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

free pattern - click to get larger size and print!

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