Vintage Hand Embroidery

A few of my friends complain to me that I don’t post enough on my blog these days.  I hope they are just saying, “We want more”.  Over the last five years, since my first son was born, I’ve tried to carve out some time each day to do something creative.  Some days (and months) it’s easier than others.  It’s only been this school year that I’ve finally felt I have enough time to do whatever I want in my sewing room.  Ironically, this has led to fewer posts on my blog.  In the past, I would only work on small projects that I knew I could finish in a short amount of time.  This led to completing lots of small projects and, hence, lots of goodies to show off on my blog.  It’s only now that I have time to work on larger, more complex items.  These, however, take weeks, and sometimes even months, to complete, hence less to share in this space.

Case in point:  I’ve been doing a lot of handwork lately.  I currently have three projects underway, all of which have some element of hand stitching involved.  I’m still working on my Alabama Chanin dress which will take me several more months to complete.  Then there’s the hand stitched needle book that I’m doing as an online class with Susan Elliot.  Here’s a little sneak peak of that one:

The third project is a combination of machine sewing embellished with handwork.  I’m hoping to have this skirt finished in the next week to share with you.  I love how it’s turning out.

All of this thinking about handwork got me to wondering where my love for it had its origins.  My mom taught me basic embroidery when I was just a little girl, probably 7 or 8 years old.  I’ve still got a few of my early pieces, including these embroidered pants that I made when I was 10.

I never quite completed them; you can see the last design I was stitching on the front, a bunch of grapes.  I still have the pattern with the iron-on designs.

Who knew when I was 10 that I would attend a college where the mascot was a yellow jacket?

Or that I would grow up to have a love for dragonfly images?

I’m not sure what the ducks walking across my backside mean, however.

So, I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into my early stitching life.   I haven’t lost the interest in the art all these years later.  I just hope that I don’t abandon my current projects with one motif left to stitch.  I’ve got blog posts to write, after all.

Hanky Flowers

Hello friends.  Boy, am I tired.  Three sets of company in two weeks along with two little boys' birthday parties has worn me out.  I've really been burning the candle at both ends.  I am on a mission to finish a project in my sewing room so I can get on to something I want to sew.  Reading my friend Jane's blog post about home dec sewing made me realize I'm not alone.  I'm currently working on curtains for my church's choir room, not a particularly inspiring project.  Additionally, I'm working with just barely enough fabric, so there is no room for error.  Did I mention that the two windows are each 150" long?  There's not much about this job that makes for an easy night's rest.  I'm also really anxious to get some sewing done for me before I leave on a trip in about a month (not to mention two Halloween costumes that need to be sewn before then).  I've also been keeping busy with planing and preping for my oldest son's birthday party tomorrow, and am planning to share a new recipe I tried for cake frosting after I snap some pictures.   All of this to say that I've been too busy to blog!

Today I want to share some pictures of one of the projects I made at the Sewing Expo I went to a couple of weeks ago.  Barb Callahan taught us to make lovely little posies from vintage hankies.  Barb's classes are always fun, and her laid-back teaching style is mixed with plenty of humor.  She provided us with the pattern and all of the materials we needed to make two little pins of different style.

Everyone's flowers had distinct personalities.  It was really fun to see how differently each one turned out.

I need to put some finishing touches on the second one, which reminds me of a dogwood.  This is a lovely way to use up some hankies you might have, especially those with sentimental value.

I'll report back with more details about the latest cupcakes if I survive partying with 22 four-year-olds tomorrow!

Sewing Treasures

A couple of weeks ago I was wandering around my neighborhood during our semi-annual yard sale event and saw a box with what looked like sewing supplies in it.  I stopped to look and the owner immediately said I could have that and another box for $1. The owner seemed not too sure about what was in the boxes, but I love buried treasure so how could I resist?  I took the boxes home and unearthed a very special trove of sewing treasures.  This is the sort of find that only true sewing enthusiasts will understand as nothing had much intrinsic value and much of it will be given to the thrift store.  But there were a few gems in the mix.

Here is a PARTIAL list of some of the things I found:

Old patterns, project instruction leaflets, 5 pairs of scissors (2 pinking), dozens of UFOs, trim, ribbon, old lace, fabric, doll glasses, metallic doilies, florist wire, huge assortment of Christmas picks, leaves, stamens, bells, etc., 3 different types of elastic, tapestry needles, pearl roping, cording, Battenberg lace tea towels, evenweave fabric, Dritz See-Thru ruler, Chinese knot buttons, 3 embroidery hoops, latch hook, knitting needles, snaps, loads of nylon flag fabric and two completed flags.

Some of the items really spoke of the previous owner, especially the two Bowl America Queen of the Week bowling awards, the partially completed projects, the handwritten notes and old receipts.  I paused over the Clearbrook Woolen Shop Needle Pack and remembered the time I visited this shop which is no longer in business.  I was glad that I had ended up with these possessions as I could understand about this woman’s life, what these things must have meant to her.  It made me wonder who will go through my sewing treasures after I am gone and what image they will have of me based on my stuff.

I ran into the previous owner of these boxes this week and stopped to tell her who I was and how much I enjoyed going through these items.  She told me the boxes’ contents had been her mother’s.  We talked a bit about the dying art of sewing, how our mothers made our clothes when we were growing up and about the Singer sewing machine she used to use but no longer.  I tried to reassure her that there are those of us out there who still love this art form and will one day pass along our prized possessions to other sewing enthusiasts like us.  At least I hope that is what happens to my things one day.

Vintage Treasures

I came home from a recent visit with my family toting some new old finds.  My sister gave me a box of old sewing patterns and a bag of wool yarn.  Now, I am not sure what, if anything, I will do with these treasures but vintage items are always fun to look at, and sometimes you learn a thing or two.

I sorted through the box of patterns and pulled out four “Big Four” patterns from the 1960’s

along with six patterns from a company called Spadea. 

Now, I had never heard of Spadea so I did a little internet research.   The most inclusive information can be found in this article at Fuzzy Lizzy Vintage Clothing.  The creators of Spadea Designer Patterns worked with fashion designers in the 1950’s and 60’s to create sewing patterns taken from ready-to-wear garments.  These patterns were unique in their sizing (using RTW sizing) and appearance – there are no printed markings on the pattern pieces, everything is punched or notched and the pattern pieces come precut. 

The previous owner of my patterns must have been a Dinah Shore fan since most of the patterns carry that stars name.

The yarn I received has an interesting history as well.  It was manufactured by the Quinnehticut Woolen Company in Taftville, CT. 

In 1995 the New York Times ran an article about the rebirth of this company under new ownership, who believed in the revitalization of the textile industry.

This lengthy article details the history of the Ponemah Mill (meaning "our future hope," from Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha"), the mill village of Taftville (all of the original structures are still standing and on the National Historic Register) and the revival under new owners in 1990.  Sadly, it appears that the mill is no longer in operation and has been turned into luxury condos and retail space.  The wool I own looks ideal for felting, one of my favorite things to do with wool yarn.  I might also use it in a needle felting project – I have not put my embellisher to much use recently.  Regardless, I certainly have a rainbow’s worth of lovely colors to choose from.

Forget-me-not

My good friend Joyce came to visit the other day.  She arrived with a little paper bag filled with goodies, one for each of my boys and one for me.  Inside mine I found some vintage treasures.  The calendar is a reproduction of a vintage trade card for Niagara Spray Starch.  These color lithographs, popular in the late 1880’s, were a major form of advertising for products of the time.  Also in my bag was a beautiful aqua-colored organza and velvet floral hair comb which I am contemplating turning into a lapel pin.  Finally I discovered two bouquets of vintage paper millinery flowers, forget-me-nots, in beautiful shades of pink and aqua.  I’m not sure just what I will do with these (maybe another lapel pin) but they did bring back memories from my childhood.  When I was little I used to watch (and sometimes help) my mother create tray favors for patients at Sibley hospital (where, 40 years later, my first son was born).  These classic retro favors were made from the plastic lids taken from aerosol spray cans (particularly hairspray).  Do you remember when those lids used to have a small circular wall in the interior of the cap?  That little indentation was filled with some form of putty and then flowers such as these were inserted to mimic tiny little floral arrangements.  Patients at the hospital had their food trays brightened with these little blooms.

Treasures like this are available through many online sources.  Tinsel Trading Company has a wonderful selection of vintage and contemporary flowers, many dating from the 1940’s as well as fabulous trims, embellishments, beads and buttons.  If you ever have the chance of visiting the store in NYC don’t miss it – it is a wonderland.  Closer to my home is Accessories of Old located in Bethesda, MD.  This store is packed with vintage embellishments of all sorts, most dating from the 1920’s.  No doubt you will find some treasures of your very own at these shops.

Update on Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 2:07PM by Julie Bowersett

Thanks to Kathy for letting me know that Accessories of Old has closed their store in Bethesda but evidently still has one in Frederick, MD.