Category Archives: machine embroidery

Hostess Gifts

Posted on July 21, 2018 | Leave a comment

 

These towels were a hostess gift to an incredibly generous couple at our church who recently returned from a medical mission trip to Ghana.  The Dr. Lyle Wadsworth and his nurse wife Gayle invited a group of friends for dinner and a slide show of their experiences.  It was an amazing evening in so many ways!

But first let me tell you about the towels.  I have expounded in earlier posts on the suitability of dishtowels for gifts.  They are always the right size, always useful, and even if the recipient does not like them, they needn’t be displayed.  It’s not so small as to be insignificant like thisnor so extravagant as to make the recipient feel beholden as this would.

With these considerations in mind, I thought a set of dishtowels would be just the right hostess gift for a delicious dinner and a most entertaining evening.

Several years ago when my daughter and her husband toured Africa, they brought me a few yards of African fabric, made in Tanzania.  At the time I wondered if I would ever find a use for it, but AHA!  It was perfect for this applique and the towels. Continue reading →

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Posted in embroidery blanks, machine embroidery

Summer Picnic Dress

Posted on July 16, 2018 | Leave a comment

Originally plain white with drawn thread work at the hemline, this versatile dress from All About Blanks can become something very special. Adding a shirt makes it suitable for chilly, windy kite-flying days.

This “blank” linen/cotton blend dress from All About Blanks is, indeed, a blank canvas awaiting embellishment. With embroidery, ribbon and topstitching, it steps out from “blank” into the realm of special.

Its patriotic kite and images of sunshine and water seem to broadcast and celebrate the joys of summer. For a picnic, family reunion or any such occasion, a little girl would be the center of attention.

The embroidery design is from Brother’s embroidery site, ibroidery.com. It is so sweet and versatile, capturing the magic of childhood summers.

Brother’s ibroidery.com design BIC-MTGSAS008

Another little touch was swapping out the white utility buttons with eye catching red ones.

A complete tutorial post for this project is at Brother’s blog Stitching Sewcial.

*Required disclaimer: I am a paid sewing consultant for Brother.

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Posted in embroidery blanks, girls, machine embroidery, uncategorized

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Duckling Preemie Isolette Shirt

Posted on July 14, 2018 | 10 comments

Another preemie isolette shirt is finished and delivered for soon-to-arrive Baby Beatrice. Her adoptive parents are now 5 states away from home awaiting the birth. It was planned for her to be delivered via C-section at 30 weeks, due to the birth mom’s earlier pregnancy complications.

The good news is that Baby might not need this or the other diaper shirt I made for her! At almost 36 weeks in utero, she may be bigger than the 4-5 lb. size of these garments. That’s something to celebrate! Our church has been praying and eagerly waiting for this lucky baby to be delivered into the arms of her fabulous parents. We can’t wait to see her.

I really, really like this pattern by Nancy Coburn of Ginger Snaps Designs.

It come in several sizes from micro-preemies all the way up to regular size newborn. Recommendations are included from NICU nurses for this sweet, specialized sewing. Variations of the single fabric design are included, such as this one made from two tiny scraps of pique’ and gingham.

The darling vintage duckling embroidery designs are from MommysApronStrings Etsy shop.They stitch out beautifully and are perfectly digitized and proportioned for this little diaper shirt as well as other children’s projects. There are several other charming designs that I will be using for future projects. The “buttons” were also machine embroidered before the soft velco was sewn to the shirt at the front and shoulders. Continue reading →

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Posted in infant clothing, machine embroidery, Preemies

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Wrapped in Love

Posted on July 2, 2018 | 5 comments

Swiss flannel with pinstitch joining lace to fabric. Pinstitch is woven with pink perle cotton.

I can’t seem to stop thinking about Beatrice. She is the soon-to-be-born, soon-to-be-adopted baby girl whose waiting parents are active members of our church. So I sew. When she is in their arms, she will be wrapped in love, with or without this shawl.

Soft, luxurious Swiss flannel is perfect for any baby. Especially here in Florida where winters are usually moderate, a tiny one dressed in this fabric can go out on the town without being bundled in a parka. The blanket coordinates with a bonnet and smocked daygown featured in earlier posts. I hope to duplicate them for Baby Beatrice.

Pinstitch and Swiss flannel go together like peas and carrots. The holes were perfectly clear and clean, as always, but were woven with perle cotton because I wanted a little more color near the perimeter.

The lace edging is my favorite blanket trim as it can withstand heavy laundering and still flaunts its heirloom ancestry.

Six inches from the lace is a zig zag feather stitch frame, interspersed with embroidery. That stitch is worked in soft green, but I was unable to get a good scan of it. It shows up clearly in this photo from another project. With 30 wt. cotton thread, it works up nicely.

This stitch is one I designed several years ago in Brother’s exclusive My Custom Stitch feature. If you have a Brother machine which includes MCS, I would be happy to share it with you. Just leave your request at the end of this post.

Continue reading →

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Posted in baby accessories, free patterns and designs, heirloom sewing, machine embroidery

From Sea to Shining Sea

Posted on June 29, 2018 | 4 comments

My latest blog post at Brother’s Stitching Sewcial is up, named From Sea to Shining Sea.

Yes, the embroidery design Born in the USA  is crooked and I just now noticed!!!!!  Oh, dear, I was so focused on the concept of “sea to shining sea” –from the Statue of Liberty in NY to the Golden Gate Bridge to the Lone Star State of Texas,–that I was oblivious to the skewing. Sigh….

Anyway, the design is darling and so appropriate for Independence Day. There is plenty of time to whip this up before the celebratory parades, picnics and pyrotechnics.

With white shorts embroidered with a starburst, a child is a walking, talking poster for patriotism. I just love this.

A detailed tutorial and more photos are posted at Stitching Sewcial.

Have you stitched any July 4th outfits for the little ones in your life?

And now for the requisite disclaimer: I am a paid sewing expert/consultant for Brother. And I love it.

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Posted in boys, Disney, Disney projects, Holiday Projects, machine embroidery

Preemie Isolette Shirt

Posted on June 25, 2018 | 6 comments

In an earlier post I wrote about a special baby soon to be adopted into our church family. Due to the birth mother’s previous pregnancy complications, little Beatrice (adoptive parents have already named her) was scheduled to be delivered at 30 weeks the first week in July. That would make her what is called a micro preemie. Sooo early!

The good news is that the pregnancy is going well enough that this delivery date may be postponed until either mother or baby is in distress! I read somewhere that every day Baby is in the womb translates to one less week in the NICU. Since it seems very likely that Beatrice will spend some time in that unit, I felt the need to make something for her during intensive care. As my sewing friend Catherine said, “This is probably the first garment you have ever made that you hope will never be worn.”That was my almost constant prayer as I stitched this.

Ginger Snaps Preemie Isolette Shirts I (I hope she will design another pattern II) is lined and comes in 4 sizes. It’s a great pattern.

Using Nancy Coburn’s Ginger Snaps Preemie Isolette Shirt I pattern, I’ve made this one in the 4-5 lb. size as opposed to the smaller pattern sizes included. That’s my personal positive attitude at work, knowing that a 4-5 lb. Baby Beatrice will be home sooner than if she needs a smaller size.  Truthfully, I hope she never wears this and comes home as a bouncing baby girl of average size. But just in case…… And if she does not need it, the diaper shirt can be donated to the hospital for another NICU baby.

So much fiddling was done with this tiny lined shirt. It has been said that you can make one in an hour, but I surely cannot. By the time I selected the fashion and lining fabric and adding finishing touches it took me much longer. Continue reading →

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Posted in infant clothing, machine embroidery

FREE Heirloom Baby Dress Sew-Along

Posted on June 16, 2018 | 13 comments

Heirloom Baby Gown Sew-Along presented by Brother International Corporation

Classic Sewing Magazine is offering a FREE Sew-Along. I made this sweet little dress/daygown for Brother’s submission to the magazine and it is being offered to you. The instructions have been broken into 4 lessons.

Written for beginners, it also includes tips and suggestions that might be useful for experienced heirloom sewists. Techniques such as lace insertion, lace shaping, pin stitch, joining gathered lace, etc. are included.

The first two lessons have been posted so go sign up! You must be signed up to get notification of the next lessons.

I do hope you will join us. Just click on the link in the opening photo and you will be taken to the site to sign up. The sleeves on this pattern (Simplicity 8024) are just precious.

Let’s sew along!

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Posted in girls, heirloom sewing, machine embroidery

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Pooh and CC Charlotte

Posted on June 13, 2018 | 13 comments

Children’s Corner “Charlotte” pattern embroidered with pooh in Field of Flowers at ibroidery.com

This project was posted at Brother’s blog, Stitching Sewcial. A step-by-step photo illustrated tutorial can be seen there.

http://blog.brothersews.com/embroidery/pooh-and-a-field-of-flowers/

It’s a cute, cool and comfortable outfit for summer. Children’s Corner Charlotte is one of my favorite patterns–quick and easy, fully lined and a blank canvas for unlimited embroidery or applique’ designs. I’ve made several and each is well received by my granddaughter. Continue reading →

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Posted in Disney, Disney projects, girls, machine embroidery

Live, Love Life

Posted on June 2, 2018 | 9 comments

This pillow was made for our precious granddaughter, Laurel.

enjoying our visit to a New Jersey tea room

She just turned 14 and I couldn’t resist offering some grandmotherly advice to mark the occasion.  Putting that advice where she could read it every day seemed like a better idea than delivering a “Things to Remember” lecture. Continue reading →

9 Comments

Posted in home dec, machine embroidery

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Bicycle Bag

Posted on May 9, 2018 | 8 comments

The bike bag is a perfect match to my granddaughter’s bike. What a lucky coincidence! Detailed instructions are available here.

For that special biker (your child, your grand, your mother, yourself?) who has everything, how about a pretty quilted bike bag.

This was a fun project, made for Brother’s blog, Stitching Sewcial, in celebration of National Bike Month. Detailed photo instructions are included in the tutorial post.

I’ve loved this design since it was first included on a Brother card, EDB LG1. Now it is available as a single design at iBroidery.com for 5×7 frames.

Continue reading →

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Posted in bags, machine embroidery, sporting gear

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