I Have a Treasured Hanky – Part Two

This Hanky Dress was made from an antique silk and lace handkerchief. I remember my joy when I first saw it. The lace is very fine and delicate. The silk is a lovely pale green and the lace is cream. There are places where it has been repaired and I could see that the thread used for the repair was larger than the thread that was used to originally stitch the handkerchief together. In the past, thread was made really fine so I knew this was quite old. I had guessed at least 1920's. And now we know that it was likely older.

The handkerchief was given to Susie by her cousin Cindy who told Susie that the hanky had belonged to her great grandmother. Cindy remembered hearing that it was from England or Ireland; maybe, something that was brought over when they immigrated. She said it had always been treasured by her family.

I do not usually work with silk hankies because they are too soft; however this one had such a beautiful wide lace border that I thought I just might be able to make it work. Furthermore, I have never made a dress with this configuration of folds and I really don’t know that I could ever do it again. It all just sort of fell into place.

Susie had a grand plan for this dress….she wanted to surprise Cindy and give it to her for Christmas. Susie has since let me know that Cindy was surprised and pleased with her gift, but, Cindy told her that she should really be the one to have it because of her love of things old. The two haven't seen each other since they were young and hope to get together this spring or summer.

Here are a couple of close-up pictures of the handkerchief.

I Have a Treasured Hanky

This is what Susie said when she contacted me last September to ask me if I do custom work?”

Wow! Did she ever have a treasured hanky…several treasured hankies, as a matter of fact. I am only going to share the first two with you in this blog post because they are so special.

This is a simply splendid example of a Madeira embroidered handkerchief. Just look at the detail in this handkerchief!

It was given to her by her Japanese mother-in-law in 1968 when she and her husband were married and she thinks it may have been made in China in the 1940’s to 50’s.

Here is the dress I made for her.

And...this second hanky was given to her by her best friend who said, "Here, this is old, you'll like it!" Ha! Ha! Yes it is old. My research would indicate that this is a fine example of punchwork from around 1920. This was a technique commonly used for wedding handkerchiefs.

You will notice this dress is made a little differently. Each of my Hanky Dresses is created to show off the handkerchief to its best advantage.

Second Hanky Dress I made for Susie

Framed Vintage Christmas Santa Handkerchief

I wanted to create something special with this very special vintage Christmas handkerchief. When I found this wonderful frame I was on my way. The edging on the frame coordinated wonderfully with the edging design on the hanky and with the Damask piece I found for the background.

The vintage hanky dictated playfulness and fun. So I decided to paint some snowflakes on the inside of the glass. There was, of course, a lot of plotting and planning before I took paint brush to glass. The lovely shadow effect is created because there is a space between the glass and the framed hanky. Click on the photos for an enlarged view and a better look at the details.

I just knew this would look beautiful in someone's entryway and could be used instead of a Christmas wreath. And, what a joy, it would be to use it year after year!

I almost didn't give this one up. I really wanted to keep it for myself. But, I decided to leave it up to God and the universe to decide what was best. You can imagine my joy when Cynthia (the purchaser) told me she was also a Santa Collector. It always makes me feel good when I know one of my pieces is going to a good home! Thank you Cynthia...and, thank you for the photos.

Cynthia's beautiful Christmas Tree

New Display at Willow Artisans' Market

Next time you're in downtown Littleton be sure to stop in at the Willow to check out my new Hanky Dress display which I will be changing seasonally. 
You can use this same concept in your home...a changeable shadow box is the secret. 

If you have something specific in mind that you don't see in the shop or have a family hanky you would like to have made into a dress - Just ask Helen...I do custom orders all the time.

Willow Artisans' Market is located on SW corner of Prince and Main in historic downtown Littleton, Colorado.

Rue de Noel 2015

I will will have Christmas Hanky Dresses and some other new items to share with you at the show. Hope you'll be there!

FWC Holiday Craft Fair

I am pleased to be able to participate in this craft fair and happy to say that I will be offering many of my hanky craft items at sale prices to kick off the season...including some Christmas Hanky Dresses! In addition, I will have some other hand crafted items for your consideration. Hope to see you there.

M is for Marti

"M" is for Marti!  Do you remember Nancy? Well, Marti is a friend of Nancy's. She saw Nancy's dress and was reminded of a bunch of family hankies she had. This wonderful lady decided to give me all of those amazing hankies and all she wanted was a dress to keep for herself. In this bunch of hankies I found a small one monogrammed with an "M" and a lovely green tatted edged hanky. We decided the one with the "M" must have been one of her childhood hankies. I combined the two to create her a one of a kind Hanky Dress. BTW her favorite color is green!

I decided a dress was not enough for this generous lady...so I made her a Hanky Heart too.

Close-up of the front and back of Marti's green and white Hanky Heart

Close-up of Marti's Hanky Dress

Birds and Beans

Good Morning All - Today I want to talk about birds and beans! I have been working for quite some time to catch the two finch photos above. I've discovered that finches are quite flighty feathered friends. These pictures were taken at different times but in the same general area. They are enjoying themselves eating my catnip seeds.

While I am on the subject of birds I thought I would show you a couple of items I currently have available in my online vintage shop. The first is a cross stitched bluebird which I have been able to date back to the 1940's by the flat head screws in the wooden frame. This charming cross stitched bluebird was obviously made with much love. Most likely stitched by Mom and framed by Dad.

And then I have this cheerful yellow pottery pitcher set. It has this wonderful parrot motif on the one side and a pretty flower motif on the other side. It would look so spectacular in a cottage kitchen...and you could use it for a large bouquet of flowers as well.

Now - let's talk about those beans. Aren't they pretty? They caught my eye in the garden early this morning as the sun showcased their speckled rosey color. Oh wow! I just went and found the seed packet and it turns out that they are called Speckled Cranberry - what a coincidence. They are an heirloom variety that I purchased from the Seed Savers Exchange a few years back. Here is what the back of the packet says: Brought to America from England around 1825. Triple purpose bean. Can be used as a snap bean at around 60 days, green shell bean at around 80 days, or as a dry bean if grown to full maturity. Produces heavy crops of stringless 7-9" pods until the first frost. Pole habit, dry, 60-90 days. I mostly use them for winter dry beans.

Pat's Pretties - Hanky Dresses and Hearts

Here is Pat with her newly framed Heirloom Hanky Dresses. The top two dresses were created from vintage family hankies and the bottom two are were created from a new hanky and a very special handmade antique hanky. This display is representative of four generations of women in her family.

These Hanky Hearts were created from bits and pieces of her damaged hankies. Don't you just love the subtle grey of this beautiful shadow box with its gentle gold tones accenting the frame. It's just lovely how the framer floated the ribbons in mid air above the hearts. The grey perfectly accents the detail of the Madeira handkerchief used in the hearts. 

The framing on both was done by the Colorado Frame Company located in downtown old Littleton.

These three very special white hankies were done in my baby baptismal gown style. One of which you will notice was included in the framed grouping above. Each one is adorned with antique mother of pearl buttons and two have silk ribbon bows. I've been making this style for years; however, I think this may be the first time I have published a picture of this style online. Please zoom in on the picture so you can see the beautifully intricate hand work in each of these hankies. The one on the left has a tatted edge, the middle one is pulled thread and needlework, and the one on the right, I believe is punchwork.

Joyful Yellow

I have this huge sunflower in my back yard. It is such a lovely pale color of yellow. The vibrant purple morning glory blooms are nestled among the cucumber vines delicate little yellow flowers. I have a bumper crop of cucumbers this year. I guess I should be thinking about pickles. 

Here are some of my other sunflowers. Do you see my visitor??? Look closely. My little goldfinch is extremely shy and very fast. He does not like me or my camera. I consider myself lucky to have gotten this shot. The birds love eating sunflower seeds and my husband and I enjoy eating lunch on the patio while watching them eat their lunch.