Ginny's Key Chain Order

Ginny ordered 18 key chains to give as gifts to co-workers, friends and family. She gave me a list of names and suggested a color for each one. I went shopping for ribbon and picked thread colors from my stash. I made these in assembly-line fashion: digitized all the names first, embroidered all the ribbons (4 per hooping), trimmed down stabilizer, cut ribbon to size, then stitched ribbon to D-ring. I used clear monofilament thread to stitch the key chains closed so I didn't have to change thread (both top and bobbin) 18 times! I was pleased with the results -- hopefully all the recipients will be, too.
Click for a better view:


Update:
Make that 20 key chains. Here are two more that got left off the original list:

Baby Girl Gift Set

Leslie requested a baby girl gift set similar to the set I did for Kristen a while back. Here's a matching onesie/bib/burp cloth set for little Anila!

The monogram on the burp cloth is from the Dot Alphabet I got on Sew Forum. Kathy digitized the name for me using the font Acadian. The dot frame on the bib and onesie is also a design I got from Sew Forum. The monogram on the onesie was added using Embird Alphabet #17.

Happy Birthday, Elaine!

Today is our preschool director's birthday. I work with her in the office, and every morning around 10am she has to have her daily can of coke. So I made this for her. Kathy digitized her name with Font Engine and a cola font. I did the back with Embird Alpha #2.


She LOVED it, and I already have orders for two more!

UPDATE:
Here are the two that I did for Carol to give as gifts (the backs are the same as Elaine's).

Christmas Bag for ME!!

Even though I've been busy chipping away at my custom order list, and I still have lots to do, I decided to squeeze in a project for myself. My yellow and blue rag-style purse is pretty, but just totally out of season. So I decided to make a new rag-style bag with Christmas fabric. These fabrics came from a fat-quarter bundle I bought years ago and never used. It was nice to have a set of fabrics that went well together. Since I didn't have yardage of any of these prints, I couldn't easily make handles. I purchased some green webbing to use instead. That sure saved time!


A customer has asked me about putting a zipper in a rag-style bag. I told her I would experiment before committing to it. I spent a couple weeks brainstorming how to make it work and didn't come up with a good solution. This weekend when I was talking about it with Valerie, she suggested making a top panel the same size as the base and put the zipper down the middle. What a genius! It worked perfectly! This will especially make Carlin happy -- he complains about how stuff spills out of my bag if it tips over in the car.


And here's a look inside a filled purse. My wallet and another little zippered bag sit in the middle.

Personalized Rag-Style Bag

A friend (whom I will allow to remain anonymous) requested an orange and blue rag-style bag for her Gator sister-in-law as a birthday gift. One of the benefits of being from another state is that I don't have any strong allegiances around these parts, so it didn't pain me to make it as much as it did her to order it. I think it turned out really cute. Fortunately it is the wrong orange and blue, so I wasn't tempted to keep it as an Illini purse for myself.
I made the tab closure wider than my previous purses and put the monogram on it (using Embird Alphabet #33).


The inside features several pockets. Each bag I've made is an improvement on the last, and I think I've finally settled on a standard set of pockets. One side has a 4" and an 8" pocket (the 8" is perfect for a checkbook, 4" can hold a cell phone, sunglasses case or keys). The other side has two 6" pockets (for wallet or whatever else fits). Both ends have a pocket as well, and for one of them I added two lines of stitching to create a place to store pens/pencils.

I've got another bag cut out to make for myself. Hopefully I'll have that done in the next couple of days.

Hooded Towels for more grandkids!

Jan ordered two more hooded towels to give as Christmas presents to the rest of her grandkids. I got them done today so I can deliver them to Jan while she's in town visiting family instead of shipping them down to her home. Saves time and money for all!
I used Embird Alphabet #33 for the text. The crown is the same one I've used several times. The pirate hat came from Sew Forum.

Bibs for Sophia

My friend Tiffany will be visiting family this weekend. Her niece's first birthday is in a week, so Tiffany requested a couple bibs to take her as a gift. The first is one with her name (Embird Alphabet #17)

The second requires a bit of explanation: "Tater is our pug and hangs out under her high chair for dropped goodies." Hee hee... The text is Embird Alphabet #18, and the paw prints came from Sew Forum.


Like my model?? Annaliese wasn't too sure about me putting bibs on her bear...

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.

Madison Cheers on the Noles!

Here's a picture of Madison in her FSU Bandana dress that we gave her for her birthday. Looks like it fits now with room for growth next spring. Whew!
What a cutie...