Mad For Plaid

Years ago when I was first designing I created an alpha file called Mad For Plaid and while it was not the first plaid alpha it was the first affordable one with all the features of the big-boys. It was quite popular and I can thank that collection for paying for my child's extensive dental work!

But time has marched on an many new plaid alphas are on the market but just for fun I created this file ( I lost all the originals to water damage from a leak) and have this Halloween design just for my readers. I hope you enjoy it. The file is made to stitch on tight wovens or sweatshirt material. It is an OPEN design so only use a water soluble topper and don't run this design on towels since it will not work worth a flip on terry. I stitched this sample out on some heavy linen and it's going to be the center of a seasonal pillow with raggedy fringe. The file is hosted here Enjoy!

Like the Coblers Children....

Well a bit like the " cobblers children" it seems that this embroider has been shirking her duties when it comes to her own house and embroidery. Not to mention things to embroider on! I am working on a new tutorial and needed some towels to try out out some things only to find that all of my towels look like kids took them to Summer Camp.. I could not find one decent towel in the whole house! I am SO glad we have not had any company drop in. The poor folk would have to dry off with Kleenex!

So the next chore on my list is to go buy towels and relegate the tawdry towels to the garage for messy work and to the pool cabana for use by lazy teens who seem to leave them out there to bake in the sun until the sun has bleached them pale and stiff, leaving them mere shadows of their former selves!

I am thinking of some Fall/Winter colors since soon I will be switching my house over to it's Fall decor and as much as I love the sunny hues in the Spring and Summer they will look a bit off as soon as things get changed up around here. I am looking forward to the autumnal tones and feeling inspired to embroider something organic and fallish. So Fall towels inspire me... what about you?

A little more Sketchy fun

Oh... I just could not hold back!.. How about a sketchy little dress with some loopy fringe at the bottom? I am thinking of this on a black baby doll t-shirt... then add the words, " Not all bad girls wear black" fun hu? I am thinking this just has to be a collection but along the way I am going to throw in a few more "Sketchy" freebies so keep checking back it will not be long!

Needle-pop Method of Threading

I have been asked quite a few times how I pull a knot through the needle of the machine in order to cut down on time re threading for designs that require more than 6 color changes. I have done my best to explain it but I think a video works better than anything else. Please forgive the slack editing.. I have a new program that is about as intuitive as the instructions that came with my dvd player ( that still blinks 12:00 all the time!) Over all I think you will get the idea! Please leave a comment if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them.

With no further ado... on with the show.......

From the question bag....

Maddie, where do you get wool felt from your Tiny Tape Measures, all I can find at my local fabric store is Acrylic felt.. will that work? Signed, Feeling sheepish in the city

Dear Feeling Sheepish,

While the Tiny Tape measure collection will run on acrylic felt just fine the problem comes into play when you are trying to sew them up.. the acrylic felt is just not strong enough to hold a stitch very well in this case. I personally also rather like the feel of the wool felt not to mention the stunning colors. Of course it's not as easy to find unless you happen to know about Wool Felt Central. Julie over at WFC is a lady who knows her felt and has the colors to back it up. Check out the sample pack... 78 swoon worthy colors in 6x6 size for only $24!!!! BTW.. the Tiny Tape Measure collection was designed to use the WFC 6x6 squares to the maximum advantage and at less than a buck a square it makes making and giving the Tiny Tape Measures very easy! Hope that helps!

A bit Sketchy

As an add-on to some garment bags that are being done for a large wedding party we wanted to add some whimsy which was in keeping with the wedding theme it's self so I came up with this little sketchy dress ( 4x4 hoop) to add to the bags along with the girls names. The bags serve as a way to keep the dresses clean until the wedding ( which will be out in a corn field) and then serve as a gift for the girls to use after that as they choose. Best part is that the design runs in less than 2 minutes and can add up to $5 per bag when done with a monogram.

In my case I am running the design in all one color( black) to contrast with the hot pink garment bags but have set this version of the file to have the option of running in two colors for a bit of fun. Please note that this was a free file but has now been migrated into the Sketchy Collection and can be purchased in that collection.

Good Dog! Leash Caddies are here! and a freebie!

I am so excited to share these with you! As anyone who knows me can tell you, I am all about the pets. In fact we currently have 11 of them! In that 11 are three dogs that really love to go out with us to parks and on hikes. But of course taking them places and being a responsible pet owner means being ready to clean up after them when " nature calls".

Until now that meant stuffing some plastic bags in my back pocket or worse tucking the bags into the waistband of my skirt when without pockets! There had to be a better way! I looked at the pet stores and indeed there were some cleaver gizmoes but all of them had special bags ( read = expensive) to use with them and to buy. I wanted something easy and if I could be a bit more eco-friendly I wanted that too.

To that end I have come up with the Good Dog! Leash Caddy that uses recycled fabric to make a caddy that is just perfect for holding inexpensive grocery store plastic bags for cleaning up after your pet. Each caddy sews completely in the 5x7 hoop and can be set for no color changes so they are fast to sew making them perfect for holiday gifts or even better for bazaar and weekend markets. I have made quite a few from the legs of recycled jeans and they sew up like a dream.

Full instructions in a pdf booklet are included with each collection showing you step by step how to create the project and insert the grommet and swivle clip. Come on over to FRESH THREAD to see the full collection and get in on the pre-retail release price of $15 ( click here), Oh!.. and the collection comes with a full release to make and sell as many of the caddies as you desire, locally or on the web.

To celebrate I am posting up a new freebie.. Use the Good Dog silhouette ( as shown on the caddy up on the top photo) to embellish anything for the pet lover in your life. Click here to download the file is PES ver. 8

Now... go take your dog for walk!

Tiny Tape Measure Winner!

We have a winner... The Random number generator spit out the number 2 as our winner.. so that means that our Anonymous poster who is the Grandmother to 11 is our winner! Soon as I hear from Grandma11 I will be sending her out a Tiny Tape measure kit. In the mean time if you want to see the rest of the designs in the collection and buy it at the pre-retail release price of $7 pop on over to my Fresh Thread website. CLICK HERE and it will take you to the site and from there go to the design link.

Tiny Tape Measure Giveaway!

This week has had me hopping but I took some time to stitch out a few Tiny Tape measures as gifts to thank some special people in my life and that got me thinking that I would like to

share some of my good fortune with others and what better way than by doing a giveaway!

So here is the deal... I am going to give away 1 Tiny Tape measure collection complete with 3 Metro Tape measures and enough wool felt to complete three projects. The complete collection contains 5 different tape measure designs and most of them sew out in under 5 minutes. After that all you have to do is a quick whip or blanket stitch to encase the tape measure and you are ready to go!

To enter leave a comment on this post and please leave contact information so I can get in touch with you if you win!! Feel free to enter even if you already own the collection since I am sure you will enjoy the wool felt and tape measures anyway!

Let the entering begin! The drawing for the winner will be on Monday!

Just a little looksie

Just a sneaky peek... but soon ..oh so soon you will get to see the whole thing! These are fun, great for the environment and make super gifts for the pet lover in your life! and with a little luck they will be ready next week!

Cute as a button

I am working with some fun foam this week so I wanted to post up this little button to share with you. Of course you can run the design without FF and have a nice button with a heavy satin stitch border.. but by adding the FF before the last three color steps you will end up with a very dimensional button that is, well... Cute as a button! The button is 1.5x 1.5 and just right for burp cloths and toddler wear. If you make something with it please pop over and share it at the Fresh Thread flickr group To download this file go here And .. would you do me a favor.. if you go to download it.. leave me a message?.. I like to know who is giving my designs a try!

p.s. the download file does not have the center button hole (purple) stitches... I have a super cute twist that is coming soon and on video.. keep your eyes peeled!

We Have a Winner!

We have a winner in the drawing for a free Lovie Collection or one of the mama/baby doll sets! The Random Number Generator came selected the number 4.. That means that BETSY you are the winner. Please leave a note here to let me know that you have seen this and then I will get in touch with you about which prize you want! (Note: the mama with the lace pocket has gone to a very deserving little girl but the rest of the dolls are still available to pick from.)