Le piquenique c'est fantastique

While the sun is temporarily hiding behind a big black cloud with rain falling out of it, prepare  yourself for its reappearance by making yourself this proper picnic set out of an old suitcase.

Be the envy of your fellow park-goers

To find out what you need and how to do it, click here for free instructions. Just add a bottle of wine!

From Crafts (Book Club Associates, 1978)

When life gives you lemons

Feeling like a lemon

… have a gin & tonic.  That's what I thought when I spied these fresh yellow lemons embroidered on duck egg blue linen in Golden Hands (part 56/vol4) from 1977. I can see this simple design mounted on a board and hung on the kitchen wall.

The lemons are worked in double knot stitch (Palestrina), the leaves in stem stitch and the red satin stitch pips provide a lovely finishing touch.

I'll raise a glass to that – cheers!

An apple cushion to stitch

The sofa is not bad either

Don't know about you, but with the nights starting to draw in and a harvesty feeling in the air, I'm in the mood to hunker down and embroider a lovely bright apple cushion.

Here it is in all its chain-stitch glory:

From Golden Hands part 55/Vol 4

I'm a big fan of everything about Golden Hands, even the chapter headings:

Good graphics

The cushion cover is made from a silk linen, which is lovely to work with and has a beautiful texture. The only stitches you'll need are chain stitch, bullion knots and stem stitch, so it's easy-peasy to do.

Even the template is easy on the eye:

Felt-tip pen on graph paper = pleasing

If you fancy having a go, click here for the full instructions – they're free, naturellement.

For more cushions to make, including instructions on how to make up the actual cushion cover, check out my Make a midcentury cushion post.

As ever, I'd love to hear from you and to see any finished GYCMI projects, so do share in the comments!

It takes Allsorts

Really sweet

I was lucky enough to stumble upon* a huge collection of Sunday Times Magazines from the early 1970s at the weekend, and if it hadn't felt like a sauna in the shop, I'd have gladly loitered around and looked through the lot. As it was, I only sweatily flicked through a few choice issues with good covers. I must go back!

70s Lady Macbeth

Nevertheless, this Sunday colour supplement was so good design-wise in those days that after a mere moment's leafing through the 28 February 1971 edition, I was feasting my eyes on Big Deal, a brilliant feature on Pop Art-style furniture...

You don't have to wear black to use this furniture but it helps

As well as the false-teeth sofa, giant hand chair and industrial-sized fruit cushions, overleaf there was a kiddies' sofa in the shape of a pile of super-duper kingsize ciggies...

Fag mountain

a massive telephone chair...

The antithesis of the mobile phone

... and the pièce de résistance, a sneakers sofa:

Elton John must have been missing a pair of plimsolls

All this reminded me that somewhere I had a pattern for knitted Liquorice Allsorts cushions... and after a bit of a rummage, I found it in the A-Z Colour Guide to Homemaking Crafts by Marie Katherine Burne-Jones (Published by Langham Press 1983).

This is them:

That's a toddler's hand on top, to give you an idea of scale

OK so I know XXXXL sneakers or false teeth would have been even better... but this is close enough to Big Deal-style Pop Art furniture, non? Click here and here for your free giant Liquorice Allsorts knitting pattern.

*thanks to eagle-eyed Rich for spotting the pile of mags on the floor

Five a day

Tomato, carrot and pear brooches, a strawberry choker and – the pièce de résistance – an apricot adorning the hem of a trouser leg just north of a nice red espadrille. This 3D felt fruit & veg jewellery is fun alright.



I found these felt foodstuffs in the Golden Hands Book of Popular Crafts from 1973 – pretty rough around the edges and definitely not from a 'smoke-free home' but packed full of '70s goodness:



In case you weren't sure what piece of jewellery is meant to be what, a handy guide is supplied:



They're really simple to make from scraps of 'zingy'-coloured felt, thread, stuffing, safety pins and optional beads and sequins.

So if you're not getting enough fruit & veg, or you've just got boring trousers, click here for the patterns.

Tweet