Thursday, August 26, 2010

thursday = embroidery {& a giveaway!}

I haven't done a giveaway in quite awhile so I thought a nice way to incorporate that into my posts of late about going home to visit my family would be putting one of my embroidered home sweet home paint by number hoops up for grabs:


just leave a comment here & I'll announce the winner next wed. {sept. 1st}. it's not a requirement to enter but I'd love to hear a little something about your hometown in your comment :)

moving on...this week's vintage embroidery subject is a book I picked up at the thrift store:


{mulhouse france - 1955}

***please note - I have removed the images I posted from this book due to possible french copyright issues. sorry, but I'm sure you understand.

84 comments:

Sarah and Jack said...

Whoa, those are some spectacular cross stitch designs. And it's funny how they somehow feel very modern!

Anonymous said...

Not sure about where I live now, as it's not really a town.. just random suburbs, but I grew up in Dillsburg, PA and we dropped a large pickle (like, a stuffed one) on New Year's Eve. :)

Meaghan said...

Even though I only lived there for a year, I consider Shepherdstown, WV my hometown. Cute shops, old buildings, a library in the middle of the street! There's also an old, old diner and access to some of the most beautiful views of the Shenandoah.

Thanks for the giveaway, doe-c-doe!

Also - this exact piece was just featured on The Friends List - http://www.thefriendslist.org/2010/08/chickadee-ginger.html

Meaghan said...

I meant the Potomac River (not that it matters)...I was thinking about tubing this weekend. :-)

sassypackrat said...

Although I was born in Chicago we moved early on out to the burbs. You had to drive past cornfields to get there. I loved my hometown, a little community called Park Forest South, named because it was south of a larger established community called Park Forest. Summer days were filled with bike riding, playing in the creek, sliding down hills on large pieces of cardboard, swimming in the pool and visiting the working farm that was a few blocks from my school. There were always kids to play with and always something to do. Some of the best times of my life were spent during those childhood summers. I still dream about riding the bike trails and going to the candy store!
Hope you enjoyed learning a little about my hometown.

Sarah @ Mum In Bloom said...

I would die for that cross stitch book... it's like the only craft I know how to do and most patterns are country tacky.

I moved to a small town in Kansas from the East Coast of Canada and love it. Miss the seafood and folk art (seriously) but love the big sky here and the friendly people. Our small town here is a treasure full of Victorian homes, everyone seems to be home during the day (lots of retired & SAHM's), and is involved in something that makes a difference (Girl Scouts, 4H, Church Groups, etc.). Love it here.

Stacy said...

My hometown had a little store and a restaurant. I can still remember the taste of the sauce from their footlongs. I haven't found anything like it since...

Alli (One Pearl Button) said...

Oh wow, those cross stitch designs are lovely! I grew up in a small town in Appalachia. I would never want to go back to live, but I do love going back to visit, especially during our local festival. There's something about small town festivals that you just can't get in a city!

brittany marie davis said...

I grew up in a very small town in Arizona. Winslow to be exact. The Eagles sang a song about it - - "Standing on the corner of Winslow, Az, such a fine site to see . . . " Yeah, that was our claim to fame. :)

Thanks for the giveaway!

Mandi Stephanie said...

great giveaway and beautiful patterns :)
mandicoulter@gmail.com
http://commonthreadskingston.blogspot.com/

happyfamily said...

I grew up in Hemet, CA. It doesn't have much going for it except for the orange groves that blossom each spring. The high there was 109 yesterday, so I'm glad that I don't live there, but it was a terrific place to grow up.

KnockKnocking said...

My hometown is a valley called Ojai that I love and is full of memories but I consider my home Austin, where I live with my Texans Justin and baby Abby-Sue. Your work is exceptional. Truly.

xoxo Agnes

giddy99 said...

Love the Home Sweet Home embroidery!

I don't have a hometown per se; we've moved around quite a bit. I lived longest in Nashville, which is really just like an oversized small town, more than an actual city and I've learned that most Nashvillians (or "Nash Villans") are from somewhere else. :)

Aveen said...

I miss my hometown desperately. I'm from a small seaside town in Ireland where most of my family live and where there is always something to do. Now I'm living in a village in England that's hours from the sea and am terribly homesick!

I love the embroidery hoop, it would look gorgeous in my kitchen :) And the cross stitch designs in the fourth picture remind me somehow of Orla Kiely, makes me want to dig out some canvas and have a go.

Debbie said...

How beautiful is that I love it.
My home town is in rural Illinois, a farm town, Salem Illinois. Was a quiet place as a child. You grew up playing softball, tennis, going to the pool, playing in the creek, and bike riding in the summers. Then in Oct. was the annual Parade. And of course on Friday nights you went to watch the High School Wildcats play football or went roller skating.

thanks for the giveaway

Amy said...

I love your paint by numbers! My hometown is Frankfort, KY. It's the state capital, which not many people know for some reason. Liberty Hall is haunted by the ghost of the Gray Lady, a 65-year old woman who traveled 800 miles in 1817 to comfort the family after their daughter died. The Gray Lady herself died of a heart attack three days after arriving and has been at Liberty Hall ever since!

And I LOVE the colors of those cross-stitch charts!!

Anna Joy said...

Thank you so much for the giveaway! It's beautiful!

jen v said...

i grew up in a small town in southern california. i remember the hot summer nights as my sister and i would try to fall asleep.

i love your blog. but you knew that already right???

Jeanne E. said...

home sweet home...sweetness. :) i love this week's vintage patterns (i like cross stitch, so nice to lose your thoughts in). i consider portland, maine my hometown of late and i love it. i think one of the best parts is all of the places to eat. we are a foodie bunch here! i think we were even named the foodiest little city or something along those lines recently. we have some real gourmet, high-end places to eat, but even better than that...we have tons of thai, vietnamese, indian, sushi, diners, and all those quirky, yummy establishments that make a city a "home town".

Unknown said...

This is a great giveaway. So lovely.

I'm from Charleston, SC & I definitely think it's a great place. I don't necessarily miss the things that make it visit-worthy, though. I miss the funky smell of marsh grass & pine trees.

The Moldy Cannoli said...

Your embroidery is so cute. I don't know where my hometown is, growing up in the military makes you feel a bit like a nomad. So home has beome where I am at the moment.

Rachel said...

I live in Glasgow, Scotland. Its a really vibrant city, with a really cool craft scene and great architecture and scenery :)

kraken said...

I grew up in Portland, OR but I have lived in the LA area for almost ten years now. I love Portland. It is beautiful and green and a great place to visit but it doesn't feel like home anymore. It has changed so much since I lived there. It is way more hip and gentrified now and I don't think I am cool enough to live there anymore.

Silencer said...

My hometown is Denver. While I wasn't born here, I've lived here 99.9% of my life. I still live here and honestly don't know if I could ever leave! Its the perfect sized town and a perfect blend of city and mountains. Love it!

melonkelli said...

Those are the most beautiful cross stitch patterns!

My hometown was a farming community. My parents and grandmother still live there -- we try to visit every year when the blueberries are ripe.

cowboybunny said...

I love your paint by numbers "home sweet home" pictures. What a generous giveaway. I grew up in Ohio. My whole family still lives there in a small little community called Bellbrook. Now I live in Louisville, Kentucky with my family, and we love it here. We live right by the Ohio River and just over the bridge from downtown. It's a great place to raise a family.

Dena Palser said...

What a great book!!! I grew up in Bluff Park, Alabama, a small suburb of Birmingham... and it's the epitome of Southern charm :) I have since moved out to Los Angeles with my hubby, but every chance we get to visit the South is cherished!!! We're serious about our football, homegrown veggies, family gatherings, and BBQ... I wouldn't trade my hometown for anything!

RobynE said...

I grew up in a prairie town in Minnesota. It comes with a built-in excuse for lateness. Any time you are late you just say, "there was a train".

Nichole Dominguez said...

oh boy, I'm way down the list:( I really would love your "home sweet home". I have been away from my hometown for 11 years and it feels like yesterday that I left it. We just moved again and will probably be moving around a bit the next few years, and a pretty reminder of "home sweet home" would be wonderful:)

Karlee Hoffart said...

OMG-I love the bird embroidery design, so beautiful. My hometown is Portland, Oregon where I still live. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else!

sarah said...

something totally random about my home town - the maraschino cherry was invented here!

thanks for the chance, i'm a big fan of your embroidery!

Jenne said...

Ooh, awesome!

And that book is so cool! what a find!

I moved around too much to feel like I have a hometown. I do kinda hope it's different for my kids. My husband was born and raised in the town we live in now. I'd like that for my children too!

Simply EC said...

Love those paint by number embroidered hoops of yours! So pretty! And those cross stitch patterns are STUNNING!

Casey said...

I still live right by my hometown, or homehamlet... that's what they call it. I still go for walks out there, although not as far anymore because there's a lot of cougars wandering around now and a bear was spotted a couple weeks ago.

Katie said...

I grew up in a small farm town in Michigan. Although my family was not part of the farm side of things, I did have a few friends who lived on farms. We had "tractor day" at my high school.

Sometimes, living in Chicago, I really miss the farms and space.

erinkathleen said...

I was born and raised in Homer, a small town in Alaska. I've been away for 5 years, and I still feel the pull to move back everyday, even though I've built myself a lovely life in Seattle. Growing up in a small community was absolutely magical; it is the kind of childhood I wish for my future children. Although really, I know that no matter where you grow up, all that you need is a home filled with love.

DBuckelew said...

This is wonderful - and a perfect gift for my brother and his wife who just purchased their first home!

We live in Modesto in central CA - hmmm. . I almost wrote that it was a small town. It USED to be a small town! Not anymore. I've lived here my whole life and it is just amazing how much a place can change in (okay, giving away my age here) almost 50 years. Though I guess 50 years is a long time, when I really think about it, LOL! Used to be considered an agricultural center I suppose. Lots of farm land, walnuts, peaches, almonds, grapes. Most of that is gone now and taken by malls and shopping centers. The one thing I can say about living here is that we are pretty close to whatever recreation you could want - about 90 miles to the coast in one directions and the same to the mountains in the other. Lots of lakes and rivers around.

When I was growing up, I had big dreams of moving away from here, but I'm still here and it looks like I'm not going anywhere anytime soon :-)

Shemp3 said...

I love your paint by number embroideries! This one is so sweet- my hometown is Athens, GA and I miss it all the time!

MafiosaGrrl said...

Wow, I would love your paint by numbers piece so much! I've been admiring then for such a long time now.

Despite living in Northern California, I'm actually an East Coast girl. I grew up in Niagara Falls, NY. What I miss about there the most is actually having 4 seasons, in CA it's not like that at all. It's mainly the same about 3/4 of the year and then it rains in the winter. A wee bit boring at times when it comes to the climate.

Thanks for the chance to win :)

craftydill said...

i still live in my hometown of des moines, iowa and i love how centrally located it is in the US!

Jeanee said...

My hometown is Muskegon, MI. A little town off of Lake Michigan. It super cold there. My mom said it got to 89 degrees there a few weeks ago. It was the 2nd hottest summer in Muskegon history!!!

Thanks for a lovely giveaway!

Tea Potty said...

Born & raised in suburban middle America, but my home is now a small town on the German Baltic coast. It is quiet, pretty and full of lovely people!

ashley said...

i also think the print on the home sweet home is adorable.If that was my sweet home town it would be in southern michigan in the middle of nowhere. There would be a fire station, old dairy farm and wha la you done drove through it. Dont blink! People that live within 20 miles dont even know it exsists. so that is why i love your embroidery designs so much; because there is nothing to fill my time better then home made goodies :)

Anonymous said...

Love all your work. Always excited for Thursday to see your embroidery projects. I grew up in Harry Truman's hometown, Independence, MO. We got to see him on his walks once in a while from the windows of my junior high school.
Thanks for the chance to win!
Karen
joyjoyhappy1956@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

I love your "home sweet home" - thanks for doing the giveaway.
I grew up and still live in Auckland New Zealand. We are right near the beach and it's a lovely place to bring up children.

Mon Alisa Design said...

How lovely!
I grew up in the inner Sydney suburb of Balmain. It wasn't the cosmopolitan place that it is now and I kinda miss that. It was a community...we all knew eachother and looked after one another. Memories include catching jellyfish in jam jars from the harbour, going to the pub with the oldies and sitting under the tables... sipping on lemonade while they listened to the band, Climbing the huge fig tree and pulling up the rope swing so the yucky boys couldn't play with it and heading up to Joe and Roys to buy lollies with the money I made from walking a dog named Keiran. There is so much more but I'd be here all day!
Unfortunately the suburb that everyone looked down on became "trendy" and alot of the old characteristics have moved on. It is still lovely to visit but I couldn't live there now. Instead I live in a small country town and I just love it :)
Alisa x

Kaye Prince said...

Love that hoop and embroidery! I`m originally from a village of about 200 in south-central Ontario. We have one church, and a small general store that also served as the post office, dry cleaning drop-off, and movie rental! It was nice and quiet, but I do prefer living in the big city since I can go anywhere I want at any time without need of a car!

tess said...

I hope Wednesday is my lucky day!

Here's some tidbits about my hometown, which is actually where I still live.
-It has no traffic lights
-my best friends are all people I have known since elementary
-my boyfriend of 5 years and I met at preschool
-the shortest route to anywhere in town tends to involve cutting through a field
-all of the street names are named after bodies of water, like lakes, rivers etc

Julie said...

Thanks for having this wonderful giveway!
My hometown is San Diego and I miss it so much.

PickleLady said...

Thanks for the giveaway... and bummer about the copyright issues, but of course we understand.

My hometown is also where I've returned to raise my own children-- State College, PA. All the cultural and intellectual amenities of a large University, but smack in the middle of beautiful farmland and mountains. Heaven!

Unknown said...

I am a born and raised country. And while I live in a fairly large city now, I miss the wide open spaces of my childhood and cant wait to move back to the country (with a city in driving distance this time)!

Caitlin at Salty Oat said...

i loved those cross-stitch designs! what a great find.

i grew up in a small NH town, with a population under 1,000. the weekly pancake breakfasts were very fun!

thanks for the *great* giveaway! i'm a big fan of your work. :)

smarti said...

I'm from the Appalachian Mountians of Viriginia. Growing up, we lived at the top of the hill, my grandparents in the middle, and my uncle (and fam) at the bottom. Across the branch were my great aunt and uncle, across the creek were more great aunts and uncles...basically our community consisted of just family!

Tania QT said...

Well my hometown it's so farway (sounds like a fairy tale, lol), it's located in Mexico, Called San Andres Tuxtla,in the state of Veracruz, and you can just drive for 1 hour then you are in the beach or 30 minutes and you can swim in fresh spring waters, ahh, I miss that a lot.

superqthillatgmaildotcom

reilly said...

I live near historic Fredericksburg, Virginia!

Chris, Kristina, Nathan and Audrey... said...

I grew up in a small town outside of Boise Idaho named Emmett. They do an annual cruise night every July where all the old classic cars come out and cruise town and you get to hang out at the old drive-inn dinner and catch up with old friends. Some of the girls even come dressed up in poodle skirts and the guys like 'greasers'. So much fun!!
Kristina H.

Hana said...

My hometown doesn't have much going on, but we are the brick capitol of the world...or something like that! The town I currently live in doesn't have a lot going on either, although we do have a pretty cute downtown area.

Thanks for the giveaway!
Hana
hana_1705@hotmail.com

Lauri said...

I am originally from Austin, TX, and that is what I consider my "true home". (No matter where I am in that town, I always feel at home! It's just quirky and wonderful and has something for everyone.)

However, this summer my husband was transferred to Ardmore, OK...a very teeny town out in the middle of nowhere...there are no quilt shops, no yarn stores, no art supply stores...basically, nothing but Wal-Mart and fast food. Oh! And an Amtrak train station...I really want to take the kids on a train ride somewhere, now! I have a severe case of culture shock, to say the least! The best part of this move is that we bought a house that is almost 100 years old (built in 1916) and it has a workshop in the back that is attatched to the garage...I am making it into my very own 'studio cottage'...where this giveaway would look very nice hanging on the wall!

Anonymous said...

I'm from a little mill town called Camas. It's in Washington state, about 20 minutes from Portland, Oregon. At my high school we were called the Papermakers, and our school mascott was this crazy anthropomorphized piece of mill machinery called the Mean Machine. So ridiculous!

Thanks for the chance to win :)

csjoyeuxnoel said...

I moved away from my hometown when I was 3 years old and returned two years ago when I was 17. Now this is where I live and everyday I am presented with often strange mixes of old idyllic memories and the changes it has gone through now. However, sometimes I can still find the magic I used to dwell on as a little girl, and sometimes it makes me sad to think of the girl I might have been if I had been allowed to grow up here. I am from Yuba City, CA.

I love your blog, this is a wonderful idea for a giveaway! Plus, I am super jealous of your accordions and your thrifting finds in general!

lindsey said...

I love this hoop! Home is sweet.

I recently moved home to the town where I grew up and I really love the familiarity of it all. I like knowing my way around, the best place to get Eggs Benedict, and the fastest way to the craft store. I wouldn't want to live here forever, but it's nice for now.

Amber said...

I love your hoops! After moving away for college I'm back living in my home town. It's not the coolest place, but being home is so comforting to me.

erika said...

i just found your blog yesterday and now i am obsessed. i'm a fellow graphic designer and learning embroidery and i love love your aesthetic!!! keep up the sexy crafting!

Michelle Suzanne said...

I love your little paint by number hoops and your blog has become one of my faves in the past year! I'd love to win this giveaway! I grew up in the small town of Woodland, California. Lots of farming families. When I lived there, we had one high school and no Starbucks. My family doesn't live there anymore, but the last time I visited I was surprised at how much new stuff had popped up!

Katy said...

Ohhh how exciting! I love your paint by numbers hoops, home sweet home indeed :)
My hometown is concord CA, because thats where I was born but I grew up in Napa and then moved to San Diego. I consider San Diego my hometown because we moved there when I was 8, I have moved over 25 times in my life, but San Diego just feels like home <3
Sometimes I really miss the ocean, here in San Francisco the ocean is just not the same.
San Francisco is my new home so I would love to put this up in my room :)

Gigi said...

I loved growing up in my hometown. All my friends lived within a two block radius and we had a huge park in front of our home to play all afternoon in.

Sad I missed some of the images from the book!

Kimberly said...

I grew up in Portland, Oregon and still live there today - though across town! It has grown so much from when I was a kid, it's insane. The city is still a quirky place, filled with earth-minded, food-centric, outdoorsy, artsy people, but these days it's tough to find a native Oregonian when in a crowd. but what's great, is that even "transplants" have a fierce love for this city, only enriching its culture.

Kitsch and Curious said...

My home town is Bristol, in the south west of England. It will probably surprise you to hear that Cary Grant was born here, and Bob Hope lived here when he was little. Would Hollywood be the same without Bristol?

AlwaysInspired said...

I just adore your embroidery. I still live in my home town. We moved away for a brief time and had to come home!

trudys_person said...

I live in North Vancouver, BC, and it is beautiful! It's not my "hometown" - that is about 30 miles away, but NV is much nicer! Thank you for the giveaway!

Anonymous said...

So lovely!
My hometown of Waynesville, Ohio was so lovely growing up. It was great place for a kid...I could ride my bike everywhere!

Anonymous said...

Recently found your blog and I am enjoying looking through your posts...thanks for sharing!
I grew up in Minneapolis, but as a child our neighborhood felt like the whole world to me.
Within a 5 block radius was everything I thought was necessary for human life: school, library, grocery store and a park...
MySistersTrinkets

Jessie said...

I grew up in a large suburb of Minneapolis, which is where I consider my home town. Even though I haven't lived there in almost half my life, it's where I grew up. And now, when I go back to visit my parents (who are divorced but live just a mile from each other), I point out to my kids where this and that USED to be! And then I feel old :)

falling upstairs said...

i would love to be in with the chance of winning this! i live in hull in england, it is often said to be unlike any other city in the uk, was voted worst place to live but that is so wrong! its really not that bad!

Made for You by Amy Plew said...

I grew up in teeny tiny Port Republic, NJ, where there are no stop lights, and the only "businesses" are a little K-8th school, general store/post office, and church. I couldn't wait to break out of that little town, but now I miss it so much it hurts!

My husband and I have lived in 4 different states in 7 years, and I've learned that "Home" is wherever he is.

Thanks for the lovely giveaway!

andrea.d said...

My home town is known as "The Town With The Painted Past". It has many, many beautiful murals depicting historical events and noteworthy people.

suesueb said...

I grew up in a small town only about 10 minutes from where I live now for the past 34 years, in another small town. Growing up with 9 siblings meant we spent lots of time outside playing games and riding our bikes. My sister still lives in our house and I love going there with all the sweet memories!!

Kate+IceCream said...

My friend collects paint by numbers - she probably has about 40 now. I tell her she may be verging on crazy :) Anyway, she and her hubby just bought their first home. They live in Myrtle Beach, SC - a very retro, kitschy, old beach town. I would love to be able to give her this as a housewarming gift!

Michelle said...

On your mark, get set and go now! We've got a dream and we just know now...

I'm from Milwaukee! Until just last week, I didn't even know LaVerne and Shirley moved out to California in the later part of the series. What a shame. We actually visited the Pabst Brewery this weekend where the title/intro parts were filmed for the show. It's been closed and basically abandoned since 1996, but a really cool dude bought the gift shop, Blue Ribbon Hall and visitor center buildings, as well as the building that housed the Board Room and Captain Pabst's office. He's in the process of fixing everything up and showed us the actual door LaVerne and Shirley rode through on the forklift. The gift shop now sells all kinds of vintage memorabilia that was found abandoned in the basement of the building. A real treasure! Thank goodness someone had the mindset to devote their time to preservation instead of demolition and condo building!

Femke said...

Hello there!

For me home is the Netherlands. I have several addresses (my own, my parents and my in-laws) and I love them all. I grew up in the eastern rural part of the country. With green meadows, authentic windmills, cows, sheep and other farmrelated stuff. Each year there is a jam-market, where people from all over the country come to sell their home-made jams, chutneys and marmelades. When I have the chance I will move to a small village, so I can have an big (vegetable)garden and I will make my own jam :)

Best wishes and I will read your nice blog more often! Beh-bye!

Kitty said...

Dearie,

What a lovely giveaway. I adore you and your blog.

I grew up in Monrovia, California. It is a sweet little town full of victorian and arts and crafts homes. It is charming really. The downtown area has been featured in a number of movies and I love it when I catch a glimpse of my hometown on tv. I always think of those movie stars walking about in my little town and it makes me happy. My parents still own the same home that I grew up in. Everytime I visit, I feel like I am in the safest place in the world. I could hide out there in my jammies for days. Sometimes when I go home I do just that. Thankfully I have my StepDad who makes runs for Diet Coke and In-N-Out grilled cheese.

Wishing you love,
Fritzi Marie

p.s. One time they were filming Highway To Heaven across the street from my elementary school. Our teacher took us to meet Michael Landon. He was at the food services area and he tossed dinner rolls over to us. My friend caught one. We talked about freezing it and saving it forever. Silly little ones.

sally said...

The DMC cross stich looks like such an awesome find. I've cross stitched since I was a little girl and seeing that peaks my interest.

Kitten's Lost Her Mittens said...

Ooh, I love it! Thank you so much for the chance to win.

My hometown is St. Paul, MN. Although I have lived temporarily in a number of different cities, most of my life has been spent in St. Paul. I currently live in the same neighborhood I grew up in, about a 10 minute walk from my parents' house. I love it here!

MelissaD said...

As a needleworker, I just wanted to let you know that I don't think there's a copyright issues with the DMC booklet. There are several sites that post all the pages from the old books as I believe they are in the public domain as it's been over 50 years or more.

An example -
http://albumsdantan.canalblog.com/