. For example, the library I go to is having an Artisans Market this Friday night and all day Saturday. I'm too late for this year but they tell me they're planning to do it again. And I talked to another local woman with a shop and I'm meeting with her on Friday and probably doing a local show sponsored by her shop in December.

So, even if you don't make a lot of sales at a show, you just might make some valuable contacts along the way. And I think it's good to get out and become part of the local craft community. Maybe together we can spread the word about how great handmade crafts are!