A few bits

Hello there

The first thing you might notice is that there's a 'Love Patchwork and quilting' magazine banner on the top of my blog now. I've decided to join their affiliation programme, as I mention them quite a bit in my posts these days, so I might as well see if I can encourage some of my readers to subscribe to it too, as I do think it's a great magazine. More about that as time goes on.

As timing would have it, this month's issue arrived today too, along with the freebie labels for quilts. I've only managed a short read of it but hey, just look at the front cover with that fab quilt/wall hanging using the cathedral windows method. Yet another thing on my to-do list, which is now Huuuuuuuge!




I also want to show you the 'hand made' sign I've embroidered for any craft fairs I do and the studio I hope to set up this year as well. (more news on that in a minute). It was a freebie design from the fab folk at Urban Threads. It matches the 'come in, we're open' sign I did a month or so ago, as shown either side of this paragraph.

 Likey likey, likey alot :-) 

That's all for now as I'm shattered. 

Ooops, almost forgot to mention that I heard from Nancy who owns the building, where I missed out on the studio space she has available. News is, that her large attic room has become available! I've asked her how much that will be, so I will keep you informed as to goings on, when they go on! :-) I'm not sure that two flights of stairs is great but the location is still wonderful, so alot of fast thinking to be done.

Take care out there

Facing continual challenges

Hello there

Oh wowsers, what an evening and morning I've just had! I'm not referring to the hideous rain and wind we've had the last couple of nights either! I'm referring to me trying yet another new project. This one was a stained long sleeved t-shirt. Of course the stain wasn't somewhere nice and easy; it was right between the neckline and the shoulder seam. I saw a tutorial on the Urban Threads website for using embroidery patches to cover holes in clothes which got me to thinking and then I got to doing. I also watched a couple of Nancy Zieman videos but they all mention allsorts of adhesives, stabilizers and fancy stuff which I just don't have but I was not deterred!

A woman on a mission! Or should that read that I'm a nutcase! You decide :-)

Using Vanish on stains on a t-shirt doesn't always
work in your favour :-(

I've never embroidered onto clothing before and my regular readers will know that I'm a newbie this year to machine embroidery of any kind, so this was indeed a huge learning curve for me. This is stretchy fabric but I was surprised as to how resilient it actually was to the close sew of embroidery.

My intention had been to find a large flower design to cover the stain. Not too thick a design though to overweigh the fabric. There lay my first mistake; I didn't position the hoop in the right place over the stain and position the design correctly on the software, so the flower was too small and not in the right place. I still reinforced previous learning about how to change the size of a design on the software and how to reposition it but in hindsight, I should've used the large hoop to give me more leeway as where to position the design.

After sewing on the flower design I chose out of the software's pre-existing designs, I could still see too much of the stain for my liking, as the flower was too far down. I initially tried to fit in the sun within the same hoop but after an initial try, realised that it was going to overlap the flower but only after I'd started sewing it of course. Hence followed some unpicking but thankfully not too much.

I had to work out how to move the hoop and yet support the fabric, as the first piece of stabilizer didn't cover all of the new area and there was no fabric in the top right hand side of the hoop. So I came up with the idea of only partially ironing on more stabiliser behind the area and yet leaving enough of it around the edge for it to be secured within the hoop. I hope the photo helps to explain that, as the chalk marks I made on the fabric show where the hoop will sit. Only the section of stabiliser behind the fabric was actually ironed. The stabiliser I had is only 8in x 8in.



I even printed out the design so that I could practise place it onto the fabric whilst the hoop was in place:


I do wish the inner hoop had grid markings on it too!










Are you all sensing a 'ta dah' moment now? 

It ain't gonna happen, just yet! When I went to sew it again, my machine threw a total dippy fit and chewed up half a mile of top thread causing embroidery mayhem! I was surprisingly calm though and carried out the rescue attempt without swearing once, although I did manage to cut a tiny hole in the fabric too! 

I was tempted to throw in the towel at this point but no, I'd come this far and had nothing to lose; I couldn't let my machine beat me now!

After putting everything back in place and doing a practise sew, I went to it! 

It worked until I got to the last block of the design (which was only a tiny bit of black edging round the centre of the sun) and it didn't feel right within seconds of starting, so I abandoned it. Enough was enough and I don't see what black has to do with a sun anyway.

And breathe!

The top is still wet from when I rinsed the
chalk off

Hardly a ta-dah worthy moment really as you can still see the stain but hey, I finished it! I've learnt alot and all of this gives me more experience and reinforces my attitude that just because you don't have all the fancy stuff some of these tutorials show us, for allsorts of various projects, you can use your initiative and vary the technique to suit what you do have. Be creative!

The sun is finally out and we haven't had a shower in quite a while and there doesn't appear to be a gale blowing, so think I've deserved a .... walk with the dogs! Woop woop! :-) What a life I lead.

Take care out there and be determined to achieve your goals

Would you believe it?!

Hello there

Yes, you should believe it. I've only gone and actually finished the placemat and coasters set, I mentioned five days ago here on my blog. It's taken many hours to achieve this but hallelujah, I did it! 

I'm going to have to do the place-mats using a non-binding method, as this increases the cost of the place-mats, as it takes so long to firstly make it and then to hand sew the back of it in place. Each place-mat takes a minimum of an hour to make.

I might not be a fan of the binding but I do love the polka dot fabric I got from Grace and Favour up in Thornton Cleveleys. You may remember it's the same fabric as the bag I made on Monday night.

I made the coasters the usual way I do; without binding! I like the red stitching round the edge although that photo doesn't do it justice at all.

I can't wait for summer to come round again, so this table can be used for more than photo shoots. I know it's only just Autumn but I'm definitely a hot summer kinda gal.

Nero was getting really fed up of me taking
photos of the table and not of him

Now for the craft fayre tomorrow. I'm not expecting to be able to sell the place-mat sets there, as I think people there will be looking for cheaper stuff but my business cards are here, I've got quite a few sets of the portable coasters, two bags and the owl I made on holiday earlier this year. There's also the bunting I can use to decorate the stand or the hall with and I even bought a notebook to use as an order book! So fingers crossed for a positive experience even if not a big sales day. It's all about people getting used to the idea of the portable coasters and what I can do and it's about me getting used to promoting what I make.

Final word is from the owl;

Or maybe not as he's too interested in that apple still left on my Katy tree.

Take care out there

Inspired

Hello there

Inspired? Oh yes, Cynthia Frenette has a lovely blog and recently she posted about some placemats she had made using an Urban Threads design pack. I was drawn to it by a posting UT did on their Facebook page. She's mega talented and was very helpful indeed when I emailed her about her project. 

I've managed to get a little practise run at this, whilst I wait for the Madeira metallic thread and Schmetz metallic needles to arrive and I love it!! 

The machine in full flow doing what it does best. I have just used my Mettler Polysheen thread 1903 and 1902 (red) to do this practise but I'm pleased enough with this even.

Now to see if I can make six placemats before Friday night, as I'm doing the Craft Fayre on the Saturday. I'm not optimistic really but even if I just have one completed one and 5 partially done ones, I will still take them along incase anyone takes a fancy to them there.
If you live nearby, nip in and give me a confidence boost and see what other great handmade projects you can find there too.

                                           

I just love the detail on the handles

I think I'm going to just do this on each placemat, as I'm concerned if I do a patchwork plate section like Cynthia's, that the cost of them will rise too much and discourage people. I think to start off that's a wise idea but we'll see what potential customers have to say.








Right, I'm off on a mission. 

Take care out there.

I'm so 'down with the kids'

Hello there

You may or may not know that I've recently become the very excited owner of a sewing machine/embroidery machine and I've looked at loads of embroidery designs available online. One favourite site is Urban Threads, as their designs are so modern and fresh.

Over the weekend I bought this skull and crossbone design for $2. You buy them in whatever format suits your machine and at the size you want; all sizes and formats are the same price.

It starts off life being inserted into the software and then you set the machine to action. Now this all sounds very easy and it is basically but there are a few essentials which need dealing with. You can re-size letters in the usual select item with the mouse and adjust the box marks around the letter. You cannot do that with images imported in, I found out!

I sewed the 'All Time Low' section without issue and also the star, which I imported for free (gotta love t'internet sometimes). Then came the skull and crossbones which I had made smaller to fit in with the whole design. Boy! You should have heard the racket of the bobbin case jumping up and down like a fool, whilst the poor machine carried on regardless. It normally alerts me if the thread gets trapped or snaps but it didn't bother at all. It was still moving around though and sewing, so I tolerated it for a while but then had to stop as I was concerned about breaking the machine. I left it overnight and then did the larger one in the middle the next day after reading the manual about re-sizing and it said that you have to use a 'design' menu with 'change size' in order to allow the machine to know how to process the stitches. I then made another one, larger, for the other side of the pencil case. Yee hah! No more clanking!

I then had the fun and games of sewing the pencil case together with the zip. I really should do zip stuff more often, as it really irritates me that I seem to have to start from afresh every time I do one. 

I used some Stampin' Up fabric for the lining. The red fabric was just part of my stash, which I had made a pyjama top for Maggie some years ago. I had bought some zips from a sale in a local craft shop about a month ago, which were the perfect size for pencil cases.

It's not perfect but it'll fit her proposed new Sharpie pens, which are all the rage apparently. Back to school in a week, so stationary and school bags are hot topics of conversation. We've had a lovely summer, with lots of days out mixed with relaxing days at home. Let's see what this last week brings us, other than haircuts and piano lesson.

Take care out there

I'll miss my baby

Hello there

My real baby; Maggie (i.e not my sewing machine which is my second baby :-) ) is going to Vienna for five nights at 3a.m tomorrow morning. I'm chuffed to bits that she's able to go but I'm also going to miss her and worry about whether she's enjoying herself or not. I've got a busy week ahead though, so I'll be too preoccupied to worry too much hopefully.

I have made her a strap for her case, so that it's easy to pick out on the conveyor belt. 

I had a few adventures sewing this as the first time I did it, the design was too small and the needle broke twice. All I had to do was call the Husqvarna Viking helpline and Hayley suggested that I use one of the two nets supplied with the machine, to help stop the upper thread getting tangled on the spool. It worked a treat!

Thankfully I had also been shopping on Thursday and bought more needles. It made me smile as the smallest pack you can buy has 5 needles in it and then the next size up has 100! 

Working through it, I got practise as how to make the design stitch out for me. It's all about manipulating the design on the screen to make it be stitched in the hoop where you want it. I really need practise on using multi-hoops, as I did one word at a time with one section but I didn't line them up correctly as you can probably tell.

The slight puckering you can see in the above photo was caused when I ironed the interfacing on; I think I had the iron on too hot when applying it to the back of the fabric before sewing. It really is essential to have it on the back every time you embroider.

Anyway, I have to dash as I'm expecting my friend and her husband for dinner any minute now. The sun is still beating down, so hopefully we'll have a good night and then a 2.30a.m alarm call to take Maggie.

Maggie's all ready for a fun time

Take care out there and have fun in the sun if you can