Sew Creative

I’ve moved

2010-05-10T12:10:00.001-04:00

Over the next few months I will be working to combine my blog and my website in one location. Click here to go to my new blog .

A Fun Sewing Day

2010-04-21T22:31:00.001-04:00

I really enjoyed sewing today. I finished up a Quilted Pillow Sham for the August club project.

I made piping using a really pretty green and off white leafy print; the same fabric is on the back of the pillow. The Gooving’ Piping Trimming Tool helped to trim the seam allowance to an exact 1/4”.

I also made buttonholes. The back of the pillow sham overlaps and the buttons keep it closed. Want to see the front? Well you have to wait until August.

The pillow sham turned out beautifully. Now I just have to finish up the instructions.

An Elegant Cover

2010-04-12T10:34:00.002-04:00

The May embroidery club project and designs are up and ready for download, click here to get to the download page. This month we’re making an elegant Tissue Box Cover in two sizes.

The tissue box fits right inside the Tissue Box Cover, so it is completely hidden.

Two sizes are included; the small squarish box and the long rectangular box. Specific sizes are given in the instructions. We purchased our tissue boxes from No Frills. If you would like to make a different size, other than the ones given here, it is best to make one of the sizes given here and then adapt from there.

You will also need a monogram. For the small tissue box cover the monogram should measure approximately 1 1/4" x 2". For the large tissue box cover the monogram should measure approximately 1 1/4" x 2 1/2". You can create the monogram with lettering from your embroidery sewing machine's built-in lettering, using a monogram disk or card, or with your embroidery software.

And don’t forget how much prettier monograms look with a bit of Puffy Foam, so be sure to download our .PDF tutorial here.

Patricia from Life’s a Stitch in Sault Ste. Marie suggested using a light interfacing to add a bit of body and stability to lighter weight cottons.

A new venture!

2010-04-08T13:37:00.001-04:00

I am so excited to tell you that Janice Wray and I are back in business together. Our new venture is an online pattern company. The new site is Claire Charles Sewing Patterns. We’re selling handbag patterns, for now. We’ve started off with 6 handbag patterns; they are classic pieces that you can create over and over again. We plan to add regularly to this collection. Here’s a peek at a couple of the patterns. Visit our site for more.

Don’t forget to stop by our blog where you will find sewing tips, tutorials, freebies and lots of other fun activities. Want to enjoy the convenience of having this information come to you automatically, every time it is updated? Subscribe to our blog's RSS feed.

Happy Easter

2010-04-02T13:21:00.003-04:00

Happy Easter everyone!

The embroidered egg is from the February 2008 Sew Creative Embroidery club project. Don’t have it? Ask your retailer.

Joyce’s Mini Sewing Retreat

2010-03-30T12:49:00.002-04:00

Just finished a sewing retreat at Joyce’s Sewing Shop in London. She planned a 2 1/2 day event – Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It was lots of fun. I did a trunk show of my Sew Creative projects on Thursday. She sold embroidery club projects!

I taught 3 classes; 4D Embroidery Plus, a Cutwork Table Topper:

And one of my favorite projects, this fabulous Shoe bag.

And hurray, hurray everyone finished their projects! It’s is such a good feeling when students can actually finish their projects in class. Thanks Joyce, Kelly, Betty and Sue!

Brushing Up

2010-03-11T14:20:00.001-05:00

The April embroidery club project and designs are up and ready for download, click here to get to the download page. It’s a Cosmetic Brush Rollup. And, it makes a great gift for your favorite girl.
We used four different fabrics in this project; two prints and two solids. Sounds like a lot for a small project, but they work beautifully. I especially love the dot binding. You can’t buy funky binding like this, you have to make it. If you too would like to make your own bias binding click here to download the tutorial.
Patricia from Life’s A Stitch in Sault Ste. Marie, (my proof reader) wasn’t happy with the topstitching of the brush channels showing through to the right side, so she topstitched the pocket onto the lining and then stitched the lining onto the outer fabric.

Anyway, have fun with this one. Let me know what you think??

Cross Stitched Linen bread bags for March

2010-02-13T19:27:00.002-05:00

The March embroidery club project and designs are up and ready for download, click here to get to the download page. The project is a pretty bread bag embellished with cross stitch embroidery and a “vintage look” lace edging.

Every Easter my mom makes beautiful braided egg bread. This is a tradition for us that goes back for generations. While the bread is still warm, she carefully wraps each loaf in a linen tea towel to keep the crust from ruining. And then the best part, she gives us a loaf. It's golden yellow, fluffy and lightly sweet, in one word it's yummy. So yummy in fact that it inspired this pretty bread bag. This year I plan to give her a few of these so that she can give them away with her beautiful bread.

Now it occurred to me that not everyone makes their own bread, so by all means go ahead and buy the bread to store in your bread bag. Actually the bread bag is a great way to store any bread, especially if you don't like the idea of stuffing it directly into a plastic bag. If your bread lasts more than a day or so, you may have to put it into some kind of plastic, but it is better wrapped in fabric first. And, be sure to wash the fabric bags after each use; mold spores remain and can cause a new loaf of bread to spoil sooner.

I’ve been told to never store bread in the refrigerator. Apparently the temperature is just right for the starch to gelatinize - eeew. Bread keeps well in the freezer though. I know I do it all the time. Just be sure to freeze while it is still fresh. Cause if you freeze stale bread, when it thaws you get stale bread, of course.

When I imagined embroidery for my bread bag, cross stitch immediately came to mind. It seemed the perfect touch for a vintage project idea. I think it turned out beautifully. There are actually two different borders included with the projects, even though I did not get a picture of the second border.

This is a fairly simple project and the instructions are straight forward. The one thing that I will remind is to prewash your linen. I made the mistake of not washing my striped beige linen, so when I washed out the stabilizer, you guessed it the fabric shrunk. Won’t make that mistake again. By the way the lace is not in the hoop. It’s made by stitching several rows of a seam overcast stitch onto wash away stabilizer. It’s a technique that’s been around for a while, you will love it for this project. Have fun!

We’re Back

2010-02-07T10:20:00.005-05:00

St. Lucia was wonderful. We stayed at the Almond Morgan Bag resort. Would go back in a flash.
It’s so lush. The background looks like a postcard. It is the view from the Wedding gazebo on the resort. Very pretty.

We took a day trip around the coast of St. Lucia. That’s me in the striped bathing suit top, trying to stand under the waterfall.

Now back to reality. I have to get to the next embroidery club project. It’s just a few days away.

On the fly

2010-01-28T19:30:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone, hope you are enjoying this month’s embroidery club project. Well I am off for a short vacation to St. Lucia. We’re leaving tomorrow afternoon. And, yes I am all packed. Well except for a few sticky notes with things to pack at the last minute.

Do you recognize this bag??

You should. It’s the Appliquéd Messenger Bag, without the appliqué. Kind-a hard to tell, but I have also added a zipper to the top, instead of the magnetic snap. Nice addition, I have to say. Love the extra security of a zipper. The best part is the weight, or lack there of. It’s made of nylon and it is super light. Fabric handbags are always lighter than leather ones, but nylon rocks. So amazing for shopping. I was so inspired that I purchased more nylon. Now I can hardly wait to come back from vacation to make another one. OK, I didn’t believe that either. I can wait, but I am really excited about the nylon bag. Anyway, that’s it for now. Talk to you after St. Lucia.

Warm and Cozy

2010-01-13T16:27:00.000-05:00

It’s that time of the month for my retail embroidery club members. Time to download the February embroidery club project and designs, click here to get to the download page.

This month it’s a cozy hot water bottle cover. It’s embellished with embroidery designs from the coordinating design set Folk Art Appliqué Embroidery Designs #sc042d. This appliqué technique is very different from the satin stitch appliqué. I really hope you enjoy the embroidery process. Patricia from Sault Ste Marie used polar fleece for her hot water bottle cover. With the polar fleece background she found that the stems sunk into the pile, so she stitched over them once more and liked the results. So if you plan to use polar fleece, try this technique. Have fun and let me know how your club members feel.

Wrapping it up

2010-01-06T19:01:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year! Been a little under the weather between Christmas and New Year, but feeling better now. Thank God, I’ve got lots of sewing to do. I did finish up my Christmas presents and took a few pics to show. I made a fun little art tote for my great nice Alexa. There are lots of these around, from crayon rolls to little tote bags, this is my version. It has a pocket for a pad of paper and slots for the crayons.

I created a pocket on the side for odds and ends.

When it’s closed, it looks like a tote.

Alexa loves it. She’s been carrying it around with her everywhere they have gone, over the holidays. More importantly her mom, Erica, loves it cause it keeps Alexa busy on the road. Actually I needed to make the tote just a bit larger, enough to fit a standard sized coloring book. I think I made it 9” square, or so. Trying to make it small enough for a three year old to carry and large enough to fit stuff is difficult. Erica also mentioned that she would have liked it to have some kind of a closure. Anyway, I will work out these little changes and it will likely wind up as an embroidery club project.
I also made a couple of these neck warmers. You just slip them over the head and scrunch up to keep your neck warm. You can also pull it up over your ears. Soo easy to make. It’s just a strip sewn into a tube with a hem at both ends. A serger makes it neat, but since fleece does not fray a sewing machine works just as well.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T13:38:00.001-05:00

Every year (at this time) I make a plan to finish my Christmas gift sewing early for the next year. Well here we are again, a couple of days away from Christmas, and I am still sewing at the last minute. Oh well, maybe next year. I hope all your baking and gift sewing and shopping is complete.

Have a safe and very Merry Christmas.

Heirloom Fabric

2009-12-14T14:31:00.000-05:00

The January embroidery club project and designs are up and ready for download, click here to get to the download page. The heirloom stitching on this lovely sachet is completed right in the hoop. It includes several delicate heirloom techniques, such as cutwork, lace insertion, candlewicking and hemstitching.

There are two different patterns – I know, they look similar. But, one has lace insertion down the center and the other has faggoting down the center. I was toying with the idea of stitching several repeats of the designs to make a whole strip of heirloom fabric; you know for a pillow or a camisole or something like that. Well needless to say I didn’t get to it. Too many other ideas to work on. If anybody is inspired and makes some, please send me a picture.

Christmas Gift Ideas

2009-12-10T17:32:00.000-05:00

Every Christmas I try to make some small item for friends and family – mostly for my nieces. Last year I was quite ambitious, I made cosmetic bags/pencil cases for my little nieces. You’ll notice the embroidery design is from July’s Embroidery club project the Jewelry Roll.

Plus, garment dust covers for my older nieces and my sister. They are monogrammed – a big hit.

Plus a pretty wallet and tissue holder for my sister. I used the cotton print for the wallet lining and the tissue holder top; and the linen solid for the outer wallet and tissue holder back.

Actually the wallet and tissue holder were for my sister’s birthday, but it is so close to Christmas that I consider it part of the Christmas sewing projects. These are all such quick and easy projects that you can literally make them at the last minute. Now, what to make this year, hmmmmmm.

Countdown to Christmas – Stockings for the Kiddies

2009-12-07T20:09:00.000-05:00

My little great niece and nephew will love their new Christmas stockings. My niece Erica asked me to embroider a princess on Alexa’s stocking and trucks on Christopher’s stocking. There is definitely a theme here.

I wonder if Alexa will notice that the princess is really a ballet dancer? Hmmm.

Wondering about the embroidery designs? Here’s the scoop; the trucks and the ballet dancer will be used on an embroidery club project later on in 2010. Sorry can’t be more specific than that. I still have not worked out the last three or four projects for this embroidery club year and of course there is a whole new year coming up.

A princess dress for my little princess

2009-12-03T08:59:00.000-05:00

Actually she is my little great nice, Alexa. She has a “princess” themed birthday party to go to this weekend. And of course I had to make her the perfect princess dress. I started with this fun pattern from Simplicity.
The dresses are all pretty, but a bit too much. So, I combined views C and D to get the final look, a more streamlined dress. The pattern instructions were a bit confusing, especially because I was taking a bit here and a bit there. And of course I serged the tulle strips together, instead of sewing them, like the pattern instructed. Nothing like a fine rolled edge to finish tulle.
I think it turned out pretty nice. I was hoping that Alexa would model it for me so that I can take a few snapshots. But she wasn’t in the mood. I’ll try to sneak a couple when she puts it on for the birthday party.

A pretty bow in the back.

Downloadable Instructions for Snowflake Ornament

2009-12-01T15:46:00.001-05:00

I’ve had a couple of requests for printer friendly or downloadable instructions for the Snowflake Ornament. I am not sure about the printer friendly business, but you can click here to download the instructions. Have fun.

An early Christmas freebie

2009-11-29T14:46:00.000-05:00

Appliqué Snowflake Ornament with Crystals
Since I am feeling particularly generous this season, I decided to put up this pretty holiday ornament. Not only are the instructions free, but so is the embroidery design. It’s really quick and easy to make, and it’s made almost entirely in the hoop. I added the crystals for a holiday sparkle. The snowflake takes about half an hour to make, so you can easily make lots! If it looks familiar?? I did have it on the Embroidery club download page a couple of years ago, but not sure if anyone noticed it. Anyways, have fun!
Here’ what you need:
Snowflake Ornament Design 502sbd_01
9" square brown felt
5" square white cotton
8" length of 1/2" wide ribbon
10" square tear away stabilizer
40wt rayon thread in desired color
Embroidery bobbin thread
Temporary adhesive spray
Lorna Hot Fix wand
Swarovski hot fix crystals in desired colors and sizes
Embroidery Directions
1.
Setup your sewing machine for embroidery, following
manufacturer's directions. Thread on top with the rayon and the embroidery bobbin thread in the bobbin. Select embroidery design 502sbd_01.
2.
Hoop fabric and stabilizer. Put hoop into position onto your embroidery sewing machine. Stitch out the first color stop. This stitches placement for the appliqué.

3.
Spray temporary adhesive (such as 505 spray) onto the back of the cotton square and adhere into place over the mark out in the hoop. Stitch out the next color. This outlines the shape of the snowflake and keeps the appliqué fabric in place.

4.
Remove the hoop from your embroidery sewing machine, but do not remove the fabric from the hoop. Trim the appliqué fabric close to the stitching. Put hoop back into position onto your embroidery sewing machine and complete stitching the design.

5.
Remove fabric from hoop. Trim felt close to the satin stitching. Fold the ribbon in half to form a loop and stitch the ends to the back.
6.
Affix the Swarovski hot fix crystals as desired onto the ornament.

This Messenger Rocks

2009-11-14T18:10:00.001-05:00

The December embroidery club project and designs are up and ready for download, click here to get to the download page. The idea for this slim messenger bag came to me last winter. While my husband and I were travelling to our fave sun spot in Mexico, it occurred to me that a messenger bag would be sooo much easier to travel with, than my bulky tote. And so this lovely appliquéd bag was born. Notice I used a print for the appliqué, how fun is that? Because the appliqué shape is quite simple, the print fabric makes it really pop. Oh, and I used the same print on the inside of the bag.

Look, it includes a zippered pocket, plus a credit card pocket to keep all your stuff completely organized. And those of you who know me, know that I have a bit of an obsessive compulsive disorder. Anyhoo, love this bag. Have been using it since I made it. Only thing I missed on my sample is extra stabilizer underneath the magnetic snap. Don’t know what I mean? Don’t worry, here is an easy “how to”.

The other thing I love about this bag is the way the base is done. No, stop, I’ve said too much, don’t want to spoil the sewing surprise. Have fun making it.

More White Poinsettias

2009-11-12T14:55:00.001-05:00

Oooooh, all white from Brampton Sew N Serge. Love the jingle bells on the ties! Thanks John.

Gift Decorating

2009-10-13T19:19:00.000-04:00

The November embroidery club project and designs are up and ready for download, click here to get to the download page.
I know, Halloween isn't even over and I am giving you Christmas projects. In my defense, Christmas will be here before you know it. I am simply giving you a head start. Actually, these projects are more for decorating the gifts rather than the actual gifts. Wrapping and decorating gifts is my favorite part of gift giving. Even with a practical gift, the wrapping can be as impractical as you like. This month’s projects are a Wine Bottle Gift Bag and a Poinsettia Ornament. They are both made from felt, so you know they are going to be easy to embroider and to sew.

For the project instructions I made the Poinsettia Ornament in Christmas red and green. But, I have this idea of making a whole bunch of these in white for my Christmas tree.
Here is the first one. I love it, it’s beautiful. What do you think?? I also used 7 tiny jingle bells instead of the three larger ones. I like both options, the larger ones make more of a sound. I know my great nephew is going love the jingle sound.

New Flickr Group

2009-09-23T13:13:00.002-04:00

I’ve been getting some project photos from John Stam at Brampton Sew N Serge and Patricia from Life’s a Stitch in Sault Ste. Marie, so I though it would be great to have a place where we can share project photos. That’s where Flickr comes in. I’ve created a new Flickr group for Sew Creative Embroidery Club Project pictures. Please have a look. I don’t have too many photos up yet, but you can help. You can actually upload photos yourself, post topics for discussion, etc.

I hope that you decide to participate.

Tea for Two

2009-09-13T19:03:00.002-04:00

The October Embroidery Club project and designs are up and ready, click here for download. I liked this project idea from the start. It’s pretty, practical and easy to make. Three very important qualities in a good project. Plus the wallet and cover make a great gift idea. With Christmas not too far away, this is very important. Add some specialty teas and a pretty cup and you have a gift truly worth giving.

More Casserole Carrier stuff

2009-09-09T18:09:00.000-04:00

John Stam at Brampton Sew N Serge sent along a couple of pictures of the casserole carrier that he did for his class.

Very nicely done John! He says in his email:

“Hi Snez, had great fun making the carrier, was easy to plan and assemble thank you for all your work.

… I made one using the serger for serger bias. I used 30wt Sulky blendables didn't have the 12wt, would have been better result I think. Thanks again John”

I think it turned out pretty darn good.

Some Nice Words

2009-08-19T12:02:00.000-04:00

Patricia, my proof reader from Sault Ste Marie, had a chance to work on the casserole carrier before I made it live. She has some comments and tips:

I must say that I was not looking forward to putting the binding on this project but so far it has gone on without a hitch. I just have the outside binding to apply and will do that tomorrow. I used my adjustable bias binder to attach the binding to the handles and since I wanted to make my own binding and wasn't sure of what width would work I went back to the Jewelry Roll project and found what I needed but did not use the fusible web. I did not try the edge joining foot to sew down the second side of the binding but used my left edge topstitch foot instead and it worked great. I really like the way the casing is "magically" made and instead of a string or ribbon I may use my smallest bias tape maker to make a narrow tie. Will have to see if it will fit in the casing. Great project and easy to do and should be easy to present to a class.
Thanks,
Patricia

Dianne from Knit-N-Stitch from New Minas, NS just joined, she says:

What a awesome project! I just finished printing the instructions and your teaching tips and ideas and I can hardly wait to get started. Everything I need is here and so well done. Thank you so much!

And Yvette from Pine Ridge Knit & Sew emailed me with her kind words:

Thanks Snez, it's lovely, we'll have a great day stitching this out.

Thanks all for the kind words.

It's a new year!

2009-08-10T08:34:00.000-04:00

Welcome back everyone. I am pleased to say that almost every one renewed. Plus we have a couple of new retailers.

I have spent the last few months planning, digitizing designs and sewing projects for this year’s embroidery club. I am hopeful that you will find the projects and designs both fun and interesting. And, that you will have a good embroidery club year. Our first project is this pretty and practical Quilted Casserole Carrier. Click here to download the instructions and designs. Also, don’t forget to download the Teaching Tips, Supplies List and the CD label.

The Quilted Casserole Carrier includes fun sewing techniques and embroidery in a circle. The sewing is fairly simple, but the embroidery can be challenging, especially for those members using smaller hoop sizes. The designs stitch out quickly, but there are quite a few repeats.

We used a purchased bias binding for our Casserole Carrier. However, you can make your own binding, if desired, showing the Clover bias tape makers. Click here to download a tutorial on how to "Make Your Own Bias Binding".

Have fun with this project. And, don't forget to email me with stories of your embroidery club. I am certain that others will love to hear what’s happening in your store.

Tailored But Still Heirloom

2009-07-06T07:07:00.000-04:00

The August Embroidery Club project and designs are up and ready for download. These pillowcases are so beautiful – they would make a great wedding shower gift! Add a set of bed sheets and you have the perfect Wedding gift.

There are two pretty motifs to combine with your favorite monogram. We love the raised look of hand stitched monograms, but really don’t have the time for hand embroidery. You can achieve the same look with machine embroidered monograms by using Puffy Foam. Download our .PDF tutorial to learn how to add depth to your monograms with Puffy Foam.

The pillowcase band or cuff is stitched onto the pillowcase with faggoting. The faggoting is created with the Spanish Hemstitch Foot and Plate (Husqvarna) or the Bridging Guide (Pfaff) and the 3-step zigzag stitch. We used Sulky Blendables in the top and bobbin to give the faggoting a hand stitched look.

Wow, with this project this Sew Creative Embroidery Club year has come to and end. Don’t forget to renew your membership before August 15th to ensure that you get uninterrupted service. Be sure to download a registration form from your Embroidery Club page.

All Rolled Up

2009-06-14T09:36:00.000-04:00

The July Embroidery Club project and designs are up and ready for download. I loved the final project, but I will warn you it was a bit tricky. There are lots of bits and pieces. Keeping track of them was the challenge. So take your time making this little gem.

The inside has two zippered pockets, a ring bar and a bracelet bar. I like the plastic canvas to hold earrings; be sure to choose a finer canvas.

Patricia made a little change to her Jewelry Roll, "instead of ribbon I used my 1-inch bias binder maker and my pansy fabric to make a quarter inch wide strip and top stitched it on both sides. This jewelry roll will get a lot of use and I wasn't sure how the ribbon would hold up. The ribbon would be easier and quicker. I really like the monogram design option and may have to make a sample of that before my next class. What a nice gift that would make for a special family member or friend!!"

Summer Fun Dress!

2009-05-24T17:37:00.000-04:00

These pretty shirred sundresses were made by Robyn Thompson, from Sault Ste Marie, and her students. She writes, "Here are the sundresses we made. I love them! they are so much fun to make and the embroidery on the straps is really cute. I am going to make one now out of a pastel gradient fabric and think I will embroider the straps with different coloured daisies to match the colours in the fabric. Lisa's dress has embroidered straps, mine has plain and Laura's has the daisies on top of the plain strap."

Thanks Robyn, the dresses are lovely.

Sew Fun Accessory

2009-05-14T05:01:00.000-04:00

The June Embroidery Club project and designs are ready to download! This month it's a pretty sewing accessory. I love the Chatelaine because it keeps my basic sewing tools handy. I can't tell you how many times I go back and forth between my sewing machine and my cutting table, just looking for my snips. With the Chatelaine, they are always with me - it's so convenient.

My proof reader, Patricia from Saulte Ste Marie, found the strap that wraps around the neck was a little short for her. She says, "What a nice project, so quick and easy. I can see myself making them for my sewing friends. I found the strap a little short at 30" so I split it in the centre back and added 5" which worked out to an extra 4" taking seam allowances into consideration and that works better for me." So, you may want to measure and adjust the length of the strap before you start, to ensure that it's right for you.

We've included cross stitch embroidery tips with the sc034d_spec.pdf document, for those of you who haven't done machine embroidery cross stitch before. Let me just say that you will love it. It soooo looks like it's done by hand. And you can stitch it on the finest of linens. Friends and familly will be impressed.

From the Suggestion Box

2009-04-27T09:41:00.000-04:00

Hope you all like the Clothespin Bag. Juanita from Juanita's Sew & Serge in Midland asked about the cotton print that I used for my Clothespin Bag. It's a lovely print from Heather Bailey's Fresh Cut Collection . The entire collection is quite lovely. In fact Heather Bailey is currently one of my favorite fabric designers. Here is a stack of the Fresh Cut Fall Collection.

Juanita also suggested that I add a link to my Sew Creative Blog from both the Embroidery Club login page and the download page. I thought that was a fabulous idea, and so the links are up.

Did you all get the wallet finished up?? I know I had a couple of questions about the folding of the credit card pocket. It was a bit tricky. I think the phrase "accordion pleated" was the key there. Juanita had also suggested that color coding the fold lines would make it clearer. Again, great idea Juanita. I will definitely file away that instruction tip for future projects.

If anybody has a better way to describe a sewing technique, please don't hesitate to let me know - email me please. I am always open to great ideas.

Patricia from Life's a Stitch in Saulte Ste Marie, sent me a picture of her finished wallet. How pretty! Thanks Patricia.

Laundry Daze

2009-04-13T08:10:00.000-04:00

The May Embroidery Club project and designs are up and ready for download. This month we are making a handy dandy Clothespin Bag. Line drying your laundry not only saves energy, you also get the added bonus of spring fresh linens and clothes. The Clothespin Bag hangs on the clothesline, keeping clothespins at hand. A word of advice, don't forget to bring it in after your laundry is done. The sun and rain can really ruin the fabric and embroidery.

I usually spend an inordinate amount of time deciding, designing and digitizing the embroidery designs for each month's project. This month was no exception. At first I thought about using an image of a clothesline with various clothing hanging on it. Makes sense right? It's the obvious desing idea. Well, I eventually dismissed this idea, because I couldn't think of any other place one would use the design. Sure, on other laundry items, but that's it. It's important to me that the embroidery design not only fits the project, but can also be used in many other ways and places. These chrysanthemum designs can be configured in may other ways and used on a wide variety of items. You can use to embellish bed linens, table linens, clothing, decorator pillows, kitchen stuff, and lots more. Want to see some design combination ideas?? Click here.

Appliquéd Wallet

2009-03-13T07:37:00.000-04:00

The April Embroidery Club project and designs are up and ready for download. This month it's a fabulous wallet with an elegant floral appliqué embroidery. This embroidery appliqué is a bit different than you are used to. You'll have to make the project to see what I mean. Now, I know I say this practically every month, but I loved making this project. It's pretty, practical and looks sooo professional. My proof reader, Patricia said, "As I work through this project I am amazed by the thought and planning that went into the instructions! Very detailed and easy to follow." Yes, that's what I like to hear. Hope everyone else finds it easy to follow.

On the inside, there are 6 slots for credit cards. A zippered pocket for change and a couple of pockets for paper money and other documents. You'll notice that I stitched on a label. Everything looks so store bought with a simple little lable. I included the instructions for the labels in the February project.

NEW this month, a Supplies List. This is a word document that includes a picture of the project, the write up and the supplies list. You can use this to email to your Embroidery Club members. There is a download link and instructions in the left column on the Embroidery Club page. You'll have to let me know how this works for you.

Sew Creative!

2009-03-04T17:13:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone has downloaded the March projects and designs. Don't forget to check out the comment left by Patricia after she made her sample.

Kasey from Poco Sewing sent me this fabulous foto. Look what her girl, Kirsten Yee did with the designs from the January Sew Creative Embroidery Club Project. I was totally wowed when I saw the picture. Thanks for sharing Kasey. Hope this gives everyone a bit of inspiration.

Happy Easter!

2009-02-14T17:57:00.000-05:00

The March Embroidery Club Project is up! I am soooo pleased with this month's project and embroidery. These table linens are so fresh and pretty and perfect for spring and summer. The cutwork tulips turned out even better than I expected; and very versatile. You can use these designs in so many places. Of course, as table linens, but also for bed linens, towel trims and even clothing. I can even see the scallops edging a pretty sheer curtain or shade.

I used the Edge Joining foot when I made my samples, but Patricia from Sault Ste. Marie prefers the Left Edge Topstitch foot. She says,

I love the left edge topstitching foot for sewing down hems--no puckering, no shifting and straight even stitching everytime and I also really like the Heritage embroidery snips with their long, slender, curved blades--perfect for cutwork and snipping jump stitches. They are #140001046 "5 1/2" Machine Embroidery Scissors.

Getting ready for Easter brunch? Just add the napkin wrap.

It's Sooo Cozy!

2009-01-14T13:03:00.003-05:00

I planned the projects for this embroidery club year back in May and June. I find that if the ideas are planned out on paper, then when it's time to actually make the project and create the designs – it's a breeze. Well not always. It worked well for the first 5 projects, but I am so struggling this month. I had this fabulous travel bag idea all planned out. It looked good in May, and now it's just not working at all. Not sure why. I think the embroidery designs don't quite fit the project idea. So on to my backup idea - A Tea Cozy. And here it is, ready for download. Lots of stuff this month. So go through the download file carefully.

Of course a tea cozy by itself just didn't seem complete, so I did a couple of different cup cozies. I know we've done cup cozies before, but these are for real cups, not the styrofoam or paper kind. I purchased these funky cups, without handles, from IKEA last month. They look great. I was so happy I purchased them, until of course I made some tea. It's pretty hard to carry a hot cup without a handle. Enter the cup cozy idea. These cozies have a bottom, so the handle-less cups sit right inside the cozy. You don't even need a coaster. I love these. Now, whether you love them or not, is another matter. Hope you do. If you don't have handle-less cups, I did make cup cozies for regular cups as well. Have fun.

By the way - we also included instructions for the label.

Patricia from Sault Ste Marie, who tests the projects for me, wrote:

I really enjoyed this project and when I showed it at January's class my ladies were quite impressed and they all want to do it. I used my endless hoop and alternated between the first two designs and it worked great. For the second border I put the designs into my mega hoop using 4D and that worked really well too, but I think I will encourage the endless hoop for class and mention the idea of using the software to make one hooping with the mega hoop and taking out the endless marking stitches (which I forgot to do).

I love the idea of a trivet and I think I am going to use my elastic foot and make a circular trivet using some of my tea cozy fabric and the pattern and instructions from November's Club. I may even cut out a morning glory from your design and use encore to make a little circle of flowers to go on the trivet. :-) What do you think--is that legal?? You mention the clear stitch in the ditch foot, but I love the clear piping foot because you can so easily see whether your piping is in the groove.

Framed!

2008-12-11T14:56:00.001-05:00

The January Embroidery Club Project is up! Early, I might add. You can download it anytime. This is truly one of my favorite embroidery projects - it's framed embroideries. It's easy peasy. But, after the holidays, I think you need easy. Of course any embroidery design can be framed. But my faves are the pottery and the geometric shapes. They can be stitched in any color to suit your home's decor. The geometrics look amazing in black and white. I can see a series of these along a wall. It would look every bit as good as any painting or print. Be sure to show your club members other embroidery design collections that would look good framed. Stitch out some samples for the club demo. By the way, the frames are from IKEA. Sooo well priced, you can buy several to show.

This month we've also included a software class. Just download and teach - it's really simple, even for beginners. For your club members with kids or grandkids, these simple applique shapes are perfect for framing. Use some fun fabric prints for these, don't make them realistic. If you want to create your own designs, look in children's coloring books for simple shapes like our elephant and piglet. Then, follow our basic instructions to create your own appliques.

Calendar Days

2008-11-14T22:57:00.002-05:00

December's embroidery club project is up! You can download it anytime. This month's project may appear daunting at first, but it's really lots of fun to make. It includes a variety of different techniques, patchwork, quilting, embroidery, covering buttons, binding, etc. The embroidery is pretty simple, but there is lots of it. Having two sewing machines was a real time saver - I recommend it highly. While I was embroidering on one, I was quilting on the other. Twice the work, half the time.

These mini motifs are cute as a button!

Covering buttons is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Remember, you'll need lots and lots of buttons for covering - so order quick. Patricia (Sault Ste Marie), suggested that she might stitch the days of the week on one fabric strip, instead of using the covered buttons. Good idea if you can't get enough buttons for your class. There will be a run on them!

The holidays are coming, the holidays are coming

2008-10-13T13:09:00.010-04:00

It's Thanksgiving today and I am writing about Christmas projects. Yikes, it gets confusing working ahead like this. It's such a beautiful day today, I wanted to play hookie (hooky?). But, the website needs updating and so here I am at my computer. The November embroidery club project is already up, go ahead and download it.

I loved working on these designs and projects. Each project is it's own separate little entity. It includes a unique sewing or embroidery technique and can be a separate presentation or class. You can easily turn this month's projects into three separate quickie classes, trivet cover, embellished tea towels, and gift box ornaments. How about a "12 days of Christmas" promotion with a new quick class each day?? Just a thought.

Patricia, my embroidery club tester, said she had a little trouble with the Elastic Guide foot/ Elastic Foot with IDT. Previously, I too had trouble with this foot. It just didn't work for me, until this trivit project. What's the secret? I played with the settings and, I practiced a bit. It absolutely worked perfectly for me with this project, so I urge you to give it a try.

I had a devil of a time finding the right tea towels. First I looked for solid colors. Since I planned to embroider the towels, it seemed natural to look for solids. After all, I didn't want the embroidery to have to compete with the background fabric. However, at that time, it was next to impossible to find a solid color that coordinated with my trivet cover. So I looked at the prints and stripes, and I discovered that they work very well. For the appliqued towel you can use almost any small print, because the applique is stitched on a solid fabric. You have to be a little more careful with the with the row of holly embroidery. I found that a light stripe or plaid works very well. And of course I love the pom pom trim. It's so "vintage".

Anyway, hope you have fun making these holiday projects. Let me know how they turn out!

My first entry

2008-09-15T15:00:00.003-04:00

It occured to me that it might be helpful for all, to have a place on my site where retailers and consumers can leave comments, tips and ideas about the current or previous embroidery club projects and designs. Over the last couple of years I've received lots of corrections and tips from many of you. I have especially appreciated Patricia's input (Patricia is from Sault Ste Marie), so much so that she is my official tester. She gets the project a couple of weeks earlier. She helps me to get the instructions correct and lets me know if the designs stitch out properly. She also suggests other presser feet and notions that would work with certain techniques. Since I can't insert these types of suggestions into the directions without rewriting from scratch. I though that I can share these tips through a blog. Plus all of you can add your own comments, tips and ideas. So here goes, my very first blog entry - eeeeek!

I put a great deal of though into each and every project and design that I create. In fact some days, weeks and months I drive myself crazy making sure that the project and design fit together. The projects themselves have to be timely, relevant and useful. And, the designs must coordinate with the projects. I hate the idea of simply slapping a design, any design, onto a project. defintely not my idea of creative. I am hopeful that each month I will be able to share some of my though process in creating that month's project. I work on projects a few months in advance. So I won't be able to add any great insights into the next couple of projects. Right now I am working on the February project. I will try to keep track with this one.

I just made the October Embroidery Club project live to retailers. Here's what Patricia said:

"My bag is finished and I really like it. I used a dark green commander fabric and a light beige fabric for the designs. The new, smaller "Go Green or Go Home" worked really well. The only things I did differently: I used the Left Edge Topstitch foot instead of stitching 7/8" from the edge for the top hem and I also used the Edge/Joining foot for the 1/8" topstitching on the hem and no pinning with either foot! Beautiful!! I have not done the Magnetic Notepad Holder yet. Great project!"