Category Archives: machine embroidery

Easter ’11 ~Laurel’s Dress

Posted on April 4, 2011 | 4 comments

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In desperation, I’ve tabled all my to-do’s and should-do’s then surrendered to MUST-do, which is sewing. Not only is Easter just around the corner, but also I am in serious need of  a powerful sewing fix.   So I’ve retreated to my textile cave, AKA Sewing Machine Garage and Stash Storage Facility,  for needle and thread therapy.  If ever I were to fall seriously ill, I’m pretty sure an heirloom sewing session would cure me.

Laurel is first in line for Easter finery.  Handling Swiss batiste, heirloom laces and stitching embroidery does for me what baby cord and Imperial broadcloth cannot.   Those items, by the way, are the components of the grandsons’ outfits that I have planned.

 

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Since Judith Dobson’s Tea Dress appeared on the back cover of Sew Beautiful in the January 1989 issue,  I’ve wanted to make this beauty.  At the time, my Rebecca was already 14 years old so I knew that making the Tea Dress was not a project I would take on  in the foreseeable future.

Now that my precious granddaughter Laurel is nearly 7, the Tea Dress seems like a perfect transition between little girl high yokes and big girl waisted frocks.  The design and lines just seem a little more sophisticated to me.  Nonetheless, this confection would sweet on girls of any age–but not 14. Continue reading →

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Posted in clothing, girls, hand embroidery, heirloom sewing, machine embroidery

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Lots of Dots Bed and Bath

Posted on March 28, 2011 | 2 comments

There are so many great ideas and techniques used in this well coordinated bedroom and bath.  Judy Day collaborated with her daughter, Beth, to create all the components, each of which included lots of dots. 

Inspiration was provided by a pricey piece of silky brown fabric with blue three dimensional fringed circles.   Beth asked her mother, Judy Day, to reproduce these circles for accents on the bedroom curtains she planned to make.

The fringed motif on the left is part of the decorator fabric.  The blue circle on the right was created by Judy using Babylock’s MasterWorks 2.  The photo is not very sharp, but even so it is clear that Judy’s smaller blue circle is nearly identical to the other.

Judy studied the fringed circles and recognized that they were no more than zig zag stitches radiating from a  center circle.  She digitized the design in Babylock’s MasterWorks 2, clipped the bobbin thread behind the zig zags, clipped the loose loops to make fringe and then used the fringed fabric circles to cover buttons.

Beth made the curtains, using a simplicity pattern for the valance.

Shortly after deciding on the blue dots/brown silky fabric theme Beth happened upon the brown towels with blue dots, along with a matching bath mat at a department store.  Continue reading →

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Posted in home dec, Judy Day's creations, machine embroidery, techniques

Latin Shirts

Posted on March 26, 2011 | Leave a comment

 

Translation: I am fine. How are you?

Though sometimes called a dead language, Latin is very much alive in our homeschool classroom. Five year old Robert and 6 year old Laurel are literally singing their way through Song School Latin, a simple,  entertaining, age-appropriate curriculum, and loving every minute of it. In fact, it is Robert’s favorite subject and very close to the top of Laurel’s list.

Robert's shirt. Translation: Hello. What is your name?

Some people have commented that Latin is too difficult for children.  But it is a foreign language, much like Spanish which is taught routinely in Florida schools.  Roman children mastered Latin.  Why shouldn’t my grandchildren?

Recently, the children had to make a presentation at the weekly gathering of homeschoolers which they attend. They chose to report on their study of Latin. Of course, I wanted them to have something wear other than a toga so I made these shirts for that event.

The children wore their show-and-tell clothing proudly.  The Latin shirts were a big hit with the other students, most of whom were older.

The text for the shirt designs was created in PE-Design using the Gothic looking font #9. At Embroidery Library, one of my favorite sites, I found a design of the coliseum.

Making a volcano.

It included a tourist riding a bike which I deleted in order to make room for the text. The stepping stones had to be rearranged in BuzzEdit2 www.buzztools.com for the same reason.

I know, I know—I have gone on ad nauseum (see? You probably know Latin already!) about my love affair with machine embroidery, most especially about the ability to personalize items so specifically. Where, I ask, could you find Latin text children’s shirts in sizes 5 and 6 except in your own sewing room? Continue reading →

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Posted in boys, brother-sister, embroidery blanks, girls, machine embroidery, school accessories

Party Sewing

Posted on March 20, 2011 | Leave a comment

Note the ever popular Happy Birthday tablecloth. Several years ago I made 3 or 4 of these. They have been through more parties than Thomas has been through tunnels.

The birthday boy chugs a cold one as he admires his birthday balloons.

Alastair’s Two-toot birthday party was a big hit with the children and as well as the adults.  The cupcake train delighted everyone and was so easy to make.  Typical of Florida spring, the sun shone brightly and a gulf coast breeze kept everyone comfortable.

 

My daughter Rebecca and I made the cupcakes and built the train cars the night before the party.  A Thomas train engine  pulled flatbed cars loaded with cupcakes.

The train cars were  built with a stack of two graham crackers with buttercream frosting holding them firmly together. 

Other graham crackers were  broken into “sticks” and stacked three high for the axels, with mini Oreo wheels.  Gum drops served as hitches between the cars.

We all enjoyed watching 2 1/2 year old Ethan surreptitiously pull an Oreo wheel from the train and pop it into his mouth.  His mother scolded, but  Rebecca assured her that the flatbed cars were there for the children to enjoy, just like  the cupcakes and their teepee train bags.  Continue reading →

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Posted in bags, boys, clothing, hairbows, home dec, machine embroidery, Nana fun, party accessories and ideas

Granny/Auntie Party Favors

Posted on March 17, 2011 | Leave a comment

Countdown to Alastair’s 2nd birthday party has begun.  The children’s teepee bags, both boy and girl versions, are ready to be stuffed with the supply of goodies laid in by the birthday boy’s parents.  The Happy Birthday table covers are folded, awaiting the folding tables, the balloons have been ordered and the ingredients for the Cupcake Choo Choo are lined up on the kitchen counter.

The dishtowels are still a work in progress, but the night is young.  A few are finished for Alastair’s other grandmother and aunties to take home as a useful souvenir of the occasion.   The microfiber white towels have been embroidered with the same train as the one used on the teepee bags.  This design is from A Bit of Stitch’s Baby Petite Borders collection.  The steam cloud is filled with the party theme, Two-toot, the engine bears his initials and the boxcar is embroidered with the party date.

Black middy braid has been stitched in place for the track and a border of bandana fabric adds some needed color to the little project. The next batch of towels will have the steam cloud stitched in gray.  Another improvement will be to stitch the initials in a brighter color.  Continue reading →

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Posted in machine embroidery, Nana fun, party accessories and ideas

Rerun–Harry Potter Quilt

Posted on March 16, 2011 | 6 comments
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Our family is making good progress getting Aunt Aileen situated in a good nursing home. But there is still a great deal left to do. We are so grateful for the help of my other aunt, her sister Rheeta, who has come from Indiana to help clear out the apartment, make other necessary arrangements and visit with Aunt Aileen. Rheeta’s presence will go a long way in helping Aunt Aileen adjust to her new surroundings.  

So it’s  time for another re-run…..

I’ve added more information and details about the quilt than was originally posted.  I hope those of you who have not yet read the earlier post will enjoy it. It’s the best I can do right now. ~~~~~

Being ever mindful that Rebecca likes and specifically requested bright colors, I went to the drawing board.  I like to start a nursery decoration plan with a quilt.  That establishes the color scheme and allows many spin offs and opportunities for accessories.  But with all the visual fodder in the lengthy, seven book Harry Potter series, it was necessary to narrow the focus.

Deciding on “fantastic creatures, I set to work, looking for designs that could be edited and customized to meet the description of critters from unicorns to fairies (the easy ones) to a thesteral, Pygmy Puff and snidget.  The search was more fun than a scavenger hunt.

 

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Hedwig was my favorite design, purchased and stitched out exactly as digitized.  I got more creative with some of the other creatures.

 

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The Pygmy Puff is nestled on a Mary Engelbreit overstuffed chair.  I extracted some fringe from another design and created the fluffy Puff. Continue reading →

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Posted in baby accessories, home dec, machine embroidery

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Ready for Two-toot! Birthday

Posted on March 13, 2011 | 3 comments

Alastair with his birthday tree. Now, they are the same height.

Alastair is ready for his “Two-toot!”  birthday party next week.  He and his parents were with us for a long weekend and I was able to finish embroidering his engineer birthday outfit before they left. 

While this may not seem like a big accomplishment, for me it was.  Saturday, the entire family was here, busy with a variety of activities.  Robert (5) and Laurel (6) kept busy playing with cousin Alastair (2), the guys and Alastair’s mother watched the Florida Gators basketball game,    Laurel and Robert’s mother gardened and I spent some time gathering more clothes from Aunt Aileen’s apartment. I delivered these to her at the nursing home where she is getting therapy and visited for a while.  Correction at Rebecca’s behest – his mother was outside with the  babes all afternoon, not inside watching the Gators game.  Sorry, Rebecca!  

Later, we all sat down to a big family dinner.  As we finished dessert, Laurel made a presentation to fulfill a school requirement.  Even in front of her family, she was a little nervous as she read her report on the 5K fundraiser walk she and her mother did to benefit research for juvenile diabetes.  But she did a fabulous job, following up with a photo of her “team” as they completed the walk and displaying the medal she earned for her participation.

Then it was time for a bonfire, which has become the piece de resistance of our family gatherings.  We used all the freeze damaged foliage for this roaring fire. The S’mores left everyone sticky and satisfied.

There are 125′ of azaleas up each side of our driveway. It is a spectacular sight.

The gorgeous weather was a huge distraction. Springtime in Florida is an awesome sensory delight. The air is perfumed with citrus blossoms and wisteria, while everywhere the eye travels it gazes on dogwood, azaleas and all other flowering plants in full bloom.  More about our beautiful spring after details of Alastair’s train suit.

 

The well-worn Oshgosh B’gosh overalls were already hanging in his closet, days away from being packed away.  The pant legs have a snap crotch for the convenience of Diaper Dandies, not big fellas like Alastair who has graduated to big boy pants. Continue reading →

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Posted in boys, clothing, machine embroidery

Two-toot!

Posted on March 10, 2011 | 1 comment

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Sewing for Alastair’s upcoming second birthday party is such fun. I’ve only just begun and I am glad to have another week to sew for this gala affair.

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A few of the “boy” teepee goodie bag favors are sewn up and I am working on the girl version in more feminine colors.

As usual, a simple little project turned into something more time consuming. I chose the pillow ticking fabric because it reminds me of traditional engineer bib overalls, worn by little guys (and train engineers) for ages. Until he was six, our son had a new pair every year because he wore them out as he explored every inch of our three acres, climbing trees and digging “forts” under the cascading bridal wreath spirea by the clothesline. It makes me grin every time I see Alastair wearing this same garb, 35 years later.

For the festivities, Alastair will be wearing his overalls along with a matching cap, both of which I plan to embroider with “Amtrak.” There is also a red bandana to tie around his neck, but we’re not sure he is going to be enthusiastic about that. Continue reading →

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Posted in bags, button machine, machine embroidery, Nana fun, party accessories and ideas

Summer=Sundresses

Posted on March 4, 2011 | Leave a comment

 

Almost 2 year-old Alastair needed daycare this week.  His mother, my computer engineer daughter Rebecca, was called back to work full-time for a big project so I am tending the little guy on the west coast of Florida while his parents work.  I love it but his presence adds a new dimension to the challenge of snapping photos for a post.

plain jane sundress, unembellished except for cat hair

The dresses (one embroidered, one plain) were carried here in a bag, meant to be ironed.  But Alastair thought that was not a good use of our time and nixed the session at the ironing board.  Okay, we’ll live with the wrinkles.

Then I wanted to sew three tiny buttons onto the bow knot on one shoulder.  But before they were stitched in place, Alastair snatched them from the leather ottoman where they were resting and ran like the wind with them clutched in his hot little hand.  As he ran, he squealed with delight that Nana was chasing him. 

When I finally convinced him to return the buttons to their rightful owner, he dropped them onto the oriental rug where they became invisible.  I quickly recovered the buttons and sewed them to the bow knot. Finally, I got things set up to take a picture. Continue reading →

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Posted in clothing, girls, hairbows, machine embroidery, Nana fun

Coming soon: St. Patrick’s Day!

Posted on March 1, 2011 | 1 comment

“St. Patrick’s Day is an enchanted time-a day to begin transforming winter’s dreams into summer’s magic.”  Adrienne Cook

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Though March 21st is the official first day of spring, March 17th is truly the harbinger of sunny days to come.

St. Patrick’s Day is just plain fun.  Snakes are said to have been driven away by this popular saint and yet parades “snake” through town in celebration of all that is Irish.

 

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The holiday implies no responsibility for candy or roses or gifts or greeting cards.  A celebrant’s only duty is to wear green, The Great Equalizer that enables people of all nationalities to share a single ancestry for a day.  Of course, there are always those who take advantage of a situation and sport shirts or hats demanding “Kiss me.  I’m Irish!”

On this day, everyone of good humor is Irish.   Though the smallest dab of green on one’s clothing implies participation in the day’s festivities, it is more fun for children to dress for the occasion. Continue reading →

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Posted in button machine, embroidery blanks, girls, hairbows, Holiday Projects, machine embroidery

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