Antique and vintage linen treasures

 Winter whites warm my heart~

With some warmer days I started adding some forget me nots and hearts!

I know the winter winds will continue to bring storms and frigid temperatures~

For now we will enjoy a few warm moments & the whisper of Spring.

Hearts so tender~

I hope you have been enjoying this beautiful season!

 

This rooster piece became mixed in...

It was the perfect excuse to sketch a nesting hen!

It smells like forget me not weather~

I couldn't help but add a wreath of love!

Wishing you a joy-filled Holiday Season~

Praying that family and friends arrive safe and sound!

May wonderful new memories be written on your hearts~

Rug Hooking 1889

I began gathering old paper in 1991. I was studying graphic design & advertising at

Rochester Institute of Technology and had a severe case of cabin fever.

There was an antique show near the college so I ventured off!

I walked into this one booth~ it was filled to the rafters with old paper & advertising.

That was the day I met Virginia~

Her paper collection was amazing (and she was only displaying a snippet!)

Most of the paper I have gathered is from the 1800's.

Virginia and I grew to be close friends.

We have known each other nearly 30 years!

When our daughter was in high school she came along to visit and talk paper.

We always went home with a box or two of treasures.

The time came when Virginia was ready to move into a retirement community.

She wanted to share more of her paper & mounds of knowledge with us.

The market had gone flat for paper... and we were willing to work & buy.

We spent many weekends through the better part of two years traveling

to help Virginia sort her inventory... listen, learn, gather seconds.

Always lunch at neat old nearby diners... maybe take a break & get a cone!

We would order enough  at lunch to have left-overs for dinner

as our visits would often go into the early morning hours with

a long drive home~

Our visits and stories are priceless...

Worth every penny & mounds of hours because one day,

Alaina was looking through a velvet covered family album & asked,

"Virginia, how much would you like for these old photo albums?

My dad has relatives by several names written here!"

She wanted to show her grandfather some of the pictures & names to compare!

Virginia couldn't sell them...

They were HER family albums!!!

Amazing how we're brought into peoples lives & then to discover seventeen years later 

that this amazing woman and my husband are somehow related!

Our daughter made the connection!

Dean and I were dating when I first met Virginia.

We married a year after I graduated from college.

I missed our visits while I was expecting & then the newborn and early years

when money was extra-tight so visits were by phone.

Once they were both toddling around Virginia & I reconnected and

it was if no time had passed~

Hubby would plan a special day with our little ones so I could go visit 'Ginny!'

Virginia is a retired professor of Women's Studies, Literature, Writing...

Antique dealer, collector of all things Shaker~

as she spent all of her teaching summers in Maine with their community.

Almost 30 years of friendship and so much historic knowledge.

Alaina & Ginny would talk endlessly on women in history...

She would inspire Alaina, praise her for being unique and independent. 

I was blessed to listen while sorting through floor to ceiling boxes of paper.

Virginia would notice something rare in my hand & explain the origin, purpose...

It will take me another 30 years to sort the paper I have acquired.

How I hope to remember the history lessons behind each piece!

While sorting for some pieces to share~

I recently came across this old E. Ross & Co. Rug Patterns catalog.

I LOVE wool hooking & it is so wonderful to see the gorgeous

works made through the years & today.. keeping this art alive.

I have shared some pictures from my booklet & I'm sharing a link.

https://archive.org/details/catalogofrugpatt00eros

If you click on the link it will bring you to a similar catalog~

Digitized files made possible by funding from LYRASIS members and

the Sloan Foundation.

Click on the pattern pages and they will turn as if you're reading a book!

Thank you for visiting, Friends!

I hope you have a wonderfully creative week~

Valentine Punch Needle~

"Bluebird of Happiness" copyright 2018 Michelle L. Palmer

I have written two new punch needle patterns!

One is a free gift~ to thank you for sharing this wonderful

art journey with me! We have reached another milestone with our

Etsy shop and couldn't do it without all of you~

"Woolen Valentine" copyright 2018 Michelle L. Palmer

Our little woolen friend is the free pattern!

All of the pages & directions are here for your private use.

I have my finished heart hanging from a cupboard door handle.

Backed with a coordinating wool.

I used narrow strip of wool, twisted & stitched into place with floss.

The paper pattern with my color choices~

I can't wait to see what colors you design with!

This can be enlarged for a hooked wool piece or applique!

I trimmed my weavers cloth and then snipped the edges as seen above.

Careful to not cut too close to your loops.

With my finished work face down on a plush hand towel~

I steam pressed the weavers cloth to the back.

Loops are protected by the plush towel.

I use tracing paper to make a pattern for the backing.

Trace the heart from the paper pattern to cut your pattern.

You could add a little pocket to hold a note~

You could stitch a sweet message~

Thank you again~

Hope your February is filled with happiness & love!

Ranunculus Bouquet Punch Needle

'Ranunculus Bouquet' copyright 2018 Michelle L. Palmer

Hope your New Year has been going great, Friends!

We are just getting over the flu~

Our coughs are finally subsiding and stamina is returning.

Do hope you stay healthy!

Took a little break from playing catch up to paint with threads.

Cup of tea and a mound of floss as the winter winds

whip around our 14" of new snow.

We'll get things warming up with springtime pastels! 

I purchased several new DMC variegated floss colors~

(Cabin-fever or flu-fever are to blame for my on-line floss purchases)

Hobby Lobby carries some DMC variegated floss.

Michaels craft stores carry a different collection of variegated floss.

I found the new colors from Ancora Crafts Etsy shop.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/AncoraCrafts

Great shop~ packaged nicely and fast shipping.

Variegated colors add a bit of texture to my patterns~

I just love how the flowers turned out in this project.

Wishing you a nice evening and the sweetest dreams~

Thank you for stopping by!

Pen & Ink Pincushions

 

Bees, feathered friends, harvest perches and patriotic themes~

Pinkeeps!

Pincushions!

If you remove the pins they are fun to hang on a cupboard pull~

Teddy bears love to hold hearts in their laps, too!

Chickadee and bee are discussing their sewing project~

This bee stopped by the firework daisy!

How I love bee skeps~

Hives of all shapes & sizes!

I love to draw bees in straight lines, too~

They are flying off to work together!

I bet these little friends sing, "Whistle while you work!"

They each have their yellow-topped pin...

They're off to help in the studio~

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, Friends!

Pinkeeps & Pincushions...

Long and narrow...

Square...

Purse size and desk size...

A new collection of pinkeeps and pincushions are coming along!

I made a collection of these for my Annual Christmas Open House 1994!

Sold in country shops before that~

We celebrated nine Christmas open houses.

I wish I had digital files or short videos to post.

History is a treasure.

The shows came before we (personally) had the ease of digital cameras.

I will scan some of my photographs and share near Christmastime.

We met the most amazing people through art festivals, retreats,

Workshops, shows & art guilds etc. 

Our open house was a weekend for reunions!

I loved to design the invitations & handmade 500+ free gifts.

(Oh how they changed through the years!)

A new giveaway each year & when the gifts ran out I would have hand drawn,

printed, recipe cards to tuck inside their packages.

When I began art licensing, nearly 15 years ago, it was difficult for me to

keep up with all of the deadlines and handmade works for shows~

It was hard to say goodbye to our open house but new opportunities

kept my artwork fresh and new styles & products emerged.

Fabric collections, flags, greeting cards & calendars etc. added to handmade.

I am grateful to have a healthy balance between the two now.

The joy of having my original watercolor paintings and pen & ink works

licensed alongside handmade, one-of-a-kind treasures.

I hope to eventually offer rug hooking patterns to accompany my

punch needle patterns & embroidery designs.

Several new creative projects will be ready to share soon~

We have been researching shows and events from MA to VA!

Our daughter is an amazing artist & designer... she is ready to soar!

Never know where life will bring you~

Stay true to yourself & find your own unique style.

It will tell the story of your life~

Pen & Ink Hedgehog on vintage baby dress~

Good Morning, Friends!

I need your help~

Please send me a private message if you purchased this little vintage baby dress.

It was several years ago~

Hope your day is off to a great start!

Wishing your heart every sweet happiness~

Wedding in the meadow

Snippets from Meadow Wedding~

Sweet little Rosie Emm with her handsome groom and dear maidens.

Springtime brings the most beautiful blush-pink flowers to the meadow.

They gathered a basket of blossoms for bouquets and head wreaths~

Tucked a sprig in Jameston's coat & called upon the sparrows to sing!

(Copyright Meadow Wedding 1997 Michelle L. Palmer)

When I watch West Side Story my little friends end up planning

another wedding. My husbands sister sang One Hand, One Heart

for our vows... it will always be one of my favorites.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, Friends!

Stand up for yourself~

There are times when we have to stand up for ourselves.

Take legal steps to protect what we have worked so hard for.

It isn't easy.

This little guy and his message were written on my heart today~

Let your faith be bigger than your fear.

Hebrews 13:6

Wishing your heart peace, Friends~

Good Morning, February!

Sharing their hearts on this first day of February!

I have a collection of antique & vintage papers, books, magazines~

Some bins are filled with worn & tattered keepings.

 The woman I got them from found value in them and

passed on that love to me!

They are bygone treasures~

Never to be printed again... some may be the only existing copies.

Bits and pieces put together with a new life!

When working with old paper I scan my final design and keep 

a digital file. Old paper was made from various fibers, rag content etc.

and is not acid-free. It may yellow or stain other papers that it touches.

Enjoy the works you make & keep a fresh image for production.

Wishing you a February filled with love & happiness~

Vintage linens

This is one of those linens~

I had ten different ideas for how to illustrate the empty areas!

Perhaps there was a bowl of fruit originally kept in the center area...

A pair of candle sticks... one to either side?

~ or ~

Vases?

I love white on white~

No matter what condition they are in~

A soak brings out their beauty!

Wear areas are proof that they were loved and treasured.

In all the years I have been gathering linens...

I have never found two alike.

Just like snowflakes~

Thank you for stopping by, Sweet Friends!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend~

Vintage fabric yoyo's

301 of them! They are enjoying a gentle & restoring soak~

I've been enjoying antique shows & shops for 30+ years.

No matter how many shows, shops, festivals we attend~

There is always something fresh & new!

The show wasn't that big...

A high school gym & small cafeteria.

It was packed with some of the most unique and unusual antiques!

Butter paddles in bunches!

They looked like bouquets!

ONE was very unique~ it had a butter press on the handle end!!!

All one piece~

It was very rare and very expensive... inside a case or

I would have tried to capture a photograph.

We brought home a few treasures...

This collection of yoyo's was laying across a long table.

It was dressed with an antique rocking horse,

mounds of linens & table cloths,

crocks & jugs...

books...

stuff...

cool stuff...

neat stuff...

I just needed to find the price tag........

JOY!!!

They are becoming harder and harder to find~

These most treasured patterns.

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday, Kind Friends!

Wishing your hearts every joy~