Redwork Color 'n Say

Speaking of colors, RED is my favorite, when it comes to embroidery. I began stitching these little squares as a 'car show' project a couple of weeks ago.

The designs are from a vintage coloring book, "Color 'n Say" published by Whitman in 1970. I reduced the images to 25% of the originals, and eliminated the name of each item (the 'say' part)

The white ground is flour sack fabric and measures 3.5" square.

I used one or two strands of DMC #815 red, which is a bit darker than what I usually think of for redwork. I picked the color to go with a vintage print from the stash, but when I pulled it out, I decided that it might not be 100% cotton. I went with this reproduction print, instead, and some 'rich red' Kona (still from the stash, though!)

All week, I have been thinking about how I wanted to put them together. I wanted to make this quilt a bit bigger, more of a baby quilt than a doll quilt. I still have four stitcheries to finish up, but I couldn't wait to see how it might look. I laid them out on the Kona and I think that I like the combination!

On Saturday, we will going to another car show and The Mister wants to be there by 6:30 am to get a good spot. So, I will be spending all day in the lawn chair. I should have plenty of time to finish stitching up the rest of the blocks.

In fact, I think I better round up another project to take. I wouldn't want to run out of 'fancy work' to keep me occupied!

Cook's Paint Almanac - 1950

Color style fascinates me. There are people who can look ahead and see what colors will be fashionable and there are other people who are determining what colors are 'hot' each season. It is as much a science as an art. Part of the reason that I love vintage fabrics is that they do not change from in style to out of style. They remain vintage style!

This is a booklet about color, that floated to the surface, some time ago.

It is an advertising piece printed by the Cook's Paints (for farm and home). It is a calendar/almanac that begins in April 1950 and ends in March, 1951.


According to the almanac, April is the beginning of the "Spring Decorating Period". It is the month for "brightening up your rooms to match the wake-up spirit of spring". Some of the special days in April of that year are 'Pan-American Day' ( the 14th) and 'Southern Memorial Day' (the 26th).

The almanac suggests 'dramatic colors for the walls, pastel tints for ceilings and sparkling enamel for woodwork'. I love dramatic colors for walls. When we moved to the desert, the house we left had dramatic colors. The realtor chosen by the relocation company to tell us what our house was worth, said that the colors of the carpets and walls reduced the value of the house by many thousands of dollars. We disagreed...

I have been looking through some quilting books that I picked up at various auctions/estate sales/thrift stores, etc. The illustrations in the books from the 80's and 90's have examples of the projects made up in colors that look very dated. I remember when they were 'current', though, and that makes me hesitate to buy the newest fabrics that are in the quilt stores.

I guess that is why it is easier for me to stick with the vintage reproductions or the fabric lines that have a 'vintage feel'.

I wonder how old something has to be before we call it vintage, rather than just outdated!

Desert Doxies

One of the errands last weekend, took The Mister and I to downtown Henderson. As it happened, it was Heritage Days in Henderson, complete with parade!

Although it is the third largest city in Nevada, not too long ago, Henderson was the 'country cousin' to Las Vegas. It was often referred to, disparagingly, as 'Hooterville' or 'Hendertucky' and it still retains some of that small town flavor (which The Mister and I love!)

The parade had elementary, middle and high school bands, politicians riding in open convertibles, floats pulled by pick-up trucks and my favorite: The Desert Doxies!

Led by this young man with two dogs in a shopping cart, the Doxie contingent was one of the largest groups in the parade and the only one with dogs!

This one had the best ride, though! Cause nothin' says fun like a wiener dog in a wiener-mobile!

Storybook Trims Doll Quilt - Ta Da!

My Storybook Trims doll quilt top is finished!

It measures 16" x 19", at this point.

Here is a closer view of the top half, that has been finished for a couple of weeks...

And this is the bottom that I finished this past weekend!.

The last stitchery was the bee with the flower. The transfer design was not particularly sharp, so I needed to stitch it with natural light and rested eyes. I ended up doing it a bit free hand, just following the picture. The face is not as 'charming' as the one I did on a baby shirt, but I think the quilt is charming enough, without re-doing it.

I am going to dive right into quilting it, as soon as I find my hand quilting thread, (or give up and buy another spool.) I am following Martha's technique of using flannel as the batting, and I am backing it with more of the flour sack that I used for the borders and the stitcheries.

I have been reading up on different ways to quilt beyond 'in the ditch' and I think that I have settled on something that won't be beyond my skill set.

I think that I should have settled on the design before I basted it into a 'sandwich', though. I may decide that outlining or 'in the ditch' is just the thing!

My Favorite Peeps

I am finally catching up on some 'keep as unread' blogs. When I am sneaking a peek through 'Reader' at work, I don't click over on links, due to security rules, so I defer them until I have time at home to take a look. (I suppose there is something wrong with having more free time at work, than at home...)

You may have already seen the results of this year's "Peeps Diorama Contest", but I just saw them today! I am amazed at the creativity and translation of current events into such clever vignettes. My favorites are the re-enactment of the famous wedding entrance dance that was such a huge You Tube fave and the "Triple Self Peep-trait by Norman RockPeep". Take a look, if you haven't!