Hip Clips

For those using Fast Frame and trying to avoid the use of sticky paper the world of clips and tape can become a bit obsessive. I am sure that the folks at Office Depot think I have a sick and un-natural love for office supplies given how often I stop in to scout out the aisles looking for items that could make embroidery easier. This week's trip netted these cute little clips that I am trying out today.

Made from a slightly pliable but strong plastic, they are easy to put on the frame and seem to have a pretty firm grip on the stabilizer and frame.

This seems to be some sort of house brand for office dept since the packaging information is all but non-existent. But at $2 for the package it seemed worth the gamble and I look forward to trying them out and seeing if they are another tool to add to my embroidery arsenal.

whooooo who..to you!

Up late stitching out samples and playing with funky color and fabric combos on my new Sweet Charity collection. Rather the girly owl...no?

Thread-bare style..making it happen

A couple of people have asked me how to achieve the thread-bare style so I thought I would put together this little tut for that very purpose!

For the best use of your applique fabric print out your template and line it up in your hoop so you will know how much fabric you need to put in place.
Put your fabric down with a bit of temporary spray adhesive. Then run the first step of the design

On this particular design there are is a second layer of applique so after the first step you will lay on the "earth" part and then run that step.

After any inner parts of the the design have been secured it will then be time to trim them step by step.. No need to get super close when trimming since you want that frayed look to the edges.

Run all of the rest of the detail and thread changes

After it's all done you will want to trim out your main fabric... remember.. not to close!

Now.. time to ruff things up a bit! Take your fingernail or a bone folder and scruff up the edge fabric so it begins to fray. Trim any overly long threads that occur. (ohhhh.. looks like somebody could use a good manicure!)

If using the design as a patch then trim UNDER the fringe edge and give it a firm pressing.

Meet the Girls!..enter the Giveaway!

I have had the best time creating these little ladies! Based on traditional European nesting dolls these girls were created in-the-hoop and are sized just right for little hands. ( Mama dolls are about 6.5 inches tall when stuffed, babies are about 3.5 inches)

The complete collection contains 5 mama dolls with apron pockets, 1 non-mama doll, and 1 baby in two file choices of singleton or twin file ( hint: even if you just want to give one baby with a mama, make two and stash the other away for when the first baby gets lost!) The collection also includes one file that makes a teen-friendly 4inch thread-bare style patch with a blanket stitched edge and one fully embroidered file to run on a bag or shirt.

The collection can be purchased from THIS direct link or you can go to my temporary web site FRESH THREAD for more information. ( Please choose the PayPal option) The complete collection is $10 and includes a release to create the dolls for local craft shows and bazaars but NOT for sale on online shops such as Etsy and personal crafting websites.


Best yet!.. To celebrate the release of this new collection I am having a giveaway! Just leave a comment and you will be entered into a drawing for a free Lovies design collection in PES format or a Free mama/doll combo of your choice! Easy hu? The drawing will be on the 3rd of August!


EDIT: Ugh!.. seems that Blogger is being a bit of a pain and some of you are having trouble posting a comment.. I am working on it right now. One fix seems to be is to choose anonymous and then after typing your comment to then choose PREVIEW and then post.. I was able to get a few test messages through this way when posting from a computer that Blogger did not recognize. Sorry for the trouble.. doing all I can to make it right.

Everyone loves cupcakes!

Sweet and with lots of frosting but not one single calorie!.. this cupcake is sized perfectly for tiny t-shirts and baby clothing.

Please be so kind as to send people here to download the design as opposed to giving away a copy. I also appreciate feedback on the design and if you make something special with it.. send me a photo and I will post it up for everyone to see! Click HERE to go to 4Shared file saring service and download your Pes file for this design.

Tiny Tape Measures are Finally here!

Well that took a bit longer than I had expected and we had to throw up a temporary web site since the other one is not near done.. but I am happy to say that the Tiny Tape Measure collection #1 is done and ready for Sale. I also have in a stock of the METRO tape measures that this design collection is made for. Please stop by since I have a little cupcake freebie up on my site. It's been sized just right to go on a little girl's t-shirt or on a baby onsie.. make sure to come by and grab it from the design page at FRESH THREAD.