Pillowcase Has a Second Life

A piece of found embroidery, "Goodbye" was originally a pillowcase. I added the commentary and the hand. The idea of spending so much time to adorn a pillowcase is just so outmoded. The hand was a wave goodbye to this dying art. When I finished it almost everyone who saw it commented that it looked funereal. This was not my intent, nor was it my intent to hang it right by the front door - a further misunderstanding of the original intention! - but the fact is that it's the perfect spot for it, so there it lives.

The Emily Quilt

I made this doll for my daughter when she was about 3, and only when I was finished and saw how indifferent she was to it did I realize I had made it for myself. She is part "Little House on the Prairie," and very comforting. I made the quilt for a little girl named Emma who has "Emily", an American Girl doll. I found the central medallion with 17 others at a thrift store about 5 years ago - except for the 4 squares (the least well made) that I mod-podged to a shelf, this is the first project I have found for them.

Cocktail Anyone?

I'd like to add "Cocktail?" to this fabulous vintage hand towel and make it into a pocket for a future Practically Necessary apron.

Here I Am

I found this painting in a thrift store. It’s my favorite kind of thrift store art: part marvel, part curiosity. The face is so beautifully painted–children are very difficult to capture–and the top is all amateur. The painter didn’t want to tackle hands so conveniently leaves them out of the picture. Most compelling to me is the date–05. I found it in November of that year. I added the commentary–she’s trying to tell us where she is, and we are left to wonder why she was abandoned.

Let it Out!

This is a detail of the painting we call "Group Therapy". Our friend Paul found it at a garage sale in Skokie, Il. He bought it from the painter, Bernard Strauss. We have two more of his paintings, but this is the most accomplished. The full painting shows a group of 12 figures sitting in a circle watching with varied responses as the young man takes out his frustration on a pillow. It's large and rather confrontational and hangs in our dining room.

There's a Place for us.

I added "There's a place for us." to this vintage handtowel, and turned it into a pocket for an apron called "Twiggy" (the woman who received the apron has a dog named Twiggy). The fabric on the right is a wonderful vintage kitchen fabric - I have only enough for a few pockets now.