Autumn Towels

The embroidery function on my sewing machine has long sat unused as I have grown frustrated and despondent over the fact that I will never be able to sew a design bigger than 100 mm x 100 mm, or 170 mm x 100 mm.  (Viking chose to abandon my machine when they came out with their Designer series, never improving the technology.)  Then when I bought my laptop earlier this year, I discovered that the chances of my 3D Embroidery Software working on its Windows 7 operating system were slim, so while I could still use it on my desktop computer system - which runs Windows XP - for however long that computer remains operational, I would eventually be faced with the task of finding new software, and hoping I had the money to purchase it when the time comes.  (I had the software installed on my old laptop, too, which enabled me to unzip, view, and organize designs when I didn't want to be chained to my desk.)  And I forgot to mention that it is getting more and more difficult to find designs that will work on my machine, since that size is becoming obsolete as more and more designers are designing for the 5" x 7" hoop and larger.

So that's my story.  Only it doesn't end there.  I finally decided that I should just snap out of it and work with what I have for as long as I can.

One thing I like to do in my powder room is place a fingertip towel (12" x 18") on top of the hand towel (16" x 26"), even if I end up adjusting it every time I go into the bathroom.  <grin>  Although I had many FTTs for spring, summer, and Christmas, as well as a few for winter, I had nothing for autumn.  And since I thought I might make a simple autumn wall hanging, looking through designs for both at the same time made sense.  Here's what I came up with:

I'd still like to make that wall hanging even though I'll have to put it away for NEXT autumn.  After all, the designs are already on the embroidery card and it seems like too much work to erase them!

Valentine Pillows

Since I made a Valentine's Day gift for Phil, I thought I should do something for Grace & Anthony, and also for Sarah.  I had originally planned to make wall hangings, but decided pillows would be easier. 

I found this cute machine embroidery design called Monkeys in Valentine Pajamas, and since Grace loves monkeys, and Anthony supports her obsession, I decided it was perfect for them.  Next time I'll try to find something film related for Anthony. 

This is the backing fabric I used.

 On this pillow for Sarah, I used this wonderful heirloom heart I found on my hard drive, and used cotton heirloom lace and entredeux to join everything together.  I ended up sewing the lace around the outside by hand because I forgot to sandwich it between the front and back pieces before stitching them together.  The last picture is the backing fabric I chose. 

For both these projects I used materials from my stash, so other than the $1.07 for the sale-priced monkey design, there was no outlay of cash.  I love projects like that!

Ring Attendant's Pillow

Traditionally, the ring bearer at a wedding is a young lad.  But in a departure from tradition - something Grace and Anthony like to do - they asked his niece, Alexis, to carry the ring pillow for them.  Grace chose a beautiful gown for her, reminiscent of her own bridal gown.  Unfortunately, I cannot find a picture of the dress; perhaps I'm not remembering it properly.  In any case, Alexis will look like a princess in her lovely gown.

I finally finished the ring pillow (which will not have the actual wedding rings affixed to it), and just tonight, managed to snap some pictures of it.  The final design is a result of looking at many ready-made pillows, a bit of my imagination, and much of Grace's.  It is a lovely pillow, and will make a wonderful keepsake. 

Grace found the pin in the jewelry section at JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts.

For the initials, Grace and Anthony found a font they liked, and my embroidery software (3-D Embroidery for my Viking Rose) digitized it.  I've not used that feature often, but I'm pleased with the result.

We are now one week away from the wedding.  I am still working on a few small projects, but hope to finish those up soon.  On Sunday night during Lost, I plan to do some hand sewing, a task I despise.  Then it's on to packing boxes to take to the church, and labeling 30 bottles of ginger ale, and 16 gallons of fruit punch with "DO NOT USE" signs, since they will be put into the church 'frig on Thursday.  There won't be a dull moment between now and Saturday night, that's for sure!

Sunsuit - It's Finished!

It's completed! I stayed up late last night, sewing on snaps and buttons. The only functional buttons are the two for the snaps; the others are simply stitched on top of the snaps. Nice look without the trouble of making buttonholes. (My sewing machine makes beautiful buttonholes, but they can be difficult to execute in tight spaces.) And yes, as I was thinking of doing last night, I decided to put snaps on the crotch; I used different buttons there than on the rest of the sunsuit.

This is the front:
And the back:
Finally, a close up of the front.
Alas, Grace informs me that the little one who will receive this later today is going through a growth spurt! I can only hope it fits . . .

Christmas Gifts & New Projects

Finally I can post pictures of several other Christmas gifts I made.


This is the tote bag I embroidered for my mom. (I got the bag for a great price from Nancy's Notions earlier in the fall.) Mom was thrilled to finally have a dedicated music bag.

I purchased a second bag for my mother-in-law; hers has pink handles. The embroidery on that one was just completed on Thursday afternoon, so I'll try to get a picture of it on Friday.





These towels I embroidered for a friend. (The top one is actually upside down.) The designs on the top one (gold) and the blue bow were from Martha Pullen's Internet Embroidery Club. The
"sewing bird" I think I got for free somewhere. It's one of my favorite designs.

NEW PROJECTS

I've decided that this will be my next cross stitch design. It is "Woodland Sampling" by Little House Needleworks.

Also on the agenda -

~ Make skirt for niece (Friday & Saturday)

~ Sew together the mystery smocking item

~ Finish the shawl I started in early November

I don't want to make my list too long; I find I get discouraged and don't accomplish anything if I do.

More on Freestanding Lace

Deby at Apples of Gold wants to know more about the Freestanding Lace ornaments from my previous post. These are done with my embroidery machine and are stitched on a stabilizer that dissolves when placed in water. You use the same thread in both the needle and the bobbin (as opposed to using a lightweight bobbin thread when one is stitching an embroidery design on a garment or towel) so that there isn't any difference between the front and back. Once stitched, you trim as much of the stabilizer away from the outside edges of the design, then immerse it in water and voila! A beautiful piece of machine embroidered lace.

You can see some other designs here.

Today's tip: When dissolving water-soluble stabilizer, make sure to use warm water so the stabilizer will dissolve much more quickly and completely.

Free-Standing Lace Ornaments

These are some of the free-standing lace ornaments that I've stitched for gifts this year. The top one is part of the December 2007 designs from the Martha Pullen Internet Embroidery Club, while the other two were purchased from Embroidery Library. They are part of the "Christmas Lace Ornaments" pack, from which I purchased several individual designs. These are amazing - they are digitized in such a way as to create the exact same design on the underside and topside. Absolutely gorgeous.

"Quality . . . ???"

When we did our errands this week, Sarah had to stop at Macy's to pay her bill, so while she was doing that, I browsed a bit. A rack of black embroidered skirts caught my eye. The price was $89 . . . but they certainly weren't worth that! I have never seen such shoddy embroidery on a RTW garment. There were no underlying stitches beneath the sparse satin stitches, so you could see right through to the fabric. I've seen better machine embroidery at WalMart . . . I expect more, not only for $89, but for Macy's. I guess that's why I sew for myself.