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Archive of ‘Just for Fun’ category

Behind the Scenes at My Candy Store!

July 26, 2017 by Denise Holguin / Applique, Behind the Scenes, Clothing, Current Posts, Just for Fun, Lace / 1 Comment

I thought I’d share the evolution of the Subtle Tees shirts featured in Volume 105 July/August 2017.

When I am embroidering, I’m like a kid in a candy store. I’m overwhelmed by all the options – from thread colors to fabric colors and even fabric type. And before I can make a final decision, I have to try all the “flavors” and hope that I don’t get too distracted from completing the project. Anyone else have that problem? 😉

The photo below shows example stitch-outs from the Fascinator t-shirt. I spray painted the lace a light blue and used a variegated thread…because variegated thread has to be tried!

Then there are those moments when I go off the rails with crazy color selections. I didn’t see a need to complete the test stitch-out….I don’t know why I chose that fabric….

Here’s a look at another test stitch-out. I didn’t want to waste a good piece of lace so I used a piece of polymesh stabilizer as my applique fabric. For this example, I was double checking my thread color choices. The threads used on the bird and branch became my final colors.

You can appreciate how color choices and fabrics can transform a look. Compare the polymesh stabilizer applique photo above with the flowery lace applique below. The orange stippling pops while the blue stippling blends in.

Here’s a look at the final design, shot on location. The airy, flowery lace applique makes a statement. The shapes can be interpreted as clouds and fits the theme for the shirt.

Fulfillment comes not only from the finished project but in the process of experimenting and improving techniques!

Software Saturday: Stitched Poetry!

June 24, 2017 by Denise Holguin / Current Posts, Free Designs, Home Decor, Inspiration, Inspiration Software, Just for Fun, Lettering, Perfect Embroidery Pro, Quick Gifts, Software Saturday / 12 Comments

Farewell to My Red Pen
By Denise Holguin

As Managing Editor, a portion of my time is spent editing the magazine. This includes making sure advertisements are placed, the Buyers Guide has the correct page numbers and the Table of Contents leads readers to the proper articles. I do all these tasks with a red pen.

And as strange as it sounds, I have only one (favorite) red pen that I use issue after issue. I was at a great loss the day it ran out of ink.

I penned a poem to commemorate the ‘passing’ of my red pen. Humored by the absurdity, I decided to take it one step further and embroider the tribute on to fabric.

Goals for this article:

Inspire you to start thinking about custom gifts you can make for family and friends that only they would understand.
Help you to discover your inner poet!
Practice your lettering and layout skills in embroidery software.
Problem solve on the fly.

Embroidery Products
Make Something UT5084 from Urban Threads (3.39” x 3.86”)
Free Skull Design courtesy of Designs in Machine Embroidery.

Embroidery software (Perfect Embroidery Pro was used)
Hoop Size: 300×200

At the Computer
First, we will type each line of text. Then we will rearrange and add other elements.

In Perfect Embroidery Pro, select the Text icon and type the words, “arewell, my friend.”

Click on the Text icon again and type, “You’ve served me well.”

Click on the Text icon and type, “When we, upon the page, would dwell”

Click on the Text icon and type, “To an editor, your color”

Click on the Text icon and type, “Was heaven, but now you’re dead.”

Select the Hoop icon on the left side of the screen. Select the 300×200 hoop. This will establish boundaries to rearrange the poem.

Select all the text. (Control-A). Change the font to “Times.”

Click on the first line of text. Go to the Transform tab and change the height to .69 inches. Repeat this step for each line of text.

Once finished, your text will look similar to the sample shown.

Click on File / Merge. Select the Urban Threads design. Place the design in an open space. We will be editing the design to fit our needs. Select the design. Right click and select Ungroup.

Select “Make Something” and delete it.

Since this is a tribute to a red pen, I selected and deleted the other tools that didn’t fit the pen theme.

You should only have two pens remaining.

Slide the last pen to the left of the marker. Then copy and paste the same pen and place to the right of the marker. Flip the last pen Vertically.

Copy the marker and place it to the right of the pen. Flip it vertically. Copy the first pen and marker and paste them to the right. Your version should look similar to the image shown.

Select all the pens and markers. Right click. Select Group.

Rearrange the rows of lettering to fit within the hoop. This isn’t the final stage of rearranging but it’s the first step.

Slide the pens to the right side of the hoop as shown.

Click on the Text icon. Type the letter “F”. Select Old English. Size the Width and Height to 1.77 inches.

Position the letter in front of “arewell”.

Select the Text icon. Type the word “red”. Select the Athletic font and resize it to 2.05” wide x .80” tall.

Position the word after “color” as shown.

Go to File / Merge Design. Select the Skull design.

Place the skull at the end of the poem.

Change the “F”, the word “red” and the set of pens to red.

I decided to change the word “heaven” to blue. There are three ways to do this:

Inconvenient & Hard:

Stop the machine before it stitches.

Too Much Work:

Edit the line of text so that it’s made up of three designs.

Easiest! (but you need to be responsible)

Select the last line of text. Right click. Select Break up text. Note, when you do this, the text is no longer a font.

Each letter becomes an individual design.

Select all the letters for the word “heaven”. Change the color to blue.

The third line of the poem is a little tight in the hoop. Change the height to .67 inches. Make any other last minute adjustments to the layout of the design.

Select All. (Control-A). Go to Edit / Optimize Sequence.

Save the design and send to the embroidery machine.

I framed the design and added the red pen to its final resting place.

A few dozen eggs

April 5, 2017 by Denise Holguin / Blue Hair Girl, Current Posts, Embroidery for Children, Holiday Stitching, Just for Fun, Quick Gifts, Wildcard Wednesday / 25 Comments

Project Highlights:

Put your stash of embroidery, crafting and sewing supplies to use.
Make gifts for family, friends or residents in nursing homes and senior centers.
Experiment with color!
Relax with this creative and productive outlet.

As a hoarder of scrapbook paper, I don’t actually make anything. Instead, I flip through the stack of paper to admire the colors and patterns. The papers are too pretty to waste on just anything. Someday I’ll make something special.

That someday is now!

I volunteered to make Easter cards for a local senior center.

It was a bold and confident move to volunteer. But then reality set in. Exactly how will I make the cards?

The answer was easy: with my embroidery machine!

Embroidery Designs
Floral Easter Eggs from Kreations by Kara. (I used Egg 5.)

The inspiration came from two cards I received from a dear friend, and regular contributor to the magazine, Joanne Banko. She used felt to embroider the cards. The cards were so fun to receive and I love the technique. I keep one on my desk at work and one on the refrigerator at home.

Materials

Assorted colors of embroidery thread
Card stock Paper
Felt: I purchased 8 sheets of pre-cut felt from a big box store in several colors. I fit 2 Easter eggs per sheet. Once I stitched 16 Easter egg designs, I realized I was committed to this task. I purchased yardage of felt (on sale at this time of year!). I was able to hoop the fabric to fit more designs. I chose to use white felt because it gave me more freedom with thread colors.

Instructions
I cut the felt into long strips wide enough to fit a 5″ x 7″ standard hoop or Snap Hoop Monster. I rotated the embroidery design 90 degrees to make the design horizontal.

Stitch the design on the entire strip of fabric. Leave enough room for trimming around each design. The design I used has multiple thread colors. For variety I stitched some eggs in one color while others I stitched in multiple colors. If you have little ones that want to help, consider having them select the thread colors. You can’t go wrong with this project.

I also considered the recipients and what colors they might like. Some embroidered eggs are more masculine with navy blue, brown and emerald green. Those turned out to be among my favorites.

As the embroidery machine was stitching, I cut card stock paper. I used 12” x 12” sheets of card stock. I cut the sheets in half to make two cards per sheet. Then I scored the card to make the fold. To conserve paper, you could just make a single sided card.

Once the Easter eggs were finished stitching, I trimmed close to the edges, leaving about a ¼ inch around the design.

I took the opportunity to pull out all my craft supplies, including ribbons, trim, buttons and brads. I’ve also made it my challenge to use up nearly all my scrapbook paper—even the ‘special’ paper with extra sparkles. It doesn’t do me any good hoarding the supplies and it is fun to find interesting ways to decorate each card.

I was bored with the solid colored card stock so to add texture I pulled out my little New Home sewing machine. It doesn’t have as many features as I’m used to (where’s the automatic needle threader?) but it has decorative stitches ideal for my cards.

Once you’re happy with the added embellishments, use a hot glue gun to attach the design to the card stock. Be sure to add a sentiment inside the card.

Can you tell which one is my favorite? 😉 I was excited to find a use for the hounds-tooth paper and the bow button.

At the time of this blog post, I’ve stitched 45 Easter egg designs. My first goal is to reach 50—which will be done tonight. Then the new goal will be 75… because that’s the Blue Hair Girl way!

Who is Blue Hair Girl?

February 15, 2017 by Denise Holguin / Blue Hair Girl, Current Posts, Inspiration, Just for Fun, Special Offers, Wildcard Wednesday / 6 Comments

Welcome, Blue Hair Girl!
What do you get when you mix machine embroidery, a quirky sense of humor and streaks of blue hair? The launch of a new brand from Designs in Machine Embroidery. Blue Hair Girl is a fresh and quirky approach to embroidery!

Managing Editor, Denise Holguin, has been in the machine embroidery industry for over 15 years. Her approach to embroidery and every project she tackles is simple: It has to be fun. That same spirit is what inspired her to launch her own Blue Hair Girl brand.

Blue Hair Girl makes you smile!
Blue Hair Girl is about approaching machine embroidery with a smile. Blue Hair Girl wants to inspire a smile during the creative process of stitching and deviating from the expected.

Blue Hair Girl gives you wings!
Denise Holguin aims to inspire machine embroiderers to take that often difficult first step of trying. Blue Hair Girl is about having the confidence to try and celebrating milestones.

Blue Hair Girl is unconventional!
From streaks of blue hair victory rolls and polka dot everything to current pop cultural influences, Blue Hair Girl aims to give you something quirky, fun and definitely unique to machine embroidery.

Be the first to have a Blue Hair Girl Product!
Patch Celebration! features 12 embroidery patches, 4 printable Gift Tags and instructions.

Order now and enjoy FREE US shipping and handling up to $10.00! Use coupon code: celebrate. Offer good until February 25, 2017.

Volume 102 – Subtle Tees – Spray Paint!

January 18, 2017 by Denise Holguin / Clothing, Color and Design, Current Posts, Inspiration, Just for Fun, Wildcard Wednesday / 9 Comments

Embrace your inner spray paint artist!

Have you been following the new Subtle Tees column in Designs in Machine Embroidery? If you aren’t there are several reasons you will want to:

The designs featured on the t-shirts include our magazine sponsors – without whom, we wouldn’t be able to provide you inspiration.
Periodically you’ll find a free design download mentioned in that section.
The column is about everyone’s favorite garment: the t-shirt! It’s affordable. It’s wearable. It comes in countless colors. This column presents new ideas you’ll want to try – if not for yourself for someone you know.

The most recent installment of Subtle Tees (Volume 102 January/February 2017) showcases t-shirts with an added element of excitement: spray paint! This blog post covers the expanded content as referenced in the magazine. Let’s begin!

You’ll need the following supplies which are all available from your local big box craft/hobby store.

Tulip ColorShot Instant Fabric Color spray paint. Purchase an assortment of colors! This photo represents just a small stash in my collection. They sell smaller cans, but don’t bother. You need the full size cans because once you start one shirt, you’ll want to do many.

Plastic Stencils. Select a stencil that will make a good background for embroidery designs. Look for patterns instead of single motifs. Your local craft/hobby store should have an assortment of options.
Cardboard T-shirt Form (this provides a nice flat surface for the t-shirt and prevents paint from seeping to the back of the t-shirt.)

Tulip Stencil Adhesive (this is optional but I found it very useful for keeping the stencil in place)

Additional Supplies:

Painter’s Tape
Wax paper
T-shirt

Notes on Color
Dark colored t-shirts lend themselves to lighter colored spray paints. Light colored t-shirts lend themselves to darker colored spray paint. Of course, I did the complete opposite with the unicorn shirt featured in this blog. All colors were subtle! The point is, consider color when you’re making your purchases. Note that on some shirts I deliberately sprayed white spray paint as a base before adding other spray paint colors.

Step 1. Preparation
This step reminds me of what it must be like to make Thanksgiving dinner. You spend the majority of your time preparing the meal!

Slide the t-shirt onto the cardboard t-shirt form. Fold the excess t-shirt (the shirt sleeves and lower portion of the shirt to the back of the cardboard form. Secure the excess shirt with Painter’s Tape.

If using the Tulip Stencil Adhesive, spray the back of your stencil now. Place the stencil on the t-shirt.

Even with the use of the Stencil Adhesive, I like to add Painter’s Tape to the entire perimeter of the stencil for an extra secure hold.

Tear sheets of wax paper large enough to cover the areas of the shirt you do not want spray painted. Spray paint is a very fine mist. Absolutely cover every inch! Secure the wax paper with painter’s tape. Don’t skimp.

Step 2. Spray Paint
Go to a well ventilated area (outdoors!). Avoid spray painting on a windy day. It makes the process more difficult and overspray will happen. Also wear a mask, there’s no need to take in the fumes!

Following the directions on the spray paint cans, apply even coats of spray paint to the shirt. For the example shown, I went crazy and incorporated multiple colors.

You’ll soon discover at this point that this task is very much like the eating part of Thanksgiving dinner. It seems over in minutes compared to the preparation!

Step 3. The Big Reveal
This is my favorite part of the process. Very carefully, remove the wax paper. Set aside in a safe place (it will still be wet with paint). Carefully peel the painter’s tape and stencil away from the shirt.

Go ahead and admire your work. You, my friend, are a spray paint artist!

Follow the instructions that accompany the spray paint regarding the dry time.

Step 4. Embroidery
I like having a few days pass to let the inspiration percolate in my head. Let the spray painted design influence your choice of embroidery design. Once you select a design, do a test stitch on a scrap t-shirt. This step is worth it. You don’t want to whip up another Thanksgiving meal – err, prepare another t-shirt for spray painting! This will give you the opportunity to make sure the design size, density and thread color choices are right.

For the featured shirt, I chose the Unicorn design from A Few of My Favorite Things. This collection is free to anyone who attends an Embroidery Techniques from A to Z event in 2017. Print a template of the design and audition its placement on the shirt.

Place a Target Sticker to designate the center of the embroidery design. Remove the template. Turn the t-shirt inside out. Fuse a piece of polymesh stabilizer using Sulky KK2000 to the back of the spray painted t-shirt. Be sure to place the stabilizer in relation to the target sticker’s position. (Example, placing stabilizer centered on the shirt isn’t the most effective for hooping my t-shirt example. My design isn’t centered on the t-shirt.)

I used the Baby Lock Alliance with the Snap Hoop Monster to stitch the design. I love using the Alliance because it’s a single-needle free-arm embroidery machine. The free arm makes hooping and stitching a t-shirt wildly easy. I’m not as prone to stitching the back of the shirt closed. Of course, you can get the same results on a traditional single needle embroidery machine. I recommend using a Snap Hoop Monster with the a single needle machine as well. You avoid hoop burn this way and making adjustments to the fabric is as easy as giving it a tug.

Once finished, invite your favorite unicorn friend with purple hair to wear the shirt!

Need more inspiration? Subtle Tees has been making a splash since Volume 100. Pick up past issues from our website.

Curious about the free designs I mentioned at the beginning of this blog? We’ve given away two so far in the column. Click on the images below to visit the download pages.

Volume 102 January / February 2017

Volume 100 September / October 2016

It’s All About Perspective!

January 14, 2017 by Denise Holguin / A Closer Look, Current Posts, Inspiration Software, Just for Fun, Lettering, Monograms / 17 Comments

If you’ve ever gone on a road trip you’ve probably seen roadside attractions. Imagine the excitement when the denizens of Tiny Land discovered enormous 1” pillows.

This new roadside attraction draws crowds of people who stop to get their photos taken. If you take a closer look, the Flamingo’s legs are the letters “J” and “L”

About the “Pillows”
The scene was inspired by Eileen’s beautiful assortment of pillows on the cover of Volume 102 January/February 2017. I wanted to see what a miniature interpretation would look like.

If you look closely, I even coordinated some of the same decorator fabrics Eileen used on her cover project.

The really fascinating part about the pillows is the tiny lettering. The “SAS” monogram is only ¼ of an inch tall. Perfect Embroidery Pro includes an assortment of fonts digitized for small applications.

Whether you need to stitch large embroidery fonts (like Eileen’s oversized pillows) or very small fonts as seen in Tiny Land, Perfect Embroidery Pro has you covered!

Font: Arial Small

Additional features:

Symbols were incorporated, including the Top Hat, Flamingo and Pine Tree.
I used the Bridge Convex Top envelope shape for the “TRB” monogram.

22 new symbols are available to all Perfect Embroidery Pro software owners. Just run the latest update (Version 9.35) and you’ll find 22 new symbols installed in your software!

Celebrating 100 Issues!

September 14, 2016 by Denise Holguin / Behind the Scenes, Current Posts, Eileen Roche, Just for Fun, Wildcard Wednesday / 23 Comments

What does it take?

They say if you choose a job you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. But if you take a closer look, even your favorite hobby can become frustrating. There are the days the needle breaks, bird’s nests inexplicably happen and you make bad thread color choices on the very last remnant of fabric you had for a special project. Dwelling on those frustrations doesn’t do any good—except to learn from them.

There are also the momentous days when you complete a project and it looks fantastic. Or those days when you learn and master a new technique on your embroidery machine or you learn a shortcut in your embroidery software.

The tiring days along with the triumphant days of accomplishment; get woven together to create a wonderful and unique story about our lives. That is what has happened at Designs in Machine Embroidery.

The Team

(Left to Right) Stephanie Sanders, Eileen Roche, Gary Gardner, Sandy Griggs, Denise Holguin, Samuel Solomon celebrated their 100th issue by taking a cooking lesson at Sur La Table

A wonderful story of hard work, big dreams and even a little bit of crazy made it possible for Designs in Machine Embroidery to start with Volume 1 and progress to Volume 100.

The magazine would not happen without a dedicated team. The team is led by Editor and Founder, Eileen Roche and her business partner, Gary Gardner.

Samuel Solomon, the Creative Director, has been with the magazine since Volume 6.

Aside from being the magazine historian (we often go to him and ask, ‘do you remember what issue the embroidered project was in?’) he is responsible for laying out each page from cover to cover. He’s also responsible for the cover. Plus Sam is our go-to for last minute ideas and special details. “Hey! Let’s add decorative flags to our celebratory cupcakes for our 100th issue. Sam! Will you make them…now?”

For this photo shoot, we stacked all 100 issues in the scene with our special decorated cupcakes

Details take more time but they make the difference! You’ll find this “Simply Charm-ing” project by Katherine Artines on page 40 of Volume 100.

Sam, Eileen and Managing Editor, Denise Holguin, spend a good portion of their time planning the cover. The beauty is in the details—from selecting the cover project, to determining how the project should be photographed and what text and colors should go on the cover. If you’re not a detail person, you might say, “it’s just a quilt”, or “it’s just a garment” but it’s more than a quilt or a garment. It’s a project we have selected because it represents what our magazine is about and also our hope for what will inspire you.

If you have Volume 100 handy, take a look at the front cover. It has a beautiful silver sheen to commemorate our 100th issue. This is also the very first issue we’ve published without a project or model on the front cover.

Once you open the cover, you’ll see the contributions of Eileen, Denise and a talented team of writers who stitch original projects to inspire and educate our readers.

In Eileen’s spare time, she contributes to every issue with a project or article. You might ask, with such a busy schedule, why not outsource all the projects? Why should Eileen spend her time stitching? The answer is simple: It’s fun! She loves to create, design and develop new embroidery techniques she can share with you. She remains as passionate about machine embroidery as she began with Volume 1.

Volume 1 of Designs in Machine Embroidery. Yes, Eileen made that beautiful butterfly quilt!

Eileen used vintage linens to make this project – it’s one of our favorite creations she’s made over the years.

Left: Eileen purchased this hoodie and added the “LOVE” applique. It’s #cute and #cool enough for even the toughest of critics! Right: Eileen understands her readers love t-shirts but want to look fashionable while wearing them. This t-shirt remake meets that goal.

This love has also spread to Managing Editor, Denise Holguin who has launched her first-time project series, “Subtle Tees.”

Here’s a behind the scenes look at the photo shoot for Subtle Tees. If you had seen Denise at the shoot, she was ready to spontaneously combust with the excitement of having her garments photographed. We’ll feature more t-shirt behind the scenes in an upcoming blog.

You remember this blog began with doing what you love. Denise is an avid photographer and is generally seen carrying two cameras around her neck. Choosing the first theme for her Subtle Tees series was an obvious choice. She found a way to incorporate her love for photography with embroidery.

Stephanie Sanders began working for Designs in Machine Embroidery when she was still Stephanie Stubbs. She started her career in our Circulation Department (with Volume 12), answering the phone, entering subscription orders and handling the day-to-day duties of magazine circulation. Now she handles our accounting department and countless other duties too numerous to mention! So many large and small tasks magically get complete because of Stephanie’s efforts. She recently got married and now has a baby girl we hope to recruit for the magazine someday!

Advertisers

As ubiquitous as we think machine embroidery has become, it’s still a niche market. Learning about the latest embroidery products and innovations from reputable sources is made much easier by flipping through the pages of Designs in Machine Embroidery. Sandy Griggs, our Advertising and Sales Manager, has been responsible for building relationships with our advertisers.

The magazine could not be printed without the support of our advertisers. Every advertiser featured has contributed to the magazine’s success. We have the privilege of informing you of new embroidery products and innovations that will fuel your creativity.

We also love the new innovations because it fuels our passion to create new projects. From improved hardware and software to a broader selection of stabilizers and threads and a wonderful array of embroidery designs that span every conceivable theme or interest you can imagine.

Speaking of designs, the clever innovation of in-the-hoop embroidery designs is a relatively new development. Who would have imagined taping fabric to the underside of the hoop as you stitch? In the early days we were too busy stitching teddy bears on our garments.

One of our favorite in-the-hoop designs that is functional and can also be displayed as art! The project was made by Tari Intardonato for Embroidery Online and was featured in Volume 99.

We’d like to hug all the innovators in the industry for helping the market grow.

Readers
What good is producing content if no one is willing to purchase a magazine? We are grateful to our readers who have supported us through the years. Many of our readers have been faithfully supporting the magazine since Volume 1. Whether you have been with us since Volume 1, started halfway or just picked up a copy recently, we are grateful.

This has been our small but mighty team’s livelihood for 17+ years. During those years, our kids have become adults, we’ve been blessed with marriages and even babies. We’re all a little older and wiser but one thing remains the same. Machine embroidery is our shared passion and we can’t wait to bring you another 100 issues!

With gratitude,

Eileen Roche, Samuel Solomon, Denise Holguin, Stephanie Sanders, Sandy Griggs

As a special token of our gratitude, please enjoy this free applique heart embroidery design.

A freshly popped t-shirt!

June 29, 2016 by Denise Holguin / A Closer Look, Clothing, Current Posts, Just for Fun, Wearables, Wildcard Wednesday / 127 Comments

I’ve been on a t-shirt wearing kick—mainly because t-shirts are comfortable to wear in the summer. But instead of mass market t-shirts that everyone is wearing, I’ve opted to embellish my own.

Years ago I wouldn’t have tried, because I was afraid of the effort to hoop and that the embroidery would turn out crooked. But with the tools and technology available today, there’s no excuse not to try. Bargain t-shirts can be found for as little as $4.00. Plus, the benefits of continued practice include an increase in confidence and an improvement of skills.

Another fun bonus: the shirts become conversation pieces.

In the last month, I’ve stitched 4 new t-shirts and every time I wear one of them I get compliments.

The most memorable was while ordering my drink at Starbucks. The barista said, “I like your t-shirt.” My reply: “Thank you, I made it last night.” He looked at me with awe and asked, “You just whipped that up last night?!”

His reaction made me smile, but I also realized I had transitioned into a more experienced, confident embroiderer.

Whether you realize it or not— you have developed and improved your embroidery skills with every stitch made on a garment, quilt block or even a scrap of fabric. It’s easy to forget or dismiss this gradual progression but it should be celebrated and encouraged.

When I consider the work of our contributing writers and Editor, Eileen Roche, it’s hard not to assume projects get whipped up in no time. But as I’ve learned, it’s a function of continued practice, experiments, a willingness to try new ideas and yes… to fail and learn from mistakes.

So, readers, grab a t-shirt and an embroidery design and start stitching!

About the featured t-shirt:

The Popcorn design is from Baby Kay’s Appliques. You get multiple sizes with your purchase.
The website suggested inserting a monogram but I decided to add text: “I’m here for the show” using embroidery software.
The only shirt I had available was this brown one— I didn’t think it would work but with a careful selection of bright colors, I think it looks wonderful.
To help guarantee success, I stitched the design on similar colored brown fabric to make sure the colors would pop sufficiently.

This week’s assignment: Achieving a goal is often easier to complete if you write it down. Who is the next person you are going to embroider a project for? What will you make? Post your comments and 4 random people will receive a $25 gift certificate for use at Baby Kay’s Appliques!

Memories, the threads of time

June 8, 2016 by eileenroche / Applique, Current Posts, Eileen Roche, Home Decor, Just for Fun, Quick Gifts, Quilting, Special Offers, Wildcard Wednesday / 28 Comments

Isn’t it fun to capture a happy memory in needle and thread? It’s not always easy to achieve but when memories and creative inspiration collide, it’s a heartfelt moment. That’s the story behind my latest Stipple! Collection, Life’s a Beach.

You see, when I was ten years old, my father, an avid pilot, restored a World War II open cockpit bi-plane and flew it for thirty years in our tiny seaside resort in New Jersey. He loved that plane and so did all of his daughters. Although it never towed a banner as it is in this quilt, it spiraled through the air crisscrossing the sky over the sparkling blue water of the Atlantic Ocean. He would buzz our house and we would head to the airport to get a ride. If we were on the beach when he flew over, we would wave and jump around on the white sand so he could see us. A tip of his wing meant he was heading home for dinner.

There are so many stories about that plane– thankfully all with happy landings – I just had to include this memory of my youth spent on the Jersey shore. Oh what I wouldn’t do to stand on that sand and hear him fly overhead.

Those happy memories include many days spent at the beach and with five sisters, there were always bathing suits drying in the sun on the backyard clothesline. In fact, I remember coming home from my morning waitress job at a local coffee shop and checking the clothesline to see what suits were left – several of us wore the same size. My mother used to say, “First one out, best one dressed!”

And then off to the beach it was. With a good book, suntan lotion (OMG probably baby oil, how times have changed!), chair and towel, everything revolved around the beach. Everyone (except my mother) was on the beach: neighbors, tourists (same families, same street every year) and family. The more the merrier; the bigger the circle of chairs, the better.

The scene depicted in the bottom row on Life’s a Beach shows the end of the day at the beach…one chair, one umbrella, a peaceful quiet time in the shade.

I stitched the three panels independently and they hang together with ribbons of raffia looped over wood buttons. Since each row stitches quickly, I finished a row in an afternoon, binding included! Once I had one done, I was motivated to start the next one. If you’d like, piece the three rows together to make one wall quilt. I had so much fun designing this project and focusing on the simple days of my youth, I hope you enjoy making it as much as I enjoyed designing it.

Question of the week: What are your favorite summertime childhood memories?

Visit the Designs in Machine Embroidery website for a limited time special offer on Stipple Life’s a Beach. Enjoy free US shipping. Use coupon code: beach

A name you can trust!

May 25, 2016 by Denise Holguin / A Closer Look, Current Posts, Just for Fun, Macro Photography in Sewing Studio, Thread, Wildcard Wednesday / 43 Comments

Abigail adds colorful excitement to her tightrope performance with Sulky embroidery threads.

Imagine the colorful excitement you can add to your next embroidery project! Sulky thread comes in an array of beautiful options. Visit their website for more information.

Of course, Sulky sells more than embroidery thread. Thread, stabilizers, embroidery tools, and designs are just a few items you’ll find at Sulky. Post a comment telling us about your favorite Sulky product. Four randomly chosen people will each win 1 roll of Stitch ‘n Seal!

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