Q is for Quilter » Embroidery

Umbrella Bouquets Applique/Embroidered Quilt Pattern

Martha — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:59:29 +0000

This was a series quilt from Stitch ‘n Sew magazine in 1978. Unfortunately, I only have the Mar/Apr and May/June issues, which means I only have full-sized patterns for the first 5 of 16 blocks. Fortunately, I was able to scan, clean and enlarge a small drawing of all of the patterns (although the detail is not as nice as the full-sized images). Also, since blocks 1 – 5 are the only ones with color suggestions, you would have to wing it on the other 11 blocks, unless you happen to have some late 1978 Stitch ‘n Sew magazines in your collection.

There are lots of umbrella with flowers embroidery patterns, but they are usually more frilly. I like this big, plain umbrella. Although the pattern instructions call for appliqued umbrellas (using a print) and appliqued flowers (using solids with embroidered details), I think just embroidery, or crayon and embroidery would also be nice. To see the images at their full resolution, click twice on the gallery photos.

Vintage Christmas Embroidery Transfers

Martha — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:37:59 +0000

Old Workbasket magazines had a sheet of embroidery transfers (red ink on craft paper) folded and stapled inside the pages. On one side of the staples was a large sheet of transfers; on the other side was a little section (2 1/2″ x 8″) that had its own unique designs. I’ve always loved these little bits, so I scanned all the ones I could find with a Christmas theme.

These are so small that you could easily stitch up a few before Christmas. Click on each image for the actual size.

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Antique Redwork Tablecloth

Martha — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 23:43:09 +0000

This is an item I purchased on ebay ages ago, and although it was advertised as a tablecloth, I thought it might actually be a quilt top. I was wrong, though, because it is hemmed all around, it’s only one layer (so probably not meant to be a summer spread), and the seams are finished on the back.

The tablecloth was listed as a cutter on ebay and very inexpensive. I haven’t done any research on the cloth so I’m not sure about the age, but a couple of my favorite squares represent figures from the 1800s: Jumbo (1861 – 1885) and Admiral Dewey (1837 – 1917). If anyone has a better idea of the date, I would love to hear from you.

The motifs appear to be hand drawn and the random nature of the subjects reminds me of the old “penny square” designs. All of the drawings are directional and all but three are set the same (the 5th square in the last three rows is upside down). I would have fixed this if I were the maker, but now I find it charming.

The cloth has been well used, but is in relatively good shape for its age, being a little thin with some broken threads and a few worn spots. The worst damage is to poor Red Riding Hood, who suffered a bad tear and was rather crudely repaired.

Antique Redwork Tablecloth
Hand embroidered and hand sewn
Unknown Maker (M.K.)
Late 1800s or early 1900s
72″ x 80″

Vintage Crocheted Pillowcases — New Embroidery

Martha — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 21:09:46 +0000

The Christmas present projects are going fairly well now. I am hand quilting the Cross-Stitched Tulips quilt top, and adding more organisms to the Charley Harper water drop quilt. It’s actually beginning to look doable after all.

These pillowcases with the beautiful crocheted edging were purchased on Ebay. The crochet design is so unusual with its geometric look, that I thought I would try more stylized embroidery designs, rather than my normal florals. Both of these patterns appear on one page of the 1886 J. F. Ingalls catalog, a resource I have used several times for pillowcase patterns. The original scans were uploaded by John Governale, but a cleaned up copy is available in Luann’s (Embroiderist) Flickr set.

The embroidered rick-rack was sort of an afterthought. Because of the hemstitching, I had to place the design higher than usual, which left a fairly large blank area that I felt needed to be filled in with something. I tried several smallish Ingalls borders, but nothing looked quite right. Finally I remembered this peachy-colored rick-rack trim I removed from a vintage feedsack tablecloth before making it into an apron for the bridal shower. If I didn’t have that tiny hoarding tendency, I might have thrown away that used rick-rack.

Laura Wheeler Sunbonnet Girl Transfers

Martha — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 17:37:08 +0000

Emily’s wedding is tomorrow, and I am actually feeling pretty relaxed. The entire living room is filled with boxes of glassware, plates, linens, candles, paper flowers, pennants, and numerous other decorations we have made. Tomorrow it’s all about packing the cars and meeting my sisters, my mother-in-law, and Aaron’s mother and aunt, who are going to spend a few hours helping Gordon and I transform the venue into Emily’s wedding vision. I think it’s going to be lots of fun.

Because there is no new needlework to post, here is Laura Wheeler Sunbonnet Kitchen Towel set (#897). There are lots of sunbonnet sets, but I think this is one of the cutest.

My sisters and I will be traveling to Oklahoma after the wedding to visit our oldest sister, Jean Ann. Then Gordon will join me for a long road trip back to Seattle, during which I hope to do a lot of sewing. Maybe I’ll actually have something new to share when I get back.

Circus Alphabet Embroidery Pattern

Martha — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 04:27:56 +0000

These transfers have been cut and are missing both the envelope and the instructions, so I don’t know the date or the publisher.

Although I think the alphabet designs are very cute, I was disappointed because I expected each character’s name to begin with its accompanying letter, and in most cases they don’t — or if they do, I can’t figure it out (except for the horse and the snake and maybe the parrot, although it looks more like a toucan to me). I don’t know how these letters were supposed to be stitched, but I think they would look pretty cute done in redwork.

Nancy Page Quilt Club — Embroidered Snowflake Quilt Pattern

Martha — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 17:36:24 +0000

This is one of the series quilt patterns published in many 1930s newspapers under the pseudonym “Nancy Page” by Florence La Ganke. The fictional Nancy would meet with her quilt club on successive Tuesdays, where she would introduce the next block and make suggestions for fabrics, colors, and techniques. You can read more about Florence La Ganke here, and see a photo of a completed snowflake quilt here.

Nancy Page quilts tend to be either appliqued or embroidered — the Snowflake Quilt is embroidered in white on a “soft blue” fabric using several different stitches. I think this would be a great pattern for someone wanting to try out some new stitches; the project would also travel well since the designs are all one color. The entire pattern is available in my sidebar under Download Links.

Bride and Groom Chair Backs

Martha — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:15:41 +0000

I’m happy to have a diversion from making napkins and crepe paper flowers. This was actually a really fun project, and it was quick and easy to make from stuff you probably already have (if you’re anything like me). Both backs are constructed from one vintage pillowcase with a crocheted edge, and the embroidery is simple outline around crayon. Add some interfacing to make it stiff and a few decorative trims; pin the ties on before you stitch it all together, and Voilà — you’ve got yourself some pretty cute chair backs.

Hand Embroidered Wedding Napkins

Martha — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:15:41 +0000

I have no idea what’s going on in blogland these days, but here at the Gray home, it’s all about napkins. Trimming, hemming, pressing, and tying 130+ napkins with a little gold bow. Although I have 2 weeks until the shower and 6 weeks until the wedding, there is still so much to do. I will pop in whenever I have something new to show besides more boring napkins. And now, it’s back to you-know-what.

Vintage Workbasket Transfers – 4th of July

Martha — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 19:05:42 +0000

I guess it might be a little late to stitch one of these up for tomorrow. On the other hand, if you start now, you would surely have them done by next 4th of July.

Ladies Home Journal – Vintage Embroidery Patterns

Martha — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 03:11:35 +0000

No sewing today, but I did manage to clean up some more of these sweet embroidery patterns. I will continue to add these patterns to my LHJ Flickr set (link added to my sidebar under Downloads). In a couple of days I’ll be back with an actual quilting post.

Ladies Home Journal – Vintage embroidery Patterns

Martha — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 05:02:46 +0000

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Ladies Home Journal – Vintage Embroidery Patterns

Martha — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 20:22:33 +0000

I just realized last week that the images on my site are distorted using Internet Explorer 8. Apparently the problem has something to do with my WordPress theme, but so far I haven’t been able to figure it out. If you are using IE8 and the images are messed up, you can click on the “compatibility view” button just to the right of the address bar, and that should correct the distortion.

This is a wonderful catalog of all the embroidery patterns published by the Ladies Home Journal magazine in the early 1920s. I was not aware that LHJ published so many patterns — there are hundreds in this book — and the art deco illustrations accompanying the patterns are very cute. Although the book itself is quite large, the drawings of the patterns are smallish and it is difficult to get a decent scan. I plan to clean up and post a few each week, and I will also add them to my new Flickr set.

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Embroidered Ring Bearer Pillow

Martha — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 18:04:29 +0000

Emily really liked the vintage transfer I posted recently, and I think it works well on the pillow. The design is stitched with one strand of floss on a silk decorator sample (one of a lot of hundreds I purchased in a wonderful ebay auction). For the back I used scraps from the pennants, some of which were a bit too white, so this morning I painted a few of them with a little leftover coffee.

The best part of all is the beautiful tatted and crocheted edging — a gift made especially for me by my tatting blog friend, Ann (Nifty Needle). I have had this piece for awhile now, but have been saving it for something really special. A little tea dye on the white edging was all it needed, then I hand stitched it to the edge of the little sewn pillow. I hope Ann likes it — I know Emily will.

Cats in Love – Vintage Embroidery Transfers

Martha — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 17:36:53 +0000

In honor of Valentine’s Day, here are some cute transfers from an old “Fashion Folder” transfer booklet (V574). I think I have 6 of these booklets — this one is designed “for Teenager….for Youngster…for Crib Set.” When opened, the sheets are 11″ x 17″, with 12 pages of transfers in red ink.

Since my daughter, Emily, and her fiance, Aaron, have a cat, I really want to figure out a way to incorporate some of these designs into the wedding — maybe the “They Do” on the ring pillow.