Thursday 8 November 2012

Cutting up and creating

 
yes I will admit...
i do thrift a lot of vintage linens and often justify their purchase with cutting them up and creating something new to be able to enjoy their vintage loveliness a bit more practically
 (dozens of doilies, tablecloths and tea towels in suitcases is not the ideal).
but more often than not I can't bring myself to get out the scissors and cut them up.




I picked up this pretty cross stitch tablecloth from Vinnies a few weeks back for a couple of dollars.

(just look how neat the back is too)

After much deliberation though...
 




and with this sweet bird pattern in hand and having joined in this lovely Handmade Christmas Ornament Swap I decided to get cutting and crafting.
 
I'm planning a couple more of these... some for Christmas gifts and a couple to keep.
 
So hopefully now with a bit of confidence I can tackle a few more vintage linens from the stash.
 
 
Linking up with the other creatives here.

28 comments:

  1. your bird is lovely and a great use of vingtage linen

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  2. I love the bird Zara, so pretty, would make a lovely Christmas decoration or display!

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  3. It's a lovely cloth and a lovely transition into a bird. Well done.

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  4. Im making some things out of doilies and cloths at the moment, Im okay with it, if there are holes in it or bad stains that I cant get out...but if they are super dooper nice, then I use them on my own table...!
    Your bird is lovely...

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  5. The bird is so adorable. A fantastic repurpose.
    The reverse side is amazingly neat. Mine always looks like a dog's breakfast.
    xx

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  6. your bird is lovely, I love vintage linen but mine mostly resides in a drawer and yours can be loved and admired :)

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  7. its always scarey....that first snip!....very sweet bird!
    Allison x

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  8. Totally worth it! Well done :)

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  9. Just gorgeous! I LOVE the back of the embroidery... wow just lovely :)

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  10. What clever recycling. Just beautiful.

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  11. This is gorgeous - so totally worth cutting up the linen! Gorgeous !! !! !!
    I too have a BIG pile of linen

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  12. I still have trouble cutting up old linen cloths but when made into something pretty like your bird it's justified.

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  13. How gorgeous! And what a lovely piece to find. I just love the history behind pieces of linen and always wonder about the stories they could tell. What a perfect way to give something so beautiful a new life.
    Sophie x

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  14. Oh Zara! You clever crafter! It's beautiful and the hand stitched details make it even more special. So much nicer than a store brought fat quarter. Lucky swap partners indeed. :)

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  15. This is lovely! But how, how, how did they get the back to look so neat? My cross stitching never looks this good from the back!! Lovely blog, visiting from Sarah at Gladys in the garden :o) xx

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  16. Oh that is so pretty! You should definitely tackle your others, they'll all turn out so lovely I bet!
    Xx

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  17. So dainty! Love the stitching on the birds:) I'm making ornament to give and keep as we'll:)

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  18. Just absolutely beautiful Zara and a great use for those vintage linens (that I find so hard to chop into!).

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  19. they are absolutely gorgeous and I have seen many many reuses of these doilies into clothing, and another one where small doilies are all stitched together to make a table runner.

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