Applique Name Shirts

Ok, I've been doing machine embroidery for nearly four years, and this is the first time I have made applique name shirts. I'm always intrigued by them, but since my kids are named Annaliese and Dashiell (9 and 8 letters!!) I haven't tackled them yet. :) And having no samples posted on my blog means nobody has asked me to make one... until now! Carla asked me to make applique name shirts for her kids, Ella and Grant. What perfect names to start with, only 4 and 5 letters!
Now, even though I own a TON of applique fonts, I wanted something with a zig zag finish and would have the right proportions to fit across a youth shirt. Not finding anything *quite* right in my stash, I used this as an excuse to buy a new font. (Well, fonts; more on that in a moment.) I debated for a couple days and eventually chose the Cade Applique Alphabet from Embroidery Boutique. It came highly recommended for projects like this and I have never been disappointed with a single thing from EB. I'm so pleased with my choice -- here they are!

Ella's name is PERFECT for this project -- short AND has two lowercase L's!! I used the 4" letters as is.

This is a picture of the floral fabric Carla send for me to use:

 When I laid it across my computer screen to see what parts of the fabric would show up in the letters, there was a lot of white space. So instead of just laying down one big chunk of fabric, I "fussy cut" areas with flowers clustered together and used those for each individual letter. It took more time, but I really like the bright, vibrant results!

Grant's name is longer (extra letter, and wider letters at that) so I used the 3" letters, and still had to resize it to get it to fit in my hoop. I was very pleased with how well it stitched!

 The overall scattered baseball motif worked well as is, so I tacked down all the letters at the same time. Stitching time on this was super fast, it's trimming all those letters... :) That's another reason I like this Cade Alphabet -- it's a sans serif font, so no extra little parts to trim around.

I LOVE how these turned out. Now I'm anxious to make some for my kids. Before Christmas Lynnie Pinnie released an adorable Mini Applique Alphabet. I have this font and "Annaliese" fits in my hoop without resizing, I've just lacked the motivation to do it, until now! I just need to find a good set of applique fabrics to use and I am going to get it done. If you don't hear from me regarding this issue in a month, get on me about it. :)

PS -- After I made my decision and bought the Cade alphabet, two of the other fonts that were highly recommended for this kind of project were on sale 60% off for 12 hours, how could I pass them up?? So I've also added Applique Momma's Anna Kate and Emily fonts to my collection. :)

Hooded Towel

OOPS! Here is a hooded towel I delivered last week, and right before I handed it over I realized I hadn't taken a picture of it (even though it had been sitting in my home completed for four days...) So these shots are from my phone on a church pew! :)

If the ribbon and name look familiar, you are right! I used this ribbon/font combination for baby Riley's hooded towel several weeks ago. After seeing it Michelle requested the same combination for a gift for Ryleigh. I used the Two Colored Dots font from 8 Claws and a Paw but used several colors for the dots.

Happy Birthday, Peyton!

Today is Peyton's second birthday! Yesterday she celebrated with a teddy bear picnic theme, and Sarah asked me to create a shirt for her to wear.

You know, I'm not aware of very many teddy bear designs! I remembered this one from when Grandma Kathy made a bib for Annaliese's first birthday. It's from Sew Many Designs. I added Peyton's name and the "2" with Swirley from 8 Claws and a Paw.

A couple shirts for Grant

Earlier this week I received a package of shirts/fabric from a friend to make applique T's for her kids. I got a couple for Grant done last night, and don't want to wait for the others to be finished to show these two off. :)

First of all, Grant is going to be 5 (yes, FIVE!) in May. I've been anxious to stitch these new Applique Birthday Candle Numbers from 8 Claws and a Paw, so Carla graciously let me do my own thing.

I really like the diamond satin stitching around the numbers -- unique and different than the other sets available elsewhere. I added his name with Whoa Nelly also from 8CP.

Carla requested a tie shirt. I adore this design and have put it on several onesies, but not a larger t-shirt yet. It turned out so cute!! Don't you just love the striped fabric Carla found?

The neck tie applique design is from GG Designs. I recently saw a picture of a tie onesie with a monogram on it and thought that was a precious idea, so we added Grant's monogram to the bottom of his tie. (I don't have a link for this monogram set -- I've had it since I received my machine and wasn't keeping track of that info yet!)

Birthday shirt, strawberry style!

Lil' Miss Audrey will be celebrating her second birthday with a strawberry-themed party, so Tracy asked me to create a custom shirt for her. Tracy had found a boutique item online with an applique strawberry she liked, and wahoo! I already owned that exact design! So we added Audrey's name, the "2" and voila!

The applique strawberry is from Nobbie Neez Kids. I used Swirley from 8 Claws and a Paw for the text.

Stitching for Maddie

I've monogrammed a couple things for a sweet little girl named Maddie recently. First, this shirt:

The M is from Embroidery Boutique's Vintage Applique Alphabet.

For the pink blanket, Becky requested Maddie's name with dots.

I suggested the Multi Circles Font Frame from GG Designs, but she wanted the dots more scattered. EEP! I don't do random very well. :) But I overcame my geometric tendencies and scattered those dots. I used Embird Alphabet #7 for her name.

Gift for new sisters!

Kelli has a friend who just had her second little girl and asked me to make something special for the sisters. After giving her some options, she picked the sibling designs from Applique Momma. (Side note: I really like these, and have all six combinations of the big/middle/little sister/brother designs)
Kelli requested a yellow and green color scheme, and picked the blank items from Dharma Trading. What a cute pair!

I used the zig zag 5" size of the Big Sister design for Sophia's shirt, adding her name with the Tinker Toy font from 8 Claws and a Paw, and stitched it on the short sleeved lettuce edged top from Dharma Trading.

I used the zig zag 4" size of the Little Sister design for Phoebe on the ruffle arm romper dress:

New Birthday Designs

I'm excited to show off a couple new birthday designs from Lynnie Pinnie Embroidery!
First this design set is perfect for the Birthday Princess in your life:

I used the 4x4 design for this 12 month t-shirt, but it also comes in 5x7.

This Doodle Number design set is great for boys and girls depending on the colors you use. Kari bought the fabrics for me to use on Carl's "2" birthday shirt!

I used the 5x7 size for this 2T shirt, but it also comes in 4x4 and 6x10 sizes. I love that I was able to position the green fabric so two full stars show up! :)

Baby Gift for the Newcombes!

A couple weeks ago I went to a baby shower for some good friends, who are expecting their second little girl, and here's the gift I took:

First a pair of sister shirts -- Big Sister Kylie had to get something special! I took this opportunity to use a new set of sibling designs I recently purchased from Applique Momma. I used the zig zag 5" size of the Big Sister design for Kylie's shirt, adding her name with the Tinker Toy font from 8 Claws and a Paw:

And I used the zig zag 4" size of the Little Sister design for Jada's onesie:

I stitched the Mommy's Lil' Rattler bib back in September when I tested the cute snake applique design from Lynnie Pinnie. 

Jada's nursery decor is this pink and orange butterfly set:

So when I had to opportunity to test Lynnie Pinnie's new Spring Butterfly applique design, I knew exactly how I wanted to use it! I added Jada's name with the Swirley Font from 8 Claws and a Paw.

~~~~~~~
In addition to this stuff, I have stitched one other item for baby Jada. Becky asked me to add a butterfly and name to this blanket, which she gave to Eureka at the shower:

The applique butterfly design (a freebie!!) is from 8 Claws and a Paw. The font (Miss Kitty) is from 8CP, too.

When a Nerd Becomes a Dad, again!

Jason and Anna are expecting another boy, and in keeping with all the comic-themed items I stitched when Torin was a baby (see them here, here and here), as well as the shirts they used to announce this pregnancy, this new baby is in need of nerdy items of his own! At this point, we have focused on burp cloths. We will do some other items in the very near future.
Jason requested Golden Age Superhero designs, and after much debate and searching for clear emblems, here's what I created:

I digitized these applique designs myself. Not perfect, but good enough for burp cloths. :)

I did recreate one of Torin's burp cloths exactly the same. Not superhero, but definitely for true sci-fi lovers. Anybody know what show it's making reference to?? One of my all-time favorites... :)

Recent Key Fobs

This week I finally got around to making a new key fob for myself. Annaliese got me a Vera Bradley bag for Christmas, and little did she know ;) she also ordered a couple coordinating napkins so I could make myself some matching accessories!
While I was at it, I made a key fob for Annaliese's teacher whose birthday was this week. I used turquoise and white, Springwood's school colors.

The in-hoop key fobs are from DigiStitches. I picked the diamond quilting lines for mine since that's how my bag is quilted. I used the diagonal lines for Ms. McCarty's. I added our names with Embird Alphabet #7.

Back in December Sandy saved the day by helping me finish my last teacher gift when my machine came to a screeching halt, literally. I told her I'd make her a key fob to coordinate with one of her lovely bags (she is an awesome seamstress!). She gave me fabric scraps from one of her recent creations and picked the raggy Quilted Key Fob (also from DigiStitches). I picked the circle quilting lines to go along with the motif on the fabric. The thread matches other fabric used in the bag. (I made this back in January and never posted a picture!)