Vintage Embroidery Uses

Vintage embroidery work fascinates the observant appreciator of the needle arts. Some gorgeous and intricately worked old pieces can be found at estate sales, rummage or garage sales, etc.

Many bloggers write only of embroidery. Here are a few blogs that showcase lovely snippets of such work:

Sue's Tree House
Lucykate Crafts
Karina's bird-embroidery
Cates Linens

This is a work shirt which I repurposed, using nine different pieces of vintage embroidery found on antique table runners and linen napkins to cover the front panels, back yoke and sleeve cuffs. Some of the embroidery was so old it was frayed, so using the Wonder Under product helped insure fabric stability.

Incorporating vintage hankies on pillows top: can be found at this post a year ago:

And here is a picture of a new pattern I am working on for application to the front of a plain white blouse, followed by embroidery work in various stitches, finishing off with crayon coloring on the shirt:

The fairie was sketched by Michelle at Michelle's Blog. She will dress up that shirt front, for sure.

After it is embroidered, I will color it with crayons using this technique from the TintedLinenTutorial:

...Trace your pattern onto your fabric very lightly with a pencil or a water soluble marker... Tape the fabric down on the corners to a flat smooth surface.Take out your crayons and color! You may need to color a little harder in the fabric because the ironing will soften the crayon. Experiment with shading to add depth or only color a few things to really make a bold statement. Try to color in the same direction because the strokes will show (unless this is the effect you are trying to achieve).

When you are satisfied with yourself, sandwich the fabric between 2 pieces of plain paper. Set your iron to the "cotton" setting. Press the fabric sandwich slowly and smoothly. This will 'set' the crayon. You may need to press a few times to get the results you want. I did mine a few times to soften and melt the crayon for a smoother effect. From this point you can either back the design with another piece of fabric or place in an embroidery hoop. Embroider your heart away! Use different stitches,beads, sequins, etc.

Thanks again to Tracy at GiggleFace Studios for her tutorial on using crayons on fabric.

I have several items of vintage embroidery that I would love to give to others. Drop me a comment or email me with your address if you would like some!

Alpaca and Llama Wool Yarns

Consider this free advertisement for Knitters Review, because that weekly magazine is a wealth of information. It has "timely, in-depth, and insightful reviews for knitting and fiber enthusiasts", and is chock full of goodies, all relating to products dealing with fiber.

This week, buffalo fiber is showcased on their webpage:

What do you knit for someone truly special? If you can, you save your pennies and splurge on a glorious yarn, taking your time to knit an equally glorious gift from it. You try to find a yarn that, even in its natural state, whispers sweet nothings into the ears of its wearer.

I love working with different animal fibers. New blogger friend, Brenda at Split Rock Ranch, raises, trains, shears, and sells llama furs, and she even dyes and spins their fiber. One smart cookie, that Brenda. Here is what she sold me yesterday:


You can find her Etsy Store at this website: Split Rock Llama and Alpaca on Etsy.

This yarn is merino wool, handpainted and handspun in colors of fuchsia, burgundy, black and gray. I will combine it with a purple merino wool to create another baby sweater.

I asked Brenda at Split Rock Ranch about the properties of alpaca wool, and she replied with this:

Llama and alpaca are hollow fibers so they trap air and act as an insulator, very much like down. They are best spun fine(r) and knitted in smaller projects like scarves, hats, etc. unless they are spun laceweight. Because they don’t have “memory” like sheep’s wool, they can tend to get stretched out of shape if your garment is too bulky and heavy.

An open-work shawl done in llama wool would be gorgeous. Tip to make that skein stretch a bit farther - use big needles! That leaves a bit of space between stitches so the garment doesn’t get too hot.

Llama fiber will be a new experience (in my limited repertoire, at least) to use in knitting winter garments, so come on cold weather... those knitting needles are anxious for a workout with animal fibers.

1941: Mom and Dad During Navy Years in War

OK, now it is sketched out.

Painting this portrait of my mother taken from a picture in the early 1940's has been slow work. It was started a year ago, and progess has stalled on it. Perhaps memories of an acrimonious divorce between my parents is creating hesitation on further painting, but I just can't get the impetus to finish it. By posting on this blog, maybe inspiration will come.

Don't they look happy? I especially like the Navy cap in the upper right corner of the original picture. That needs to be added into the canvas.

Dad was stationed in New York as an airplane test pilot when the top snapshot was taken.