A few months ago I bought some v-e-r-y w-i-d-e linen for making curtains. I *did* make a set of bathroom curtains with the pink, but the blue isn't as pretty in "real life" as it was online, and both shades are so wrinkle-prone that I've opted not to make any clothes with them. (Really, the only time I iron is when I'm sewing.....I think I ironed a shirt for Elliot last year, when he celebrated his first Sacrament of Reconciliation at church....).So we're been using the linen a little square at a time, as the foundation for our embroidery experiments. Here are two that I've finished over the past couple of weeks. They're a little small, so I'm not sure what I'll do with them--perhaps applique them onto a pillow. The bigger ones we've made have turned into pillow covers in their own rights (we posted Elliot's little partridge pillow a few weeks ago.) Most of those haven't been posted here because they are likely to end up under certain people's Christmas trees.
I'm pretty pleased with both of them. The Fire Chief (not a great photo--sorry) was based on an image in a very early book that Richard Scarry illustrated for Little Golden Books--Cars and Trucks (and see the updated posting about the bowdlerized early-70s version of the book--it's the one I have, and boy is it weird!). The bright primary colors of Scarry's illustration don't come through in this simple embroidered rendition, but I think the spirit is there.
The Young Pioneer design took a lot longer. It's based on a teeny part of a very complicated textile design in Jill Kachurin's 2006 book Soviet Textiles. (What a great book--I'm so glad I bought it! I sure wish some of the textile patterns she curated for her 2006 exhibit at the MFA in Boston would show up in someone's quilting line.)
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