Embroidery craze.

I've started to do a bit of embroidery here and there. A nice productive project to do while watching tv. I'll be opening a new shop on Etsy soon called Velvet Needle of just reconstructed vintage and probably now a few embroidered pieces. So far I stitched a bird on a pretty blue skirt (The color!), and am working on a dress which only has the pink bow on the collar so far. No sure what I'll do next, I'm tempted to sew on some detailed pockets. Today Sam and I went to Portland and traded in some books at Powells. I'm still on the search for the ever elusive glove book, which was not there, but I did look through the needlework section of the store and was delighted to find a vintage needlework book full of embroidery, knitting, crochet, monograms, tatting, needlepoint, and smocking. It has everything I want to learn, and was even more excited when it was only $10! I specifically wanted to learn from a 50s or older book as I find they have more simple instructions and diagrams. Plus they are cuter. Am I the only one who understands vintage instructions better than modern ones?
We also went to one of my favorite vintage stores "Magpie". I was in search of something 1930s or 40s and did try on an adorable 30s dress with little stars and a sailor collar. So cute! But out of my price range, so now I really feel the need to make a dress from that 1930s pattern I got a while ago. I did however find these really cool 1960s sunglasses. They have so many great frames to choose from, and the sales girl and owner are always really nice and helpful, if you are ever downtown Portland I highly recommend stopping by.