The Blizzard: A Giveaway

Well, I survived the blizzard of 2010, the biggest snowstorm that I can remember.  Also one of the biggest to hit the DC area.  We received about 22 inches here at my home but some of the areas nearby got over 30 inches!  It was a spectacular storm, and I would have enjoyed the beauty of it a bit more if we hadn’t lost power for 12 hours.  But, that was relatively brief and painless (though a little chilly).  A heartfelt thanks to all of the men and women out working in the storm to restore power to people’s homes.

For Christmas this year I made my own personal blizzard of free-standing lace snowflake ornaments, stitching out 24 of these snowy wonders.  I have one left over and am offering it as a memento of the 2010 blizzard to one lucky reader of my blog.  To qualify for the drawing all you need to do is leave a comment on this post by 6 a.m. on Thursday morning, February 11.  I will randomly draw a winner from all of the comments received and post the winner’s name here on Thursday.  I need to have some way of contacting you so please be prepared to email me your address should you be the winner.

This snowflake design was purchased at Embroidery Library and comes in a set of six designs.  The snowflakes are stitched onto water soluble stabilizer which is washed away leaving the thread design.

bag of the week 4

With New Years Eve just behind us I want to share a tiny little bag that would be perfect for wearing with an evening gown or fancy dress.  It is just large enough to hold a credit card, ID, key and some cash, and can be worn more like jewelry than a purse.

The components of this purse are made entirely with thread on an embroidery machine.  The design was digitized by Stitch Delight.  This free-standing lace is stitched on water soluble stabilizer which is rinsed away leaving behind the stitched design.  Each purse consists of a front, back and flap.  Each piece is stitched individually and sewn together by machine to finish.  I also chose to create a lining for my purses which I hand sewed into the completed lace purse.  The strap was made by twisting multiple strands of the embroidery thread into a cord using a Spinster.

These designs are no longer available from Stitch Delight though they do have some beautiful purse designs that are a bit larger.



Bag of the Week 3

It’s been exactly a month since Old Man Winter dumped record-breaking amounts of snow on the Washington, DC area.  And here comes Mr. Snow Guy, just in time for our wintery January weather.  This little winter white wool pouch was adorned with a design by Kathleen Parman.  Kathleen developed a technique she dubbed “Herky Jerky” to describe the free-motion quilting around the edges of the appliquéd pieces.  Kathleen also developed a very clever machine embroidery technique for stitching up this and other designs.  This purse was done with one of her machine embroidery designs.  I appliquéd the design onto black fabric and sewed it to the front of the purse.  The purse is lined.  The Fun Fur I-cord around the top was made in the same manner as for The Safari Bag.  The strap is twisted cording made from winter white yarn and the Spinster tool.  I think this Snow Guy lives with my friend Michele now.

An internet search failed to turn up Kathleen's website.  Some of her patterns, including two of her machine embroidery CDs are available from Soft Expressions.  Sulky has a great tutorial complete with pattern and instructions for a Herky Jerky sweatshirt.  This technique is really fun and easy to do.  I will be featuring several other designs by Kathleen in the future.  Check back each week.  And that's what it's all about!

Sweet Treats

OK, so the Christmas holidays are behind us, but since I just got my decorations put away today I feel entitled to share this picture with you.  These are some bag toppers I made this year for the kids in my son’s preschool class.  They are super easy and fast to make, and you can fill the little bags with lots of different goodies.  The design comes from Reen at Embroidery Garden and she also has designs for lots of other holidays and events, too.  So, I am a little late for Christmas but I am just in time for Valentine’s Day!

These were stitched on stiffened felt and cut to size after they were finished.  I was able to put three in my larger hoop and sew them all at once.  The toppers were then stapled onto 3” x 4” craft bags with a ziplock closure and filled with treats.  So fast, fun and yummy.