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Hands Occupied

Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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My Family’s Crafts: Giant Deer Embroidery

September 8, 2011 1 Comment

For this week’s installment of My Family’s Crafts, I wanted to share something by my paternal grandmother. For those of you who missed weeks one and two of the series:

I come from a family that includes woodworkers, wine-makers, knitters, crocheters, quilters, embroiderers, cooks, farmers, gardeners, bakers and I’m sure more. None of them crafted for a living. They always used these talents as a creative outlet, a way to pass the time, or even a way to save money.

My grandma embroidered this and gave it to my dad for a Christmas present when he was in college, ca. 1978. My dad tells me this was around the time he and his father (the wood worker) were really in to bow hunting for deer. As in, use a bow and arrow to shoot your deer rather than a gun.

I talked to my grandma this week about this project. First of all, it took her about 2-3 months to complete. This was around the time she had stopped helping my grandpa in the field on their farm, and since my dad and his sister were in college, she had more time to work on projects like these. My grandma always has “something laying around” to work on when she gets the chance.

My grandma explained that she used to get farming catalogs that included patterns she could order. She would get her patterns in the mail and use an iron to transfer it to the fabric of her choice. Isn’t that cool? I’m so glad I got to talk to her about this project. She said she’s got a few other projects like these that she said she might be able to find. I’m crossing my fingers!

My grandpa made the frame from some wood that was likely once an old farm building of some kind. The weathering of the wood is thanks to decades of harsh Minnesota winters. This type of wood is called barn board.

Turning the picture over, you can see that the embroidery was mounted using thumb tacks and nails, and an old piece of wire was used to hang the picture.

Until my brother recently moved away for college, this picture had been hanging in his bedroom. Now, it hangs in my craft room, reminding me that I need to have my grandma teach me to embroider some day soon.

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I drafted this post over the weekend, but it looks like one of the Craft contributors and I are on the same wavelength this week. Yesterday, they posted Preserving Vintage Embroidery Patterns, which included a picture of a transfer not unlike the ones my grandma described:

Filed Under: Vintage Crafts Tagged With: embroidery, farm catalog, mid-century crafts, my family's crafts, sewing patterns, sewing transfer

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is an artist, author and crafts designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame. In addition to running the Hands Occupied Blog and Pattern Shop, you can find her making videos & co-hosting the Very Serious Crafts podcast.

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

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Craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. / #latchhookbook out now!
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knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s ab There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s about how I’m going to take the next 2 weeks off to rest & recharge. ☺️🧶 No new content for y’all means I can also take a moment to zoom out & plan what’s next. Link is in bio. 
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A note on Very Serious Crafts: In the post I discuss stepping away from the @seriouscrafts podcast to give myself more time to devote to some minor medical issues. Don’t you worry - my health will be fine, & @molliejohanson @redhandledscissors and I are still pals, and after a short break of their own, the podcast will be back! Just sans moi. 💁🏼‍♀️😆 
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See you in a couple weeks! ✌🏻#handsoccupied #knitdesign #craftdesign #sofadedsweater
Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it shoul Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it should be. ☺️🎄The past few days have been filled with a lot of catching up on festive zoom calls & raising toasts to the camera. 🥂 Connecting with people has been a welcome change of pace! Now I’m feeling ready to meet my inevitable end-of-year deadlines. 😆
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Warmest wishes for the season, my friends! ❤️💛💙
Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker beh Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker behind Hands Occupied! 👋🏻 I’ve been enjoying making Reels a lot lately, but I wanted to bop in to share a regular photo & say hello. 🤓 
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rather than giving you my bio right now, I have a question. I just got this new sweater & I can’t stop imaging how funny it would be to wear this to a knitting class ... is that bad? 🤣🤣🤣
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Pictured: a blond woman with glasses wearing a sweater that reads “all your sweaters are ugly” standing in front of a Christmas tree.
Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is o Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is one of the most common methods for finishing a knitting project and helping ensure its final size and shape. Learn basic blocking for absolute beginners in an easy-to-follow (non-Reel!) video tutorial! Catch the tutorial on YouTube or the Hands Occupied Blog, link is in bio. 🧶 #handsoccupied #stopswatchandblockit #KPAmbassadorsDec20 #sponsored
Had to share this perfect capture of one of my fav Had to share this perfect capture of one of my favorite weird homemade Christmas ornaments: a simple macramé Santa face with beads for the eyes and nose! My Great-Grandma made it too. 🎄
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Might have to try making a quickie Reel tutorial for this guy - I think it’s the perfect project for it, don’t you? 🎅🏼 #handsoccupied #macrame
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