We Love Our Teachers!

I know teacher appreciation week was earlier this month, but I wanted to give one more token of our appreciation to the teachers who have worked with our kids this year. Conveniently a couple of designs I had the opportunity to test for Embroidery Boutique worked perfectly!
First an apron for Annaliese's teacher:

This is EB's Split Pencils design. I added the name of our school with EB's Chloe. I had fun picking fabrics for this!

Last week was our preschool's end of the year program (I wish you could have seen Dashiell sing with all his heart!) We appreciate all the hard work Ms. Vicki put into the program getting the kids ready to perform. This towel is for her:

I used EB's Treble Clef design

And for Ms Cindy... several weeks ago she misplaced her school keys (with the key fob I had made her a couple years ago). I decided to replace it, but with something new, Embroidery Garden's new Shabby Key Ring (a freebie on her yahoo group). I added the C with 8CP's Linda.

 

True story, less than 30 minutes after she opened this, she found her missing keys. Our director told me I should have made the replacement sooner. :)

Repairing and Accessorizing my Vera Bradley Purse

I love my Vera Bradley purse. When the print I wanted was discontinued I watched the online price carefully until it got low enough that I could justify buying it, and I bought two coordinating napkins so I could make my own accessories.
I made one key fob three months later, and then five months after that I made a second key fob that was longer in length.
And then nothing... no more in-the-hoop accessories even though I had lofty goals.

I've used the purse for 2 years now and it's starting to show it's age, especially the handles with exposed batting. Before retiring the bag, I decided to attempt repairing it myself with the napkins I still had laying around! I am blown away by how just a little bit of effort made a huge difference in the appearance!

I don't really have good pics of how I did it. I just cut 3.5" strips, wrapped them around the handles, folding in the outside edge, pinned in place, and stitched three quilting lines like what was already on the handle. It's not perfect, but it sure looks better than it did!

Then with the remaining fabric I finally took time to make some coordinating zipper totes:

The first two cases are from Embroidery Garden's Zipper Cases set. This is the debit/business card holder. I used the Smaller Fancy Circle monogram from the Itch 2 Stitch.

I also followed the directions for adding a divider in the middle. I'm not the best photographer though. :)

I also made the iPhone case. I wish I could claim that this was on purpose, but check out my happy accident! I could not have matched those fabrics along the zipper more perfectly if I tried!!

FYI, even though this zipper case was designed for the shorter iPhone 4, an iPhone 5 does fit comfortably inside, as long as it isn't in a case. Right now I have my iPhone in a silicone case, and while I can get it in the zipper tote, I can't quickly remove it, which might be problematic while answering a call. But that may be more the nature of the stickyish silicone and not the size. In reality it doesn't matter, I wasn't planning on using it as an iPhone case, just wanted to make this size. :)

And finally I made a see-through case. This 4x4 design is currently a freebie on EG's Facebook page, so if you do machine embroidery, go grab it fast!

So in this case, procrastination paid off. I still had fabric left to fix my handles, and I was less nervous about cutting apart my napkins and trying out these zipper cases since it was for an old bag anyway. Now that I've practiced, I can move forward confidently making accessories for my new VB backpack, which I got on sale after Christmas. Hopefully that blog post won't be another 2 years off. :)

Let me add that I use Vera Bradley napkins for personal use only. I haven't done any research, but I'm guessing their fabrics would fall under the same category as licensed fabric which is not intended for commercial use.

Zipper totes!!

I bought Embroidery Garden's Zipper Cases set way back in April when it was released, but I'm embarrassed to say I just this month finally put them to use! I always have lofty goals...
I made these two for sweet little girls that have been my guinea pigs and gift recipients for over five years... it's getting hard to come up with new ideas. Ha!

 EG's zipper cases are completely lined with no exposes seams. She's a genius! I used different shades of lime on the inside of these:

 These files are designed to be quilted, but I opted to skip the batting and quilting lines. (Tip, if you decide to do this, be sure you fabric is very secure (spray and pins) before monogramming, otherwise you will end up with a puckery mess. Ask me how I know.)
I used 8CP's Golden to add their names. Such a great font for girls!

 I also made a zipper tote for one of Annaliese's school buddies. I did hers first, and it was because of the sparkly stars on this fabric that I got the notion to skip the quilting lines. BUT for whatever reason I didn't think to secure the fabric that well, and WHOA did I get some puckers. Oh well, my daughter loved it and insisted on giving it anyway. Which was good, I didn't have time nor another zipper that color. :) I used 8CP's Pixie Dust to add her name. Remember, puckers are user error, not design or font issues!!
This zipper matched some of the shiny star bursts, so I picked that color for the thread. But I didn't have any fabric that color in my stash, so white it was for the lining.

These are so fun! Just today I ordered myself a new Vera Bradley bag with matching napkin -- I plan to make some coordinating items! :)

Happy Owlidays!

Those who have been reading my blog for a while know that I was a teacher before having kids, and therefore have a heart for all of those who work at a school. We like to give a small token of our gratitude to the men and women who teach Annaliese, whether it be all day in the classroom or for a little bit each week in special area.

You probably also know that their school mascot is an owl, so it should come as no surprise that when Embroidery Garden shared this owl post it note holder as a freebie in the yahoo group in November I knew immediately what we were going to give this year!!

(The design is no longer a freebie, but is available for purchase on her website, in two sizes: Owl Post It Holders Set. Reen is very generous with in the hoop freebies each month, be sure to join her yahoo group and like her facebook page!)

Now, did I jump on it and make them right away, or wait until the last possible minute? Sigh.... I guess it doesn't matter really, they would have been delivered on the last day of school either way!

The directions call for one loop of ribbon to hold the pen, but I was inspired by another project (posted on the EG Facebook wall) that used 2 loops of ribbon -- looks like feet sitting on a branch! My goal was to find natural wood pencils, but I ran out of time to track those down.

To streamline the process I merged 2 copies of the design in my 6x10 hoop, and got an assembly line going. I stitched out 10 of them in one day! Ready to go:

And here are two in the hoop ready to be trimmed. There wasn't much space between them, so I had to trim carefully. (Also thankful to report that all 26 loops of orange ribbon stayed in tact, too! Whew!)

This is the front of the completed post-it note holder:

And the back, with two magnetic strips glued on. Man, that E6000 glue has a strong smell, my head ached the rest of the day!!

We were able to personally deliver 11 of the 13, and they were very well received. I love being able to make cute unique things. :)

Recent events make me mindful of how the responsibilities of educators extend far beyond just teaching academics. I find peace knowing that when we drop Annaliese off she is loved and cared for by professionals that keep her safe and happy while she learns. To all of you who have chosen a career in education -- THANK YOU!! May you have a restful holiday break.

Pencil Pouch

I finished this just in the nick of time! When Embroidery Garden released this cute Pencil Case Set a few weeks ago, I immediately thought it was adorable and debated for a few days whether or not to purchase the designs. I caved just before the coupon code expired, but required myself to make one for Annaliese before started school. Tomorrow is the first day, and guess what I JUST took pictures of... :)

This ITH design is lined with no exposed seams. It's so neat to watch how EG's designs are constructed! This pouch features a front vinyl pocket so you can see the contents. Believe it or not, this was the very first time I have used vinyl in an embroidery design. I'm anxious to see how this holds up to daily use by a third grader!

I added a few things to the pencil case as it stitched out:
First of all I wanted to put Annaliese's name on the pouch just like it would appear on a personalized pencil. I asked Reen on her Facebook wall which piece of fabric needed to be monogrammed first before constructing the case. She confirmed very quickly that it's the last piece of yellow fabric that is placed on the backside of the hoop. I picked Itty Bitty from 8 Claws and a Paw to stitch her name on the new Riley Blake tone-on-tone chevron I just got in the mail this week.
Another thing I added was an additional loop of ribbon/D-ring so that when Annaliese put it in her 3-hole binder it stays in place instead of sliding around. At the point in the directions when Reen tells you to tape down a loop of ribbon, I simply taped down an additional loop 4.25" below the first one.
And finally with Reen's blessing I swapped out the A that came on the apple zipper pull with the A from the font I used for her name, so it was very matchy-matchy.

Owl Wristlets

As soon as I posted pictures of the owl wristlet I made in August, Cherri asked me to make a couple for her girls for Christmas. Sally got orange and blue:

And Hannah got purple and green:

I failed to take pictures of the inside of them (you can see one here). These wristlets are made completely with the embroidery machine (with the exception of one small opening I had to whip stitch shut by hand). They have a zipper, and are completely lined with no exposed seams. Cool huh?? The design is from Embroidery Garden.

Miscellaneous Stitching...

Eh, I'm trying to catch up. I have a bunch of little stuff that I've done over the past few months but haven't shared yet. So I'm going to throw them all at you in one big post.
Monogrammed Flower Flip Flops -- I put all the design and how-to details in a blog post earlier this year, you can find it here. I made three more pairs at the end of July:

Key Chains:
Sabrina asked me to make one for her niece, and Rebekah asked me to make a couple for her daughter... these are being used as name tags on back packs and lunch boxes, made from 1.5" ribbon and D-rings:

Key Fobs:
Last weekend our family attended a fun shindig, and what better gift do you take to a sweet sixteen party than a key fob?? It also makes an awesome gift for Annaliese's teacher, whose birthday was this week.

(Quick side note: if you make DigiStitches key fobs, or really any thing that requires a tube that needs to be turned, you MUST get this Quick Turn tool. WOW it makes it unbelievably easy and fast to turn something right side out!!)

And finally my big project of the week... 10 more aprons like the ones I made earlier in the summer.

This was an exciting and successful experiment in running both machines at the same time. What would have taken me over two and a half hours on one machine I got done in less than an hour and a half. Woo-hoo! I won't be able to do this very often, but 2-color embroidery-only designs on aprons was doable. And can only be done when I'm home alone. It's pretty loud, so I don't want to wake sleeping children, or not be able to hear what is going on outside of my room. Or be distracted, that could be disastrous. :)

My first wristlet!

Having a 6x10 hoop has now thrown open the door to in-hoop designs. I know several exist for the 5x7 hoop, but I have done my best to ignore them thus far. But Embroidery Garden released a cute new Owl Wristlet last week that I just had to try. :)

This was made completely in my embroidery machine (with the exception of one small opening I had to whip stitch shut by hand). It has a zipper, and is completely lined with no exposed seams.

 Reen is a genius to figure out how to create the embroidery file to do this, and her directions were flawless!  I'm pleased with my first attempt at these little bags, and see more in my future. Especially since I know Annaliese will want one as soon as she sees it after school. :)