Vintage Handkerchiefs

When my Great Aunt Lois went to heaven a few years ago, I inherited some darling linens. There were two or three adorable aprons, several dresser scarves and a box of old hankies.

My sweet friend Ruth augmented my collection by giving me a box of accumulated hankies from her dear mother's estate. (Some of these were from all over the world; as Donna was a nurse and volunteered with her doctor husband in many foreign lands.)

Being a Hanky Hoarder has an upside. (Well, one positive is that hardly anyone ever makes a television debacle series out of it...)

Aside from using them to decorate, I also like the fact that I have instant "giftables" to embroider. (I've blogged about some of my precious hankies here, here and here.)  So when a friend's birthday occurred last month, I had just the thing.

I rifled through my stash and found a hanky with violets. (Yes, that is the flower for February...)

I need to use my smallest hoop for this monogram.

Gotta get the template traced.

The monogram's perfect spot!

OOOOPS! That won't work!

Have to adjust the monogram so the hoop can hold the fabric.

Ready to go in the machine. Oh! Need to find some lavender thread.

Purple thread?

hmmmm -- There it is.

Wait, let's try this one.

hahaha! Tricked you! It's Solar Reactive Thread.

Finished monogram indoors...

& outdoors!

Just for me!

Once upon a time, a very good friend gave me some delightful napkins from her vintage linen stash.

I have been saving them for just the right monogram. God bless dear Sonia Showalter who designed the perfect monogram. Her Fleur de Lis II Alphabet was precisely the design my beloved napkins were awaiting. I printed out the design for my template.

I decided its placement on the napkin.

(Also had to figure out how the napkins would fit within my hoop.) 

I couldn't hoop it by the fringe, so I had to determine which rinse-away stabilizer I should use.

Placed the hooped stabilizer in the machine and maneuvered the napkin into the proper placement.

Basted the napkin in place.

Silver background stitching is finished.

Here you can see how Sonia just builds that gorgeous frame.

Frame completed, now ready for "S". I decided to embroider that in white also.

TA - DA!

The napkin will be used mostly with our white Mikasa stoneware...

but looks very nice with the vintage Franciscan Desert Rose & silverplate inherited from the hub's grandmothers.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm -- love.it.

A time for tears

You keep track of all my sorrows.

 You have collected all my tears in Your bottle.

 You have recorded each one in Your book.

Psalm 56:8 (NLT)

I collect vintage hankies. I love the look & the feel of heirloom fabrics. Sometimes I incorporate one or two into a project. And at times I give them away to others -- for their intended use...

Yesterday I gave away two. One for a special mommy, and one for the big sister of a tiny girl born asleep.

In my vocabulary there are no words of comfort for this tragedy. By the grace of God I've never been there personally. But I can hug... I can stitch...

And I can cry with them...

Goodnight, Lily Grace. We'll see you in the Morning.

"S"



(Don't you ♥ this tea table teapot?)

 About a month ago I was with my friend Sara at an antique show. 

(keep your eye on the guy in the center...)



(Check out those shoes!)



She was selling quite a bit of her Civil War stuff!



(Incredible bayonette & varying sizes of musket balls & other battle field finds. People pay a whole lotta $$$ for those...)

I needed to stretch my legs, so I went around to a couple other booths.

I found an incredible ecru hand-cross-stitched tablecloth. It matched the theme of her bedroom re-do. (We couldn't decide whether to use it for curtains, duvet or dust ruffle...)

So, in my stash back at home I knew had a piece that would do nicely for a dresser scarf. I went searching through my cross stitch alphbet designs. I found what I liked from Patti's Creative Studio.

So, I "cross-stitched" her initial on it.

It should go nicely with the vintage piece in the bedroom... or with the lovely cloths she is now picking up every chance she gets at auction!