Tag Archives: machine embroidery

New Little Sewing Enthusiast and Free ME Design

Posted on October 15, 2013 | 76 comments
aurel encouraged Alyssa. The girls sewed in their pajamas until long past bedtime.

Laurel encouraged Alyssa. The girls sewed in their pajamas until long past bedtime.

 

What a fabulous weekend we had!   Two grandchildren are a bundle of fun, but including a third child added so much to the equation.

Additionally,  I had that pleasure of introducing that child to the wonders of sewing!

When my granddaughter learned that her good friend Alyssa had been asking  for sewing lessons,  Laurel asked if she could invite her to spend the weekend with us. We all had a grand  time.

 

A N finished emb

If you would like this Scripture, post your request as a comment. The design will be e-mailed to you.

 

We started with embroidery because she had a specific project in mind for her pastor father.  He recently answered a call to another church and she wanted to embroider one of his favorite Scripture verses to hang in the new office.

Psalm 19:14 was not in my now very extensive collection of Bible verse designs—thank you Designs by JuJu and Sew Bird’s Stitches–so I worked up the text quickly and easily with my Brother PE-Design.   It certainly is appropriate for a preacher. Continue reading →

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Posted in church projects, free patterns and designs, Kids Sew, machine embroidery, Nana fun

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The Lace Dress for Easter

Posted on February 27, 2013 | 15 comments

Easter-lace-dress-br

 

This is a beautiful, symmetrical dress–not cockeyed as it appears in this photo.   The wind would NOT stop blowing so it kept swinging on the hanger as I  tried to snap it in a moment of calm.  Note also that the hanger is an adult size, so the shoulder appears to be wider than the pattern picture.

But, hurrah!! Laurel’s Easter dress is almost done, lacking only buttons and buttonholes.  The pattern is one of Nancy Coburn’s at Ginger Snaps Designs.

 

lace-dress-patt

 

Laurel’s dress includes absolutely no originality from me.  I copied this beauty as is because I didn’t think there was any way I could improve upon it. Continue reading →

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Posted in girls, heirloom sewing, machine embroidery

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Contemporary Heirloom?

Posted on June 23, 2012 | 13 comments

pillocase br

This pillowcase and its mate will be included in a wedding gift I am putting together for my cousin’s daughter. The first and only time I saw Jordan was when she was 14 and spent a week with us learning to sew. Now she has just graduated from University of Nebraska and will be married next week by her father in the church he pastors.

Sewing for others always requires at least a cursory consideration of their personal taste. When her grandmother (my sweet Aunt Rheeta) told me the wedding colors were black and white, and then the very contemporary invitation arrived, I knew Jordan was a 2012 Thoroughly Modern Millie.

But she is a beautiful young lady, both inside and out, who will be a lovely bride and a loving wife. She is entitled to her own taste. Continue reading →

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Posted in heirloom sewing, home dec, machine embroidery

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Help!!! Communion Cloth Disappointment

Posted on May 31, 2012 | 12 comments

back center 2crop

 

I’ve just finished a two-piece set of communion linens to replace the plain white household tablecloth and napkin that has been in use at our church for some time. But I am very disappointed in the results.  I hope one of you may have a suggestion to elevate this potentially beautiful set from “oh dear!” to “acceptable.”

 

corner cross

 

Let me give you the background.  A few years ago, I helped my Aunt Rheeta make a spectacular set for her church, using fine linen, this same liturgical lace, and the same design set.  The pictures are not good at all, but you can see hers by clicking here.

Of course, I hoped to create an equally beautiful communion set, worthy of it’s sacred purpose, for my church. Continue reading →

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Posted in church projects, heirloom sewing, machine embroidery

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Spa Party Pics and Particulars

Posted on May 21, 2012 | 16 comments

I finally got the pictures of the Spa-tacular birthday party and just have to share these with you.  What a fabulous 8th birthday Laurel had!  Of course, this is a sewing blog, but sewing projects played a part in the celebration.

Like all great events, it took a lot of planning and organization, areas in which my DIL excels.  Fortunately, within the homeschool community she has a strong network of wonderful friends without whose help the party would have been impossible.

 

When the girls arrived, they “signed in,”  indicated their dinner preferences, picked up their spa wraps and goodie bags.  For whatever reason, they decided to put their spa wraps on over their clothes, though that unspecified reason did not apply to their dolls.   Still, it was reported that the wraps saved a lot of shirts from being stained by facial mixes.  The dolls’ clothes were not at risk.

 

 

The girls were divided into groups to make it easier to rotate among the stations. Like the foot baths where they soaked their pretty feet and chatted…..

Continue reading →

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Posted in doll clothing and accessories, machine embroidery, party accessories and ideas

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Girlie Spa Wrap Tutorial

Posted on May 19, 2012 | 21 comments

K all

There have been several questions and comments about the spa wraps I made for my granddaughter’s spa birthday party.   The most frequent question is how to get a proper fit, especially for children who are not available for measuring.

After a lot of trial and error, mistakes and do-overs, I think I finally have the sequence and details worked out.  So here is a step-by-step spa wrap tutorial from sizing to finish that I hope will be helpful.

 

materials 1X

Materials you will need to make spa wrap. Note: my color ink cartridge ran out today. On the embroidery design template, the blue is supposed to be green.

REQUIREMENTS

  • 1 bath towel (not too thick)
  • black gingham 2″ x 60″
  • 30″ green grosgrain ribbon 3/4-1 1/2″ wide
  • 1 novelty button  (watermelon button is hidden by ribbon)
  • 4″ scrap for yo-yo
  • water soluble stabilizer~4″ square for yo-y0, 8×8″ to cover embroidery
  • embroidery design for monogram to match button
  • 10″ velcro
  • 10-18″ 3/4″ elastic
  • green thread for embroidery and top stitching
  • black  thread for embroidery
  • monofilament thread for stitching ribbon in place
  • 30-36″ scrap ribbon with large safety pin

SIZING–The standard/average chest measurements below are from a chart found on-line.    If you are unable to measure your spa wrap recipient, just guestimate by age. Continue reading →

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Posted in accessories, machine embroidery, Tutorials

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Spa Wraps for American Girl Dolls

Posted on May 12, 2012 | 15 comments

Kit-wrap

 

The spa wraps for American Girl dolls are finished, waiting at the home of the birthday girl for the guests to arrive.

 

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hostess Laurel’s spa wrap

 

The big Spa-tacular birthday party is today so I quickly snapped a few pictures while the wraps were still in my possession.  Each guest is bringing her doll to the pampering party where they will dress in matching outfits.

 

Continue reading →

15 Comments

Posted in doll clothing and accessories, girls, machine embroidery, party accessories and ideas

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Tiny Daygown for A Tiny Girl

Posted on February 14, 2012 | 12 comments

tiny dress all 2

This preemie daygown was made for a tiny baby girl who was born last week weighing 3 lbs. 9 ounces. Almost 8 weeks before her due date, she is doing quite well in the neonatal intensive care unit at an excellent hospital. But she is sooooo little!

Her mother was a classmate of my daughter’s as well as one of my favorite students in my children’s sewing classes. Now she is a wife and new mother to a precious baby daughter who will probably be in the hospital for some time.

monogram

I had planned to smock a daygown for this little darling, but she arrived before I even began. So I whipped up this simple A-line so she would have something girlie to wear over her itty bitty institutional nappies. If I can find a little more time, I’d like to make a bonnet and blanket. Continue reading →

12 Comments

Posted in heirloom sewing, infant clothing, machine embroidery, White Wednesday

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American Girls Doll Sundress

Posted on January 24, 2012 | 12 comments

This is my post for Freckled Laundry’s Air Your Laundry and Elizabeth & Co.’s Be Inspired Linky Party.  Take a look at all the great ideas.

Marie Grace is getting ready to sew. She has Mildred Turner’s book, Mimi’s Machine Magic for reference, patterns to study, fabric and lace swatches to audition and her dress form ready for fitting. She’ll soon need a cup of tea.

Marie Grace is getting ready to sew. She has Mildred Turner’s book, Mimi’s Machine Magic for reference, patterns to study, fabric and lace swatches to audition and her dress form ready for fitting. She’ll soon need a cup of tea.

The Custom Keepsakes Sweet Dreams sundress that I finished this weekend made my 7 year-old granddaughter very happy. The skirt is made of Liberty of London tana lawn and, like her Nana, Laurel looooooves Liberty. She can’t wait for her matching dress to be finished.

I selected a Liberty print that was small enough to be proportional to the doll. As Laurel browsed pictures of some of the other dresses/nightgowns in the collection, she declared that she would like one of each, please. As quickly as these are to sew, I might just stitch all six.

American Girls doll Marie Grace wore the dress to 6 year-old Robert’s football game and received a lot of attention from the sisters of several players.

sweet-dreams-yoke

This garment was a real pleasure to make. Of course, because the bodice and pockets are made in the hoop with heavy water soluble stabilizer, it was quick and easy. Kathy recommends Vilene WSS but I didn’t have any on hand and used Sulky’s Super Solvy with very good results. Continue reading →

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Posted in doll clothing and accessories, machine embroidery

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Blossom Basket Blouse

Posted on January 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

blossom basket blouse

 

I hope 2012 is off to a good start for all of you.  For us, the new year was kicked off in the midst of chaos rather than the cozy family gathering we had planned for our Christmas #2 celebration.

First our pilot son was called away for a last minute flight to Denver. Then after the bonfire and s’mores, the grandchildren’s plans for a loud welcome to the new year were foiled by 6 year-old Robert’s battle with croup and Laurel’s virus.

Finally, after unsuccessfully trying to soothe his cough with the cold air humidifier, my son-in-law and I left at 2 a.m. and drove 40 minutes each way to Robert’s home to retrieve his croup medicine.   The remaining adults tended to Robert and Laurel. Being on the roads at that time was a little worrisome, but we arrived home safely.

The best part of the new year was that our daughter and her family were here for a whole week.  However, this left me not a free moment as 2 year-old Alastair claimed my undivided attention. I loved every minute of it, but there was no time for blog writing, sewing or picture taking. Consequently…

For Faded Charm’s  White Wednesday, this is a rerun of an earlier post. I hope you find a tidbit or two that interest you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Continue reading →

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Posted in clothing, heirloom sewing, lace tape, ladies, machine embroidery, Madeira applique, techniques, White Wednesday

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