Chickadee Home Nest: embroidery

Showing posts with label embroidery. Show all posts

Monday, April 30, 2012

Joyful News -- Mr. Bright Eyes Has Arrived!

Well, Mr. B.E. arrived on April 16th., at 6:39 AM. A bouncing, beautiful BABY BOY weighing in at 8 lbs, 6 oz. Healthy and beautiful, we are thankful for the many blessings in our lives, especially healthy, happy babies.

As the time got closer I prepared for his arrival by getting the bassinet my grandmother "dressed" for me when my first baby was born. I can't begin to imagine creating this--it even has a "petticoat" under it--and she did it without a pattern!

You don't see these anymore--or at least not very often--but I did find some at Ababy.com. You'll want to check them out...some go for over $2,000! I also read that brides used to use their wedding gowns, or parts of them, to then have the "dress" for their babies' bassinet made. I think that's a very sweet idea, don't you?

Our tradition is European, where many of our family's traditions originated. A few years ago I saw a cover story in a magazine from Spain where the royal baby was "introduced," and there was the lovely, dressed bassinet.

It does kind of look like a wedding dress, doesn't it?
But softer, and sweeter.

Back when my grandmother made this, we didn't know our babies' gender until the doc said,
"It's a BOY!" or "It's a GIRL!" so yellow, pink, and blue...suitable for either.

And if there wasn't enough beautiful handwork in the bassinet itself,

my mother embroidered a sheet and pillow sham (no fears--no pillows used with babies!).
The stitching is masterful.

Now THREE of my grandmother's great-great grandchildren, and my mother's great-grandchildren have slept like royalty, thanks to their lovely needlework and devotion to keep our traditions alive. Since our family escaped from Cuba in 1961, our family heirlooms are rather new in comparison to others', but I think that makes us treasure them all the more, because we are the ones saving the precious memories to pass on.

I am happy to be the keeper of these beautiful things--my brother and SIL, and my sister and BIL each have their own as well, for their babies' babies. We think this is a beautiful tradition to carry on.

What have you passed down to your babies? Do you think they will continue to be passed down? I'd love to hear about your baby traditions.

Thanks for stopping by. Please leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! They encourage me and inspire me. And if you like what you see a lot J, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

I hope you will follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

These are the parties I’m joining this week; I hope you’ll stop by!

Sunday’s Simply Klassics at http://www.simplyklassichome.com/

Sunday Blog Hop at http://www.blissfulanddomestic.com/

Sunday Showcase at http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Sundae Scoop at http://www.iheartnaptime.net/

Show Off Your Cottage Monday at http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Monday’s Blue Monday at http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/2007/09/blue-monday-all-you-need-to-know.html

Masterpiece Monday athttp://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

Market Yourself Monday at http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com/

Monday Just Something I Whipped Up at http://www.thegirlcreative.com/

CraftOManiac Monday at http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/

Too Cute Tuesday at http://funkypolkadotgiraffe.blogspot.com/

Sew Cute Tuesday at http://thecreativeitchboutique.blogspot.com/

Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Wednesday at Tea Rose Home at http://tearosehome.blogspot.com/

We Did It Wednesday at http://www.sew-much-ado.com/

Wednesday’s Hoo’s Got Talent at http://nightowlcrafting.blogspot.com/

Home and Garden Thursday at http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/

Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

Vintage Inspiration Friday at http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Feathered Nest Fridays at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Friday Favs at http://www.naptimecrafters.com/2012/04/friday-favs-party-60.html#more

Show and Tell Saturday at http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/2012/04/show-and-tell-saturday-042812.html

Spotlight Saturday at http://www.classyclutter.blogspot.com/

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Red and White Valentine Table

A few weeks ago I brought Duchess home... The beautiful Paden City Pottery vintage china I'd had at my mom's for way too long, and I did a post with "her" (HERE), but my ♥ still wanted to do another one~~

a RED and WHITE one.

Do you start a tablescape knowing exactly what it's going to be?

I don't...I have a general idea,

then inspiration from things around me, other posts, magazines

AND

THE BOUNTY IN MY COLLECTIONS

just guide me along.

The original idea for this post was the color scheme, and it was going to be

a casual 'scape--red and white, using my red Crate and Barrel placemats and white dishes...

But SERENDIPITY stepped in...

and took me to the large, deep drawers full of vintage linens.

The topper that spoke to me was this:

Exquisite, yes?
Do you know what this stitching is called? The outline of the design is embroidered on the right side
of the fabric, and the "filler" is embroidered on the back of the fabric,
so only the color, not the stitching, is visible.
It's simply a work of art.

My mother used this same technique on a pillow and bassinet sheet she made for my first baby
"quite a few" :) years ago. In Spanish she calls it "shadow" stitch,
which seems quite appropriate.

The topper reminds me of vintage hankies--squares pieced together
with lace insets.
And the lace is BEAUTIFUL too.

While we're still on the subject of the topper, here's a close-up of the center work.
I had to use a pedestal centerpiece, don't you agree? to not cover such
beautiful work.
And as much as I love this piece, I don't remember the occasion when I bought it.
I wish I did, but I seldom pass up beautiful vintage linens.

Oh...forgive me...I got carried away with the cloth, embroidery, vintage, lace, etc.....

This post is about THE TABLESCAPE, so here it is:

By candlelight
I used a crystal cake plate that my MIL gave me years ago so the embroidery wouldn't be covered,
and miniature roses to continue the delicate scene.
Splashes of red in the heart-shaped crystal vase and hearts,
plus hydrangeas, bridal tulle, and sterling candle sticks.

The "heart" napkin idea was another inspiration. I've searched everywhere for heart-shaped dishes,
but have only found plastic ones, so to substitute, I placed a ♥ -shaped napkin* under my vintage
Heritage plates, and I was satisfied--for this year, that is.
I will continue my search for small, red heart-shaped bowls.

I used the red Crate and Barrel placemats as planned, for contrast with the table.

* I found several tutorials online for the heart-shaped napkin, but I still had to tweak it enough that I don't think
I can point you to any of them. At some point I'll do a tutorial on what I found to have worked best.
(You might notice that mine's a little "poofy," which is what I wanted.)

We bought this Amish high chair when Sweet Baby Love was born.
Now it's used by Beautiful Boy, so we keep it in the dining room.

So, tell me what you think. Do you like the lace and tulle and crystal and silver?

Here's the rundown of the components:

Stems: Water - Sutton Place, Godinger; Sherbet - vintage, gift from my mother

Flatware: Oneida, King George

Dishes: Crystal - Heritage by Federal, gift from my mother; Dinner - American Pelier, Bianca Leaf; Charger - Unnamed, manufacturer: Cerages. Dinner & charger from Home Goods, just recently.

Red Crystal vase: TJ Maxx a few weeks ago

I will be joining these fun parties; please stop by to see all the great things there!

Show Off Your Cottage Monday at http://houseinroses.blogspot.com

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Mop It Up Mondays at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/

Newbie Party on Monday at http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/

Before and After Monday (1st Monday of the mo.) at http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/

Masterpiece Monday at http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com

Tuesday’s Treasures http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/

Tabletop Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/