Knocked my socks off!

I know this is a vintage focused site, but if you love stitching, check out the work of Benji Whalen. Incredible!
Here's one of his pieces "Endless Summer":


Okay, now back to the lambs and flower baskets.

Stitch n' tell

Further to yesterday's post, here's some pics of some of my recent stitching projects.


1. Quick pillowcase made using patterns from the Sublime Stitching book:




2. Hanky with vintage Vogart pattern:




3. Hanky with Sublime book pattern:

4. Rock'n'roll placemat (pattern again from the Sublime book) for a 5 things Rockabilly swap:

5. Yesterday's AT Company pattern, this is actually a bag panel, but until I make the bag, it's sitting in my office at work:



And here's a question for anyone that can offer advice - Irons, cheap or expensive? Does it matter?

Some dainty appeal

"...in delicate sprays and tiny motifs. Infant wear and lingerie" proclaims this pattern from American Thread Co. , and to reinforce the point has a drawing of a cute baby...or something approximating a cute baby. I picked this one up as I thought it was rather charming, and I'm guessing it's from the 1920's-30's as it predates the American Thread Co. patterns that are virtual parallel issue of the black bannered Vogart ones from the 1940's. I've read that they published a magazine called the Star Needlework Journal in the early part of the century, but I can't find too much about their patterns. (Any links or info gratefully accepted.)

An exciting pattern it is not, and I don't know much about the American Thread Co. , but they didn't have a fun copywriter working for them, like our pals at Vogart. So I can't promise that these patterns will add gaiety to your life, or win you oodles of praise, but they are pretty. Inside the pattern envelope is a printed sheet with the pattern illustration on one side, and some stitch instructions on the other. The pattern envelope is designed so that it's a generic windowed sleeve, and the actual pattern details are on a loose piece of stiff paper inside. Most economical, American Thread Co.

Here's some floral scrollwork designs, which are quite lovely to add "dainty appeal" to your sewing projects, and they're quick and painless to do. Last night I decided to give one a burl and made a panel for a fabric bag, using some flowers and the phrase "talk to the hand." [Picture tomorrow when it's dry.] So for prettiness or for some subversive stitching, flowers are go!

7 (non-stitchy) random things

Sweet Bee tagged me for this one, and so here's 7 random things about me, hopefully I haven't shared any of these before. For your reading interest (or not).

1. My fingernails grow really quickly and I can't stand having long nails, so I've been known to hack them off with whatever scissors are handy.
2. I can play the clarinet, flute, saxophone and oboe. What I'd really like to be able to play is the violin, guitar and piano.
3. I have a weird phobia of stick insects. There was one in the lounge room last night, and I couldn't sit still until Mr Stitchy had put it outside.
4. I used to be scared of the dentist, but I got over that in 2006.
5. My favourite tv at the moment is 'Dexter' and 'My Name is Earl'.
6. My least favourite celebrities - Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.
7. I hate chewing gum and can't do it for more than a few seconds without wanting to swallow it.

Tagging? Who hasn't done this yet? Then you're IT!! Leave me a comment if you've done the meme too.

Stop and stitch the roses

Yesterday I used a couple of transfers from my Sublime Stitching book and stitched up a simple rose edge on a pillowcase. (Photo to come, the pillowcase is currently out on the line drying.) As I was stitching it, I thought, "What can I do to jazz it up a bit and add a few fancy stitches?" as it was a simple outline design...but then decided against it. And was glad I didn't do any more to it because it was very effective as is. Sometimes we can overcomplicate things, and good designs really don't need too much embellishment.

So in this spirit of simple stitching designs, and as one for the flower lovers out there (I notice they're winning in the poll!)... here's Superior 154 "40 motifs for varied linens and lingerie".

They're all florals from the look of the cover. My copy only has six motifs left in it, and my guess is that there were various sizes of the flowers illustrated on the cover, for pillowcases, towels, cloths, napkins and vanity set. Floral fun:

Iris

Marigold

Pansy (sorry it's sideways!)

...and the Rose.

So I can only share with you these small designs, but again, simple but effective designs are great fun to do for both beginners and advanced stitchers, as they're fast, yet rewarding. And I think that's what the pattern companies of the 30's 40's and 50's had in mind, as your average homemaker wanted to embellish things and enjoy their stitching, but didn't have idle hours to spend on it. As my page footer (taken from The Modern Priscilla magazine) says "Better homes through better needlework"...and who am I to argue?

They're so tweet!

It's been a busy week in Stitchy world, what with Brown Owls to keep me out of mischief, attempting to bring order to my craft room, and the tiresome chore of keeping two very amourous dogs apart, hence the lack of stitchy posts. Oh, and work.

But today's pattern is a super-tweet birdie design, ordered from The American Weekly of the late 60's. I found this one on e-bay and had to buy it, as I can't go past a wee birdie! They're doing the usual things, washing on Monday, shopping on Thursday, and as you know, my favourite, baking on Saturday.
Here's some tasty pie coveting:

And of course, birdies doing my favourite pasttime...being stitchy!

Suggestion

My Word Book page, originally uploaded by Comfy & Cosy.

I just came across this picture on Flickr, from a vintage children's book: My Word Book 5, 1966 (Printed by W L Hawes, Government Printer, Adelaide).
I think it would look great as a stitched sampler for a kid's room.