Needlework Art

Sewing

Don’t Be Afraid to Sew

Mary Schultheis Sadly, sewing is a lost art in our society. Picture the pioneer that sat on a rocker in front of their fireplaces all winter hand sewing clothes and quilts in dim light. Honestly, we have it real easy with our sewing machines in comparison. People have an unfounded terror of attempting to do the “impossible” task of constructing a garment. Fears are easily proven wrong as a result of, discovering the steps to sew any item are very precisely laid out in the patterns. If you can read and follow directions, you can sew anything. You will find that the process gets easier and faster due to repetition, and each additional item made from a pattern gets easier still.

Sewing is a cumulative skill worth pursuing. Learning to sew teaches you how to use your precise hand movement skills constructively, the mind to plan which step first, and increase your perseverance strengths to complete a project. Above all, making custom pieces that are not only unique, and well-fitted give a person a special sort of self-satisfaction when complete.

Passing Down the Skills

I like to sew, which I learned from my Mother. Her name was Mary Schultheis and she was so talented in many ways as a pianist, and a seamstress who spent many hours sewing our family clothes and everything else as I was growing up.

An amazing thing she sewed for me were all the fancy “holo kuu’s” or costumes I used to dance hula solos in shows downtown Waikiki. These outfits were very complicated fitted patterns that were designed to imitate the 1800’s missionary dress styles. Probably a real nightmare for my Mom. Long dresses with many small buttons/clasps, lace, and trains dragging on the floor. How difficult it must have been, to put 3-4 of those outfits together every year. It would be similar to making multiple prom dresses on a yearly basis. I really should have thanked her much, much, more for this! Hindsight. The items that I make now, will never even compare to her skill level on the sewing machine. My sewing projects are happily made and given away, sold, or donated to church fundraisers the majority of the time.

Learning

I record the “Sewing With Nancy” programs on the Public Television Station to view when I have time. She lays out really neat ways to go about sewing a large variety of items.

Crochet

Mom, besides being a supreme seamstress, did fine crochet crafts using thin cotton thread and her speedy little hooks. It was amazing to watch her hands click her needles together as she was knitting. It was just as amazing to see her going rapidly in and out of her next tablecloth, she had very fast hands with her hooks and needles. Her projects included things like doilies, tablecloths, Christmas tree skirts, blouses.

Needlework

Our family does needlework including sewing, embroidery, and crocheting together in the evenings. Three generations sitting around the living room or on Grandma’s porch, joking and chatting while we stitched together (or we were snapping green beans). Our household produced beautiful pieces with Scottish tatting, eyelet, embroidery, and crochet pieces.

Scottish Tatting

Sedilla Oxendine 1908 My Great-Grandmother did Scottish tatting and embroidery on elegant dish towels, quilts, doilies, pillowcases, and dresses. Her name was Sedilla and everyone called her Dillie. Her mother was half Scottish, she is in the center of the front row . The three sisters were left to right, Beulah, Sedilla, and Bernice.

Embroidery

Opal Kilpatrik 50 Sedilla had a daughter named Opal who was my Grandma. She did embroidery in colored flosses making days-of-the-week dishtowels, flowers, herbs, quilts, table cloths, and napkins. My Grandma taught me how to do embroidery stitches on small things like pillowcases and napkins. After I learned how to do all the basic embroidery stitches sufficiently, I graduated from her 101 courses and slipped into the real world of embroidery from there.

First Real Project

When I was in high school, Grandma gave me my first real embroidery project as my Christmas present. It was a full tablecloth kit made by Bucilla who’s name has changed to “plaid on” now. This tablecloth kit was a rose & flower pattern that had the thread, cloth, needles, and hoop in it with instructions similar to a paint-by-number set. Put this color floss here, using this stitch. This first tablecloth was a daisy and rose pattern with vines and leaves taking me an entire year to finish. Seems like maybe, there were a million times where I needed to change the thread colors. I threaded a different color into my needle so many times, that it truly became second nature. Many times I thought that maybe it would be impossible to finish. But each evening I stitched on it some more and finally, it was done.

It would not surprise me, to find out that my family had placed bets on whether I would finish it or not. Probably the most significant result has been the creation of a lifelong habit that I dearly love.

Opal Kilpatrick 89 Grandma was also responsible for many of my best recipes. Her name was Opal (Canniff) Kilpatrick. Being half Scottish and half Indian she had beautiful white hair just like her Mom. Here is a picture of her pausing for a photo for me in the Lihue, Kauai HI airport before we walked over to the gate for her to climb up the stairs to catch her flight.

She had come to visit me and my kids before moving away to the mainland to live with her sister in Oklahoma. I snapped this photograph with one of those old Kodak 110 film cameras, little did I know, this would be the last time I’d see her in person before she passed away. I still miss her and keep this picture in my wallet. Whenever I spread my rose and daisy tablecloth on the dining room table for a special occasion, I hear Grandma’s voice.

Stitch Needle Art

Hummingbird embroidery stitch in hoop — A hummingbird being embroidered on a diningroom tablecloth.

In my spare time, I stitch needle art.

Embroidery
Sewing

Since early childhood, I have been stitching on heirloom tablecloths, blankets, and pillowcases. Embroidery feels like coloring with a thread in rhythm on cloth, in an otherwise mundane surrounding.

Winding-down we watch TV and I do embroidery, as a welcome distraction. When I hold something in my hands and stitch, I don’t have to watch commercials or be bored. I’d probably go crazy if I had to watch every minute of TV, but I am thankful that this rhythm in and out, stitching bright colors onto cloth, is probably responsible for maintaining my sanity.

If you are interested in learning about how I was taught to embroider check out this page for that story.

If you are interested in learning this embroidery hobby I found a good example of instructions to learn the basic stitches here by Mollie Johansen;

Molly Makes, Stitch Library Guide to Embroidery Stitches

Your best way to learn is to jump on in,

Here are some embroidery basics;

embroidery needles
pin cushion or (bar of soap)
small scissors
hoop
embroidery floss
iron-on stamp pattern

Pinching Pennies as You Stitch

Keep a sharp eye out

Many times it is quite economical to buy needlework or sewing supplies in large quantities at thrift stores, and estate or garage sales. An easy initial project is a couple of pillowcases, that you apply an iron-on stamp pattern for traditional embroidery. Most sewing outlets, hobby outlets, and Walmart carry them. You can locate learning or first kits that include everything you need in them too. The website of the firm based in Georgia that took over the Bucilla brand is here;

http://www.plaidonline.com

As mentioned earlier, I continue to do anywhere from 3-6 pillowcases and 1-3 table cloths each year depending on the difficulty of my designs. Each is a one-of-a-kind design utilizing a handmade or drawn theme. It is not necessary for me to purchase a stamp pattern to work from anymore since I am able to draw what I want myself. I have quite a stock of every color of floss in my sewing kit sitting by the recliner, that I restock as needed. Typical themes of my work include birds and bees, butterflies, flowers, leaves, vines and animals, hummingbirds or cherry vines with baskets, or daisies. The list goes on and on.

Let me know if you’d like to purchase any of the work I share here, or if you’d like a special order made, as I probably could be persuaded to part with heirlooms if the price is right.

Contact:
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Cherry Basket Tablecloth Sold

Complete

Dorothy M Lowe (Woelk) — My mother-in-law Dorothy Woelk

I took my embroidered cherry basket tablecloth to the Mennonite Country Auction & Relief Sale/Auction, where it sold for a surprising amount, even though it was the only embroidery piece entered in the sale displays that year. My tablecloth did ultimately succeed in attracting attention and selling for a good price and I would assume that more embroidery items are now available there. I wanted to contribute a meaningful amount to the church with my project. It selling as it did, gave me a real boost as an embroidery artist.

Cherry tablecloth corner — donated to charity embroidered tablecloth

I chose this charity in honor of my Mother-In-Law who used to make fabulous quilts for them every year. She and her family graciously welcomed me into the Spring Valley Mennonite Church in Spring Valley WA. I am forever grateful. When Peter and I got married fortunately, Mom bought me a Mennonite Cook Book from this auction event. Yummy!

Dorothy and I felt comfortable sitting close and visiting, while we worked on our hand-made projects. I did my embroidery and Dorothy her great baby quilts along with all the schoolbags and everything else as she sewed through her life.

This event is worth going to!

If you have not been to the Mennonite Country Auction & Relief Sale/Auction, this is something that you will want to do. Put it on your list of must-dos to see

absolute quilting excellence.

This sale is set up to raise money for missions of the church and is held in the Fall in Ritzville (between Spokane and Seattle). The Mennonite Country Auction & Relief Sale/Auction is an all-day gathering for the whole family with breakfast, tents filled with exquisite quilts, comforters, afghans, and handmade crafts and furniture to walk through and admire. Apple cider, apple butter, along with ice cream, and some of the best cheeses (that sell out fast). The auction of the beautiful handwork is in the afternoon and is a lot of fun. Check out their website, The next auction is on October 6^th, 2018.

Mennonite Country Auction.

or their Facebook page here. Other needlework project blog posts.

Cherry Tablecloth

Begin

With special anticipation, I begin this Cherry Tablecloth needlework journey. Calmly embroidering, with great colors and a wide variety of possible stitches as a beautiful design becomes even more classic with each strand of floss until an heirloom keepsake is made.

At this point, I am happily working on my cherry embroidery every night. The average time it takes me to embroider a new tablecloth project is between 3-9 months, depending on the level of difficulty in the design.

It also seems to take a lot longer when there are a large volume of colors in the design. You know, completing all of one color for a reasonable space, then securing the knots, snip and threading needles with the new colors every few minutes. More colors are more time consuming.

Finished

cherry tablecloth angle — Entire tablecloth view showing cherry basket.

Before you know it, here is a beautiful tablecloth complete. I do a little Irish jig dance celebrating! Standing up and dancing around the living room singing, “It is done, yeah, it is done!”, after the last stitch is tied-off.

cherry tablecloth angle close — Full view, embroidery cherry tablecloth.

Then the new tablecloth is carefully washed, ironed (every single inch), and carefully photographed on the dining room table. I apologize that I did not think anyone was interested in the unfinished stages of embroidery during this project time period. Nowadays, I make it a point to photograph the stages of completion so others can see how it looks as you go along.

I hope that you are able to find forgotten treasures at your next garage sale expedition too. This was actually someone else’s dream tablecloth that I was able to complete. When she got this fine tablecloth stamped in this great cherry basket and cherry vine pattern I am sure that she had all kinds of ideas about how beautiful it would turn out. She probably had a great fondness for fresh cherries, herself. I hope that my embroidery has honored her wishes for this heirloom tablecloth.

Cherry Tablecloth Adventure

This cherry tablecloth adventure starts with choosing the colors. I decided to make the cherries a mixture of rainier pinks and bings in dark maroon and deep reds. The twisting vines and stems would be with a dark stem and lighter leaves around the border and in the interior vine design. There were four baskets, one on each corner, that I thought would look good in brown earthy tones.

Cherries pink and red — Middle of the table, cherries and vine pattern

Getting out my box of embroidery floss I began choosing the pinks and cherry reds color along with foliage greens. For the baskets I chose browns, but after finishing the first one I chose to change the color of the baskets for each corner just for some variety in the piece.

brown cherry basket tablecloth — This basket of cherries has the darker brown color stitched in.

brown cherry basket close — The corner baskets give good weight to the corners when the tablecloth is placed.

yellow cherry basket — A corner basket of cherries with yellow highlights.

tan cherry basket corner — The cherry basket at the corner of the tablecloth highlighted with a light brown.

Treasure Hunting

cherry tablecloth side Treasure hunting for supplies is one of the things I am always doing. This project is the result of one of those garage sales, thrift stores, and estate sale expedition days.

I love to shop at garage sales and thrift stores.

It keeps me from getting in trouble with our budget while pursuing my love of stitching.

I found this tablecloth in a stack of miscellaneous sewing materials outside of a rural home. It had some dirt on it but I saw the cherry basket printed on the corner so I opened it up to see what kind of shape it was in. It looked quite yellowed with dust stains on the folds as if it had sat for quite a while.

When I asked about it, the lady said it was from her Grandmother’s sewing room that they were cleaning out. I paid $5 for it and walked to my car with high hopes that it would wash out clean.

I got my tablecloth home and put it in the washing machine with a scoop of Oxi-Clean and let it sit overnight. The next morning I ran a load of clothes with the table cloth, just adding some regular laundry detergent. Surprisingly, all of the yellow and stains washed out beautifully, leaving me with a perfectly good stamped pattern to work on.

The Cherry Baskets Tablecloth project begins.