I cherish old....

My grandmother's "Paradekissenbezug"... for decoration only pillow cases. Seriously. This way in case you were bedridden and people came to visit, you would show off your wonderful pillowcases. Actually, my grandmother had two sets of down pillows on her bed. One to sleep on, which was behind the one with the beautiful covers. The work on this set of pillow cases (which I've altered to fit a regular bed pillow from the Euro-square format) is done painstakingly by hand. 

Beautiful padded monograms, decorative floral embroideries and "entredeux" stitched directly onto the pillow case. Oma did most of this work herself. 

In turn, I spend most of my sewing time on my machine. Drawnthread work, decorative stitches, linen fabric. 

Satin-stitched edges, corded for additional stability. Gathered up with a tasseled cord.

Decorative pillows. Those are my Paradekissen.  Made my hand. Delicate stitches. Classic fabrics. French lace.

Bobbin-play on the sewing machine with cording and silk ribbon. Embroidery by machine. Click on the link to learn more about machine sewn bobbin play.

Simple stitches laid down to create floral accents.

Rose embroidery with rayon threads.

Now to figure out what to do with that window!!!!