Sail Away, Baby Girl

Posted on June 9, 2015 by | 10 comments
beach baby outfit for 2 yo Vivian Rose.

beach baby outfit for 2 yo Vivian Rose.  The jumbo rick rack is really bright pink, almost the same color as the pink on the sails.  Oops–just noticed that unstitched section of the neck casing.  Thank goodness it’s an easy fix.

 

Summertime is beach time.  Our daughter and her family are 30 minutes from our home, staying at a friend’s oceanfront condo.  This little outfit was made for 2 yo granddaughter Vivian Rose to wear if her mother can ever get her out of her bathing suit and swimmies.

I’m generally happy with the finished product but it is not as I planned it.  Do you carefully plan your projects in great detail?  I just can’t get the hang of doing it like that.

My original plan was to make a quick beachwear set using this sweet Michael Miller fabric, Sail Away.  For the top I chose Children’s Corner Jane.  This is a favorite of mine because it is quick, easy to make, comfortable and cool for summer.

It did not go as planned.   As I changed my mind about one thing and another, but turned out to be not very quick and also offered some challenges.

 

 

Can you see the soft grey seagulls in the sky?

Can you see the soft grey seagulls in the sky?  And that rick  rack is NOT red!  It’s bright pink.

Continue reading →

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Sewing Room tips -Fabric storage

Posted on June 4, 2015 by | 11 comments

 

Pfaff corner

After coming clean about the condition of my sewing room, I promised some tips for organization.  So let’s start with our fabric or our stash or resource center or just our yards and yards of raw material for the sewing projects we love to make.

When Terri Click told me about using comic book boards for wrapping fabric, I was intrigued.  Several years ago, my sewing room and the bedrooms above were all but destroyed when a huge oak fell on the house during a hurricane.  While the storm was still raging but before the water seeped down through the plaster ceiling, everything from my sewing room was quickly thrown into storage bins.  And there it remained until Terri clued me in about the comic book boards.

It took me forever sorting through those bins to find a particular piece of fabric.  So I ordered the comic book boards on eBay and I love them. Continue reading →

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My Sewing Room ~ Coming Clean

Posted on May 30, 2015 by | 21 comments

AFTER cleanup this is the north end of my sewing room .

 

Nothing motivates me to clean house like incoming guests.   The first time we were scheduled to host our new Bible study/fellowship gathering I did a good bit of tidying up,  but we had to cancel because I had bronchitis.     This week, it was our turn again.  Okay.  No problem.

And then….the ladies said, “Oh good!  We finally get to see your sewing room!”  Gulp…gulp.  I thought I might be experiencing my first panic attack.

Usually, when we have guests I just close the door to my lady cave.  Company respects a closed door.  But it seems that everyone who has ever stitched wants to see others’ sewing rooms.  I know I surely do.  And these ladies sew.

Now, Dear Readers, by inviting you in I am reaching up to another level of friendship with you.   A few, Judy Day,  Suzanne Sawko, Terri Click, Mildred Turner, Linda McGehee, Rheeta Booth and June Mellinger,  have seen my mess and still call me “friend.”    I hope you will be as understanding.

So here is/was my sewing room before my cleaning tornado.  Actually, I had already begun the cleaning process and took some small comfort in the old saying that things often get worse before they get better.  This was worst not worse.

WARNING!  GRAPHIC IMAGES! Continue reading →

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Keychain Tutorial Posted ~ New Hints

Posted on May 22, 2015 by | 2 comments

 

pack pals for Alastair and his friends

Pack pals/ keychains for Alastair and his friends. I’m pleased to report that my keychain tutorial is posted at Brother’s website.  Any of these links will take you there.

 

I’m pleased to report that my keychain tutorial is now posted at Brother’s website.  Any of the links at the end of this post will take you there.

Apparently, I was not very clear about the felt.   A reader wrote with some questions,  asking if she needed to buy from a bolt.  My answers/comments are:

 I just buy the felt sheets at WalMart, JoAnn’s or Michaels.  They are 9×12″ or 12 x 18″.  The smaller soft ones run about  $.25 each and the larger stiff ones about $.59.   Of course, you could use some by-the-yard felt, but I don’t think that comes in the stiff weight. 

When I first got on this jag, I used soft for both with a cutaway stabilizer for the first hooping.  But then I could not get rid of the stabilizer beyond the outline and had to color it with a sharpie.  Still, the keychain was too floppy to suit me.  So I went with the stiff stuff. 

You can use stiff for both layers, but with my stiff hands, it is hard to cut through two layers of that. Now I always use stiff for the top but when I can’t find matching colored soft felt, I use stiff for both.

When I first heard about these keychains, I too was puzzled about their attachment to the backpacks.  I discovered that they just loop over the hanger loop  with the embroidered piece slipping through the loop or over the wider shoulder strap.   That is why you need such a long loop.  I’m guessing backpack straps are about 2″ wide, so that uses up 4″ of the ribbon loop.  Then the embroidery has to fit through the remaining opening.

 

Maddie n Elsa

 

A second tutorial for other machines was to be posted at this time.   But a wicked case of bronchitis and life in general got in the way.  I expect you know how that happens.  But it will be posted soon.

NANA FUN Continue reading →

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Posted in accessories, Disney, Disney projects, machine embroidery, Nana fun, techniques, Tutorials

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Keychain Tutorial -Work in Progress

Posted on May 18, 2015 by | 2 comments

Dear Readers,

Thank you for your enthusiastic interest in the keychain tutorial. It is well underway and should be posted toward the end of this week. I’ve finished the tute for The Dream, Quattro and Duetta and will get started on the others soon.

Meanwhile, you might want to stock up on some sheets of stiff craft felt and regular soft felt in matching colors.

Today, Monday, I have another fabulous class at The Sewing Studio in Maitland, FL.  The instructor, Lyn Powers, knows this machine, as well as Babylock’s Destiny, like the back of her hand.  This will be my 4th class with her, having already learned a great deal about the scanning mat, bobbin work, combining decorative stitches from the sewing side and importing them into hooped embroidery designs and more.

Those of us in central Florida are so fortunate to have The Sewing Studio, its knowledgeable staff,  incredible fabric selection and machine support.  FYI, I am nothing more than a long-time satisfied customer.  If you live in the area and have not checked it out, you really should. At the website you can take a short virtual tour.

In my class last week, the lady sitting next to me gave me a chuckle.  She said that she had moved to the area four years ago.  As she was looking at homes for sale, she happened upon The Sewing Studio and thought it was sewing heaven.  She almost did not buy the house of her dreams because it is just minutes from the store.  “I could afford the house,” she said.  “But could I afford it if I spent all my time and money here?’  She said it is like living on a non-stop diet, limiting her visits and purchases.

With this testimonial, I must say again that I have no connection whatsoever to this sewing heaven but that of a long term happy customer.

Now, to finish packing up for my class.  Then on to the keychain tutorial.

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Keychains or Pack Pals–tutorial?

Posted on May 12, 2015 by | 10 comments
pack pals for Alastair and his friends

“Pack Pals” for our  grandson and his friends made entirely in the hoop of my Brother Dream Machine

 

It seems that children everywhere are dangling little characters and ornaments from their backpacks.  The description on one site tells it all:

“Want to dress up your backpack for school?  Keychains are a great way to make a statement about who you are…..Show your hobbies, express your beliefs, or tell who you are with one of our keychains today.”

Just see how many are for sale on one site alone.  Would you like a tutorial on how these can be made on any embroidery machine?

After embroidering 43 Pokemon Ninja headbands for our 6 year old grandson Alastair I made him a hanging embroidery with the text Pokemon.  It hung from his backpack and was admired by his friends.

When I offered to make more, he requested several to share with his Pokemon passionate pals.  Eleven were made, some to keep and some to share.  He is a kind-hearted, generous little guy who thinks of others far more often than I would expect from a kindergartner.

His sweet classmate  Maddie loves Frozen so he asked  if I would make some for her.  Laurel, his 11 yo cousin,  has dubbed them Pack Pals.

 

keychains

Continue reading →

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Seaside Pinafore

Posted on May 7, 2015 by | 16 comments
pinafore front

Linny’s Pinafore Pattern by Mommy’s Apron Strings

 

Making this little summer pinafore for 2 yo granddaughter, Vivian Rose, was such fun.  I “tested”  Linny’s Pinafore by Mommy’s Apron Strings  and loved the results.

 

pini back

The star at the base of the placket was machine embroidered. It looks like a happy coincidence of fabric placement.  The novelty buttons are shells.

 

Continue reading →

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Sewing Non-Stop

Posted on April 30, 2015 by | 2 comments

Sew busy!   Lately, of course, I’ve spent a lot of time getting acquainted with my new Brother Dream Machine.  But before my Dream came true,  I was kept busy with several small but important machine embroidery projects, like this one.

 

com bag text 2

The Scripture design is from Designs by Juju, in her collection Heavenly Inspirations 1. It was slightly modified to make room for the addition of the Bible design.

 

This was made for our 10 year old granddaughter, Laurel, who needed a bag to carry her sizable notebook and Bible to her weekly Communicant Class (read “confirmation”) at our church.

 

com bag mono 2

 

As you might expect, a monogram was added to the other side.  The bag has seen heavy usage these past weeks.

Another quick project was a set of whimsical luncheon napkins.   They coordinate with the Seaside Madeira Table Linens I stitched last summer.

 

The embroidery and gingham made this a more casual setting than the hemstitched linen napkins shown here.

Continue reading →

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Posted in accessories, bags, church projects, Disney, Disney projects, embroidery blanks, home dec, linen blanks, machine embroidery, Madeira applique

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Dream Big! Updated

Posted on April 27, 2015 by | 6 comments

 

I’ve been dreaming big  for some time and now my dream has come true!

 

dream 1

My new Brother Dream Machine.  The hoop is filled with one of many built in Zundt designs.

 

The Dream Machine by Brother has me filled with awe.  The engineers who think up and design all these feature sare like Disney’s Imaginators.  They bring to life fantasies most have not yet imagined.  Just look at this video!

 

BRTHR-011985_MicrositeHeader_FR

 

I can hardly stand my excitement for this machine and have spent considerable time playing with it this past week.  The project in the hoop above will be a companion pillow to this one,  made in such a fit of enthusiasm that I forgot to taper the corners.  The Zundt design is 7.4 x 13.6″ and stitches beautifully.

 

DSC00680

And it is overstuffed.  The next one will be better. Continue reading →

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Canterbury Cathedral Boys Choir

Posted on April 21, 2015 by | 6 comments
choir pic

choristers at Canterbury Cathedral in London

 

This weekend we were delighted to host two of the boys from England’s world famous Canterbury Choir.

 

choir brochure

 

Our Reformed church, St. Andrews Chapel in Sanford (near but not in Orlando as indicated on the program), was the last stop on their tour of the southern states.

 

choir st. andrewsCR.

Canterbury Choir at St. Andrews Chapel

 

The weekend was a series of incredible experiences.  Meeting these amazingly talented youngsters, hearing their glorious music, and learning about the Canterbury Cathedral where they live year round left us in awe. Witnessing the focus and determination of our young guests astounded us.

How different are the lives of these boys from that of our two homeschooled grandchildren who are nearly same age as our guests, 10 year old Felix and Nathaniel.  Before the choir arrived, we watched this video for insight into the program.  What a rigorous routine!  And they all look so angelic. But it turns out that they are just boys. Continue reading →

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