My Little Striped Tiger

I worried about the color choices for this one. Tigers have to have black stripes, and a pink tongue, and white-ish whiskers....but I fussed about the orange. He had to be orange enough to look like a tiger, but not like a construction cone. While I was looking for scraps to use  for his whiskers and tongue, I pulled out a skein that looked like it might work.  The picture makes it look darker than it is. In real life, it's a more of a  peachy shade.

Another Sweet Little Couple

I love these two! I think it's the way they're turned to face each other that makes me like this little block so much. There are lots of images with two smiling pieces of fruit side by side, or one chasing the other....but these little  cherries are just so sweet looking the way they're looking into each other's eyes and smiling.

It's a small image, which should help fill in space between the larger ones, and it's got more color than the endless black pieces I've been stitching. Did I mention that I love these two?

This post is linked to Vintage Embroidery Monday.

Ready Yet?

Isn't this lady elegant and poised? I can almost smell her perfumed powder.

I'm not sure about her face and hair, but that dress! I can't get past those wonderful pleats and the way they drape. She's straight out of an old Fred Astaire musical, or maybe one of those original Barbie catalogs.

I found the pattern for this one online somewhere and I'd love to see what makes up the rest of the set. Anyone know? (I thought for a moment that it was this gal. The hair style is right, but the lettering and background are definitely from a different set.)  

Cherries

Aren't red cherries one of the most perfect subjects for embroidery and quilt blocks? They're pretty and cheerful...and quick to stitch. This transfer was from my stash of old ones, so old that the ink didn't do anything but leave a faint red shadow on my square of muslin, just enough that I had to toss it out and trace the image by hand.

I fussed for a while about what color to make the border. I thought of doing it in pale green, or yellow, then pulled out this light gray. I think it gives it the look of an old doily, just perfect for this quilt.

The Totally Useless Stitch Along

I've got a new block finished for my vintage embroidery quilt. I love crows in general, and I really like this fellow's hat.

This is my first month participating in the Totally Useless SAL.  I've been seeing it on other posts for quite a while not and thinking that it looked like a fun idea. I try to put my orts in an empty plastic cup on the table next to my stitching spot. The only difference now is that I'm putting them in a prettier container and not using it for random little bits of trash.   There are hardly any bits of thread to show, but the year is young.

I picked up the Pyrex measuring cup at an estate sale.  Judging by the kitchen I found it in, it's fairly old. I can't see myself cooking with it, since the measurements are embossed and not terribly easy to read. But it's pretty and old and Pyrex and it was dirt cheap. And now I've got the perfect use for it.

This post is linked to Slow Sunday Stitching. 

It's Been Raining

Happily, I haven't had much need to go out into the rain, because it isn't as fun as this little kitten makes it look.  It was that plastic hair bonnet that made this transfer, which is from the same set as the kitten on the bicycle,  a "must stitch" block for my vintage embroidery quilt. I haven't seen one of these in years. Do ladies still use them? 

This is one of those rare blocks where I chose my colors in advance. I knew that I wanted a very light pink for the bonnet, a fairly dark pint for the umbrella handle, and a medium pink for the skirt and umbrella fabric. Then I needed cat and rain colors that would work with those. It does make things easier to know which flosses I'll be using, but I'm not sure if I'll stay that organized for every block.

A New Friend or a Tasty Snack?

I made some mistakes when I was tracing this one, getting confused between the kitten's tail and the plant next to it. Because I'd used a Frixion pen, I went ahead and stitched what I had, but the whole time I worked on it, I was holding my breath hoping that a hot iron would take off the extra markings. It did. (And yes, I've read the warnings about using these pens for quilting. In every case but this one, I'm stitching over the lines of ink so I don't worry about it. This time, I was willing to gamble a bit rather than cut a new piece of muslin and retrace the entire design.)

This is one of the new hot iron transfers I picked up at Walmart. I've had it on fabric for a couple of months, but I couldn't make up my mind about what colors to use beyond the really obvious -- red striped stockings, black shoes, blue dress, red hair..... It's those white aprons that always trip me up.

Carrots!

Not much to say about this square. They're carrots, without and arms or legs or hostile expressions. But I do love the colors.

I'm linking up to Slow Sunday Stitching.

Angry Bears With Empty Bowls

I think these three are from the version of the story where Golilocks gets eaten by the bears.  I found the pattern over at Doe C Doe.

The little kitten, which is only about three inches high, is from my own stash of vintage transfers.

I'm linking up to the Vintage Embroidery Linky Party.

Clothes Pins

I found this pattern over at Q is for Quilter and I don't think it's cute, but it wouldn't leave my head. The anthropomorphic dishes are just so weird and angry looking.

I scorched the fabric a just a bit with my iron, but it's not nearly as bad as what I did to the cookie jar transfer. I decided that it adds to the "fake vintage" look I'm going for. In real life, it's not as obvious as it is in the picture.

This post is linked to the Vintage Embroidery linky party.

Clean Day

I found the pattern for this little kitten on Flickr . There are lots of cute images in this photostream, including the rest of Kitty's week.

In the Pond

This little frog was so quick to stitch that I didn't have time to dream up a back story for him.  He's just filler that will go in between the larger blocks.

But he's cute, isn't he?

With That Clock Always Looming

What intrigues me most about this day-of-the-week embroidery set (which I found over at Q is for Quilter) is that huge clock that's looming in the background of every chore. I go through too many of my own days watching the clock, counting down how much time there is left before I've got to get dinner on the table, or go to bed, or get up in the morning.... More than once, I've caught myself still working on a project when I'm going to have to get to bed, sleep, and be up and at an appointment in six or seven hours.  Quilting is a lot more fun than sleeping, but sooner or later sleep has to win out.

Now and then we get a stretch of days when no one has to know what time it is. I wish there were more of those.

I Wonder if She Even Likes Apples...

This vintage transfer that I found online was so different she had to go into the quilt. 

While I stitch, I make up stories in my head. It's a long walk to that twisted old tree and there are probably thistles and snakes.  The old woman is tired and that bushel basket is heavy. I wonder if she even likes apples. Maybe she feels obligated to pick them because they're ripe and shouldn't go to waste. Maybe she doesn't have many other options.

If I'd chosen brighter colors for the dress I still think she'd look overwhelmed It's her posture and those shoes.  Maybe she's related to the lady with the mop.

A Sewing Bird

This pattern is from one of the Workbasket inserts. The actual transfer is itty-bitty, only about two inches across. I made it twice the size so it would be easier to stitch, and to see in the finished quilt.

When I was little, we visited Grandma Dorothy, an older relative who lived alone in her tiny apartment full of antiques. My parents would sit and talk with her, talking about coins or stamps or genealogy. At least I think that was what it was -- I was sitting on the floor by a bookshelf, totally engrossed in an old book.

We didn't visit very often, but when we did I'd go straight for that spot. I can't tell you how badly I wanted to read the whole book, which was about a little girl being taught by the sewing bird. It was the most wonderful amazing fascinating thing. And I'm guessing now that none of the adults in my life ever had the slightest clue. (My own kids would ask me to write down the title of the book and check for a copy at the library. But I wasn't armed with their problem solving skills. I saw a crumbling old book that I knew I wouldn't be allowed to borrow and that was the end of that.)

As an adult, armed with the magic of Google, I figured out that the book of my dreams was the Mary Frances Sewing Book. I could read it for free online here, but I've never made the time.

Little Bits of Embroidery

I've been thinking that I should do some little pieces to fill in between the bigger embroidered blocks. These two transfers, which were in  the box Janice sent, are just what I didn't know I wanted. 

I'm very happy with the dog, a little less so with the cat. Those whiskers aren't quite right. But a lot of the details in these old transfers can be puzzling.

Here Kitty, Kitty!

Quick and easy, with only a handful of colors. But isn't she cute? 

This is from one on the transfers Janice sent me. I'd seen her before at Q is for Quilter, but it's awfully nice to have the actual transfer!  There's also a duck and a chick and a bunny. Wouldn't they make an adorable baby quilt?

A Mermaid!

Look who I stitched...

As soon as I started choosing patterns for the Garden Party quilt, I knew that I wanted to use the mermaids. I'd bought the transfers a few years back and put them in the steamer trunk. Of course they weren't there when I went up to get them and, even though the pattern is still available, I couldn't find a new one at any of the stores I checked.

After a year of looking, the pattern envelope turned up in a spot where I'd already looked several times. And the pattern that was supposed to be there isn't.

I think I've got gremlins in my sewing room that hide things while I'm dealing with the rest of my life.

Not as Fragile as the Real Thing

One of these days I'd love to have a real stereoscope, but for now I'll be happy to have an embroidered one in my quilt. 

I see them in antique stores now and then, but if I bought one, I'd have to keep it under lock and key. My kids are fairly good at not messing with the vintage and antique stuff, but I'm not sure it would be fair to put out something that neat and expect them to keep their hands off. And they all look so fragile.

For now, I'm contenting myself with picking up the cards when I find extra cheap ones at estate sales.

Vintage Shoes

I stuck with two colors for this one, hoping to capture the look of an old catalog advertisement. 

For almost all of my embroidery, I use a basic back stitch, but for this one, I needed to remember how the Lazy Daisy stitch works. I'm not claiming to be very good at it yet, but this is just a tiny block that'll go in between some of the larger images.