Mixed Embroidery: Your Sexist Jokes Are Boring

My sister recently gifted me a packet of vintage flour-sack-towel patterns that my grandmother had kept from the 1940s. This pattern (sans words) was included. I wanted to fill in the vessels, and I figured the easiest way to do that would be to mix felt with embroidery.

And, of course, I added the words. :)

Vintage Postcards: von Schiller and Monty Python

I ordered a bulk pack of 100 vintage postcards (mixed! surprises!) from an ebay shop. It was super fun to open up the cards and find inspiration in whatever popped up. In this case, Friedrich von Schiller, philosopher and poet, needed a little extra bling and a quote (original postcard from the 1910s):

This postcard--a MN original from the 1960s that was in my Great-Aunt Anne's scrapbook--demanded the addition of a guard. So we get the French Knight from Monty Python's Holy Grail and a trojan rabbit for good measure:

I'm a little bummed about my scale choices for this (the knight! So big!) but the detail would have been REALLY hard otherwise. So I guess it will do. You live and learn!

Fleabag Ornaments

I love Fleabag--a brilliant show created by and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge (on Amazon Prime). There are a lot of great parts and elements (and it's consistently funny), but my favorite thing is the truly loving, complex sister relationship. 

In part? I think Fleabag's character stating "This is a love story" at the beginning of Season 2 is just as much in reference to sister-love as it is to romantic love. 

And so? I made Fleabag sister ornaments. 

Fleabag:

 Claire:

Monty Python Flying Circus Silly Book

The next in my series of busy book patterns: Monty Python's Flying Circus Silly Book! It's a little obscure and a little quirky, but still fun and accessible even if you don't get all the references. Take a look at all 12 pages in action under the cut!

 Page 1: Title page.

Star Trek Podcast Fandom

These ornaments/badges have very little popular appeal, I'd imagine. They're based on in-jokes from a podcast I love: The Greatest Generation. (A Star Trek podcast by two guys who are a little embarrassed to have a Star Trek podcast.)

But sometimes I have to make stuff just for myself, or just to see if I can, or even just because I have an idea in my head that will keep percolating until I exorcize it appropriately. 

Thus: A 6-part ornament series...based on jokes that no one but me and a very niche audience will get. 

Worf's Loaves, Kevin Uxbridge's Real Dolls, a Natural Yeager, and the potted-plant-ness of the two lead female characters on Star Trek: The Next Generation (Deanna Troi and Beverly Crusher). 

Wesley Crusher also gets an ornament, featuring his coogi-style sweaters.

And Yar's Scarves. The currency of the future? Scarves. 

Well, they made me a little bit happy, and other fans seemed to like them. So I guess it wasn't a complete waste of time.

Buttons

Felt is still happening, but instructions have slowed down a bit. 

Why? 

Because I found my grandfather's old button maker. 

That, combined with my grandmother's old vintage 1960s magazines, has produced a new craft!

Behold. Buttons.

The challenge to myself is to use the vintage phrases/words from the magazines along with the pictures. It'd be easier--though not as fun--to create my own sayings to match the vintage imagery. 

Considering that my desire to do these far outstrips the space I have on any given piece of clothing/purse/whatever to display them, I think I'll put these in my etsy shop, eventually. 

Here is a sampling of some other buttons...under the cut. 

Monty Python Holy Grail Busy Book

All my felt crafting started with a busy book. It was a Star Trek TNG busy book, to be exact. I bought a pattern off Etsy, and made my first project. 

But, you see, I'm kind of a Star Trek superfan. I kept thinking of scenes and characters that I wanted to add to the book. So I designed my own pages and added to it. Eventually I had to split the busy books into TNG and TOS. But I digress. 

I also love other geeky things. So I designed and made a Monty Python Flying Circus busy book. Behold!

The cover page is pretty basic, so dive in after the jump!