07 June 2010

Vintage Deco Flowers

I'm a sucker for cotton muslin.I ordered this set of antique pillowcases from ebay. One was completed, the other barely started. The finished case is much whiter than the unfinished one, but I had no way of knowing if the unfinished case would wash up after it was stitched. It didn't. Actually, it is a bit better, but not much. I don't think I'll ever do this again. The fabric is far better than anything I could buy today in a kit, but the whole time I was working this pillowcase, I kept thinking, I don't know where this has been, who handled it over the past several decades. And of course, you can't wash it before you finish stitching because the stamped pattern is water soluble. It made me want to wash my hands repeatedly.Also, my stitching is very different from the original stitcher's. I connect my cross stitches, but the other pillowcase is stitched with each X independent. That is why my case looks darker.

I'll be keeping this set for myself, but I hope to do the pattern again on a clean, new set of pillowcases.See, the real draw was the original pattern included. I fell in love with those deco flowers. Next time I'll use deco colors!I painstakingly matched up the wild colors chosen by some unknown person long ago.

DMC rose #335
DMC aquamarine #3814
DMC medium tangerine #741

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