This free pattern for a child’s be-pocketed apron from Vicki at PatternBee is ideal for keeping wee chefs neat and tidy! All it takes is ½ yard of fabric and some bias tape. Embroidered vintage critters on each pocket make this apron perfection, and Rectangle has just the collection of free vintage embroidery transfers to spiff things up! I’m partial to this perky squirrel. As a bonus, here is a tutorial from Jaden and her 4 year old son, Andrew on baking no-knead bread.

Jennifer at SewMamaSew made this delicious tutorial for a hand-sewn fabric Valentine’s day card and envelope! All you need is an exterior fabric and a complimentary lining fabric, interfacing, embroidery floss, pretty buttons to seal it shut….and love. We adore the hand-stitched details, and are eager to embroider sweet stanzas to tantalize our secret friends!

After all the quickly sewn holiday gewgaws that I’ve been making, I feel the need for continuity…for a long project that will fill my nights and whose beauty will unfold slowly. Lilian discovered these vintage cross-stitch patterns in her aunt’s attic, and then digitized, archived, and published the collection online at Gancedo.eu. Here is Winter from the Four Seasons collection; two thoughtful birds perched together on a wire, wings tight against their chilly chests and trees barren of leaves. I’m also fond of the Months of the Year collection, with the playful couple ice skating, planting their garden, flower plucking, grape stomping and more. These are perfect projects to while away the remainder of the winter and the spring!

Our new favorite cross-stitch toy is MyPhotoStitch, a magical free online cross-stitch conversion tool. Just in time to prepare for February 14th, we have converted a vintage Valentine ’s Day card of three angelic cupids carrying giant pots of heart-shaped flowers into a cross-stitch pattern PDF. The possibilities are endless…..cross-stitch zombies for Halloween, your favorite tot for mother’s day, or create your own personalized family crest with a mélange of symbols (because every family is special!)

Paris is swell. Designer Elsa Schiaparelli worked in collaboration with avant-garde artist Jean Cocteau in 1937 to design a jacket for that year’s Autumn collection. The jacket was embroidered with a woman caressing the waist of the wearer, and long blonde glittering locks cascading down one sleeve, with the embroidering being executed by the couture embroidery house of Lesage. This stunning garment is made of linen, gilded metallic thread embroidery, beads, and paillettes. This is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Noelle from LuckyKitty designed these modern holiday transfer embroidery designs. Drawn with graceful lines, the sweet bird, holly leaves, stars, and ornaments are simple enough to be a quick project. They would be lovely hand-sewn onto a ready-made stockings, baby bibs, napkins, or even potholders!

We love Queen Anne’s lace or bird’s nest for its delicate shape. This plant gets its name from the laciness of the white flower, with the red flower in the center representing a drop of Queen Anne’s blood from a tatting slip when making the lace. It is unclear whether it was Anne (1574 – 1619), the first Stuart Queen Anne, who was brought over from Denmark at fourteen years of age to be a Queen to King James of Scotland, or Anne (1665 – 1714), the daughter of William and Mary, and the last monarch in the Stuart line. Alicia of RosyLittleThings gives us a charming free transfer of graceful sprigs of Queen Anne’s lace, and suggests embroidering them upon the edge of a pillowcase. This would add a touch of summer meadow to any winter bed linen set.

It is Harry Potter madness! Just in time for this weekend’s opening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 we have some cunning crafts. First we have a crocheted Golden Snitch by Melissa of Inner Child Crochet, then a Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban Gryffindor knitted scarf by Svyet of The Bookke Werm’s Realm, cross-stitch patterns for the crests of all four houses – Gryffindor (courage, bravery, loyalty, nerve, chivalry), Hufflepuff (hard work, tolerance, loyalty, fair play), Ravenclaw (intelligence, creativity, learning, wit), Slytherin (ambition, cunning, leadership, resourcefulness, pure wizard blood) by The Leaky Cauldron and LittleMojo, and lastly….. the officially crafty Harry Potter Craft Group.

We think that bunnies are the new black. Straight from stylish New Zealand and the ever brilliant HazelnutGirl, comes a tutorial for making wee felt bunnies. She says that she was keen to resurrect this pattern because her grandmother used to make similar bunnies back in the 1950s. I’d like to see a festive flock of felt bunnies in autumn shades of warm browns, surrounding a cornucopia of pumpkins and dried corn

Meg from elsiemarley.com has posted this handy tutorial on cross-stitching a faux citrouille. All you need is patience, creativity, a fake pumpkin, thick yarn, a bamboo skewer (the ones you use for kebabs) or an ice pick or something similar, a yarn needle, and a pencil. We love the wonderful vintage feel of this Halloween project…and of course, one could also cross-stitch a pattern to any faux item! I imagine a Thanksgiving cornucopia centerpiece of happily grinning vegetables!