Split Banner Applique

I'm really excited about this new applique font, I've already used it twice, but can only show you one for now ;)
A couple of weeks ago I tried a split circle monogram on a shirt for my girl. My little guy gets to be the model this time:

The applique is from 8CP's new Split Banner Applique. I really like it! I added his name with the half inch version of College Block Small (which comes with the Applique alphabet)

The applique alphabet comes in 4 sizes. The Split Banner numbers (1-12, plus several extras) are sold in a different set. Great for birthday shirts, anniversary designs, 100th day of school... what else can you think of? Currently there is a sale: if you buy the banner alphabet, you get the numbers for free! Sale runs through Sunday 2/24, so hop to it.

Can you stand another turquoise owl?!

Last week was teacher appreciation week at my daughter's school. In addition to a gift for her teacher, I also wanted to donate something to the Assistant Principal's stash of door prizes that she gave away throughout the week to teachers. I've known about this... well since last year. But unfortunately personal projects with far off deadlines tend to get bumped to the bottom of my to do list until the last possible moment. Thankfully Sheila saved the day! I had a morning to myself to sew and was cranking through projects as fast as possible. I knew I wanted to put an owl on an apron for this donated gift, but WHICH OWL?? Before I had a chance to decide, Sheila asked if anyone was available to test this cute owl, so I hopped on the opportunity to help her and get my project done at the same time!

Isn't the owl cute? Hop on over to her etsy page and grab the Savvy Stitches' Kookie owl while it's on sale, only a few are left at that price. :) This is the 6x10 size, and was a great opportunity to use this large scale turquoise gingham that I added to my stash last summer.

Now, in all honesty my plan was to slap the owl up on the bib part of the apron and be done. But as I was pressing the apron I noticed some marks down on the bottom. Phooey, no time to apply stain remover and wash, no time to go buy a new apron. That required a new plan! Put the large owl down at the bottom to cover the marks, and offer free monogramming to the teacher who won the apron. I like it even better this way! I used Golden from 8 Claws and a Paw. It's the right mix of pretty and whimsy to go with the kookie owl.

The teacher who won was super excited -- she had seen the apron hanging in the media center and hoped her name would be pulled. Later she told me, "I’m not exaggerating when I say all of the teachers were hoping to win it!" :)

Girly Zoo Shirts

A few weeks ago I got an order that I almost turned down since my to do list was lengthy and I was heading into a crazy couple of months. But I entertained the idea and I'm so glad I did!

Nicole requested shirts for a set of cousins to wear to the zoo.  She wanted each to have a different animal (hippo, monkey, and giraffe) and wanted them to be girly -- eyelashes and bows. Initially my thought was, oh dear, how will I find a set of those designs?

I started by using one of my best friends --google image search. I searched for a hippo appliqué design first, since I figured that was less common than the giraffe and monkey. Lo and behold, a cute hippo image popped up... A design I already owned!!! I hopped over to my Embroidery Library design folder to see what other appliqué animals I could find, and would you believe I also had a monkey and a giraffe?? Crazy I tell you. I had purchased both the Baby Animals and Noah's Ark sets from Embroidery Library YEARS ago, and completely forgotten I had them. So just like that I found matching animals!

My next step was to use another best friend -- Embird. I resized a couple to make them a touch larger, and then these animals needed eyelashes. I plucked them off of a Lynnie Pinnie design in my stash and inserted them onto my animals. Instantly girly!  Ta-Da!

 

Their names were added with the Bonnie font from 8 Claws and a Paw.

 

 

I used actual bows instead of embroidered ones.  These are from the three-packs sold at Hobby Lobby (with the tails trimmed short). As I was preparing to hand sew them on, I remembered a tutorial posted on MCA Applique's blog which suggested using the button stitch on my sewing machine. Oh my!! Was that ever easy!! Thanks Melissa for a great idea. (Since then I've actually been brave enough to use that stitch to reattach a button to a pair of shorts. Why haven't I used this feature before now?!?!)

Frayed Layered Star onesie

Original Stitches posted a freebie design on their Facebook page, with a cool challenge for the month... if you post a picture of your stitchout, you can request another free design of your choice! First of all, it's a cute design, so yay! But I've been eying this cool stethoscope design, so I jumped at the chance to get it for free. :)
I put the Frayed Layered Star on a 0-3 month sized onesie I had in my stash. I plan to send this to a sweet little girl who should be born just before July 4th. :)

 

Frayed or raggy designs are such a nice quick way to put a big design on such a tiny item. Only 4 minutes on my machine, all trimming done afterwards when it's out of the hoop. Now that's my kind of onesie design! I've done a three layered frayed star design before, but I really like the look of this rounded version!

 The challenge continues... if I post a picture of the stethoscope design, I can get another freebie. BUT we have a crazy couple of weeks coming up getting ready for company and graduation, so I'm not sure I can squeeze it in amongst my remaining orders and sewing projects. We'll see. Anyone dying to own something with that design on it? Shoot me an email. :)

Priceless gifts :)

My dear friends Jason and Anna contacted me about making a gift set for our mutual friends that were expecting a baby girl. They were keeping her name a secret until birth, so we had to be a touch more creative.
Jason really wanted to incorporate their last name, Price, into a gift in a clever way. We settled on "Priceless", isn't that perfect for a little girl?!?

I used the Sherry font from 8 Claws and a Paw, and added a crown that I plucked off of another design... no record of that one though!

Daddy owns his own business as a contractor, so Anna suggested a tool belt shirt:

This adorable tool belt applique design from DigiStitches. I used a brown suede-like material for the belt, and added "Daddy's Helper" with Embird Alphabet #14.

 And finally, Jason is a big nerd :) and wanted to share his nerdyness with sweet baby Price, even though Mom and Dad really aren't nerds themselves. This definitely reflects who it's from more than who it's for. :)
(I digitized this for personal use only)

Happy Birthday, Annaliese!

Today my little girl is EIGHT! I can't even believe it! Happy Birthday Annaliese!

Like last year, we found these cute capris and made a birthday shirt to match. I love the colors (although to be honest, these photos aren't the most accurate reflection of them, oh well.)

The Birthday Collage design is still in the testing stages, I'll let you know when it's available for purchase on Lynnie Pinnie's site. :)

I have so very much enjoyed getting to make Annaliese birthday shirts through the years... care to walk down memory lane with me? Fourth birthday, ice cream themed party with her friend whose birthday was yesterday:

 fifth birthday:

 sixth birthday:

 and seventh birthday:

Ready for Baseball Season 2012

I have friends that are huge Orioles fans and celebrate opening day of baseball season like it's a holiday. :) Three of the past four years (2008, 2009, 2010) I made special shirts for the kids to wear. Last year they were ready for a new look -- the kids were outgrowing that monogram. Kelli and Daisha found a screenprint tee online that they liked, and asked if I could recreate the look. The reality was that I couldn't recreate it at the same price, so I bowed out. Disappointed... but their shirts were really cool!
However, when I posted Dashiell's applique script name shirt in January I figured I might have gotten my job back. ;) After lots of brainstorming and emails back and forth, here are the kids ready for baseball season 2012!

Aren't these shirts awesome!?!? This has been one of my all-time favorite projects and it's been a long 3-4 weeks keeping it quiet! :)

So here's the backstory:
I created their names in Embird using the Applique Script Alphabet by Hang To Dry Applique and sent preview images. Daisha came back with a suggestion (because they are ALWAYS stretching me beyond my current ability level, hahahaha!). Here is her mock-up based on an Orioles shirt:

So I had two things to figure out -- how to outline it in white, and how to add the underline. Since the alphabet is digitized with a triple bean stitch, I figured I could relatively easily digitize my own underline for the names (which I did, woo-hoo!). But I am not Embird Studio savvy enough to figure out how to add an echo satin stitch to something that already exists. So instead I suggested using the next best thing -- fabric! 
This technique went pretty fast at the machine. I got the shirt hooped. I put Heat-n-Bond Lite on a layer of white fabric and a layer of orange fabric. I cut them larger than my hoop to be sure it was big enough for the whole design so I could skip the placement stitches (saves time!!). I laid down the two layers of fabric and stitched the triple bean stitch design and was done doing the embroidery!

Now came the tedious part -- trimming. But this could be done sitting on the couch watching TV with the kids, so it wasn't nearly as restrictive as a complicated design that you have to monitor at the embroidery machine. I first trimmed the orange as close as I could to the stitching line. (Remember I used HNBL so I shouldn't have to worry about fraying or the fabric pulling away from the stitches.)

Next I trimmed away the white leaving about a 1/4" echo patch around it. And then I pressed it really well to get the HNBL to adhere the fabric to the shirt.

Thankfully the mommies were pleased with the results, and I moved on to the other three shirts. They needed a shorter underline that had to be digitized separately, but I was able to use the new one for all three:

The one final detail that was added to each shirt: A baseball on the back of the shirt near the neckline. The "12" commemorates the year.

 

I used an applique baseball but deleted the satin stitch step and instead stitched the tackdown line a couple more times. I use Embird Alphabet #14 for the 12.

This was such a fun project! I always enjoy working on things for the Sheets clan -- they keep me on my toes and I'm always growing. It's awesome.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPDATE: After numerous requests, Crissie at HTD has digitized her own version of a "tail" to go with the applique script. It is available on her site as a part of a power-packed fundraising set: Garden Valley Optimist Football Design Pack

My springtime kitchen towel

Applique Forum initiated a monthly challenge in March, which I participated in. We were each given Hang To Dry's Vintage Luxe Bunny in Scallop design and asked to think outside the box and stretch ourselves -- use a fun type of fabric or embellishment, manipulate the design somehow... the possibilities were wide open, how fun!

At the same time that this challenge began, I was in the midst of three big custom orders (which I still haven't been able to share yet...but soon!) so my creative juices were TAPPED DRY. I finally decided that I would put the bunny on a shirt for Annaliese and let her pick all of the fabrics and threads, that would be completely out of my comfort zone, HA! But alas, even though it's a lovely design, it wasn't a style she was interested in and she declined my offer. The clock was ticking... She did end up helping me out by giving me a suggestion -- she reminded me that I didn't have any Easter towels for my kitchen, so my "outside of the box" angle was a non-springtime color theme!

The fabric for the scallop is a scrap from when I made my kitchen/dining room valences. All of the off-white tone-on-tone prints were scraps from a quilt I made years ago. The thread colors I picked really show off the variety of deco stitches used in the vintage luxe designs. I also took this as an opportunity to finally use the Hand Lettered Floss Stitch font I purchased from Jolson's a while back. Oh, it looked so perfect in Embird, but the word "Spring" gets lost on the busy fabric, can you even see it?! :)

The neatest part in participating in a challenge is seeing what other people do with the exact same design. About 70 people participated and no two were alike!
And in case you are wondering, I did not win in my category. I was up against a phenomenal entry, with an amazing runner up (totally not fair) so I was lucking to get my three measly votes. But April is a new month! :)

Welcoming Baby Alexis

Sunday we had a baby shower at church and I stitched a few items for baby Alexis.
Cherri requested a name banner (using the Frayed Block Letters from Hang To Dry) as part of the hostess gift:

Michelle requested a burp cloth. We looked over the registries and saw lots of purples and butterflies, so I used Lynnie Pinnie's Applique Patriotic Butterfly (minus the stars) and (appropriately) the Alexis font from 8 Claws and a Paw to add her name.

My gift was one of those rare opportunities where procrastination really paid off. :) Friday morning I still hadn't decided what I was going to do, and I woke up with a cute swirly girly whale in my inbox to test for Lynnie Pinnie. Woo-hoo! I picked this polka dot ribbon for the colors, and Itty Bitty from 8CP for her name.

Remember that cute owl I tested for Sheila last month? Well Friday afternoon she posted this cute little bear requesting a tester. Again procrastination paid off and I used it that night for this bib! (Sheila is not selling her designs yet, but you can follow her on facebook: Savvy Stitches Applique.) I used 8CP's Dorthy to add her name.

Welcoming Baby Brayden

Debbie's daughter is expecting a baby boy, so she ordered a couple burp cloths for him:

When she contacted me about the order she shared what bedding set her daughter was registered for:

I immediately thought of the Riley Blake striped fabric I had and some turtle embroidery designs. After sharing a few links we settled on Lynnie Pinnie's Applique Turtle. Before getting started I took the fabric to church and she brought me a blanket from the bedding set -- you would not believe how PERFECTLY the RB stripe matches this set! I was so giddy!
I spent a couple days trying to decide how to use the stripe fabric. One idea was easy peasy; I just reused the embroidery file from a Brayden burp cloth I made last fall but used the stripe instead. The "B" is from Embroidery Boutique's Fun Applique Alphabet, and I added the name with Whoa Nelly From 8 Claws and a Paw.

For the turtle burp cloth I really didn't want to use the stripe on the actual turtle, so I decided to use fabric on the end of the burp cloth instead of my traditional piece of ribbon. Ummmmm.... confession time, I think I've only done that once before and it was in 2007! So I was going to have to suck it up and ask for assistance on construction method... but before having to do so Charming Station posted this video tutorial! Yay for perfect timing! It worked pretty well. The major thing I did different was tucking the ends under on the back side instead of the front side. I also used some steam-a-seam on the front before stitching so it wouldn't shift -- I didn't want those stripes to be really wonky. I should have used my walking foot... I'll remember that next time. It turned out so cute!

Maddox is Two!

Maddox turned two and his mommy asked me to make a birthday shirt for him. Now, for those of you who know Katie, that might come as a surprise -- she is an EXCELLENT seamstress, and has an embroidery machine of her own! But for now she's limited to a 4x4" field and wanted a bigger design for his birthday shirt. I was happy to oblige!

Although can I admit that it's a bit intimidating to do embroidery for someone who does it herself? I think this was a first for me! (Well, I have made stuff for Maddox and his baby sister before, but I didn't know at that time that Katie had an embroidery machine, too.) She knows what to look for in a good stitch out, I felt extra pressure to do my best! :)

Katie wanted a candle number with his name, so I suggested the same combo I used last year for Grant, the Applique Birthday Candle Numbers and Whoa Nelly both from 8 Claws and a Paw. Katie supplied the shirt and fabric, so this was pretty quick to make!

 

Poor little Maddox ended up being pretty sick on his birthday :( but he's feeling better now and I saw him wearing his shirt tonight at church. Such a cutie!