Coming Round Again.

We all know that there has been a resurgence in the arts of the Vintage era... from the late 1800's to the 30's and beyond with Retro to the 80's.
I've tried my hand at something which my Mother made when she was a lass of 6!It all comes round again.

There was, for quite a while, a fashion for ladies in crinolines in flower gardens, on tea cloths, chair backs, table cloths and the such. Patterns for these appear in those lovely old magazines you can pick up for a song in antique and curio shops. You also find the real thing in the form of second hand tea cloths and the like in Vintage shops and at fairs. Most of the stitchery is fairly easy...lazy daisy stitch seems to prevail and there is a plethora of Hollyhocks, Delphiniums and Lupins.

This is part of the pattern my Mum had. It comes from a magazine called the Home Journal from 1934 - May the 12th to be precise.

I took this and made it into a design for a Flower Garden Hearfelt heart.

The basic design is there though I did add a little cottage once I had begun to stitch. I thought it needed it.

The lady was made in pink and buff felt in several pieces which were then all cobbled together with a slip stitch. Beads were added to the flowers on her dress and to the underskirt. Then the whole thing was padded lightly. Her bonnet is padded too.

Real silk ribbon hangs free as her bonnet strings blow in the breeze. The flowers are embroidered and beads are added to make them stand out. The gravel path on which the lady stands are tiny seed beads and French knots. The white felt heart was embroidered by hand with a back stitch in green, in a diaper pattern ( fast becoming a signature of my felt work I think ) and at the crossings tiny sequins with a sparkly bead were added to each.
The cottage was cut out of several coloured felts and all were pieced together with slip stitch and were embroidered over to give a three D appearance. Needless to say, that too was padded and beads added to provide us with roses round the door and a border of little flowers in front.

Lastly a little bird was created. I decided that he had to be a male Linnet as they are very Victorian birds and they were often kept in cages at this time as the male of the species sings so beautifully.

He is flying over head with a small flower in his beak. I like my birds free ( as you can tell from the side bar ;)  )
He was made from several pieces of buff and grey felt and his feather were stitched in long stitch, in the appropriate colours of embroidery threads.
Then he too was padded ready to be added to the background, the first heart shape when the whole things has been surrounded with a frill of lace.

Once the lace had been gathered onto the edge of the white heart, a slightly bigger one of pink felt was stitched to the back and the pre- made felt flowers stitched to the edge.
I had made these flowers, with bead centres, and set them aside for the last phase. I cut them out on the Bigshot and layered them in pinks and white to echo the colour of the bird and the lady's crinoline.
The little bird was attached and the stem of the flower embroidered. All that had to happen now was the white background, which stiffens the whole thing, had to be stitched on and the ribbon hanger attached.

So, a 2013 take on a 1930's take on a Victorian flower garden.

How everything comes round if you wait long enough.