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Showing posts with label Machine Embroidery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Machine Embroidery. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Hoop The Unhoopable? Floriani Perfect Stick to the Rescue :)



I'd like to introduce everyone to one of my dear friends, Karin.  Karin has done machine embroidery for many years and is much more knowledgable than I am currently about the subject.  She has agreed to be my Embroidery Consultant and write guest posts for IHAN blog readers.  So without further ado....Karin...take it away :)  

Hoop the unhoopable?  Yup, it can be done!  You just have to have the right tools to do the job, and Floriani has ‘em!  The other day, I wanted to embroider along the edge of some pillowcases.  But how was I gonna hoop them so they’d stay where I wanted them and the embroidery would still be aligned properly?

Not a problem -- Perfect Stick to the rescue!  



I hooped my regular tear-away stabilizer, then I added a strip of Perfect Stick right down the middle.  How come Perfect Stick doesn’t stick to my hoop?  Because it’s got a layer of paper over the sticky part (which keeps it from accidentally collecting those loose threads, too!).  Here I’ve scored it with a pin & I’m ready to remove the protective paper from my stitching area. 

Because my design was so large, I had to rotate the design so that it stitched from the top of the hoop to the bottom of the hoop, and that made the design read from right to left when the pillowcase was removed from the hoop.  Clear as mud, right?  It’s lots easier to understand by looking at the picture:
That little blue dot is my center (left to right & top to bottom – a lot of people use lines & crosshairs, but I like to live dangerously and just wing it!), and the pillowcase is rolled up in the throat of the machine, to the right of the hoop.  And the checkerboard?  That’s the sun coming through the window & casting a shadow of my rubber shelving; sorry about that.  But, you can see how my pillowcase isn’t really hooped, right?  See the edge of it, about 2 inches from the hoop on the left?  Couldn’t do *that* with just regular stabilizer…not without puckers, you couldn’t! 
OK, now we’re ready to press Start & go get ourselves a cuppa.  ROFL!  I don’t know about YOU, but I *never* go get a cuppa!  I’m the world’s biggest klutz, and I’m married to the world’s next biggest klutz (don’t believe me?  ha – I have stories, and from 500 miles away, I can see Kelly nodding her head in agreement!) so I don’t bring drinks into my sewing room, and I really don’t ever leave the machine untended.  Seems that every time I turn my back on him, I hear ca-chink, thunk, klunk, and brrrrrrrmp….and when I come back, I see the screen that tells me to check upper thread (it’s usually broken, just like the needle, at that point).  So, I just sit & watch it work, or at least stay really, really close by.  Besides, even after all this time, I am still fascinated by the fact that a machine is doing all the work & I get all the credit.
So, we’ve got our pillowcase hooped & sewn, what do we do now?  Because Perfect Stick is tear-away, that’s what we do!  We carefully remove the hoop from the machine, trim the jump stitches & begin tearing the stabilizer away from our project.

See how easily it comes off?  If you’re really careful (and cheap, like me), you can patch those holes with another piece and re-use the larger one.  I can get about 3 uses out of the bottom layer before it begins to lose its stick.
You may notice a layer of stabilizer fused to the pillowcase – that’s Floriani No-Show Fusible Mesh, just to give a little more stability to the pillowcase…I really don’t like puckers in my finished products.  And speaking of puckers, I bet you’ve also noticed that rubber-shelving stuff I have on my hoops….that’s what I use to really secure the fabric in my hoops (when I bother to hoop the fabric!).  That stuff is just like Super Glue, only better, because there’s no glue residue and it lets go easily when I want to remove the fabric.

If you don’t want to use a tear-away product to hoop your unhoopables, Floriani has a sticky wash-away product, as well.  It’s called Wet n Gone Tacky, and it works pretty much the same way….just cut a piece big enough for your project, hoop it up (I won’t object if you whoop it up too!), remove the paper, stick your project to it & sew!  Only difference is when you go to remove the project, you need to cut it off the stabilizer with scissors (not your good shears – use a pair from the Dollar Store!).  You’ll be left with this:
Now, to be honest, I ran my pillowcase under some cold water, and let it dry in the sun.  That didn’t take long; I believe it was about 105* that day!  But, apparently, I didn’t get all the stabilizer washed out, because I was left with a hard & scratchy pillowcase edge.  Not at all suitable for the little punkin-heads I was sewing for!  So, I threw just threw all 6 pillowcases into the wash, dried ‘em, and then pressed them.  After that, the No-Show Mesh was still in place (that stuff is wonderful!) and all the tear-away & wash-away was gone.  I fused another layer of No-Show Mesh over the stitching to hold it all in place and give it a little nicer finish, gave them all another quick press, and I was done!
Not bad for a day’s work, if I do say so myself!  Couldn’t have done it without Floriani’s Perfect Stick tho!
Want to see some more unhoopables?  Check out the lunchboxes I got for my grandkids:


Cute, huh?  Well that little flap is about the ONLY thing that lays flat, and all the rest of it is insulated, too, so if I had stitched there, I’d be putting holes in the insulation…not so smart.
Here’s how I hooped ‘em:

And here’s how they look now:

OK, I lied.  That’s how they looked about an hour ago.  Now they’re all boxed up and ready to ship out!!   Perfect results, with Perfect Stick, every time!


Best Regards,
Karin

Thank you Karin!!!  If you would like to contribute to the IHAN blog, just e-mail me at IHaveANotion@yahoo.com and we'll discuss it .

Smiles,
Kelly

Thursday, April 26, 2012

A Real Catch

My brother, Cordie, turned 50 this week.  EKKKKKK....you know what that means....I'm next!!  For now, I'll put that out of my thoughts and show you some of his birthday gifts.
 
Yes of course it is a red kitchen towel that says, Gone Fishin' :)  Who do you think taught me to fish?  Yep, you guessed it, Cordie did.
Zach proudly made this towel....he is getting really good at choosing colors and threading the machine (he is 7 years old....so I don't want to hear it is a hard thing to do...ok?  OK! :)
Pillow cases and brand spankin' new pillows too!!!  Took a trip over to the Quilt Foundry and the bolt was almost empty....but there was just enough for these two pillowcases...phew! And yes I had the decency to put a brand new pillow into the other pillowcase too....can't give a 50 year old guy just one ya know :)

When you think the world is too complicated and everything is going to hates in a hand basket....remember my brother, Cordie and you will smile...a wide happy smile...I promise.

My sister, Tracy is on the left and my brother, Cordie is on the right.  I've already shared about Tracy...let me tell you a little about Cordie...something other than he's 50 now....I can't believe he is 50...blows my mind.

Cordie is discovering "sniping" in this photo.....he was tickled beyond belief and almost burst with joy after "snyping" with his two sons.  He has not seen his boys in a few years although he talks to them every few days.  This is the first time he has ever been able to see them....and yes he was using Skype....ROFL.  He had never heard of Skype and had no idea what that was all about and I'm telling you I think it was absolutely the best thing he could have gotten for his birthday....the joy of seeing his sons.  I must say it was a heart warming treat for all of us.

Cordie has been single for years I asked him if he was interested in meeting a woman and he said...."well yes now they would be too old to have more children."  I fell out laughing.  He lives a simple life, he gets up and has some coffee,  goes to work, comes home, eats, takes a nap and visits a friend to watch TV on occasion.   If you think I'm even kidding....I'm not.  That is his life, and he is one of the happiest people I know.  Cordie appreciates everything and many of the things the rest of us would miss.  Every time he calls me he tells me he is standing looking at the beautiful pictures of my children or my family and how much he loves me.  How many men do you know that do that?  He is a rare gem indeed :)

When he opened his gifts he held them....examined them....and beamed with joy.  That's why I love making things for him....he just treasures them. 

Grateful Smiles,
Kelly




Saturday, October 15, 2011

A Little Bit of Everything

**Edited 10/16/11

Beautiful Autumn in Ohio

I walked around the corner and saw my co-workers standing on the back of the sofa...hmmmm?
As I got closer I understood why they were glued to the window...check this out:
How on earth did that grasshopper get up in that spiders web?  This is over 6 feet above the ground.  Sort of gross I know....but cool at the same time.
I dropped by Waldo's house and this is what she has on her design wall.  These blocks stopped me in my tracks.  The stripes, polka dots and solids (sm prints that read solid) just work so well together....and who would have thought?
(for all you new followers-Waldo is Mrs. Rosemary my friend and neighbor..I call her Waldo because she pops up in lots of photos so it is like a Where is Waldo books)

I had to do a close up of this block....I just love it.  It has both Kaffe Fassett fabrics and Marcia Derse fabrics in there.  The is Tuscan Windmills by Kaye England.  The funny thing is Waldo's blocks look nothing like the quilt on the cover of the pattern because she chose such different fabrics....it completely changes the look of the quilt all together. 

Back to the co-workers.....Zach was a bit lost because he didn't know what he wanted to do this morning.  I made a few suggestions and as we were passing through the kitchen he said, "Momma, I think I was born to cook."  Who knew?  So we took out some fun stuff from the cupboard.  As he was looking for the beaters he came across a little plastic bowl cover.  He asked, "Momma, is this from when I was a baby?"  LOL....ummmm   no....it is a plastic bowl cover.  Zach promptly put it on his head like it was a hat....do you wonder where he gets this stuff from?  I just had to grab my camera and take his picture.

Chef Zach....waring an apron his Momma made and his baret' aka...plastic bowl cover :)

Here you can see what we call, "cooking from scratch"....ROFL

This kid is going places....I just know it!

Back to sewing now....I have been learning Machine Embroidery and this is a kitchen towel I made using a ME Design I purchased recently...Whimsical Flowers by Mary Gartner.  The design is absolutely beautiful and I wanted it to go in my green kitchen.  Who learns to do ME and chooses a pattern that requires 21 thread changes?  I'm nuts....but I loved the pattern and dog-gone-it I was going to have it.  Unfortunately I got all the threads in the wrong order and some I substituted so I think it looks like a cloth from a Caribbean trinket gift shop...LOL.  However...it's mine and it is now hanging in my kitchen and I love it.

Now, on to Thursday night's Black Swamp Quilt Guild Meeting.  We had several guests and one of them is from Australia. 
 
This is Lyn Gladwin from Southern Australia.  She is in town for her son's wedding.  She brought this beautiful quilt to show all of us.  The bottom of the quilt represents the farm fields and the top left is the Australian Outback and the upper right represents Queensland (tropical climate). 
It was made for her soon to be daughter-in-law.  The title is, "My Australia."  I was thrilled to meet Lyn and Nancy and  hear a little about their lives.  Lovely women and definitely a highpoint of  the evening.
Another highpoint of the guild meeting was the 4 Corners Show and Share....or what ever it was called?  I didn't take enough photos so I'll just share this one with you.

This is Mary Lee and she demonstrated how she makes her free form quilts.  She is definitely an art quilter and she is in the "zone" when she is slicing, sewing and dicing.   Mary Lee gave a full demonstration of the process and then shared her quilt in progress that uses the methods she uses.  She used Marcia Derse fabrics .... another quilt I want to steal. 

Edit below
Each month we acknowledge those with birthdays that month.  One of the gals, Cindy, turns fifty this month and in honor of her 50th birthday....she has finished her 50th quilt this month.  I had my facts wrong, I had said Cindy made 50 quilts in one month.  YES that is 50 quilts in one month.  Now, she looked somewhat rested and didn't look like she was starving to death....I have no clue how she managed the feat...but she did.  You may remember Cindy and Mary Lee took first place in the Iron Quilter Challenge a few months ago.  In an hour and 15 minutes they made and finished a wall quilt.  If you missed that post...click here.  Perhaps that's how she managed 50 quilts....a few times a day she put her hat on and assumed the mindset of the Iron Quilter.  You can only wonder :)

These are the charity quilts that were donated this month.  Yes, this is one months....not 6 months...but one month of donated quilts.  Each month I'm amazed at how quickly this table fills up and the good fortune I have to be a part of a group of women who are so talented and generous.

That is pretty much a run down of my week....other than running a business, being a mother to the two IHAN co-workers and a wife.....ok...I'm going to rest now....don't expect a post tomorrow...I may just want to zone out :)

Hope you had a wonderful week!

Smiles,
Kelly

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Smith Street Designs Wildflower Pattern with CD

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to be able to join some gals in the local Machine Embroidery Guild at one of their stitch-ins.  I don't have an Embroidery Machine but I've always wanted to learn what they are about.  Wow was I surprised to see the varieties of machines and the amazing quilt pattern everyone was working on.  The pattern is called Wildflower and it is by Smith Street Designs.

This is my friend, Diane's block.  Everyone was working with batiks and they were absolutely beautiful.
These machines are soooo cool.  Diane was showing me all the bells and whistles on her machine.  I was fascinated by how her machine knew just where to stitch and it moved around the hoop until it found where it was going to stitch. 

Isn't this Sunflower beautiful on the batik?

I am amazed by how sophisticated these designs and the machines are.  I know it sounds like I live under a rock and I don't.  But honestly I don't think I ever really took the time to investigate what machine embroidery is all about.  If you think Machine Embroidery is just for monogramming and little pictures on towels.....you are like me and I'm telling you there is another world out there.....I just peeked in and it sure is impressive.

Smiles,
Kelly

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