The Power of Wool

I love wool. Some people don't. The Mister, for instance cannot sleep under wool (which I discovered after I found the most wonderful, like new, king sized, Hudson Bay blanket at an estate sale for $60...) I can rarely pass by a wool blanket in a thrift store, even the ones that are not perfect. And generally, they are priced pretty low, especially here, in the desert!

Lately, I have been finding commemorative wool throws.

Like this one...

...from the Anaheim Memorial Hospital.

It appears to be pretty new (certainly 'like new') and I haven't found any moth damage. I have a similar red one that commemorates a contractor's association meeting in the early '90s, also a mustard colored one that celebrates a factory safety milestone at Proctor and Gamble. And and many, many plaid ones.

Of course, since wool blankets are pretty sturdy, and don't really get 'used up, I have an abundance.

Lately, I have had a synergy of thought regarding felted wool. Dearest Sister sent me lovely felted wool slippers that I have been wearing everyday. And some weeks ago, Paula -The Quilter - posted here about re-cycling felted sweaters into mittens. I was mulling around trying my hand at felting a blanket and stitching up some slippers. I have a couple of blankets that were already felted from washing improperly when I got them, so I was thinking that I could use one of those for trial and error.

Yesterday, I came across this pattern in a 1979 Better Homes and Garden Needlework magazine:

It is made from an army blanket (not felted), which are bigger than my throws, but I think I could combine a couple of throws to make it work. The instructions were in the back of the magazine, including a pattern on a grid to enlarge.

I won't be starting any new projects for awhile - too many things on the calendar that require my attention, just now. But, now I won't have to feel guilty the next time I can't pass up a bargain wool blanket. Cause, you know, I'm going to make stuff with them...

Left To Deal With The Aftermath

Well, it was back to work for me, on Monday. But not back to the routine.

I have aftermath...

In the sorting, we went through much of the booty from estates sales of yore. Some good memories were in those boxes... And Melmac. And Casseroles. And Couroc serving trays. And figural planters.

And really, there is not a lot of room for mid-century collectible housewares in small NYC apartments, or small Cleveland apartments, before that.

So, A has become selective in what she needs to keep. We sorted into 'charity', 'can go, but may have vintage appeal' 'keep, but not New York', 'bring to New York' and 'take back in carry-on'. And trash.

We also sorted record albums.

The people who packed us up from Kansas really didn't distinguish between my record albums from back in the day, The Mister's record albums from back in the day, A's record albums that were her dad's from back in the day. And the 500 or so albums, that A brought home when the school library gave away their entire catalog of vinyl and said whoever wants any, can take them.

We had lots of sorting to do....

We kept some of the library cast offs. But not "The Six Day War - Recorded Live!", or "Supreme Court Cases from the '60's" We found a Jacques Brel album that was in better shape than the one that we had and several vintage jazz albums went in the keep pile. But the rest, well they will go back into 'public domain' - at the Goodwill store.

One good thing about the ex-libre records is that they are protected by very sturdy vinyl covers, the record in one side and the album cover in the other. That means that when folks are flipping through them at the goodwill store, the records won't slice through the cover and become a loose sandwich. I just hate it when vintage things turn into trash because they are too fragile for the wear and tear of bargain shoppers.

I can't help it. I am way too concerned about the continued preservation of things I don't want to keep. I have heard enough breakage at the thrift stores to realize, that the odds of anyone who might appreciate vintage parfait glasses actually finding them intact, are pretty long!

I think next weekend, I will try to find someone at the antique mall that might trade it all for a couple of hankies or a feedsack!

Blogtober 28- Inspiration from "Inspirations"

Last weekend, I made a new discovery at one of the local thrift stores. I always look for books on crafting, knitting, design, etc and I found some magazines that had previously escaped my awareness.


“Inspirations” is published in Australia and is dedicated to embroidery! I never knew there was such a thing!

Of course, I don’t browse the magazine racks at Barnes & Noble, or even at JoAnn for that matter. Magazines are usually deceptively expensive. For the price of two or three, I can buy a book (especially, with a half-off coupon!) that has far more lasting appeal.

And, of course, there is the ‘I am sure someone would enjoy these, I hate to throw them away’ dilemma. That same dilemma resulted in many, many National Geographic Magazines from twenty years previous living in my basement. When we moved to the desert, I finally disposed of them through Freecycle. It took awhile to find someone who was willing to take them, though…

But, back to my discovery –

These magazines are beautiful! The cover price (2001 issues) is about $10 AU, so I would not even have been tempted at full price, but my, they are full of pretty things. And full sized patterns on very heavy paper in the ‘centre’. And, step by step directions for the most interesting looking stitches! I love the ‘drizzle stitch’ just for the name alone.

This cutey-pie little snail shell is done in the drizzle stitch. The body is one long bullion knot - another new term for me, but a very cool looking stitch!

These daffodils around the cuff of a white cotton sweater are amazing! The petals are stitched in thin air! Magic!

There are several projects that are just too much ‘project’ for me. ‘Painting with thread’ is one technique that is probably better suited to those who can paint with ‘paint’. Plus, silk embroidery thread is recommended and I do not need to move on to another medium while I still have many hundreds of skeins of cotton floss! But so beautiful!

These lilacs (one of my favorite spring flowers!) are on a footstool that took three years to complete. Not continuously stitching for three years, (and I have, myself, taken three years on a couple of dish towels that I laid down ‘in progress’), but I think I would get tired of a project that … impressive!

There are even full sized patterns for making garments to embellish with embroidery!

I can hardly wait to try that snail on a onesie, or maybe a hankie, or a tablecloth, or... something!

(If you haven't already, be sure to hop over to Needles of Iron and get in on Dearest Sister's fab giveaway. Put your name in the hat here, for a bundle of feedsack fabric!)

Blogtober 8 - Fabric Souvenirs ('cause you can never have too much fabric!)

Besides my vintage 'souvenirs', I also bought some fabric while we were in California last weekend. Bishop has a Ben Franklin and I love the vintage-y displays and the different colors and varieties of goods. They carry Sublime Stitching embroidery transfers and their floss is displayed on a big round freestanding rack that spins. I love shopping in stores that do not have a 'corporate' feel!

Upstairs at Ben Franklin, they have a warren of about 5 small rooms with quilting supplies and fabric. My plan was to buy a small stack of fat quarters, or a charm pack. Well, there were a few quarter yard remnants (why do quilt shops get to sell remnants at full price?), but no fat quarter assortments.

So, I had to make my own assortment.

I decided on these bright prints. I think these are the base prints and the main design prints involved roosters, which I am not so crazy about. I decided on half yard cuts, so I had to stop at four, so as not to get carried away and spend more than I should!

After we got home, I had some errands to run and stopped in at a Goodwill store for a quick look-see.
I found these in the kitchen linens section.

They are brand new and 17" square, so close to the equivalent of a yard of 36" fabric for 99 cents! A few weeks ago, I read a post (don't remember where - sorry!) about sources of 'free' fabric. The idea is to look around and find fabric to re-purpose from clothes, linens etc. I have often bought blank cloth napkins for embellishing, but I never really thought about napkins as fabric. And, of course, they weren't free, but pretty close to free!

I am sure, by now, someone is saying to themselves, but does she do anything with all that fabric? The answer, sadly, is no. But she will -someday!

Or as Ms A says, it will be one hell of an estate sale when I am gone!

P.S. Dearest Sister, perhaps I will make some clothes for your Barbie! I think she needs something lighter for summer!

Blogtober 6 - 'New' Vintage Embroidery

One day this past week, my Dearest Sister at Iron Needles mentioned buying books at the used book sale sponsored by the Friends of the Library. She indulged herself as her reward for getting through a tough week. (but she would have gone to celebrate an easy week, if the circumstance was different!) She reads voraciously, as evidenced by the list on her side bar.

Sometimes I buy books, but I don't read as much as I have in the past. I just don't have the discipline to put down a good book! I stay up too late, and read when I should be doing other things, until I am finished!

So, my 'reward' is to browse thrift stores!

This past weekend, The Mister and I made our third annual trip to Bishop, California for the "Fall Colors" car show. It is a lovely place and we enjoy getting together with friends from southern California as well as northern California. This year, we met the group from So-Cal in Mohave, CA and traveled together the rest of the way.

The Mr and I were up and on the road earlier than planned, so we got to Mohave with about 45 minutes to spare. Mohave is one of those places that has withered after the interstate bypassed, so there is not much to 'amuse', but as we drove in, I saw a little thrift store that looked a little 'dodgy' from the outside, but I found some wonderful treasures on the inside!

This piece is about twelve inches across at the widest part. The base fabric is sheer and creamy white colored. It is unfinished, but I believe it was probably meant to be the front of a boudoir pillow.

I think the face is just beautiful!

The skirt is made of layers of lace edging, that I think was 're-purposed'. I didn't have an iron with me to press the bow, so it is still creased from years of being folded.

The butterfly wings are tinted, as well as the girl's hair and blouse.

I am thinking she is from the thirties, maybe, from the style and the colors.

I got several other pieces by the same stitcher, I am sure. All are unfinished, except for the embroidery. And they are all beautiful. And a little sad, too, I think.

All that beautiful work folded away to eventually wind up as a donation to a thrift store. But I was thrilled to get it, so my regrets on behalf of the woman who stitched them so many years ago, is brief!

Along with the car show, the Railroad Museum in Bishop hosts their annual 'swap meet', also at the fair grounds.

I picked up a few things that were fun, but this was the coup de grace!

I have mentioned more than once, that I already have enough floss to last several lifetimes. This is probably enough for part of another!

I just hope that if any of my embroidery work ends up at a thrift store in 60 or 70 years, someone like me will come along and give it a good home!

Sushi on cotton

One thing about living in Las Vegas that I have had to get used to, is that the thrift stores very rarely have vintage-y goodness. Mostly, they are stocked with used clothing (the ordinary kind, not vintage-y), and "next step beyond final clearance" merchandise from the department store with the red bull's eye.

This was a major disappointment to me when we moved here two and a half years ago. Thrift stores are one of my favorite things, after estate sales (which do not exist here, at all). Since I am nothing, if not compulsive about thrift stores, I continue to go and hope for the rare find.

About a year ago, I started thinking outside the box (my box, at least) and began to see potential in some of the inexpensive, unused linens. On one visit I found a plain white tablecloth in a lovely cotton fabric and on another 6 plain white napkins, also white cotton.

When Dearest Sister's first daughter moved into a new home, I decided to stitch them up as a house warming gift. I already had the Sublime Stitching Sushi transfer, and she and her SO are two of the few in my circle that eat sushi, so that was a natural choice of theme. I enlarged the designs on a copier - four larger motifs for the corners of the table cloth and smaller ones for the napkins. (I have not found a good light in my house for photographing white fabric, so the pictures are not great, but the project turned out pretty well, I think).

Since I really was not familiar with sushi, I went to the grocery store and photographed the fresh sushi to get ideas for the colors. In the end, I improvised a little, but after all, artistic license never has to be re-newed!