My New Old Vintage Needlecase

To enter the not-a-contest giveaway at Apron Memories, you have to create something from vintage "fabric, hotpads, handkerchiefs, table coverings, curtain paneling, toweling, embroidery, doilies, placemats, napkins," so I took this vintage embroidered piece, some bias tape (pretend it's blue in the photo -- there was a change of plans after I took the picture) and some gingham...



...and, made this needlecase



No, I was not drunk when I stitched that.

Here it is, opened up, so you can see the inside.



I was inspired by the needlecase project that Barbara from Oodles and oodles shared on her blog awhile back. I modified her instructions a bit -- she forgot to include a step on attaching your bias tape with the most crooked and uneven hand stitches you have ever sewn in your life and then tell everyone your two yr old did it -- I had to come up with that one all by myself. And, I put my needlecase together differently and now see lots (tons!) of room for improvement. Next time I make one, I'll completely follow Barbara's directions.

And, can I just say it KILLED me to cut up that embroidery...um...piece. What is that anyway? It's from a set of three that was part of a larger group that I found on eBay and bought because one was a dresser scarf with puppies embroidered on it. (Got all that?) It wasn't stained or dirty but it was spending its days stuck in a drawer. At least now I'll get some use out of it.

I'm still laughing hysterically at my "sewing." (Why didn't I just blanket stitch it?)

Thank you, Barbara, for the bias tape, the gingham, and the inspiration to make this!

How About Some Embroidery Links

After a certain someone told me my blog was feeling neglected, I vowed to post something every day for the rest of my life. Or at least until I got a boyfriend. Ok, not really but I did want to share some embroidery freebies with you all today.

A little while ago, Miri over at Milk and Honey Quilts posted some vintage Springtime embroidery patterns of a lady bug, a butterfly, birds, flowers and a boy and girl.

If you don't regularly check One Pretty Thing, you may have missed the recent Embroidery Pattern Roundup.

Did you see the corset pattern from Flickr member Rectangle that was linked on Feeling Stitchy? How fun!

Need a pattern for the skateboarding bull dog, a LOL cat or Rick Astley? Check out the internet memes at Totally Severe.

And, if you're new to embroidery, check out Kandra's post on Sibling Craftery for links to some great resources.

Two Giveaways

I have a couple of giveaways to tell you about.

First off, Llyn is celebrating her one year blog anniversary by giving away some cool prizes. Go see them and enter here before Friday, May 1st.

And, over at It's Daffycat, you could win some of Sharon's hand-dyed cross stitch fabric. All the details are on this post. The contest ends on Monday, May 4th.

Alert The Media!

Don't have a heart attack but I actually made something this past week (in between taking countless quizzes on Facebook). I wanted to do a cross stitch quickie so I used two charts from a Japanese website with loads of freebies. (As soon as I figure out how to get back there, I will link to it.) I did a koala first (pictures later) and then I did this bear. What do you think that thing on his head is? A flower? It was supposed to be done in an off-white but I didn't like that so I substituted a darker color, which made it look like a birth mark to me so I just ripped it all out and re-stitched it in the same yellow color as the rest of his head. Also, there was a bright pink under his eyes (that's missing in the picture below) and I didn't like that either so I just used more of the same yellow.



I used 14 ct Aida which I really stay away from these days. I hate how you can see all the holes in it. Here is "Pookie Bear, Blue Shirt" all finished. And, yes, both pictures came from the same camera and I have no idea why the colors are so off in the second one.



I toss all of my floss ends in my orts jar but I save longer lengths on cardboard. Since running to Michael's is not an option for me right now, I try to get as much use out of my threads as I can, but sometimes I wonder if keeping an eight inch piece of three strands of floss is worth it. Well, most of what I used to stitch up the bear and the koala came from this collection of leftovers.


I have a little room left on my Aida so I'm going to add one more animal from that website.

The Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long April Report

There's a new moon today so that means it's time to report in for the Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long over at Dragon My Needle. So, here is my orts jar. I started this one about a month ago.

Look At What I Found In My Backyard

Anyone know what this is? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?



It's leaves on my peony bush! I discovered them the other day and was soooo excited. I really thought it was dead. I know they hibernate (or whatever) for a bit over the winter but there really were no signs of life going on at all and I was about ready to write it off until I saw the leaves.

I just checked my blog and found that my peony had buds on it on April 23rd of last year so it is running a little behind this Spring. I'm glad it finally came out of its coma.

Not a lot of crafting going on at my house. I'm still having fun on Facebook. But my foot surgery has been scheduled for May 15th (FINALLY) and there's a two to six month recovery period so I have a feeling, I will have crafts coming out my ass in the near future. A few ideas for things to make have been bouncing around in my head for awhile now. I just need to log off of Facebook long enough to actually do them.

One more thing: Mollie over at Wild Olive is sharing a cute Earth Day embroidery pattern.

Vintage Thingies Thursday -- Girl Scouts

Yesterday, I posted a picture of two of my friends and me in our Brownie uniforms from when we were 9 years old in 1972. I really enjoyed the comments I received so I thought for Vintage Thingies Thursday, I would share a few of the things from Girl Scouts that I've held on to all these years (and not old pictures of my mom's family as originally planned).

Like my time in Brownies, I don't remember much about being a Girl Scout. I think I only lasted one year wearing the green uniform, and once again, no s'mores were ever made. My troop didn't sell cookies but we did sell calendars. My memory is really hazy but I think there was some kind of event held at the Anaheim Convention Center to celebrate our sales and the sales of a zillion other Girl Scouts in the county. I could be wrong but I think that's where I picked up these patches. It's funny because as soon as I dug the Scout Sampler '74 one out of the shoebox where I keep this stuff, my first thought was "I could totally make that!" because of the satin stitch and cross stitch on it. (You can click the pictures to get a larger version.)



Karen mentioned having a sash for her Girl Scout badges. We did too but for some reason, my badges never were sewn on to mine. I get what the GS one stands for but what does the cup of coffee mean? I keep thinking we did some kind of cooking project to earn a badge but maybe we just learned how to make cappuccino (yes, it's the barista badge*). As you can see, we had to make our own soccer badge. If only I knew how to embroider back then. I could have made a nicer version with some black and white floss.

I no longer have my Brownie purse but hello, I still have the Genuine Cowhide Girl Scout green one. You can't tell from the scan but the Girl Scout logo is still a nice shiny gold.

And, what's inside the little purse? An identification card which cracks me up. Employed by? No one. Sex? Girl. Blood type? Red. The humor of a ten year old. (Who told me my hair was frosted?)



Unfortunately, I don't have any photos from my days as a Girl Scout. but here's one more from Brownies. In case any of these girls decides to Google herself one day, that's Nicole Royer, Leslie Talley, Shelly Adler, Shelly Monroe, Cristi Bondra and me.



*The cup of coffee badge was for Hospitality. The Vintage Girl Scout Online Museum has photos of tons of badges and I found the coffee one on the page for Junior badges 1963-1980. The one I drew the soccer ball on is called Our Own Troop. Look at all the nifty purses on this page and the hankies and aprons and needlework. Who knew?

Next week, I'll post my Girl Scout pins. Thanks for visiting my blog! To see who else is sharing their Vintage Thingies today, check Colorado Lady's blog.

Did I Miss Christmas?

(This has nothing to do with the following post but was anyone shocked to see Kim Bauer Monday night? And, I don't even want to talk about Tony. I can't wait for Jack to kill him.)

I've been sitting here, working on a post for Vintage Thingies Thursday and thinking I need to hurry up and finish it and then post it before I go to bed, when I realized it's just after midnight on Wednesday and not Thursday like I was thinking it was. (Later today, I am totally making myself a giant calendar to hang up on the wall I'm facing so I can keep better track of which day it is.)

I'm posting some old pictures for VTT tomorrow but this one doesn't quite fit with my theme of Meet The Kraygers (my mom's family) so I'll share it now. This was taken in June 1972, after the Brownie ceremony where you "fly up" to Girl Scouts. That's me in the middle with Leslie Talley on the left (your left) and Shelly Monroe on the right.

I know Leslie is on Facebook but I'm still debating sending her a message about our time in Brownies together. She may not have fond memories of it. Mine are kind of sad. My mother was the troop leader and I don't know why not but we never got to make S'mores. Once, we went to the local fire station for a tour and only one fireman was there because everybody else and all the trucks were out on a call to put out a fire in the field next to our elementary school. (I wish I could remember the name of the kid who started that fire -- we all knew him.) That's really all I remember about Brownies. And, now I'm wondering why I didn't have the cool orange tassels on my socks like Leslie did. Good times.

Happy Not Vintage Thingies Thursday, People!

Happy Easter!

I posted this image last year. I like it because it has Lassie dogs and the tree makes me think of cotton candy.

Happy Easter!!

Wee Bunny & Wee Eggs

Here are the bunny and eggs I finished yesterday. I wish I had a paler blue felt for the bunny. The colors of the eggs are off in this picture-- they're not as bright as in the photo. I had planned to embroider the eggs but that was tough to do after I cut them out. I should have stitched them first. I couldn't get the bottom seam on the bunny to look right, which is why the eggs are covering him up. I don't have enough felt for the handle of the basket I started last night so Mr. Bunny and his eggs will just sit on my dusty shelf for now.



I didn't add the pom-pom tail because I like having it sit on my night table. It makes me happy to see it and I could really use that right now. (Not having enough felt just led to a crying jag, which just made me realize (once again) how long I have been stuck in this house and how much longer I will be here, blah blah blah).

It looks nothing like the original but the bunny pattern is from Wee Wonderfuls and the egg patterns are from Wee Folk Art. And, I learned how to make the pom-pom from Bella Dia's tutorial. It took me three tries to get it right so keep at it if you give it a shot.

Wanna see my pom-pom again? I know you do.

Even More Links

The hits just keep coming!

Check out this tutorial for Peeps made out of felt over at Dusty Bottom Acres. As soon as I am done with this post, I am off to make some Peeps. I also started on a basket for my bunny this afternoon and I'm hoping to get that finished tonight. Maya Made has a pattern for a felt basket. So does Tiny Decor [via One Pretty Thing].

My supply of felt is dwindling but if I have a large enough piece, I also want to make one of these cones from Tangarang.

A vintage elephant embroidery pattern has been added to knitting-and.com.

So September has a tutorial for a reversible flower pot wrap. Cute idea!

I love the bunnies and chicks embroidery patterns at Blue Bird Studios. I found that blog thanks to a link on One Crafty Place and now I see even more patterns for dollies and eggs. And, take a look at the Spring wallhanging that Heather of Blue Bird Studios made with her sketchings turned patterns. Oh, I wish I could sew!

A Pom-Pom and A Bun-Bun

Say hello to my pom-pom. It's the tail for my newly made Wee Bunny. It's kind of big for the bunny but that's ok.



I am not at all happy with his mouth but I've already stitched it twice and don't feel like doing it a third time. Usually, I embroider before I stuff, but this time, I did it afterwards, plus I didn't draw any lines to follow, and me without a pattern just does not work.



This blanket stitched seam will be done over because I want the edge smooth and round like it's supposed to be. I think mine turned out funky because...well, I don't know why but I think I can fix it.



After the little rabbit is completely finished, I'll share a picture. I'm only posting now to show MaryBT I haven't been on Facebook all the live long day.

No Facebook?

OK, I can't get on Facebook at all. I can't get to my page or their blog or anything. Is it just me or is anyone else having a problem?

Is It Time To Put Up The Xmas Tree?

For the past two Saturdays, I've thought Easter was the following day. Seriously. Since I don't do much of anything that involves any kind of planning anymore, I never know the day or date or when the next major holiday is. Plus all the chocolate eggs I've been eating makes it feel like that bunny should be here at any minute.

I haven't had anything to blog about since I haven't finished a single cross stitch, embroidery or felt animal in quite awhile, and I have yet to do anything fun or illegal that's worth writing about. Oh, I did go back to the foot doctor who still has not heard anything about my surgery getting approved. It's been four weeks since she first suggested it so that's another month down the drain. In my mind, I keep extending the date for when I will once again have a life and I've now set my sights on December 25th.

Well, I'm depressed. Excuse me while I go shoot myself. Hey, how about some links to make us all feel good?

This one makes me happy. You can win a snazzy sparkly pink reversible vintage apron over The Polka Dot Barn. (I so want that cake in the blog header photo.) Details on the giveaway are here. Link via The Apronista -- check this post for even more Apron giveaways.

Kandra over at Sibling Craftery has been sharing a set of DOW embroidery patterns of these cute little ninja girls. My favorite is Thursday's ironing ninja. You can find links to all of the sisters' wonderful freebies here.

There are some new embroidery patterns up at knitting-and.com: a flower and Victory Kittens. Oh wow, it looks like Sarah has added even more vintage transfers since I was last there (last night?). The latest additions are bunnies and piggies and Weldon's Nursery Designs, both circa 1930, and she added a missing bunny to a set of Semco transfers. (That's where I found the puppy I used for my iPod cover.) You can find an index with links to all the patterns on this page.

I have three felt egg shapes sitting in front of me that need some embroidery so I'm going to go play with them. Maybe the next time I post, you will see a picture of them. No guarantees though. Happy Not Easter Sunday!

Look At The Totally Cute Bunny Pattern, Kandra!

Kandra, this is all I have for now but it's a good one!

There's a really cute bunny embroidery pattern over at Orange You Lucky (via Pimp Stitch).