Posts from the ‘Pillows’ Category

Found red velvet pillow embellished with vintage cotton embroidery.

“Mother May I?” words for you to contemplate or a game for you to play over the weekend.

Myself, I have an earworm–song below–if you are fan of The Smiths check out this live version– 1983 OMG.

Not all of the pillows are finished as this one–but sometimes it just seems right– who doesn’t love to unzip something and be surprised?

Found screenprint on canvas.

She has a lot to tell you.

Zipper detail.

“Cow  Associated with the earth and with the moon…many lunar goddesses wear the horns of a cow on their head. When linked with the primigenial goddess Neith, the cow is a mother-symbol representing the primal principle of humidity and endowed with certain androgynous or gynandrous, rather–characteristics” (p. 65).

Vintage embroidery reverse-appliqued.

Details.

Winter is over; it was a long couple of weeks in LA. Here is a little Springtime pillow for you. It is made from a vintage embroidery in cotton threads. I enjoy this technique because of the clipping and cutting and the rush when I think I’ve gone too far. It is machine surged to linen with the excess clipped off. Areas are surged on top of the embroidery and then cut out to reveal the linen underneath creating a lighter more abstract piece.

BTW I can do custom pillows for you.

Pair of pillows from a vintage panel.

Side view green linen backs.

Golden Gate

Chinatown

Blue and green and gray–I’ve always liked these colors. This pair (ea 19″ x 19″) made from a large linen panel I found hanging on a wall somewhere. These sold at the Svenska Mobler trunk show. Don’t forget to FOLLOW the blog over on the right– for the superb pillow give away –sooner is always better than later, I say!

Vintage linen crewel work pattern.

New needlework in vintage threads.

Slight embellishments to the original pattern.

The black and white threads were added to try and tamper the over all green of this 1960’s pattern. I added the  swirling infestation somewhat inspired by those dutch baroque still life painters– delighted to add a little ooze and murk to the Apollonian.

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.

A song from my childhood. I love Lynn Anderson’s version of Rose Garden best. It gets stuck in your head and I like to pick apart the lines. My cohort Becky tells me not to get to caught up in the meaning. She’s been in plenty of bands sitting around when someone asks, “What does it mean?” Answer: “Nothing, it rhymes.”

I could promise you things like big diamond rings, but you don’t find roses growing on stalks of clover. So you better think it over. 


Still… I studied English as an undergrad in the 90’s … I had my feminist theory class taught by a radical lesbian who outed me in a lecture of 200 students. I have a hard time not looking for subtext:  “To whom is she promising the diamond ring?  Why stalks of clover?”  I could have written pages… you don’t find roses growing on stalks of clover. So you better think it over. Okay it does rhyme. But let’s pause for a moment and look back over the year, and let’s look forward to our future… let’s think about the long view. Entitlement!  Slam your hand on the desk and shout out: 

“FU Bush era tax cuts. WTF?”


That’s what I thought while embroidering this pillow… feeling paralyzed …inarticulate.  Anderson’s slightly upbeat version from 1985 is my preferred version. The 1973 version is a classic and must be appreciated for the front porch if nothing else.

Swing: vintage needlepoint with contemporary embroidered text.

His Energy is Distant & Subtly Disapproving I Must Be in Love

Here is my newest and most favorite pillow: