Christmas Stocking Four The Crafts Person , Quilter, Knitter, Seamstress, Cross Stitcher

This should be the fourth Christmas stocking I've posted.  The source of these patterns usually included at least one Christmas stocking per year.  And of course, I always wanted to make each one.  They all have so much wonderful detail in them, I hope that all the ones out there that did get done have become family heirlooms.
I couldn't decide what to call this one, because it clearly depicts the room of a crafts person.  A needlework artist?  There is a quilt, a sewing machine, an embroidery hoop, a basket full of knitting, etc.  What name would you give this one?

The Babe In The Reeds Nursery Decor

This is a wonderful rendition of the famous babe in the reeds of a river.  I love cattails and what they meant for my native ancestors here in America.  We used them for so many things, from food, to baskets, to bedding.  Yes, those fluffy cattails made perfect pillow stuffing!  The artist did an awesome job designing the cattails for this scene.  In the original scene, it would have been papyrus reeds.

Meanwhile, this is a perfect piece for a nursery and to celebrate Easter and springtime!

The Swim Hole

Is this a blast or what!?  If you've ever been swimming in a lake, pond, or river with trees and rocks you can swing or jump from, then this will take you back there!  Summer time fun!

Happiness Is A Country Collection

Happiness Is A Country Collection is one of my favorite patterns.   What can I say, LOL, I really enjoy all of the elements of this one as well as the sentiment expressed.

Cross Country Horse Riders and Hounds

I realize this is actually a depiction of a fox hunt in the traditional European style, but I am hoping that nowadays they aren't really hunting live foxes anymore and just go out for the joy of the ride!

Toddler and Duckling

With Easter coming up and the spring time themes of renewal and all things baby, here is an adorable pair.  A toddler and a duckling in wonderful detail.

By The Sea - Three Part Series - Part Three

And here is part three!
I hope someone makes all three of them and posts them to Pinterest so I can see them.  All of these posts also get pinned to my Pinterest board, Embroidery, in the Cross Stitch section. 
The other section is silk ribbon embroidery.  One of my dreams is to be able to spend some time learning silk ribbon embroidery.  Since I have over 30 shades of satin ribbon here in two widths, when I first saw silk ribbon embroidery, I was like, wow!  That is something I could do with all of this ribbon during the time of year it is impossible to make lavender wands!

By The Sea - Three Part Series - Part Two

Here is the second in the three part series.  A photo of all three is included with yesterdays post and I believe the third set has all three completed in one scan. 
And I hope you won't mind if I take a second to plug my other blogs.  You can see links to them on this page.  My main source of income is sales of lavender and I hope that if you love lavender also, you might take a second to look and share.  Thanks!

By The Sea - Three Part Series - Part One

All together, the three panels of this series make a wonderful set to grace any beach lovers wall.  I will post part two tomorrow and the third one the day after that.  This time I have them all together already!

More Cute Teddy Bears

Is it my imagination, or are a lot of these vintage patterns for children with a predominance of teddy bears?  That's okay, we love teddy bears!  Today it would be more sea otters and panda bears, right?  Hey, I bet these could be altered into being Panda bears!

Wedding Sampler

Back in the day, in many European and related cultures, it was traditional for a young woman to make a "sampler" of her embroidery skills to celebrate her wedding day.  Many "samplers" were also used as a sort of resume if one was going to work in a household that could afford to hire assistance.  Most people still could not read or had access to education, but almost everyone was taught a skill they could use for employment.  So if you could not read or write, you could send a sample of your skills.

Fall Wreath - But you can change all the colors!

This is supposed to be a fall themed wreath and it is beautiful as is.  But it can be customized any way you wish to make it any season you want, right?  The pattern is repeated four times, so don't worry, I didn't forget to include the whole pattern.  There is a lot of detail in it though, so if you are going to use it for fall decor, maybe it would be a good idea to start now...

Herbs & Spices in a Botanical Illustration Style

This beautiful layout of herbs and spices is done in the traditional style of historically documenting botanical specimens.  A tradition that continues today because drawing botanical specimens often brings details into focus that a photograph does not.  A wonderful addition to your kitchen decor!

Nutcracker and Sleeping Girl

What did I say yesterday?  And here again is a Christmas themed pattern.  The detail in the sleeping girl and the wooden nutcracker is wonderful.  Do people still have a big bowl of nuts still in the shell on their coffee table in the living room?  With a set of nut cracking tools?  I doubt it, I tried finding nuts still in the shell and couldn't.  Snacks today are all about quick, easy, sugar, and salt.  When you are snacking on nuts in the sell, you have to work for your snack!  And every home had some form of nutcracker.  But most of us didn't have beautiful works of art like this one.

Christmas Threesome

I know, it seems like every other post has a Christmas theme, but almost every issue back then had Christmas items in it.  I suppose because most people who did cross stitch, were more inclined to make a piece to decorate for the holidays?  That's my theory anyway!  These three are pretty cute though, aren't they?

Culinary Themed Kitchen Decor

Isn't it amazing that when it comes to cooking, some themes are timeless?  This pattern would look great in any of today's kitchens!

Illustrated Alphabet

This wonderfully illustrated alphabet was the inspiration for the six foot measuring charts I began making for my family when they were little.  After my first chart, with the measuring ruler down one side and an illustrated alphabet down the other side, I began designing my own alphabets.  The top of each chart had a little scene with another scene down at the bottom.

The theme of the country fair that year was "Apple Pies and Family Ties" so this was the scene I designed for the top of the measuring chart I entered in the fair.

Christmas Stocking from 1988

Yes, another Christmas stocking!  I have to admit that one of the reasons why I collected all of these patterns was to see the new Christmas stockings that would come out in new issues because I always dreamed of making one for every member of my family.  This is a good one!