As an aside...

Am I the only one addicted to creating blogs? On a whim I made this yesterday:

Not sure what I'll put on there, Brown Owls stuff I guess.

Chic lady

Yesterday I hit my favourite thrift store for a browse while we were waiting for Mr Stitchy's prescriptions from the chemist next door. And I almost walked past this pair of napkins/placemats and a bigger table runner. Not handstiched, from the look of the back of the work, but still adorable nevertheless:


I thought you would agree, my stitchy friends, so I'll scan her tonight and tweak it until I get a transfer pattern for you to use.
Update: here she is, hopefully you can use her:

Current WIP

P1010039, originally uploaded by Brown Owl & Friends.

I haven't been home for a few days, so no blogging. And thankfully, feeling much healthier (Mr Stitchy now has the flu, I can't help sharing). I was determined to be better to go to the first Brown Owls meeting last night.

This WIP is a little teatowel that I started last night, using Doe-c-doe's mushroom pattern. It's not really cream, just the combination of the fluroescent lighting and the camera flash. It's going to be a swap pressie for a mushroom loving friend.

Ding dong dell

...I'm still not feeling well. Are you sick of me yet? I know I'm sick of me! Which is why this pattern appealed to me today, I'm feeling rather contrary, and quite irritable, so here I am:



This pattern is a Workbasket one (I think) but I'm not really sure, it was mixed up in a bundle of other patterns and already cut. (If anyone knows where it's from and if I need to take it down due to copyright, please let me know.) This pattern stretched my memory a bit, because it's Nursery Rhyme characters for quilt blocks. I understood obvious ones like Little Boy Blue, Mary Mary Quite Contrary, (a sobbing) Little Bo-Peep, Little Miss Muffet, Georgie Porgie, Little Jack Horner (always a favourite rhyme of mine), and also Jack and Jill - here they are:


When I saw this one I immediately thought of the dirty versions of Jack and Jill I've heard in my time, because Jill definitely looks like she's up to something very naughty...watch out Jack! I'm starting to think that Jack falling down and breaking his crown was no accident, and Jill's "tumbling" was just a cover up to divert suspicion. Might have to get Hercule Poirot onto that one.

But there's also Lucy Locket and 10 o'clock Scholar who I don't know anything about. (I suppose I could just Google them, but that'd be cheating.)

And what baffled me was this fellow who's name had been cut apart from his drawing:


I asked Mr Stitchy if he knew who on earth this boy with a soggy cat was, and he informed me that he's from the rhyme 'Ding Dong Dell'... and proceeded to recite it to me. What a terrible thing! What sort of evil child would throw a kittah down the well?! Such is the stuff of nightmares for me, as a wee stitchy and kitty lover! So Little Johnny Stout has now acquired hero status, as a kitty saver, and all round good guy.

[If you're super keen to make them all as a quilt, email me for the other designs. I haven't altered the size of these from the scans in case you want them for kid's pictures or clothes or whatever, so you might have to tweak them a bit.]

Thanking!

The very sweet Miss Paula awarded me this the other day:

Thank you so much! Do I need to make a speech? I'd like to thank the Academy, my family, my manager, my personal Guru, my producer... uh, wrong award...
I'm going to tag a couple of people - of course Floresita for being the Queen of vintage pattern blogging, the super-generous Sweet Bee, who always shares all her pattern collection on her blog and Flickr, and my sis Edna for being an all round sweetie. While I'm on a thanking roll, ta to everyone for reading, it makes it more fun knowing you're out there loving the patterns too.

Jewellery you can make

Just for a change from embroidery transfers, this page is from a little booklet called Home Crafts that came with Weldon's Ladies' Journal No. 664, dating from the 1930's, I'd say. The text doesn't really tell you anything significantly useful as far as "how tos" go, but points you to an advertisement on page 15 for Bead Wire Jewllery ...a "complete outfit" of pliers, beads and stones supplied for 6/6d. The bead company is called Calipe Dettmer & Co, Ltd, of London. I have a mental image of Calipe as being a 1930's version of Mrs Slocombe ('Are you being Served?') with a buxom chest covered in jingle-jangly beads.

Imaginary-characters-based-on-stereotypical-images aside, I suppose I find this interesting because it shows how little the techniques and styles of basic beaded jewellery has changed. "Some wire, three beads and half-an-hour...such is the simple history of this covetable brooch."

What's not to love?

A note on...

And the winner is...

Further to my little stitchy facelift giveaway, this random number generator picked commenter number 7 which was Bec! Yay! She gets a vintage Vogart pattern and some stitchy goodness for playing.
Thank you all for your comments, the correct answer was that I modelled it on a Vogart envelope, and a runner-up merit prize goes to Norma who pointed out that the kittys are from one of my Vogart Textilprints, FP200! A lucky parcel of stitchy goodness will be on the way ... Bec and Norma please email your postal details to me at: podbobbins@gmail.com.


Thanks for the comments, remember to say hi if you're calling by, no lurking please! I'll do another little giveaway next month to encourage you to come out of the woodwork!

And remember to add your stitchy pics here, and any stitchy patterns here. If you've got a stitchy blog you want added to the side bar, let me know. Share the stitchy love! Amen!

(Sorry folks, think I'm having a sugar rush from the apple cake I just ate!)

A Trio of Embroidered Basket Designs

A Trio of Embroidered Basket Designs, originally uploaded by Gigi & Big Red.

Further proof that flowers in baskets are super fab, look at these gorgeous thrift shop table runners that Gigi recently found! The bottom one is my favourite. The second one looks to me like one of the Vogart pillowcases from the Hope Chest designs. Yay!

Days of the week ~ vintage embroidered tea towels

Days of the week ~ vintage embroidered tea towels, originally uploaded by Vintage LOVE.

Imagine finding these in an op-shop (thrift store to you non-Aussies), I think I'd pass out!
Super cuteness!

And now for something completely different

No, I haven't got Monty Python transfers (!) but an odd sheet, that I can only assume came from the Workbasket. It is not numbered at all, so I'm not really sure. Seeing as your menfolk might not be lovign all these floral pillowcases, how about making a tie? (The last time Mr Stitchy wore a tie was on our wedding day, but I digress.) Yes, it's personalised tie time!
Also on this sheet there is cross stitch Bo-Peep and Boy Blue, a "bedroom ensemble" with a heart and daisy design, and a pattern for a "Tulip basket for nut and candy cup". There's also a couple of handy hints:

Do you have difficulty keeping the recipe handy when you are cooking? Place the recipe card between the tines of a fork and put the fork in a glass. This also prevents the recipe from becoming soiled.
______
Use clear nail polish to stiffen the tip of cord or thread you are using to string beads. Also when shoe laces lose their tips, twist the ends, dip in clear polish and let them dry. This is good for children's shoe laces since they are the ones who lose their tips so frequently.

And of course, there's this "Personalised tie motif" pattern.

Tie Motifs:
Tiny figures are "hobby" motifs to be painted on white or colored ties using textile paints. Stamp or trace figures in desired positions. Color solid on blue, red, yellow or black. Use only one design as preferred.

I haven't ventured into the world of textile paints, but I think these would be fun in outline stitch (maybe minus the flowers) on a dark tie. Or in redwork.

Maybe I'll have to sew Mr Stitchy one and make him wear it!

Twee overload!

Here's something a little different, a small single sheet of transfers, simply marked "A New Era Transfer 305". These are English transfers and from the style, I'd date them to the 1930's, and say they're for nursery items. Other than that, I know nothing about them, and doing a quick Google (remembering to include "-ebay") I couldn't find anything about the company.

Hope there's one you like enough to stitch!

Couple'a stitchy thoughts

You may notice a new poll in the sidebar, I've put it up for a month to gauge what you think of cross stitch. Vogart put out a lot of cross stitch patterns, which I'm rather fond of, but I'm not sure if stitchy folks out there share my opinion - do you like cross stitch or not? What do you think?

Another issue I'd like your opinion on...people selling photocopies of their patterns. Recently on e-bay I was bidding on the original of one of my Vogart wishlist patterns, the auction was due to end, I went to bed and asked Mr Stitchy Britches (the night owl) to keep an eye on it, and bid for me. He forgot about it, and so wanting to keep Stitchy-me happy (bless him!), tried to find another copy on e-bay. He came across a "buy it now" one and thought, "bonus, here's one for her", and bought it. The next day he told me, I wasn't too fussed on missing out (as these Vogart patterns seem to be like buses) - "thank you", said I, "but oh, is it an original or a copy?" He looked at me somewhat blankly and then checked out what he'd bought. He was dismayed to find he'd spent money on a photocopy, and not realised. I said, that's fine, I can still stitch it, so all good. (The auction did clearly state it was a photocopy, by the way.)

But, what do you think of this? I'm happy to support people that reprint transfers that you can iron on and use, but somehow, to me, charging money for a photocopy seems a bit wrong. I know it's free enterprise etc, but I don't operate that way, so it doesn't sit well with me.

Any thoughts?

Just a reminder...

...that I'll be picking a winner for my little Stitchy Facelift giveaway very soonish. So add a comment in if you want to be in the draw.

PS. Don't forget to vote in the sidebar poll if you haven't already. Flowers are ahead, who would have known?
PPS. And add a comment to the "What's the glamour girl holding?" discussion (link in sidebar)...

PPPS. Floresita, can you please Flickr mail me your postal address, I've still got a little bag of vintage floss for you from the giveaway on my Bobbins blog.

Okay, I think that's all.