Category Archives: machine embroidery

Big Boy Easter 2010 ver. 2.0

Posted on April 4, 2010 | 2 comments

I’ve embroidered a second shirt for Robert, hoping it fits him better than the knit golf shirt.  It looks dressier than the polo, so I hope he likes it. The contrast between the comical ducks and the formality of the monogram is greater than I would like.  But version  #2 is as far as I’m going with this suit.

The monogram is from Monogram Wizard Plus.  I wanted to get the ducks in there somehow, so I went to one of my favorite sites, Embroidery Library, www.emblibrary.com, and sure enough, for $1 these little ducks were mine, downloaded and embroidered within 30 minutes of finding them.

It’s late.   Bob and I have been babysitting darling Alastair while his parents went to an engagement party.  He went to sleep promptly and with no fuss at 8 p.m. so he hasn’t hampered my preparations.  Bob stuffed the plastic eggs while I stuffed the deviled eggs and made up the salad for tomorrow’s dinner.   Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in boys, brother-sister, clothing, Holiday Projects, machine embroidery

Big Boy Easter Duds Done (ver. 1)

Posted on April 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

The shorts and a shirt are done for Robert Charles. This is the third and final (almost) coordinated Easter outfits for my three grandchildren.  The yellow baby cord shorts match the bubble made for his cousin Alastair and the shirt has a hatchling duck which appears to be approximately  the same age as the ducklings in the handloom used on his sister’s and cousin’s outfits.

Giving some thought to Robert’s obsession with Super Heroes at age “faw an a haf,” I thought perhaps a waterfowl with a little more maturity was in order. OESD’s Dreams of Childhood collection has a spunky ducky dunking, with feet and tail in the air, head apparently underwater. I thought that would appeal to his age-appropriate compunction to giggle and point out every “butt” he sees, from the dog to the cherub garden statuary. But this more juvenile design would still maintain the Spirit of Spring theme projected by the infantile ducklings. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in boys, brother-sister, embroidery blanks, Holiday Projects, machine embroidery, techniques

Retro Flamingo Kitchen

Posted on March 11, 2010 | Leave a comment

 

Home dec sewing is always fun. Unlike clothing, the fruits of your labor is usually seen everyday,  so the return on the investment of time is greater.

When sewing for this retro ‘50’s kitchen, I was enthusiastic but a little leery. Several months into their courtship, my son-in-law Harvey purchased this house, a few miles from my daughter’s career girl house. It looked like they would soon have a more permanent relationship, but when they both asked me to help decorate his ‘50’s retro kitchen I wondered just how much design leeway I would have. I knew Rebecca would give me carte blanche to do as I wished, but I was not so sure the new homeowner himself would be as liberal.  Frankly, I was not much interested in a sewing project that had limitations on my creative expression.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in home dec, machine embroidery

Bee Happy

Posted on March 7, 2010 | 7 comments

 

I saw a bee today. After what must be one of central Florida’s coldest winters ever, it’s finally warming up. I doubt this is the end of the nasty low temps, but at least now that I’ve seen a bee, I can believe that spring WILL come. I’m buzzily planning Easter outfits for my grandchildren and wish I could buzz as fast as the bees.

A moment of contemplation…..

Today’s honeymaker sighting reminded me of this little Bee Happy outfit I made for my granddaughter, Laurel. The bright colors, breezy style, bee theme and sun hat reminded me of fun, easy summer sewing and I am surely looking forward to some of that.

A moment later….

The sunsuit is made of cool, cotton pique’, trimmed with black baby rick rack. The yellow gingham used for the Madeira applique’  hemline (not in the pattern) was repeated in the hat and bubble pants.

The pattern is Ducky Daisy Sunsuit from Wendy Schoen’s book, Creating Heirlooms for Baby. The pattern centerfold includes the sunsuit top, bubble pants and sun hat. It’s one of those fabulous basic patterns that can be embellished countless ways. Can you tell that I love it?

Continue reading →

7 Comments

Posted in girls, infant clothing, machine embroidery, Madeira applique

Welcoming Guest Towel

Posted on February 25, 2010 | Leave a comment
  “We dare not trust our wit for making our house pleasant to our friend, so we buy ice cream. ” Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Blue paper has been placed behind the towel so the fil tire' would show up in the scan. The towel is white.

Or make pretty guest towels, like this one.  Ralph is so on target as he observed  that we all want to go the extra mile to make our house pleasant for guests.  To that end, most readers and the writer of this blog  usually go the shorter and more pleasant mile to our sewing machines rather than driving to the grocery store to please our  guests.

The linen towel in the photo was lovely even before the addition of machine embroidery.  Threaded with silk ribbon, two rows of hemstitching border a row of classic padded satin stitch dots.   It was pristine.

Further embellished with Suzanne Sawko’s design, it is lovelier still.  The  hand-look fil tire’ oval is stitched  with a wing needle and 80 wt. Madeira Cotona thread.  The oval is surrounded by greenery and pinwheel roses hovering over an entredeux vine with more  flowers.  Strands of the same green thread are woven through the entredeux stitches afterlazy daisy flowerettes have sprung from the vine.

These two designs, the fil tire’ wreath and the entredeux vine, are part of the Fil Tire’ and Fancywork Combinations embroidery design collection done by Suzanne Sawko and me.

I have taught this project in Huntsville, AL, at Martha Pullen’s School of Art Fashion as well as in Myrtle Beach, SC, San Juan, Puerto Rico and various other locations.  Without exception, as students examine the sample before class, their first comment is an incredulous query about the apparent bullion rose at the center of the vine.  Was this done on the embroidery machine?   The answer is both yes and no. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in embroidery blanks, hand embroidery, home dec, linen blanks, machine embroidery, techniques

Friendship Offerings

Posted on February 23, 2010 | 1 comment

“All who would win joy, must share it; happiness was born a twin.”  Lord Byron

This quotes really speaks to  the history of my 20 year friendship with Suzanne. She has always shared her joys and mine with equal enthusiasm .  Of  course, there were the occasional shared sorrows, but our charmed lives have seen precious little of that.  So when her son’s first child was on his way, we shared her joy.

For someone who sews, happiness is often expressed in a needlework project. With a daughter-in-law who loves all things heirloom, Suzanne knew this baby’s mother would appreciate a monogrammed smocked outfit. I got started right away.

Again, I used one of the ready-to-smock bubbles and smocked it with Ellen McCarn’s monogram leaflet. One of the best features of this design is that the height of the letters can be adjusted to almost any size. The 3-month bubbles have only 6 pleating threads, so that requires a short design. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in heirloom sewing, infant clothing, machine embroidery, ready-to-smock finished projects, techniques

“Sewing Nana” Challenges

Posted on February 22, 2010 | 4 comments

In the eyes of the world, and especially those of your children, if you can sew, you can sew ANYTHING! So asking for a set of baby earmuffs to muffle the sound in a small airplane is pretty much the same as asking for an embroidered tee shirt. I guess that’s how my darling son thought of it.

He and his wife were flying to their North Carolina log cabin in his Piper Comanche twin engine plane. Headsets are worn by the pilot and the passengers to drown out the very loud engine sounds as well as to allow conversation between passengers and pilot. Laurel was just 3 months old so the adult headsets would fit her about as well as Abraham Lincoln’s stovepipe hat. And yet, it seemed  she should have something to muffle the noise.

No problem! Her Nana can sew! Knowing that I would want to protect Laurel’s hearing and keep her as comfortable as possible, my son asked me to whip up some soundproofing earmuffs for her. Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in baby accessories, embroidery blanks, girls, infant clothing, machine embroidery

Valentine Variety

Posted on February 13, 2010 | Leave a comment

Valentine L

 

My daughter-in-law, Shelly, is such a wonderful mother.  This week she hosted a little Valentine party for the neighborhood children.  They exchanged homemade cards, decorated heart cookies, dipped strawberries in chocolate, chased balloons and had a big time.  It was pouring down rain, so the other mothers were happy to have a fun indoor activity for the children.  These Florida kids are usually outside playing, so one rainy day gives them cabin fever.

 

elephants

 

There has been a lot of Valentine activity in my sewing room this past week.Laurel and I worked together to embroider a red tee shirt knit dress, a blank from my stash,  for her to wear to the party.  This is just one of the delightful designs from the Zundt Design Valentine collection.  We also stitched a few others on dishtowels because Laurel couldn’t choose just one.

 

Valentine Fabric

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in embroidery blanks, girls, Holiday Projects, home dec, machine embroidery, Nana fun, turn tube hem

Tagged , , ,

New Daddy Shirt

Posted on February 12, 2010 | 1 comment

g

When a new grandchild is on the way, a lot of sewing goes on for the baby, the nursery and often the mother-to-be. But rarely are we  moved or inspired to make anything for the new father.

When my son was to become a father for the first time, I found inspiration in the waiting room on the hospital maternity floor. Laurel was not born until our third visit there,  so I had plenty of  time to make observations. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in machine embroidery, men

Quick and Easy Swing Dress

Posted on February 10, 2010 | Leave a comment

Much as I love heirloom and English smocking, more and more frequently I find myself resorting to quick and easy styles with machine embroidery, or in this case, embroidery machine appliqué.  So often I find myself having to choose between sewing for my grandchildren and spending time with them.  Of course, I always choose the latter.

That description fits the back-to-school dress made from Bonnie Blue’s Lydia pattern which Laurel is wearing in this photo. It has an option for smocking in the center front but I haven’t tried that yet. I bought the pattern immediately after it was featured in Creative Needle magazine. The smocked area is just perfect for a single picture smocked design, like an apple or whatever. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in girls, machine embroidery