Stitching for Jenn

Jenn asked me to make a few things for some special people in her life. First, a sweet shirt for Lauren who just turned one:

Jenn loved the little giraffe I used for Riley's set, so I used the same design and font for Lauren. It's Lynnie Pinnie's fringe giraffe (a freebie on Sew Forum) and the Happy font from 8 Claws and a Paw.

Jenn didn't want Lauren's big sister to feel left out, so Natalie got a little something special as well, a crayon purse:

The crayon purse design is from Sewing For Sarah, and I added her name with the Swirley font from 8 Claws and a Paw.

I used some fun Riley Blake fabric (that I won from Whimsical Fabrics) for the pockets on both sides. This shows the back pocket:

And this top view shows how a little pad of paper or sheets of stickers fit on the opposite side.

(I haven't made one of those in a LONG time. LOVE them. They are so cute, a great gift for a little girl!)

Next, a bib for a little boy. The "A" is from Embroidery Boutique's Fun Applique Alphabet, and I added "Asher" with Whoa Nelly from 8CP.

And finally, a couple stay-put towels for her mother-in-law:

(You can read more about my first one here).

The cherry design is from 8 Claws and a Paw (thanks Julie!!) and I added "Becky's Kitchen" with Embird alphabet #7.

Valentine Bags for Preschool Party

This year I signed up to bring goody bags for Annaliese's class party, mainly because I had bought this cute Valentine bag design from Sewing for Sarah!

The front has a mini-chalkboard (vinyl chalkboard fabric) and slots for chalk and crayons. We filled the back pocket with a pad of paper, stickers, and a piece of felt to erase the chalkboard. For the boys, I substituted an applique rectangle for the heart, I figured they would like that better. I personalized them all, as well.


These stitch together pretty quickly. I pre-cut all the fabric, as well as the heart/rectangle of chalkboard fabric. Then when I was ready to stitch, everything was ready to go. Each bag takes less than 15 min to stitch, and most of the time I was able to clip bobbin thread, remove stabilizer, trim around edges and invert one bag while stitching the next. Made for a nice assembly line production. I'm glad there are only six in her class though. Doubt I'll do this for kindergarten next year! :)

Rachel is so creative!

Rachel contacted me regarding birthday gifts for the twins she watches during the day. They are turning three, and she knew a Crayon Purse would be perfect for Ava. But she didn't think Jackson would like a purse or tote, so she asked about making a Crayon Tool Belt. I thought this was a great idea and after brainstorming together I had a plan.
A couple days before actually stitching these out, Rebecca emailed wondering if I had time to squeeze in a crayon purse for her niece, so I was able to make all three at the same time!

It's been a while since I've posted pictures of a crayon purse, so here is what it looks like from the front (personalized with slots for crayons) and back (pocket for a notebook, stickers, etc).



The Tool Belt was a little more work, but I enjoyed the challenge.

I used webbing for the belt, stitching it in one side of crayon pouch, and then attached velcro to the other end, as well as the back of the pouch.

In an effort to keep the back pocket from gaping open, I also added a velcro closure there.

Here's a quick shot of Annaliese modeling it:

Presley's Birthday Package

Barbara's special little relative Presley is turning four, and she ordered a few items to give her at her birthday party today. Both Barbara and Presley came over a while back to pick out what they wanted, so Presley got to tell me her preferred colors and fabrics. First we have a personalized crayon purse. The design is from Sewing For Sarah, and I added her name with Tinker Toy font from Sew Crazie Designs.


Next I monogrammed a tote bag, using Five Star Font's Whismy Dots.


And finally I made a hooded towel for her. I used Embird Alphabet #33 to add the text.

Happy Birthday, Savanah!

Hey folks, sorry it has been so long. I got two wisdom teeth pulled Friday 1/25, and it took me longer to recover than I expected. The pain meds they prescribed made me feel loopy enough that I didn't trust myself with the embroidery machine. And by the time I went to regular Advil, I left for the women's retreat with our church. So anticipate lots of posts in the next few days.

First up, a birthday gift. Annaliese was invited to Savanah's 4th birthday party. She couldn't attend since it was the day I got my teeth pulled, but we sent a gift none the less. I made a crayon purse for her, similar to Annaliese's and Siena's. This time I used the crayon fabric on the side with the crayons and the stripes on the pocket. I think I like it even better! The text was added with Embird Alphabet #8, but at a different aspect ratio so I could make the name longer without being too tall.

Tackling Custom Orders

The last few days I have been working my way through some custom orders (in addition to hemming a choir dress -- my first time tackling a project like that!).
First up is a "Special Delivery" onesie that Michelle ordered for a new arrival. The design is from Sew Terific and I added all of the birth details with Embird Alphabet #2.


Next is a burp cloth that Kristen ordered for yet another new arrival. She requested one like I had made for Hudson. The applique football is from Embroidery Garden (off of a freebie football sucker holder available on her yahoo group). I added the name with Embird Alphabet #2.

And finally I made a crayon purse and a crayon roll, both personalized. The design for the crayon holders came from Sewing For Sarah. I added the names with the Tinker Toy font, posted on Sew Forum.

Happy Birthday Roberta, Jesse and Jake!

WOW! It seems like half of Annaliese's friends were born within the first 5 days of November! That makes for lots of birthday gifts!

Roberta turned 3 and loves princesses, so I made her a crayon purse and put Princess Aurora on the pocket. It was so fun to watch her open it in person -- she liked her name and the crayons, but when she flipped it over and saw Aurora, she was ecstatic! It was precious.


Both Jesse (church friend) and Jake (preschool friend) turned 4 this year. I made them each a pair of crayon and pencil rolls.


Jake, his brother Brodie and mom loved them so much that they ordered a set for Brodie, too! I got those done this weekend and will deliver them tomorrow.

Crayon Purse

This morning I made this crayon purse for Annaliese. I used the crayon roll design from Sewing For Sarah, but I added Annaliese's name (Tinker Toy font freebie from Sew Forum), switched the tack-down locations for the ribbon from the side to the top, and then I layered a folded piece of fabric with the back fabric. This created a pocket on the other side to hold a notebook or stickers or whatever Annaliese wants to stick in it. I was super tickled with the results! I love this fabric -- the Tinker Toy font is perfect with all the polka dots, and the crayon fabric is great, too!