'Other Needlework' Category

• Vintage Shirley Temple Doll Makeover

  When my sisters and I were growing up, each of us had one special doll. I don’t remember the name of Jean Ann’s doll (she is 12 years older than I), but I vividly remember Sally’s Toni doll, my Miss Revlon doll, and Mary’s Shirley Temple doll. Sally made wonderful doll clothes for [...]

  July 18th, 2010

• Halloween Table Topper – Finished

  I’m pleased with the way this turned out, and it actually was not that difficult. The only pieces that required sewing were the jack-o-lantern and the black and white bias borders. Every other piece was applied with fusible web, requiring only a good pair of short, sharp scissors. The final size is [...]

  May 17th, 2010

• Filet Crochet Baby Pillow

  I found this filet crochet piece on ebay.  I’m not sure of it’s age, but it is in perfect condition and not yellowed at all.  It makes a perfect little pillow to go with Marjorie’s Rhyme Land Quilt, which I made for her when she was born last December. I think the pillow looks [...]

  December 18th, 2009

• Vintage Bark Cloth Table Topper

  One more present down — many more to go. Table toppers are so fun to make, and I think they’re especially pretty if you have some vintage decorator fabric scraps in your stash. These bark cloth pieces were left over from a round of tote bag sewing. Bark cloth is generally pretty [...]

  November 29th, 2009

• Emily’s Halloween Costumes

  Emily just sent some photos of her Halloween costume this year. It’s from one of our favorite movies, The Birds. Amazingly, there are people who have never seen the movie, or any other Hitchcock movie for that matter. I think that’s just sad.
  We managed to find a bottom-weight fabric that [...]

  November 9th, 2009

• Make It Yourself – Beaded Alphabet

  Recently I purchased an entire set of “Make It Yourself” books — 20 volumes of neat 70s projects, including knitting, crochet, sewing, embroidery, rugs, crafts, and of course…..macrame. These were published by Columbia House in 1973 and each volume came with it’s own folder of full-sized patterns — all the other patterns are in [...]

  November 4th, 2009

• Elliott’s Embellished Overalls

  When my son, Elliott, was little, I loved to decorate his denim overalls with leftover trim pieces and embroidery stitches. As he grew taller, I’d cut that pair into shorts and stitch a new one with long pants. Once he started kindergarten, he told me he didn’t want to wear overalls anymore. I [...]

  September 25th, 2009

• Floral Patchwork Table Topper #2

  I just finished this second floral table topper, made with some of the same fabrics as the first one posted last month. This topper contains a smaller selection of vintage fabrics, but it has the addition of some old, hand-crocheted edging. The patches were already cut, so I was thrilled to discover that [...]

  September 23rd, 2009

• Crocheted Doily #2

  Last week when I was taking photos of some of the things I’ve made for my sister, Sally, she brought out this little doily which I had forgotten about. My mother-in-law also showed me a doily on one of her bedroom walls that I made for her. When I saw them, I did [...]

  September 18th, 2009

• Floral Patchwork Table Topper

  This topper was made with vintage floral scraps. The fabrics are probably from the 40’s and the weights vary, but they are not as heavy as bark cloth. Most of them had been curtains, drapes or pillows in their previous lives. The fabrics are so busy that I just noticed when taking [...]

  August 3rd, 2009