Stockings Part Deux

In my embellishing of stockings, here's the second one.

In toto.

The cuff.

The cuff close-up. It's not apparent in this shot but I've also done bullion stitch flowers on the center pink section.

The toe: here I've incorporated beads with the stitching.

And the heel: just a little corner of a web here and a bigger beaded spider.

I'm happy to say I consider myself finished with these stockings. They were fun doing, both then and now, but I think next I'll make one completely from scratch. Maybe a cream felt with embroidery stitches…well, we'll see.

Ta, y'all.

Christmas, anyone?

Yeah, I know it's a little early. And don't we hate that we can't even get through Halloween before the stores start dragging out the Christmas paraphernalia? (Or is that just me?)

For crafters, it's never too early to start creating Christmas. Lately, I've been working on finishing the embroidery on a pair of stockings I bought in the '80s. I loved them when I bought them--they were the English chintz so popular at the time--but, as I'd been given as a gift a lovely book on crazy-quilting, I looked at these stockings as a blank canvas. I did enough embroidery and embellishment then that I called them done. But then I began to rethink, and rework, them.

I don't have photos of how they were either when I first bought them or before I started this last round of embroidery. (These pictures were taken at different times of day. The one on the left is more true of the color of the chest so I'm guessing more true of the stocking as well.)

Today I'm just showing the left stocking. This is a close-up of the cuff section. I highlighted some of the vine and flowers with embroidery, using chain stitch for the vine and bullion for the flowers.  

 The spider web I did in stem stitch using black and gold thread and the spider is beaded. (In crazy-quilting, a spider is for good luck.)

I always think of these bullion flowers as a row of soldiers, side by side.

The toe….

The heel. And voila!

Second stocking tomorrow.

Vintage Linens

I'm a sucker for many things vintage, linens among them. And I live in the perfect area to indulge that weakness. Llano county in the Texas hill country is demographically an old county with almost 40% of the population over the age of 60. That may make driving a trial of patience, but it also makes a prime area for estate sales and thrift shopping. Somehow, in the midst of all that once-loved treasure, embroidered linens is one I invariably find in my searches.

This one shrieks midcentury with its graphic shapes and purple beets. 

Though more elegant, this one's still a typical mid-century design, maybe later than some of the others.

These have to be from the fifties. They have such an exuberance about them, such a feeling of, I dunno, happiness? sunshine? joie de vivre?

I'm guessing '50s on this one too. I would love to see the set it must have come from: silver, dishes perhaps, maybe glassware and um, what else? Cookware? Pots? There were probably at least five to the set but I can't come up with a fifth. Maybe it'll come to me later.

And this lovely set, a bridge cloth and eight matching napkins, must have graced many a ladies' card game in the '50s and '60s. I can imagine it now, four ladies at a table, maybe two tables set up, different linens on each, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres?

These are all from my Etsy shop, SumpnSassyOldStuff, a small smidge of what I have available there and an even smaller smidge of what's available on Etsy itself. 

To Line or Not to Line

That's the question!

A while back, while at one of my fave thrift stores, I found a plain ol' unlined lamp shade. I'd been wanting to do a button-covered lamp shade for some time.

This is one I'd done earlier. It's not what I consider a truly button-covered shade, but it was a beginning. Button-fetishist that I am, I hate to see vintage buttons glued and most of what you see online are made that way.  We as a society like things done quickly. I, as an individual, chose to hand stitch each one, this time onto a band, which I then stitched on to an existing lamp shade.

And so I found a shade I thought perfect for all over coverage. Not too big, so fewer buttons and less stitching

Inside, it looks like one of those collapsible shades that come with lamps in boxes.

Here it is with buttons. Turned out to be a heckuva lot of buttons, a heckuva lot of sewing, more than I bargained, anyway.

Okay, I'm not completely finished stitching on buttons, but I'm close enough to think about whether I should line the thing.

Here's the inside, showing the stitching.  I bought a yard of china silk to line it with and made a pattern of the shade before I began sewing on buttons so I'm a couple of steps ahead if I do go with the lining.

The shade, in situ. This isn't the lamp I intend to use it on or even to display it for photographing; it just happens to have a globe that holds the shade in place for now. (Besides I totally love this lamp.)

Whaddaya think? Should I or should I not line the shade? I'd love to hear your comments.

Old Linens

I love old linens. For me, they bring up images of ladies from another generation who embroidered,  crocheted and knitted. Luckily, I live in an area known to have the oldest population in the U.S. and am generally able to find any number of discarded lovelies. I picked up a few at the thrift store today, which  I'll sort through and post pics of tomorrow.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share some on offer in  my SumpnSassyOldStuff shop and some which I've already sold. They all came either from thrift stores, yard sales or auction, my fave places to noodle around in.

A lovely embroidered rick-rack-trimmed set of three. These are definitely dish towels and I love their bright colors. I used to keep a towel hanger with one of these on it beside my kitchen sink.

These are handkerchief-weight linen with embroidered silhouettes and tatted lace. They'd be lovely in a guest bath.

Can you imagine the work that went into crocheting the edging on these gorgeous pillowcases? I remember that my mother could do work like this in no more light than that cast by the tiny television screen.

The following are pieces I've already sold, but which are still lovely examples of things I've found.

This is a lovely embroidered pink linen. I'm in awe of the skill that so many of this generation seemed to think unremarkable.

These were pristine, never used. The maker had drawn a line for her crochet design and then didn't follow it. The line was still there, showing what was meant. For me, it made them even lovelier, demonstrating how whimsy can take one unintended places.

This was a beautifully made gingham apron with cross stitch embroidery and pleated waist. I could imagine a '50s housewife wearing it on a Sunday. It was clearly only for special days.

This was a real find! Fifty beautifully crocheted matching linen napkins: again, for anyone who crochets, the amount of work involved is staggering to imagine.

Another of my lovely hand towel treasures, this one yellow linen with a gorgeous lace accent.

And yet another, with scrumptious cutwork embroidery.

Still more--As you can tell, I have a passion for hand towels!

This green was gorgeous!

And the cupid design on this one was quite special.

I'm lucky to have a thrift shop nearby that treats finds such as these so beautifully. They're always carefully laundered and pressed. If I find a stain, as sometimes I do since they are vintage items, it's quite easy to remove the stain with the Biz and Dawn method. 

What do you look for at your favorite places? Would love to have your comments!

More Whimsy

When I start a tassel, I have a picture in my mind of what it'll look like when done. Rarely ever does reality match imagination. I'd like to say this new one met or exceeded my hopes, but I'd be lying if I did. I'm still not sure I love it...but I like it. Does that count?



For this one, my inspiration was a skein of Fair Trade gold ombre sari silk yarn. (I like buying Fair Trade products. It's little enough to do.) The idea of the yarn gave me the nudge to go with gold for the bit in the middle of the top and black and white is sorta my tassel signature. From there I kinda went wild. I mean, why not turquoise and purple?

By the time I was done with the head, it was not what I had in mind for the gold so I put that aside and moved on to a bit of sari silk I picked up several years ago. (Also Fair Trade)

The skirt looks much different than the above photo, but, I promise, it was made from this skein.

The misshapen top on the tassel head is a vintage ceramic bead. I like the contrast of its free form  against the symmetry of the painted wooden pieces.

The turquoise balls are felted, the cord on the hanging beads twisted from embroidery thread and the hang cord twisted from crochet thread.

The diversity of the tassel is that it looks different from every side because of the variance in the yarn. 

What do you think of my color choices? Do you think the skirt is too long? (I'm still contemplating that last question.) I appreciate any and all comments! Thanks for visiting.

(BTW I'm working on my blog layout. I hope soon to have my wider format synced up with the background without overlapping. Until then, bear with me please.)

A Little Bit of Whimsy

Webster's defines whimsy as a fanciful device, object, or artistic creation. (The paraphrasing's mine.)

I like whimsical things. Left alone, I probably would have much more of it in my home, but I still manage to squeeze in a bit. Since I'm currently working on some whimsical tassels,  I thought I'd share a little of the whimsy in my home.

This is the top of my pantry cupboard. Not a whole lot of whimsy except for the rooster. Him I love, though I never was on the rooster wagon.

I'm not sure which of the Poultry in Motion figurines mine is, but it appears to be out of production. IMO, the one above isn't as whimsical as mine but it gives an idea of it.

This is the top of the entertainment cabinet in the living room. I guess the parrot is the most whimsical on top, but the Catitudes figurine on the top shelf knocks it out of the park! He too is out of production. 

 Again, this isn't the same as mine, but similar. Love the attitude in these figurines!

A shot of the top portion of the entertainment cabinet.

And a closer, fuzzier, view of the top shelf.

The lawyer's bookcase in the living room--the green vase I picked up at a thrift store. I added the feet and the strip along the top. What is it about black and white that amps up whimsy?

Another thrift store find. I have no idea where this came from originally but am assuming it was something to do with a cemetery or burial plot. I like the sentiment, though I rarely need to be commanded to rest!

Doncha love cats with attitude? This guy may be holding a tray but he certainly doesn't look servile. He reminds me of something Egyptian, a sort of Bastet without adornment.

The lawyer's bookcase in my entry: Okay, not much whimsy here, at least as I define it, but, living in Texas, the quilted lone star appealed to me.

And my mud room. The painted fish came from Mexico, a gift from a friend many years ago. At the time, we had a lake house at Texoma and this hung on the beam between the living room and kitchen.

For one last bit of whimsy, this is a shelf of the lawyer's bookcase in the living room. (It's not hard to see that I'm a cat lover, is it?) The palm tree was a yard sale find. It captures perfectly the look I'm trying to achieve in my tassels, more of which to come.

So are you a fan of whimsy? Does your definition of whimsical equal mine? Love to hear your comments!