Saturday Stitches

Let Today be a Good Day Vintage Stamped Cross Stitch (from my collection)

Stitchy

Every so often, I like to search etsy's Vintage category for "cross stitch".

Click on the photo below to go check out the treasury I just made, full of lovely x's.

Have You Ever?

In all your live-long days, seen anything like this?

Cross-stitch on a ginormous scale, stitched on burlap with wool yarn...
Made to be a rug? Wall hanging? Table runner?

The Molter-Reinhard Co. of Chicago was an art needlework company that manufactured a line of patterns and designs to be finished by the you-and-I of the 1930's.

I couldn't find much information out there on the web about this company, but did spot this hooked rug pattern on burlap for sale on ebay.

I'd love to hear your stories, if you own one of their vintage pieces, or know more about the company.

Very obviously hand-finished, I simply could not resist buying and seeing for myself this completely new-to-me form of vintage needlework.

And for just sixteen dollars, including shipping, I doubt you could have resisted either.

Which makes me really glad I found it first.

Cross Stitch

After a night full of thunder and lightning, I felt this morning like my brain needed a re-set. I sat down without a clear plan of what I wanted to write about today. When the writer's block didn't evaporate, I headed over to etsy for some inspiration. Its been a long time since I browsed just for the fun of it... I typed in the words "cross stitch" and selected the "vintage" category. Lo and behold, I found 195 pages worth of listings!

Antique linens, marked true to the fashion of the time...

Lovely old samplers...

Vintage table cloths...

Even printed mattress covers...

And inserts in leather portfolios...

Pre-printed kits hailing from yesteryear...

Lithographed tins...

Vintage kitchen samplers...

Victorian perforated paper tokens...

Even a vintage Saks Fifth Avenue shirt printed with a cross stitch pattern... and for only $10... I'd be buying this one if I was a size small... anyone?

By the time I got to page 30, my eyes had started to cross, and I decided I had better go find another way to re-set my brain... Perhaps some weed pulling will do the trick.

Nah.

By the way, click on each picture to be re-directed to its listing on etsy, and tell me if I helped you find a new treasure! Happy shopping...

Texture

What does a girl do, when she has nothing exciting to say, no new recipes to share, and its too wet to go out and get garden photos?  She walks around the house with a camera and tries to capture the texture of her surroundings.

Buttons in jars...

Cozy quilt made by her sister...

Bread boards...

Estate oil paint and Victorian needlework...

Thread spools...

Intricate crochet-work...

Old painted basket (this one is sized for wallpaper, feel free to grab and use it)...

Well-loved Duck Decoy...

Mug painted by her Grandma...

Old mirror...

Old basket...

Lace...

Papercutting...

Painted box...

Perhaps tomorrow I'll have something truly exciting to share with you... like a new pattern. Keep your fingers crossed that my today is more productive than my yesterday!

Picture of the Week

I ♥ vintage embroidered textiles.