Friday 23 May 2014

CROSS STITCHING: VW Bugs and Vintage Record Players

VW Bugs

Me and Joe play the punch buggy game* all the time - be it during a quick drive to the post office or a road trip somewhere. It's always fun and I nearly always loose, it's just one of our little couple quirks. In my stitching mission to sew things that are personal to me/us it was Joe's suggestion to stitch something related to a VW Bug, I mean they are pretty cool right?

VW Bugs

The design is adapted from a cross stitching book by Jeanette Crews Designs titled 40 Classic Cars - One Nighters which had a delightfully cute 1960's VW Bug - a design I just repeated lots and lots. Keeping things simple, each car is stitched in just one colour (colours reflecting the actual ones we see here and there in the old Metro Detroit area) and finished off with a simple black backstitching design. Popping it into a 6" wooden hoop its yet another addition to that wall of mine.

Record Player

Going along with stitching more personalized self created designs I thought it was high time I tried stitching something vinyl record related, what better than trying to recreate our vintage 1970's Sony player - a player we picked up at an estate sale for a mind blowing $3 (yes really). It certainly wasn't the easily task, what with trying to stitch a circle so it actually looks like a record was on the tricky side but I like how it's turned out.

Record Player

Granted I jazzed up the colour from it's vintage brown into a more dashing blue, but most of the dials and so on are pretty much in their correct positions. The back stitching was pretty much free hand, a tale of learning and stitching as I went along. Just excuse all the mess in the background of that image - that's the packing pile for moving.

VW Bugs

I've even managed to bulk stitching some simple markers in blackstitch lettering for the back of my pieces because I totally suck at remembering to do so and it's nice to be able to that somewhere a reminder of just when something was stitched (I mean aside from my blogs and stuff).

This is probably an excellent time to tell you about that other blog Hook Stitch Hoop that I've been working on, one more dedicated to my cross stitching, works in progress and the like. So if that's you're thing too, make sure to follow along!

What have you been crafting lately?

* Punch buggy game is one children often play and, on spotting a VW Bug one gets to punch the upper arm of their team mate, shouting either "Slug Bug"/"Punch Buggy" or shouting out the colour of said car.
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20 comments:

  1. Hurray more cross stitch!! These are gorgeous, I love that you included your bargain record player too!

    Gemma
    Faded Windmills

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  2. Oh I love the record player! So many little details-- it turned out amazing!

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  3. I love the VW bug one so much. I want one for my wall! I am so super jealous of your cross stitching skills, do you draw them out before you start (especially the record player one?)? xx

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    1. Well the Bug design was taken from a pattern so now drawing required. But I somewhat messily drew out the record player, but most of the detail was stitched freehand.

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  4. I love the VW bugs, just so cute! x

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  5. These are amazing! I wish I had the skill and patience to create something like this!x

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  6. Both of these are so adorable! And whoa, only $3 for the record player? That's a mighty fine deal.

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    1. Yeah it wasn't working when we picked it up but it was an easy fix.

      Best $3 well spent.

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  7. Rachael 2019? - are you planning for the future?! hehe

    These are cute! I don't that kind of patience I don't think, I just about had the patients to hem on skirt last Saturday :)

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    1. Yeah it's a funny looking 4 isn't it, but I copied it from a pattern honest ....

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    2. Oh my, I just remembered that this was the comment Kris said I spelt something wrong... Why did you even approve it? It's awful.

      Me speak most bestist English.

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    3. Hey you've seen my spelling issues on Twitter, they can't be as bad!

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  8. you make the cutest stitches!!!! I LOVE that record player! It's ADORABLE.

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  9. I love the one with the VW Bugs. I would totally hang it in my room, it's just so cute! The record player one is really nice too. Wish I could find a record player so cheap. I should keep looking! Good luck with the new stitching blog!

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    1. We were super luckily to find a record player that cheap that's for sure, granted it wasn't working when we brought it and it was the last day of the estate sale, so we really scored!

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  10. I haven't cross-stitched in years; I'm not sure my eyes would let me anymore, but I'm inspired after seeing your images! (And totally in awe of freehand cross-stitch. Wow.)

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  11. Both of these are great! I've not done any cross-stitch for a couple of months now - must find something new for summer. Well done for coming up with your own designs! Xx

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  12. These are bloody amazing Rachael! I love the VW one x

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  13. Really impressive. I'm always inspired my embroidery but feel that I may lack the patience to apply myself properly. I love your colour combinations.
    Click Here

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  14. Hi Rachael

    I fell in love with this type of embroidery a couple of months ago although it was introduced to me as Chicken Scratch embroidery. Mind you, I haven't made anything yet, just played with the technique on black and white gingham. Another UFO!

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