A June visit from Santa

By on 6-28-2011 in Christmas Patterns, Vintage Patterns

Santa is a great subject even in June. This cute Santa was published in the McCall’s Needlework December 1987 Magazine as an ornament for your door. Isn’t he the cutest and he has lots of potential.

Santa Door Ornament

I think Santa would make a cool Christmas card with a money gift in his sack or as part of a table mat with the spoon for your Christmas oatmeal in that same sack. He would also look very handsome on a Christmas stocking or marching around a tree skirt.

Santa Door Ornament Pattern

This pattern is so simple it could be used to cut a Santa cookie, decorated in lots of red icing and coconut for his beard. What fun for the kids it would be to decorate him.

Brownstone houses from the past

By on 6-20-2011 in art quilts, Embroidery, Vintage Patterns

This vintage pattern was published in the McCall’s 1977 Needlework Magazine. They used it to paint ceramic tiles…it even has a fire hydrant and a little dog. The city dweller on your gift list would be happy to receive a creation made with this pretty pattern.

brownstone buildings

These brownstones would be very sophisticated painted onto a silk scarf. As a pillow top they would set off a white couch or could be done in bright colours as well. Embroidered onto linen and stretched into a frame could be another way of creating your own masterpiece with this pretty pattern. A whole cloth quilt of ecru cotton with the brownstones embroidered in bright white would make a lovely spread for a bed as well.

brownstones

June flowers and a fallen willow

By on 6-12-2011 in Original photos

A very pretty ground cover grows under our Chinese elm tree. The variegated leaves below the flowers gives the photo a painted look….the photo was taken from above in the shade of the elm.

flowering ground cover

This wild asparagus plant has been growing for over 40 years. We had a little dog that used to seek it out and chomp it down as quickly as it could grow, she loved it. It grows into this huge tall fern every year and this year it has numerous blossoms.

wild asparagus flower

These little bells give a misty quality to the photo, so many different shades of green.

fallen elm

Our weeping willow still has one living side, for how long I don’t know….it is one of my favourite trees. It is over 40 years old as well. Poor old tree has been hit several times by lightning, lost large limbs during the ice storm in 1998 and the half that is missing was blown down during a winter wind storm. It would make a good subject for a landscape quilt.

An old fashioned girl and boy to embroider

By on 6-08-2011 in Embroidery, Vintage Patterns

What a great pair these two make. As pillows they could adorn a young girl’s bed. They were published in the McCall’s Iron On Transfers, Volume V, Memory Lane book.

old fashioned girl

Embroidered on muslin, the girl in pink and the boy in blue, they would be very traditional. They could also be used as a quilt pattern, the girl with a pastel pink dress, hat and shoes, the boy in a royal blue suit with embroidered gold buttons. I think they would be fun on a quilt with the fronts on the top of the quilt and the backs on the bottom.

old fashioned boy

They could also be reduced to a 6″ size and worked in redwork to join with others in a quilt or quilted in red dress and suit for Christmas pillows to decorate the couch during the holiday.

Nature collages….series of four

By on 5-30-2011 in Digital Images + Collage, Original photos

collage

Number four of the series. The forest collage was done with a rock background coloured green on the bottom half and blue on the top half with a transparency. I layered maple tree flowers, mushrooms, fern and a piece of bark. This was moved onto another background of spruce boughs which was lightened.

river rocks

Number three of the series. This collage started with a filtered photo of Ottawa River rocks, then a sky of migrating Canada Geese moved onto it.

canada geese on moon

Number 2 of the series. The same sky of migrating geese was moved onto a full moon background and made transparent. An unusual time to see geese flying.

birch tree and moon

Number 1 of the series. This stand of birch trees was filtered and then moved onto the same full moon and then made transparent. A very eerie collage.