charts are fun! (Artex and Aunt Martha's)

* So, picking up from my last blog post, I bought a large bag of cut-up and unmarked vintage embroidery transfers at the rummage sale. I've been sorting them ever since - piles to keep and piles to sell. I've also been trying to identify the patterns, or at least the company that made them. The companies rarely have their name on the transfer sheet, though, so it's difficult.

There's info and images out there about vintage patterns in general, Vogart pattern envelopes, and currently available Aunt Martha's patterns. Search Flickr, search eBay, search etsy to get photos of envelopes and sometimes the transfer sheets inside. What I wanted was more like a reference - if your transfer says this and is this colour, it's from this company. But I can barely find info on the out of business companies, let alone lists of their patterns or identifying marks on them.

Therefore! My addled out-o'-work mind decided that I should step up to the plate and create my own resource! And share with the wooooooorld!

:dum dum duuuuuum: 

Artex
Liquid embroidery company from the '70s. They sold fabric with the patterns already printed on (like paint-by-numbers) but also sold iron on transfers.
The designs are in solid red ink on large sheets of brown craft paper. There's more than one sheet of paper in the envelope.

Envelope:

 

Text on the transfer sheet:

Sample design:

Aunt Martha's
Still in business (as Colonial Patterns) and selling transfers. They re-release vintage patterns.
The designs are in solid red ink on one large sheet of brown craft paper. 

Envelope:

Text on the transfer sheet:
several different but similar versions.

Block of instructions and reprint of the illustration from the envelope.

Block of instructions with no illustration.

Pattern number on transfer sheet.

Sample design:

And that's the letter A! Overall I plan on covering Butterick, McCall's, Monarch, Simplicity, Superior, Vogart and Walker's hot iron transfers, plus a few mystery patterns. If you have any hints/info/suggestions, let me know!

* All samples are taken from my own collection. Transfer patterns have been cleaned up and background changed to white using Photoshop. As my collection grows, and I find more info, I will keep this page updated.*

embroidery on my mind, and my desk, and my couch ...

* Here is my finished February stitch along!

It was shoved in the scanner so it's kinda wrinkly in places. No stitches fell out in the wash - yay! The flowers look kinda wonky - since I use dressmakers' carbon to transfer the pattern, it doesn't always line up properly, and when my hand starts to hurt from pressing down I take shortcuts (I don't need to trace the whole flower, just the middle and I'll figure out the petals). Aaaand the end result is lopsided flowers. But that just adds to the handmade charm, right? :)

In other embroidery news, we went to a rummage sale last weekend and I bought a large bag stuffed with transfer patters! Artex, Superior, Vogart, McCall's, Butterick. The bad news is there were only 8 envelopes in the bag. Most of the pattern sheets were cut up then divided into categories in plastic bags, so I haven't the faintest idea where some of them came from. But some of them are old, like before I knew there were patterns!

This one appears to be from 1923. It's in pretty good shape, too! With some of the other ones, when I unfolded the paper to look at the pattern, I was showered with blue dust where the ink had come off the paper :( 
I probably won't keep all the patterns, but I'll have fun sorting through them!

I also bought a stack of vintage craft magazines, from 1939 - 1980.* And ooh the ads are fun! I've already been picking and scanning for future blog posts. This one, from The Workbasket Oct 1955, intrigued me:

the tubing, the tubing! Where did it go? Why was it a special thing? Will I ever find out the truth?!? 

*Note to self: stop buying knitting magazines. you don't know how to knit. you can't even crochet yet.

still stitchin'

* The February stitch-along is going well; I might even be done in time, thanks to leap year :) The theme (well, one of them) was love so I'm doing a couple of bluebirds.

from Vogart Transfer Patterns No. 265

There's a gajillion french knots and daisies so I'm sure getting practice!
March has a choice of 3 themes - spring, frozen food, or pi(e). I think I'll go with frozen food 'cause I have a cute orange running from a sign that says "freezing plant." Another dish towel!

* Work is going well. I go in for 3 hours at a time in the mornings to sort and box up medical files. Hoo boy do those thick folders give a nasty paper cut! Heh, bleeding all over medical files is probably not a good idea ;)

* The new volunteering didn't happen. They never got back to me to tell me where to go and what time to be there! Maybe I'll try again next week.

* On Sunday I went to a tea festival with my lovely and amazing sister-in-law. It was great! So much tea to taste! Iced tea, black tea, matcha tea (I liked it, my sister did not), fruity tea, magnolia tea, even beer with chamomile infusion! And free tiny cupcakes! We discovered that the hoity-toity hotel on the harbour now has thousands of bees, so the hotel makes its own honey - cool! I hope we can go again next year.

* Let's see, weather has been fairly mild. Several nights it's been colder back in Florida than it was here!

* We've been getting Rome out of the library (yea, we're always behind when it comes to tv shows). I'm enjoying it, it's like a soap opera and action movie rolled into one. We're still waiting for season 4 of True Blood. We've been watching The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. during dinner, and guess who's his childhood sweetheart? Nan Flanagan!!

* I guess that's about it for now. See you in line for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter! (with Wash as Stephen A. Douglas!)

grab your purse - I've got the time machine warmed up!

* Greetings, it is I, and I come bearing news.

* I got a job! kinda. A doctor's office is going to pay me to organize their files! The doctor is the husband of the woman whose office I have organized as a volunteer, and she liked what I did so she recommended me. I start next Tues, and I've already been told that there are other docs in the building who need the same help. yay! 
I sent out an e-mail a couple of months ago to my family to see if anyone wanted organizing help, and got 6 hours work from that, so this thing is progressing.
Yesterday I scooped a Martha Organizing magazine/book (which doesn't seem to be pictured anywhere online) and it's so pretty pretty! Man, if I could make a living doing this, I'd be a happy camper. Happy and tidy :)

* I also have a new volunteer position, helping pack fresh fruit and veg for the Good Food Box. yay for helping the community eat better, fresher food! so that takes care of another resolution that I hadn't made yet.

* I've had some great vintage paper scores in the past week. At the Friends of the Library bookstore, found the 1980 Deities and Demigods, the one that includes the Cthulhu Mythos, for $2.50! I don't know if I'll ever game again, but more info on Cthulhu is a good thing. Also got a couple of nice vintage mystery paperbacks, Anatomy of a Murder and A Murder is Announced. 

Yesterday we finally remembered to check out the thrift store at the Oak Bay church (which is only open 4 hours a week. the store, not the church.) and woo hoo! Buried beneath a stack of 80s knitting patterns, a Mid-Winter Sale catalog from Simpson's.

Mid-winter 1950 that is! C'mon, let's go shopping!

First stop, craft department! I'm gonna spring for some polka-dotted washfast prints in pink and white, just 37 cents a yard. After all, patterns are 25 cents each so I'll get enough for a wonderful dress.

and Glen needs curtains in his studio - that cowboy print is perfect!

The bulk of the catalog is in black and white, though.

There's some nice wool for knitting, in so many colours! Pink, Sand, Burgundy, Scarlet ... oh. oh wow. It's too easy to forget what used to be standard. wow. Uh, check out that washing machine beneath the cover, so glad I don't have to use that thing!
Moving on! Don't ask why valentines are paired with office machines, but "15 cut-out Valentines with envelopes for kiddies" is a bargain at 29 cents.

17 assorted cakes of soap for 98 cents sound divine. But I'll pass on "Simpson's Beef, Iron and Wine for anemic and general run-down conditions." ugh, beef wine, bet it tastes naaasty. 

Words cannot express how much I want that dinette set and cabinet. In red. Good thing it's marked "del'd," which means Simpson's pays for delivery "to your nearest post office, railroad station or wharf." The catalog came from Vancouver so it's just across the water, shouldn't take long.

Last stop, ladies' clothing. Super cute dresses just in time for spring! They even have stout sizes! Good grief, if that lady on the far right is stout, I'm in trouble.

If I'm gonna buy a dress, looks like I'll need some assistance.

What's the point of getting a nice, cool, cotton dress if you have to cover yourself in rayon and elastic underneath? Holy cow, "G" is an "outsize pantie girdle" with "lightly boned inner panel for abdomen control" and "short back bones prevent top from rolling and cutting in." Outsize means "large fits waist 30, 31, 32 inches." eep.
I give up!

aaah, plenty of room to move around in these! I wonder why you can't find bloomers in stores any more? Heh, "D" is "sturdy cotton bloomers" in navy only. At least it's available in outsizes :)

And so ends our shopping trip - hope you got lots of bargains! 
Later gators!

* Well I'm all recovered from the cold except for an occasional nagging surprise cough. Being sick put a dent in my resolution to keep my resolutions. But I did get something done! Behold my pineapple cooler!

I'm proud of this one, think I finally got the hang of the stem stitch. The lazy daisies are too loose, though.
Edited To Add: washed the towel today and the french knot dots on the butterfly fell out but the daisies were all okay :)

This was stitched on an Aunt Martha's tea towel using DMC thread. Here's the funny thing - we have tea towels/dish cloths out the wazoo, so the last thing we need is more kitchen towels. But the designs are soooo cute!

The February stitch along has 3 themes: love, redwork, or weird and wacky. I'm looking at stitching a couple of lovebirds on the hem of a pillowcase.

* Hmmm, I think my Feb resolutions will be:

• volunteer more. My current place has reduced me to 2 hours every other week, and I need to be doing more than that. The Royal BC Museum seems to have a good volunteer program, and Fernwood was looking for people to distribute organic food boxes.
•  take my vitamins. I know my diet isn't the greatest so I try to supplement it with ... supplements, but I'm not always successful. 

Maybe that'll be it, since I'm still working on January's as well.

* This has been a good movie week. Today we went and saw The Artist. We had previously seen Jean Dujardin in OSS 117, a wacky take on James Bond spy flicks, and remarked what an expressive face he has. He was absolutely perfect as a silent film star. It was weird watching a silent movie, because in certain places it is really silent. 
A couple of days ago,  we got Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. HILARIOUS! I love me some horror movies, and this one takes those silly slasher tropes and turns 'em around. Plus, Alan Tudyk - Wash!

And Tucker & Dale gets bonus points because it's Canadian! well, half Canadian at least. Filmed in the province right next door! Between that and Fido being filmed over in Kelowna, I'd say the west has a lock on the funny horror flicks.

* I'm out of stuff to talk about, so later 'gators!

apparently, it's Do Not.

After my wonderful proclamation last time, I got hit with a cold. Sure, at first it was fun, my voice all sultry like a nightclub singer. Now, pain and coughing and tiredness and sleep. Therefore, no "getting off mah butt" or "stitching," but yes to "more fruit and veg" if you count juice.


bleah.

"Do or Do not. There is no try."

* Happy New Year! Hope you all had a pleasant holiday season. We ate at several different houses and played lots of games (crokinole is fun!)
But now, the eating is over and the resolutions begin. I know, it's silly, nobody ever keeps them, etc. but that won't stop me! I'm going to break it down, concentrate on a few things each month, that way it doesn't seem so BIG.

Here's the plan for Jan:
- do more stitching! I have 37 vintage embroidery patterns just sitting around begging to be used. So I joined my very first stitch-along! Since it's January, the theme is ... resolutions! Since I'd like to eat more fruit and veg, I'm putting this fellow on a tea towel.

from Vogart hot iron transfer set 198

so far I've transferred the pattern and picked my thread. I've been waiting for a sunny day to start stitching, ha ha. 

- eat more fruit and veg! See above :) 

- get off mah butt for at least 20 min, at least 5 times a week. (This unemployment thing is not good for your health.) I even broke out the Wii Fit board, and my segway skills are growing. 

- make some dinners! I'm not the greatest chef (I could live on pizza and cheese dip) but I need to up my game. Today we visited The Whole Beast* courtesy of a gift card, and got some andouille sausage for jambalaya tomorrow. Perfect weather for it!

So there ya go, 4 items for January. I'm doing good on 3 and 4 at least.

* Tomorrow is Epiphany, also Twelfth Night/the last of the 12 days of Christmas, also Three Kings Day. I'm not religious, but after living in Spain and in the Southern US, I couldn't avoid it. It's also the beginning of carnival season, leading up to Mardi Gras. I'm considering making a king cake, since I didn't see any up here last year. 

mmmmmm! it's actually more doughnutty than cakey.

And I have some spare tiny plastic babies! 
It's also the day that I consider proper/timely to take down decorations. I'll miss the pretty white lights in the living room. 

* In other news ... not a whole lot. I'm gradually tidying up/decluttering my studio and making a pile o' goodies for my eventual Etsy store. Still looking for a job, still volunteering once a week, still reading (vintage) lurid pulp and trashy gothic romance novels. 

Later 'gators! 

* The guy behind the counter had this pig tattooed on his forearm - wicked!