I almost forgot the dogs

I've posted photos of embroidered blue birds and I've posted embroidered kittens. I almost forgot to post photos of all the cute puppy dogs. Among the dogs, I think my favorite designs are usually the Scottie Dogs. There's just something about the rich black floss against snow white linen, and there's usually a little bit of red in there, too. But there are all kinds of doggy designs that are just so cute.


Just look at this sweet little doggy talking with the blue bird in the arbor.

There is so much detail on this runner: the sky in the background, the bell shaped flowers and even the arbor itself.

This Scottie is very simple, but so very cute. It is embroidered using teeny stitches on a white linen card table topper.

This runner had a different dog design on each end. One end had a long haired pointer...

And a little black terrier puppy on the other. Isn't he so adorable

These little darlings are so happy to help with laundry on wash day.

Some puppies are even embroidered on to baby blankets. This is an old Vogart design. She's got the cutest expression on her little face as she pushes her baby doll in a stroller.

I sold this adorable pair of pillowcases to a lady who's daughter was marrying a firefighter. Notice the fire hydrants in the background? How cute is that?!

And so romantic, too!

This card table tablecloth had a little chunk torn off of the side, but, Oh my! the design is so cute! I love the Scotties!

Hope you enjoyed my doggy episode. I'm looking for photos of horses and other animals. Flower designs are fun, but I enjoy embroidery of people and animals so much more.

Patricia :o)

Keep the Embroidery

I can't resist beautiful embroidered pieces. I can't stand to let a great work of art go to waste just because there is a hole or stain on the linen. This adorable hand embroidered heart used to be part of a vintage pillowcase. There was major damage right smack in the middle and no way to hide or repair it, so I cut off the embroidered part and made it into a Christmas stocking.

I used a mixture of vintage items and new fabric. I know that these stocking are found all over the place, but since I hadn't made one before, I was pretty proud (I made this one two or three years ago)

The inside is lined with pink and white cotton gingham and trimmed with a white cotton ruffle.

The back is an older, though not quite vintage machine embroidered fabric.

Check out the tiny embroidered roses. Aren't they cute!

My favorite part of this whole stocking is the rhinestone button sphere on the very end. I've made several stockings since this one and all of them had vintage embroidery on them. I even made a pair using "his" and "hers" pillowcases. If I ever find the pictures, I'll post them.

Patricia :o)

Snow Day!!! (Almost)

As you read this post and view the photos, please keep in mind that I am originally from Southern California. We didn't get much snow in my little town of Buena Park. Actually, we didn't ever get ANY snow. My little bird bath did manage to freeze over one year, but that was about it.

We're in San Antonio, TX now and we actually get weather here. Granted, our weather is usually one temperature, HOT, but last Tuesday sure wasn't! We had a cold front move through and the forecast was that we would get snow.

You can barely see the little flecks in the photo above, you have to look really hard (you may have to use your imagination here), but it is snowing in this photo!!

See!! Some proof on the patio table. Admittedly, most of the white stuff in the photos is sleet and not snow. But to a girl from California...It's SNOW!!!

As I'm out in the "snow" taking photos of the yard, I snapped a couple of pictures of the first flowers of spring. This is a yellow daffodil that hasn't quiet opened yet.

White tulips amidst the snow.

My hubby's favorite flower... Iris. I think he likes them because his mom grows so many of them in Oregon.

Almost as soon as the snow came down, it started raining again. It was so cool while it lasted, though!

Sometimes, it's the little things that make me happy. This "Snow Day" did it for me.

Blessings,

Patricia :o)

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

I've been trying to think of something new and wonderful to post about, but the truth is that I live a very ordinary though busy life. The only thing that's been on my mind lately has been linens so I will show you some more photos of vintage embroidered items. Last time it was sweet little blue birds. This time it's all about the kitty cats.

The cross stitched kitty above was embroidered on a pillowcase. It's a newer design and not vintage at all, but I loved it anyway, especially because it says "perfect friends" just above her.

The design of two kitties in the basket below is very old. They are hand embroidered on a runner. It's nothing fancy but oh so cute.

I love the expression on this kitty playing with the butterfly! So Sweet and happy!

It's hand embroidered on a simple but pretty pillowcase.

I can't have cats in our home because my hubby is allergic so I enjoy them in embroidered pieces.

I'm always talking about embroidery, but just look at the beautiful hand embroidered lace trim that goes all the way around the runner.

The kitty in the basket below is an old, old design. The stitches are so tiny that the embroidery work looks like it's been drawn on instead of needle work.

My favorite linens to collect are pillowcases, runners and dish towels. I try to use them in "real life" when ever I can. It's funny when people come over and are so surprised to see that I really do use them.

Dish towels add such a touch of charm and whimsy to my kitchen. And they're so easy to care for, too. I love the colors on this sweet kitty dish towel.

Hopefully I'll be selling linens again on eBay some time soon. I still have several baskets to go through and prepare, but I just keep on procrastinating. Oh well, some day I'll get to it....

Blessings,

Patricia :o)

Blue Birds of Happiness

One of the things that is so appealing to me about vintage linens is that there is such a variety of beautiful themes and designs in the needlework. Southern Belles, as seen in one of my previous posts, are one of my favorites. Another of my favorite designs are blue birds. Just look at these sweet little blue birds. They're perfect for valentines because they're inside a heart made out of a flower garland. So cute!

They're done in cross stitch on a snow white runner. I'm guessing this piece was done in the 60's though these colors were not popular at that time. Love them now, though!!

This adorable pillowcase is from the late 40's early 50's. It's embroidered with a little blue bird holding a basket full of flowers.

The colors are a little bold for my taste, but this style of blue bird is among my top five all time favorites. It's just too cute!

This guest towel has a beautiful pair of soft blue birds surrounding a white monogrammed "C". There are no "c" initials in my family, but I don't care. Monogrammed anythings are a great old-fashioned accent to any guest room or bathroom. It's in perfect condition, snow white and I liked it. Anyway, I read in Victorian magazine last year that Monogrammed linens are very collectible even if the initial "doesn't make sense."

I play the piano and love music so this sweet pillowcase was just too cute to pass up! Just look at these teeny little birds sitting on the music notes. Love it!

Another great blue bird runner. I love the soft blues and pinks.

Isn't he sweet?

This darling little bird is embroidered on a kitchen towel. It does have a couple of faint spots, but not noticeable and it's just too cute to matter anyway.

Another little bird making music, but this time with a violin. My daughter and I tried learning the violin when she was little. This pillowcase is precious not only because it has the adorable little bird, but because it reminds me of that time with my Erica so many years ago.

I'm the first to admit that I have a lot of favorites, but can you blame me? Just look at the workmanship in all of these pieces. I just love blue birds. They make me happy when I see them, real or embroidered!

I hope you enjoyed seeing all this beautiful hand embroidered art on these vintage pieces.

Blessings,

Patricia :o)

Getting Rid of Carpet Dents

Have you ever had to move a heavy piece of furniture off your carpet? Most carpet will "hang on" to the dent left by that furniture forever! The good news is that there is a fast and simple way of removing that dent. This works for both nylon and olefin carpets. It will probably work on wool, too, but I've never owned a wool carpet so I don't know for sure.

It takes a long time for carpet to release dents left by furniture, but you can speed it along by using a hot iron and a damp towel.

WARNING: NEVER let the hot iron touch the carpet or it will melt the fibers.

Using a clean towel, wet it and the wring it so that it is very damp but not super wet or dripping. Place it over the dented area and iron it with a super hot iron so that the iron creates steam. Again, be careful not to let the actual iron element touch the carpet and watch out for the steam.

While the carpet is still warm from the steam, pull back the towel and fluff the surface of the carpet with your hand by gently rubbing the fibers back and forth. Depending on how deep the dent is and how long the furniture has been sitting on it, you may have to repeat the process a couple of times. But it will only take minutes.

See? No dents! Now that the fibers have been relaxed, the carpet will fluff up even more every time you vacuum. Be sure to wait until the carpet is completely dry before you do that.

This method also works on area rugs. I have a huge rug that is made of olefin with a nylon backing. It's the backing that's wrinkled in my case.

I've had this carpet laying out for almost a year and this stubborn wrinkle will just not flatten out. SO, I did the same thing with the super hot iron and a very damp towel.

I had to steam the rug a little longer for the heat to get to the backing. While it was still hot, I sat a heavy laundry basket full of clothes until the rug cooled.

Working out the wrinkle in the area rug took more work than it did when getting rid of the carpet dents, but I guess I'm a little more stubborn than that wrinkle was because it is now gone!

Thank you for stopping by!

Patricia :o)