All Things Pretty

A gift for my daughter

2012-03-06T23:30:00.001-06:00

When my dd first moved out of the house to go to college dorm, I promised to make her a robe. I leafed through several sewing catalogues to find a pattern, waited for the 99 cents sale and finally bought one. Then the 50% off fleece sale came through and I rushed to the store. I also called her from the store to find out what was her color preference. Not to mention, this was all within the last two weeks of her homestay before leaving for college. I studied the pattern in detail and cut out the pieces for her size. Then, suddenly, the project lost steam and the fleece was wrapped up in plastic bag and sat amongst my ever increasing pile of fabric. Every time my dd came home she asked me if I had started working on the robe and every time I replied 'I will, as soon as I can get my life together', but trivial things and silly excuses kept me pushing off the project.
Meanwhile, I even bought more robe patterns that were not even vastly different from the existing ones. I bought more fabrics too.

Pattern used

Then the day arrived when she graduated from college and moved on to grad school in a different state. The robe was still not done and the fleece stared at my face - and I occasionally glanced at the fleece with a twinge of guilt - a guilt not for making the gift but for allowing myself to bound by my compulsive obsession that eventually choked my stimulus. (Am I being too harsh on myself?)

Piles of fabric filled boxes occupying my master closet were a sure testament to my compulsive hoarding nature. I had a project in mind with every single one of these fabrics yet I never got around doing most of them. What was once a source of inspiration was now a source of constant anguish. Every single one of them was so precious that I felt I would scar them if I cut through them - so they languished in the boxes smelling of mothballs.
All over the internet people have been de-stashing by opening up sales and giveaways. I was ready to de-stash too, but not ready to part with my fabrics, at least not yet.
Deep breath, one day at a time, one goal at a time is my motto now. So what if I never reach the finish line? Someday I will be close to it, so in the meantime let me enjoy this journey!
My dd said 'I could have bought one long time ago, but have been waiting for you to make me one'.
I could not procrastinate any more - I pulled out the fleece and the pattern. Of course it had to have some embroidery too, I needed to add my signature. At least this time I did not try to create my own embroidery design I used one from myembroideries.com.

With love I present to my dear daughter -

Close up

A daughter is a mother's gender partner, her closest ally in the family confederacy, an extension of herself. ~Author Unknown

Roses - symbol of love and beauty

2012-02-13T21:35:00.000-06:00

The roses that survived the parching summer of 2011 are now in full bloom, creating an appealing spot of color palette in the midst of grey winter. Coincidentally, my Amazon book order of 'The embroidery of Roses' has also arrived. Snapshots of these beautiful flowers have inspired me to create a series on digitized rose gardens inside the house.

Love is in the air!

I want the world to know that my creation of beautiful blooms is my token of love and affection for you my dear valentine ... to honor our beginning and our journey together.
Besame Mucho!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPRESlT4Ccg&feature=artist

Font class

2012-02-07T13:50:00.000-06:00

My font embroidery class was quite successful! I have never digitized fonts before, so teaching this class was a learning experience for me.What I found was that PSW 2.0 not only has 48 built in fonts, but also allows you to access the true type fonts that are already installed in your machine. In addition, you can download new ones from free font sites. Of course, don't forget to check the free download policy if you are using the fonts for some kind of profit. The downloaded fonts are strictly for personal use.

One of my students posed a challenge - creating an applique design, instead of a filled design which I had prepared for the class. We were able to create one, but were limited by the font choice. A neighborhood lunch gathering provided me with another opportunity to create some fun type fonts for personalized name pillows for two kids. The pillow materials were somewhat fuzzy and uneven, which posed a risk that the designs might sink in and get somewhat lost. Also, correct hooping and centering was a challenge too.

Instinctively, I knew that the designs needed a good underlay that would create a good foundation for the top stitches. Also, the stitch type would have to be something other than satin since the width of the individual lettering was more than 11 mm in certain places. I left the density at 4 since I did not want any of the fuzzy materials to show up between the stiches and used a step satin stitch. My pull compensation was set at 3 and 2. The final stitching was not too bad except for a couple of places where there was some shifting and the guideline did not get covered with the top stitch. This did not happen when I stitched this out on a velvet material. I used iron on tear away stabilizer for the back and tear away washable stabilizer on the top. I am not sure if the top stabilizer was not pinned tight enough and maybe that caused this to happen.

I must also mention here that I am very grateful to Pat of Sewamused for her help. She is always very quick with her knowledgeable response. Check out her books on her yahoo group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TeamSewAmused/.

Ok so now onto how I converted the Curlz MT filled font to an applique.

After building the stiches, I added an outline stich manually around each letter.
I copied and pasted the line two times with a stop in between each.
Then I started editing the second layer of the outline stich by converting it to a column satin stitch that set to a width of 15 and higher density of 20, so the stiches were spaced enough to create a zig-zag look.
The last, or topmost outline, was converted to column satin stich with a density of 4 and a width of 30. I used a guideline to make sure that the applique material was snuggly tacked and the top stich would cover the edge of the cut area properly.
I did not use any underlay, but I would If I were stiching this out on a towel or a fuzzy material. Putting an underlay can be a part of future editing. Lastly, I deleted the original filled space.

The first layer of outline stich served as a guideline on the base fabric that was used as a visual aid to lay the applique material. The second layer of zig-zag stich was used for tacking the applique fabric and as a guide for cutting out the excess. The last layer of dense stich was the actual top stich to hold the material in place.

I also used my fonting experience to create a frame and stabilizer holder.

Bunnies in my yard

2011-11-21T11:13:00.000-06:00

Last year, we moved into our new house before the landscaping was complete. Our yard was lacking in shrubs and flowers, and I could not bear the thought of wasting the beautiful summer sunshine so I planted a small watermelon plant which eventually grew to take over the entire garden area. A little jack rabbit found his way to our unkempt garden, and selected a watermelon, taking breaks to nibble on the fruit as it ran around the house all day. He had the discipline to return to the same watermelon every day, leaving the remaining melons for us to enjoy! This summer he has returned once again, this time accompanied by a family of 5 cute jack rabbit children.

This draft was written and the embroidery was completed early this summer. However, I kept procrastinating on the mitered border, which would add the finishing touch to the project. This was mainly due to my lack of confidence about the process of mitering.
Finally, I found this excellent tutorial that has tips on precise measurements that never let you go wrong. With a little bit more practice, which could mean more placemats or more pillowcases, I will master this technique. And guess what - the ruler that I had been using for so many years also had the 45 degree angle marked which I had never noticed before!

This is a medley of designs from Dainty Stitches, and lots of freebies from different sites collected over the years.

Orange Cranberry bread and more ...

2011-10-23T13:18:00.002-05:00

One of my most tried and true recipes is for orange cranberry bread. I've lost count of how many times I have made this bread, and every time it has been received with much enthusiasm. Last week I was invited to a garden club meeting in our neighborhood, and I decided to make this fruity treat for the wonderful ladies.

Orange cranberry bread

2 cups all-purpose flour sifted

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature or oil

1 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbsp. grated orange zest

1 egg

1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries

1/4 cup chopped dried apple

3/4 cup orange juice

Stir flour,sugar,baking powder,baking soda and salt in a bowl.Add the dry fruits and nuts and mix.
Beat egg, stir in orange juice and oil. Mix with the dry ingredients. Pour the batter in a greased 9x5x3 baking loaf pan. Bake at 350 degree Fahrenheit for 50 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

.Of course, no treat of mine is complete without an embroidered accompaniment.

I used a vintage design from www.daintystitches.biz for the bread bag. Although I liked the designs, it seems like the stitches are kind of loose. I am afraid that the stitches might come off after a few washes. I may try to edit the design.

The wine bottle apron is from http://www.4shared.com/photo/uAvL8HYA/wine_bottle_pattern.html with a design from ABC embroidery and SewBeautiful. Coasters are from fromtheneedleofanne.com. I decided to add the pocket to place the coasters.

The black bag with the fruit design is again one of my experiments in fancy fill design.

To affirm my passion for yarn

2011-10-14T06:34:00.000-05:00

I love yarn - Oct 14, 2011
Crochet shawl

Rendition of my individual expression

2011-10-01T10:19:00.002-05:00

Today is 'Panchami', the fifth day of Navaratri. Durga Puja starts tomorrow, on the sixth day. Since the Austin community is small, we celebrate this festival over the weekend because the celebration depends on the availability of the rental hall, which is booked far in advance and cannot always coincide with the exact date. However, we always manage to celebrate somewhat in the proximity of the auspicious calendar. It is our attempt to unite as a part of a bigger family, to pass on to our kids our heritage, and to spend a day in merry making.

Personally, I do not miss the Puja so much, but I miss the excitement of the days and months of preparation in anticipation of this big day. My Ma would spend days planning, designing and shopping for fabrics, laces and buttons. She would stay up late in order to finish new clothes for all four sisters (we had a new dress to wear everyday for all four days of puja, and sometimes one for the morning and another for night). The house was scrubbed and cleaned, all furniture dusted and realigned. Finally, on the morning of ''panchami, we would put up our clean sets of curtains, heirloom table and bed linens; all created so lovingly by my great grandmother and aunts, carefully preserved over the years. The house would dazzle with the fresh new look. Every year this was our ritual. I feel dizzy thinking about it, and the nostalgia drives my creativity.

Here is my rendition of my individual expression.

Finger towels - A freebie from www.annaboveembroidery.com/

Bath towel set - Endless Elegance from www.myembroideries.com

Stitch delight design http://www.stitchdelight.net/proddetail.asp?prod=SD606

Patio cushions - combination of freebie and designs from http://www.bfc-creations.com/

My love for line art continues...

2011-09-24T07:32:00.003-05:00

One of my previous digitizing class was creation of simple line design and using the technique of copy and paste to create a juxtaposed look in a contrasting color. While the first line art started at the bottom and finished at the top, the process of copy and paste created a huge jump stich when I pasted the design. I was able to exchange the start and end position to create the final version thus eliminating the jump stitch.The lesson also involved using a color stop, deleting the stop,changing color, changing stitch type, working with different designs, and understanding parameter settings.

On one of my recent trips to Quebec city I was lucky to get hold of a book by Vale'rie Caterin -

L'atelier de Lilie. It is full of beautiful art work suitable for redwork embroidery.
Here is one that I have digitized.

A design out of Mains Merveiles

2011-08-31T12:38:00.000-05:00

Last night, I was browsing through the pages of Mains Merveiles, and this cute design caught my attention.

I immediately started digitizing it, which is not a norm because I am a big hoarder; I always save things for later, waiting for the right moment. But, I try to remind myself these days that I need to create my happy moments.

The design came out perfect and I made it into a door hanger. My dh is coming back after a long trip and I will not be home to receive him, so it will serve as my welcome note - wink!

Fancy Fills in Machine Embroidery

2011-08-25T12:31:00.005-05:00

When Mary asked me to offer a class in fancy fills with PSW2.0 I was ecstatic. Way back in late 80's, one evening as I was browsing through some clearance sales of books at a local grocery store, I found this book that had a picture of a beautiful shadow work embroidery on white cotton organdy. This design alone was worth the price of the book. I would have started on the embroidery right away except that I did not have the white organdy. Remember, this was before the internet era where you could google 'organdy fabric' and pull out your credit card and place a mail order. Coming weekend and every other weekend after that whenever I would call up my mil I would remind her to buy several mitres of the material. A couple of years later my dh had an opportunity to visit home and he brought back my treasure. My mind was at peace at last!

Shadow work from the book

In the last 20+ years I have done a lot of embroidery work, but I never got around to do this fall shadow work simply because I had the material and I kept telling myself - I can start any day! Long past are the days when I would work meticulously on hand embroidery. I am now a proud owner of SingerXL 6000 and armed with the digitizing software. I finally took upon the task of creating the design - just that this was a mock shadow work. The digitizing was rather simple with some amount of editing, but it took 20+ hoopings to finish the project.

Finally I have my white organdy runner with fall leaves scattered all over ready for fall decoration. This will also be my tutorial for the upcoming design class at the local store.

My table runner