Gobble Gobble!

Here are a few more turkey shirts I made this year.
I thought this turkey was so cute when I bought it from Applique Cafe TWO years ago. Last fall I bought the same chevron she used in her sample image with every intention of using the design... but didn't. So when Rachel asked me to make a shirt for her daughter, I jumped at the opportunity to finally use this design/fabric combo. Yes, I know there are hundreds of listings on Etsy just like it.... and I don't care :) That's because this fabric is *perfect* for this design!

I did however do a something a bit more unique with the name. :) I don't often use multiple colors within the same name, but I really wanted to tie in all the different colors in the chevron. I used I2S's As the Deer font and thought it turned out cute!

For one of my niece's I used LP's Girly Turkey. The jewelry and shoes on this thing are so funny!

For my other niece and nephew I used I2S's Turkey for Monogram applique.

I stitched Z's first using the 4x4 size. I decided to go with single initials and used Cutsie Joe.

My intention was to use the 5x7 size for G's, but it was just too big on this little 18 month tee. So I nicely asked my boss :) if she could create an intermediate size and I'd test it for her. It turned out perfect, and you fellow embroiderers can benefit from my suggestion -- if you have bought this design go download again to get the additional size!

 

And lastly, a little turkey face onesie. I plucked the face off of the 5x7 size of I2S's Turkey LOVE design and put it on this khaki colored onesie that has been sitting in my stash for years :)

Welcoming Baby Caden

Caden's grandmother has been keeping me busy! Baby shower was today, so now I can show my work:

First, a set of sibling shirts:

The big brother and little brother patches are both from Applique Momma. I added their name with Jolson's Architect. I think I have finally figured out a fabric/thread/font combo that I LOVE with this design. Yay!

Matching monogrammed shirts using 8CP's Baseball Stitch Applique alphabet (oh, and the bib, too!)

And a couple burp cloths. I was told to do whatever I wanted, so I used it as an opportunity to finally use some cute designs that have been sitting in my stash! The Puppy Patch is from Applique Cafe -- isn't this precious?! I added his name with 8CP's Bobby.

And MCA's Jungle Jungle Applique Alphabet. Looking forward to using this again in larger sizes!

Whew! Add to that an additional burp cloth from Michelle, and I did a lot of sewing for little Caden recently. THEN I had to come up with my own gift. EKK! What's left?? Well, I'll save that for a separate blog post. :)
Michelle requested 8CP's Split Banner Applique Font

Reindeer shirt to match clearance pjs

This truly is one of my favorite kinds of projects. If you've read my blog for any length of time you know I am CHEAP!! :)  Last year I grabbed these clearance pajama pants in a size up for Annaliese and stashed them away, promising to make her a coordinating shirt before winter. I completed it yesterday!

It took me a while to decide what design to use. I did an extensive google image search on reindeer applique designs to find a good one to use. I stumbled upon one that was a close match to this print, but from a digitizer I wasn't familiar with. I briefly browsed the etsy shop and found some designs of team logos and licensed characters... and had to break the news to Annaliese that I would not be buying that reindeer design. It's my personal goal to not support digitizers that break copyright laws -- I'd much rather support those who follow the rules! So I continued my search.
A few days later it dawned on me to search for "Rudolph" and boom, I found a cute design from a site I trust! This is a modified version of Applique Cafe's Rudolph with lights design. It's missing a few things... obviously the lights, Annaliese wanted me to omit those since the reindeer on her pants don't have lights. Do you notice what else is missing??

Satin stitches!!
As I prepared the design and fabrics, I thought about the shirt I made to match pj pants last year, how the raggy design really suited the fleece pants, and wondered if I should attempt to make the reindeer raggy. Then I realized I had picked fleece and knit, neither of which would fray! So I took a look at the design in Embird, hiding the satin stitch steps. It was digitized in such away that if I skipped the last two colors, it would still look good! I made sure to use matching threads for the tackdown stitches (which I ran twice at the machine). After the eyes and smile were done, I snapped a quick pic to get a second opinion from my MIL:

We decided it looked good! I removed it from the hoop and saved 20 minutes of stitch time!
The only key detail that was lost by skipping the satin stitches was the line around the head, separating it from the body. Since the reindeer on the pants had collars/scarves, I cut a piece of pink fleece in the shape of a scarf and tacked it down on my sewing machine, leaving the ends loose. (and I confess I didn't really save 20 minutes... I cut out three different little scarves before I got one good enough.)
I literally got done trimming the stabilizer on the back as her bus drove down the street. So I carried it down the driveway with me and greeted her with it. She gave me the biggest hug!
Tonight she said, "This is probably the best shirt ever. Way better than one you can buy, you know like a screen print one." That's an exaggeration, but oh, she melts my heart. :)

Signs of Fall

According to the calendar, fall is here! Although honestly, the recent Florida heat is making it hard to believe. I have to rely on requested projects to help me know what season it is. :)
Primary sign of fall? PUMPKINS! I've stitched a variety recently:

This pumpkin is from Applique Cafe. I have admired it for three years I think, and FINALLY used it. I love how it turned out with the chevron. :)  I added Cadence's name with the Dancer font from 8 Claws and a Paw.

Riley is going to be the Cutest Pumpkin in the Patch!

This design is from Planet Applique:

Maggie bought this adorable blank dress that desperately needed an applique design on it:

The pumpkin is from Planet Applique and I added the G using Embird alphabet #17.

Isn't it neat how different each of the pumpkin designs turned out depending on fabric selection and style of design?
Another sign of fall around here for us is spiders -- MAN we have spiderwebs all over the place, a new one forms from my car door to the fence every night!

If I ever saw a cute spider, this is it, Lynnie Pinnie's Cute Girly Spider. The jagged satin stitch is such a clever design element to make the spider look fuzzy. I added Graysie's name with 8CP's Dorthy.

And you know Thanksgiving is coming when you start stitching turkeys!!

The Baby Turkey Girl applique is from Lynnie Pinnie. This is actually Cadence's second Thanksgiving, so I couldn't use the text "My First Gobble". Instead we changed it to Lil Gobble.

Birthday Shirts

These are a couple birthday shirts I made in the fall, and busyness prevented me from blogging about them.
Sue asked me to make a third birthday shirt for her grandson who is really into trains:

I used Applique Cafe's Christmas train, but I removed the tree and added an applique 3 from Embroidery Boutique's Tiny Applique Alphabet.

I got an email from Kelly who had found a picture of Jillian in her birthday shirt on my friend's blog (Pirates-n-Princesses) about Jillian's Dora and Boots birthday party. Kelly asked if I could recreate the look, and I was happy to oblige!

The "3" is from Chubby Wubby Applique Numbers from GG Designs, and the font is Tinker Toy from 8 Claws and a Paw.

Christmas Shirts, Part 2

These shirts are for four of my little buddies at church. Each mommy sent me their requests and I was happy to oblige! First up, a onesie for Brooks:

I used Lynnie Pinnie's Reindeer with Ornaments Applique, and added the text with Embird Alphabet #8.

Tracy supplied this adorable turtleneck for Audrey's shirt:

This is Lynnie Pinnie's Simple Tree. I used the 5x7 design, but had a hard time figuring out how to recolor the 6 dots to have a mix of white and red without it looking funny. So finally I decided to leave them all red and just merge the smaller dots from the 4x4 design and color them white. We picked Another Dot Alphabet from 8CP to add her name. The perfect little bow is from Hobby Lobby. :)

Kate's winter shirt will last beyond December:

This is Planet Applique's Let it Snow 2 Alphabet.

And for Peyton I used Applique Cafe's Rudolph 2, adding her name with Swirley from 8CP.

Anxious to see these shirts in action!

Christmas Shirts, Part 1

I still have a lot of holiday shirts in my line-up, but here are some of the ones I've completed so far. I started with the ones that had to be shipped the farthest, and this week I'm moving to all my little church buddies. :)

Amy ordered these for Jenn's boys:

Sean loves trains, so Amy selected Applique Cafe's Christmas Train. I used Whoa Nelly from 8 Claws and a Paw to add his name.

For Nathan we used Planet Applique's Gift Wagon. I love all of PA's little holiday wagon designs. I think I own them all, and this is the first time I've used one!

These are the shirts for Amy's girls:

She picked Applique Cafe's Rudolph 2, and Riley from 8 Claws and a Paw for their names. (The bows are from a little 3-pack at Hobby Lobby, so perfect!)

This sweet onesie is for tiny little Loralai:

I used Embroidery Boutique's Round Vintage ornament, and Sweet Tarts from 8 Claws and a Paw. LOVE this font! Only my second time using it, so it has to get into the rotation more often.

And finally, a shirt for Dashiell.

 Lynnie Pinnie released another version of the Jesus is the Reason for the Season tree design.

Since I used the more girly version for Annaliese, I thought this would make a great coordinating set of shirts. Eh, this isn't the best picture but you get the gist. I'll take a picture of the kids together in front of our Christmas tree this weekend!