Learning to Embroider

I'm in the throws of spring cleaning, so I was happy to find this piece of embroidery. It give me an excuse to stop work and come type this entry.




I was so anxious to share it with you, I didn't even press it. Actually I'll give any excuse not to iron!

It is one of my first embroidery pieces that I did with my Grandmother, Doris Marvel. She taught my sister and me to sew back in the 1960s and early 70s. As you can see by the stitches, I had a lot to learn.

The piece is unfinished and badly stained in one corner. I'm not sure what happened to the rest of my early handwork. I was particularly fond of her hot iron transfers of dancing vegetables. I remember stitching a lot of them.

Even if the finished embroidery isn't so good, the memories of learning to stitch with Grandma are. In fact, my very last meeting with my grandmother was three days before she died. By then I had moved on to hand appliqué and wasn't doing a lot of embroidery. I went to visit her, but knew that she wouldn't be able to hold a conversation. I brought my stitching along to pass the time while I sat with her.

She didn't know who I was, but she noticed that I wasn't using a thimble. She let me have it! "A thimble is important to protect you and your work"... and so on. It was our last conversation, but I am glad we had that connection.

I also found this early picture of her. It isn't the Grandmother I remember, but she does look good. She hated to be photographed, so finding pictures of her is not easy.



Here is a picture of her from the 70s. This is how she looked when she was teaching me to sew.


If you want to embroider with your children or grandchildren, there are some great beginner kits now available. They start out with a simple running stitch, much easier than the stem stitch that I was butchering in the piece above. Click here to see some of the kits.

But most importantly, keep stitchin!

Sunbonnet Sue in 1931

When I started putting Sunbonnet Sue information online ten years ago, I didn't have a lot of information. There are not many books about the history of Sue or how the pattern has evolved. I have a unique system for research. I buy things! That way I have quilts and books to draw my research from.

When I see a unique quilt, pattern or item on ebay, I try and buy it. I search the textiles at yard sales and look in old book shops. Recently I came across this clipping.

It is from the Jun 13, 1931 issue of "Capper's Weekly". This magazine has been published for 125 years out of Topeka Kansas. According to http://www.cappers.com/information-cappers, the magazine promotes American values. What could be more American than Sunbonnet Sue?

The article shows 12 sunbonnet sues busily engaged in summer activities. At the end of the article is tells where to send away to get these images printed on fabric with different colored inks. Twelve of the blocks (9 inches square) can be ordered for 35 cents.

I own a partial set of these blocks, so I was excited to find their history. I've been calling them penny squares, but at 12 for 35 cents, they are really 3 cent squares! By finding this clipping, I can now properly date the squares. I also know who printed them.

Here is what the article says:

Sunbonnet babies, working, playing, eating, cooking, visiting as the decorate Baby's crib quilt are boon companions for the little fellow, for they teach lessons of thrift and industry and are ever interesting sources for story-making. Twelve embroidered quilt blocks, each one a different sunbonnet baby picture, each 9 inches square, make up this clever nursery quilt. The blocks are stamped in colors on fine white muslin, the color stamping serving as a guide for the placing of embroidery floss, which is worked in the simplest stitches -- outline and a French knot or two. Now that school is out and Little Sister is at a loss for something to do, start her out at her first fancy-work and her first quilt. Hers will be a double pleasure -- the pride of workmanship, the added joy of making something really nice for Baby Brother or Wee Sister. Or by joining the embroidered blocks with strips of the Little Maker's favorite color, the quilt will do nicely for the little girl's own bed. The dozen blocks stamped for embroidery cost only 35 cents and the work is so little, that I'm sure if there's a child in your home, no matter what size or sex, there'll soon be a sunbonnet baby quilt too. Order the Series R.D. from Needwork Services, Capper's Weekly, Topeka, Kan.

What a great find! I love matching up textile items I have with documentation that explains how old they are and where they were made.

Modern patterns are still being printed that use these same designs. I carry some at SunbonnetSue.com. Click here to see a list of the patterns currently in stock.