thursday = embroidery

today I'm not only back to my regular schedule of sharing a weekly vintage embroidery pattern but also I finally have a finished project to share...feels like forever since that's happened!


the overall piece is 14" x 16" and was done with a 2 strand stem stitch - I created the line drawing from a photograph using illustrator.


{also, here's a bit about tom coffey if you're curious.}

and finally here are some pretty spring flowers for you:


happy stitching!

where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain

in the spring it gets really windy here. but at the same time the weather is finally nice so I like to open the windows...which causes the bedroom door to slam shut. so I improvised a doorstop:


sadly I haven't needed to use it lately since it's back to being cold & dreary, sigh.

stripes

{1967 cole jr. sportswear ad}

p.s. thank you all so much for your birthday wishes, they made my day even more special!

turning 42 years old today

and it seems the old adage is true...you can teach an old dog new tricks because I learned a new song, ha!



I got the dog's beanie at archie mcphees when I was in seattle...


he looks pretty good for a 78 year old I think :)

seattle, wa - part 4

{this final post is about signs & it's the longest...just warning you.}

this trip wasn't about tracking down every old sign in the city - rather it was a chance to spend time with my sisters & see a overview of things we were all interested in. however, my sisters are great & they know how much I like signs so it was part of the agenda.






but rather than hunt for signs I decided to just happen upon them and save time for something a little different...a visit to a neon sign co. that makes new signs & repairs old ones & I'm so glad I did because it was a blast!

there were signs & letters everywhere...the guys were so nice & told us stories about the different signs, showed us photos of their work, and even gave us a demonstration. they not only do sign work but also create the individual neon pieces for modern art installations. so it was really fascinating to see the meeting of the old & the new neon work - they definitely have a love of the vintage neon and rescue old signs but at the same time they create new work that turns neon into art that is displayed in art museums. all three of us had a wonderful time there because we were each interested in different aspects of what they did so I was thrilled it turned out to be one of the highlights of the whole trip for each of us.
























{have a wonderful weekend!}

p.s. just want to explain that I contacted the co. far in advance to discuss making an appointment to visit their shop - luckily the staff was kind enough to let us - this is not something one should assume a business will do though.

seattle, wa - part 3

of course we also went to pike place market and the space needle plus empsfm:










I was happy to see accordions {3} represented in the instrument cyclone sculpture...




sadly we missed the star trek/star war shows, but we did get to see the battle star galactica exhibit...




of course we also went to the top of the needle where I took the expected photo:


and the less expected photo:


see that pink shape sort of in the middle there...that's the pink elephant car wash which I didn't get a chance to get to...but that's okay, it just means now I have to go back :)

p.s. sorry to skip another embroidery thursday...

seattle, wa - part 2

of course there was some shopping...for instance at an antique mall:










and archie mcphees:


where my sister bought not one but two pairs of squirrel underpants...because you know you need the boy & girl version :)