Angel heads

Pattern here!

I've been itching to stitch this kitschy little angel head for awhile now, so I was tickled to see Julie's awesome version. Read more about her project on her blog.

Creepy cute, glassy-eyed animals

You want this acorn? You just try and take this acorn from me.

Ok, I know the intention was not to make these animals look creepy by leaving their eyes blank. The manufacturers just figured you'd fill that in with a satin stitch, so why waste ink. I love however, the unintentionally creepy, "Village of the Damned" effect it creates, and what with Halloween approaching, maybe some of you could work your creepy magic on these? Something along the lines of Zombie Jitterbug Girl? Just an idea....

Thanks again to Erin, for allowing me to share these from her collection! And creepy or not creepy, let me know if you stitched these! :) Also, thank you to Jessica from How About Orange for featuring this blog! Her blog is amazing and it's an honor to be featured. Welcome, everyone who is visiting thanks to her, and be sure to come back soon! :)

free patterns - click to get larger size and print!

Design 648 - Olden Days

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The summer is almost over! I don't know about you, but I still call it "summer" until the end of September, which is fast upon us. Here's some nice "Olden days" transfers from Erin to help you celebrate the last of it, "olden style". :)

I love the charming drawing style on these transfers, and the sleigh ride is probably my favorite... a nice cozy scene in anticipation of chillier times!

Thank you Erin!

Design 1854: Mexican Man DOW

Allow me to introduce you to the little-known hardships of the unmarried Mexican male. Lest you believe all that machismo crap and think every Mexican man has a sancha to do his housework, allow me to present you with this industrious single male, all by himself every single day, doing all the chores that have to be done, even cooking. The only thing missing is his phone number. Enjoy!

These cute designs were kindly scanned and contributed by Mary Ellen - thank you!

Superior 114 - 6 Attractive Parakeets

It was tough for parakeets back in the day - not anything like the cush setup they've got nowadays where all they have to do is sit in their cage, tweet, and generally mess up the corner you've got them in with all those feathers. No, back then, there were standards for housepets. They had to be attractive, for starters. And then there were the household chores - Polly better be keeping the house in tip-top shape if he didn't want to become a hot wing at the next family picnic...

These 6 adorable parakeets are brought to you by the generosity of Mary Ellen, who kindly scanned them for me. And the next time you feel like you've got it rough, try rolling out the dough with no hands!

free patterns - click to get larger size and print!

Laura Wheeler 524 - Bird DOW

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Hey all! Here's my second post featuring free patterns scanned by Erin (or rectangel). By the way, there's a great interview with her on Feeling Stitchy - check it out!

This is a Laura Wheeler days of the week design with some rather cutesy birds. We know it is Laura Wheeler because of the newspaper clipping Erin had in her envelope. There are 6 cute designs, including the one pictured above, featuring an adorable bird peering inquisitively at cutlery, tableware, and cookware. Enjoy! And thanks again, Erin!

free patterns - click to get larger size and print!

Design 7060 - Dog DOW Antics

This is the first in a series of transfers I'll be featuring from the lovely Erin (or rectangel). If you've seen transfers like these before, you'll notice they say "Design" and are numbered - they were mass-produced mail-order transfers. They advertised in local newspapers with a brief description of the transfer, and an address to write to.

These transfers feature a cute dog going about his weekly chores which include eyeing some fresh-baked buns, gnawing on towels, emptying a bowl of mending supplies, carrying doggie bones home from market, wrestling with a mop, drooling over pancakes, and getting all dressed up and spiffy (above).

Better yet, Erin's scanned them all - and here they are:

• Monday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday
• Sunday (above)

Thanks Erin! :)

Ebay Tips and Erin's Embroidery Transfers

Hey there guys! It's been tough bidding on transfers on Ebay lately, although I must say I only have myself to blame. This blog has inspired many to do what I do, which is great! But not so great when bidding for transfers on Ebay. :(

I thought I'd give you a few tips about buying transfers on Ebay:

• Don't believe descriptions that say "rare" or assume that if a transfer has a high price it must be worth that much - embroidery transfers were mass-produced, so if you're looking for a specific transfer, just keep checking back instead of paying tons of money.
  


• Some vendors sell photocopies or downloadable PDFs, not the originals, so read their descriptions very carefully.

About Erin's Embroidery Transfers

Since my collecting has slowed down, I'll be sharing bits from Erin's collection (or rectangel, on Flickr and Craftster).

Not only is she a super-rad embroiderer, she's scanned and added some real gems in the Hoop Love Vintage Transfers group, and has agreed to let me feature them here! Thanks Erin!

Old-Timey Motifs

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I'm fascinated with old cars of all kinds so I lit up when I saw these. This is from a small sheet with many old-timey motifs. To tell the truth I've misplaced the sheet since I scanned this in my thoroughly messy craft space (crafts + income taxes = chaos). As soon as I find it I'll describe the rest of the sheet - all I can remember right now is a gas lamp, old-fashioned telephone, and the cute little pram below... Enjoy!



free pattern - click to get larger size and print!

Sweet birdies

I love how these sweet tiny birdies seem to be giving each other the eye. I enlarged them about 50% - they are tiny on the original sheet. My sheet is cut and incomplete but there are tons of other designs - swans for pillow cases, 2 applique pan holders, fuzzy bunny with a lawnmower, fuzzy bear, kitten, and dog, tiny elephant, rose, floral alphabet, and baby bib design.

Cross-stitch alphabet

These cross-stitch letters can add a little zip to any of your embroidery projects (I think I've overdosed on Vogart envelopes because I'm beginning to sound like one!) :) In any case, seriously, these are fun. Take for example last week's pattern which was cute but... somehow lacking something.

Let's say you want to say something cheeky on your tea towel like:


Just throw these cross-stitch letters in Photoshop and let your imagination be your guide!

My sheet is cut and incomplete - also on the sheet are 2 patterns for crosses, an "ihs" surrounded by grapes and grape leaves, a larger script alphabet, a basket of flowers, and a cutwork pattern.

#66 - Dating Dishware

"Gimme some sugar!" says Mr. Creamer... And you thought kitchen crockery wasn't capable of romance, didn't you? But I've got a whole sheet that proves otherwise, with cavorting dishes, saucers, and silverware for each day of the week. My favorite thing about this pattern is... Mr. Creamer is wearing penny loafers! Oh, how I love penny loafers.

Unfortunately my sheet is cut and incomplete, so I only have Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday of these "gay animated tea towel designs." On the same sheet (numbered 66) is also a pattern for homemade slippers, a large, lazy-daisy stitch alphabet, and a small cross-stich pattern for a bookmark that says "Give Us This Day".

Thanks Hannita, for pointing out these are in the Hoop Love group! Here is Thursday (you can see a tiny image of Friday in the upper left) and Sunday.

Asian motifs

Okay guys, help me out on this one... does anyone know what that character on the upper left is? Being a pretty clueless westerner I'm calling these "Asian motifs" (although I do know the difference between Japanese and Chinese when it's spoken, thank you very much).

This is an uncut sheet, 8 by 19 in. Also on the sheet is a dragon that looks like he's sneezing up a fireball, pagoda, bamboo, spiky tree, and kooky-eyed lion-creature with its tongue hanging out.

this pattern donated by

Mailorder 2-947 - Kindly Lady

I like this lady - there's something of the kindly syrup-bottle matron about her. It also reminds me of the tender times of yore when older ladies actually looked older instead of today's times where 50 year olds look younger and hotter than 30 year olds... :) This sheet calls her a "colonial girl" and suggests using "turquoise, yellow, rose, green, or black."

This is a large sheet, uncut, 30 by 44 inches and numbered 2-947. Also on the sheet are patterns for a "cart pocket" for an apron, apple blossoms, fruits and veggies, scary clown, flying ducks, and a tiny ducky border.

this pattern donated by

Holly Hobby-esque

Do you remember Holly Hobby? Back in the day I was a huge Holly Hobby fan and I remember my Holly Hobby lunchbox with special tenderness. I treasured my lunchbox and matching plastic thermos with all the love in my first grade soul, that is, until I lost it and found it... with a half-finished drink in the thermos and rotting cheese sandwich locked in its horrifically smelly depths. But now, Holly and I are reunited again! And this time with no accompanying bad odors.

This is an uncut, 8 by 19 in. red-lined sheet. Also on the sheet is a disturbingly faceless scarecrow, large poppies, and crazy-eyed Raggedy Ann.

this pattern donated by

Four fuzzballs for a quilt

Okay, I've been away for awhile, so I sat myself down and did some serious scanning. Here are 4 cute fuzzballs ready to be embroidered on a baby quilt (check out the baby bear pattern for the skinny on making it). They're mostly harmless sorts, but what's up with the dog / timberwolf? Am I the only one that finds him a wee bit creepy? And isn't bunny a bit too excited with the shovel? Is it just me or could bunny be burying the evidence?

My sheet is complete, uncut, 20 by 22 inches and numbered 85. Also on the sheet are patterns for a hunting dog eyeing up a tasty pheasant, cross stitch flowers, two tiny birds, butterfly, puppy, and a good old basket of flowers.

this pattern donated by