The Delight of Embroidery Designs

I only began my machine embroidery passion after many, many years of sewing and quilting. Once I understood just how versatile embroidery designs could be, I decided to try my hand at digitizing my own. My first attempts were awful, but I enjoyed the process so much that I just kept trying. I soon realized that I had discovered a passion that I could actually embrace as my new full-time job, leaving behind the dry and boring career of accounting forever. This was something I had been looking to find for a long time, so you can imagine my excitement!

Of course, providing top quality machine embroidery designs takes more than just deciding to do so! It took more than a year to find my style and test my own designs until they were all that I hoped they would be. Placing my first designs for sale was both exciting and terrifying! What if I had failed? Dreams are hard to put aside, so I just kept moving forward. I’m so glad that I did.

Every digitizer of embroidery designs has their own style, own goals, and own ideas on what they want to provide for their customers. Because I love to share and teach, I like to provide free embroidery designs as often as possible. This allows embroiderers to test my designs to make sure they like them, and also allows me to help out those whose budgets don’t allow for a lot of different embroidery patterns.

My style keeps evolving, which is both wonderful and not. Each new style shift means many more hours of practice and test stitching, which takes away from my need to create. But, trying out new ideas also keeps my creativity going strong. It is obvious that I will never grow bored because there are so many different types of embroidery designs and styles to try out!

My goals are twofold. For those who stitch my designs, I want them to enjoy every step of the process and never have any issues with the embroidery that they create. I know that I will not always succeed with this goal, but I always try! For myself, I simply want to never have to go back to the stale, boring job of number-crunching. Creating machine embroidery designs will never make me monetarily successful, but my life is so much richer for the choice I made to follow my dream.

I sometimes wonder what the future may hold for me. Will I create my own line of embroidery supplies? Will I discover a machine embroidery thread that never breaks? Will I discover a way to make my embroidery machine also sweep the floor and fold the laundry? Hey, it’s my fantasy! Dreaming big just means that our smallest dreams will come true. We may have to work hard for the biggest dreams, but I believe the journey is worth it whether the dream is realized or not.

Take a moment each day to work towards your dream. Everyone should be as content as I am today.

Experience Top-Notch Machine Embroidery Designs Only at OregonPatchWorks

There is a wide range of embroidery design services that you will come across all over the web. However, there are only a few that will consistently offer you high quality,  distinctive embroidery designs which are visually appealing and stand apart from the rest. One such service is OregonPatchWorks which has made its mark in the field of machine embroidery design for many years on the internet.

As an embroidery enthusiast, OregonPatchWorks will give you the option of choosing any design that you can imagine. Let’s have a look at a few of the amazing machine embroidery designs that the OPW Mall offers.

Cross Stitch Embroidery Design

The cross stitch embroidery design is unique when compared with the other designs as the artwork is done in the form of small x’s and line outlines. This is where the design is different than the regular machine embroidery designs. An embroidery pattern is created by custom digitizing the x-shaped stitches in a tiled raster like pattern. 

Shadow Work Embroidery Design 

This type of embroidery design is typically implemented on a sheer or semi-sheer fabric. In order to ensure that the color of the thread or the shadow of the color can be seen through on the fabric’s front side, the majority of the embroidery is done on the back side of the design. In the shadow work embroidery, backstitch  is stitch form used. It is worked between the alternates back and forth and the two lines with every stitch. 

Applique Embroidery Design

An Applique embroidery design is a very popular machine embroidery method which is basically a needlework technique. In appliqué embroidery, the elements of the design are formed by attaching the small pieces of the contrasting fabric in the wide areas of the design. You will be able to create numerous variations of the same theme by making use of the different fabrics and textures. 

Free Standing Lace Embroidery Design

A free standing lace embroidery design is implemented entirely from machine embroidery thread which means no fabric is required. The digitized file which the designer will create interlocks the embroidery stitches in the form of a lacy pattern that will maintain the style of design and its dimensions without fabric. Water soluble stabilizer is hooped, then the design is stitched.  Then the stabilizer is trimmed and rinsed.  The design remains intact with the interlocking stitches of the design.  There are quite a few types of FSL projects available at the OPW Mall. These include lace edging, lace jewellery, collars and cuffs, embroidery bowls and doilies and embroidery designs for different holidays.

Summing Up 

Above is a brief of some of the different machine embroidery designs which are available at the OPW Mall. These designs will enable you to create unique and beautiful home décor along with projects for gift giving. All the designs are digitized to perfection which means that the possibility of flaws will be non-existent. 

So, what are you waiting for? Explore the wide range of machine embroidery designs, many available only at OregonPatchWorks. Most of the designs are available at great prices. There are also many free samples available throughout the site for you to download and try.

Explore Distinctive Machine Embroidery Designs Only at OregonPatchWorks

A traditional sewing machine has gone through a lot of advancements which has revolutionized the whole art of embroidery. The computerized embroidery machines have a major role to play in streamlining the embroidery process and implement some amazing designs.

OregonPatchWorks is home to some stunning embroidery designs online which are available at the best possible prices. As a customer, you will have the liberty to choose between the different designs complexities.

 Below, we are going to have a glance at the different machine embroidery designs which are catered exclusively by OregonPatchWorks.

 Free Standing Lace Embroidery

The free standing lace embroidery design (FSL) does not include any sort of fabric as it has been made completely out of a thread. FSL is one of the most popular machine embroidery techniques out there. In this technique, a digitized file is created by the designer that will interconnect the embroidery stitches in a lacy pattern. Due to this, the style and dimensions are maintained without the fabric.

The embroider will hoop the water soluble stabilizer before stitching the FSL design on the top of the fabric.There is no need to stitch the design on the fabric with the stabilizer as it is implemented with the filled stitch designs. After the design has been completely stitched it will be removed from the embroidery hoop. It is then spritzed or soaked in water for removing the water soluble stabilizer. Finally, it is laid out so that it can dry.

Cross Stitch Embroidery Designs

Cross stitch embroidery designs are pretty similar to that of the regular machine embroidery designs. In this type of design the x-shaped stitches are digitized in a raster like tiled pattern for creating the embroidery pattern which can be stitched on the paper project or the fabric. The basic distinction between the regular and the cross stitch designs is the artwork which is implemented in the form of small x’s and the line outlines instead of the fill stitches, appliqué or outline stitches or the free standing lace.

Applique Embroidery

Applique embroidery is a needlework technique under which the representational scenes or the patterns which are created by attaching the small pieces of different fabric in the contrast areas of the design. This is one of the most popular methods of machine embroidery designs out there. The reason for its popularity is due to its quick implementation and the creation of different variations of the same theme which is done by using the different textures and fabrics. This will be quite useful for creating the projects.

Save Upto 70% on our Latest Embroidery Designs

Are You Finding Quality Machine Embroidery Designs?

I am the queen of online research. If something interests me, I look it up. If I need to figure out an embroidery technique or troubleshoot one of my machines, I look it up. Lately, though, with many weird allergies, I find myself spending unproductive time looking up allergens and diet information. I would much rather be finding new machine embroidery inspirations!

Strangely, as I remove items from my diet, one by one, in order to find out what is causing my distress, I also find that I am culling my sewing room at the same time. My fabric dye cutter and my small embroidery machine are the latest items that have found new homes. I thought I would be sad to say goodbye to my sewing friends, but giving up carbonated beverages has been much harder.

In-depth Machine Embroidery Art Framing Patterns

My little family of three is staying with my father-in-law while our household goods make the slow trek from Greece to California. Over the years, this has been the norm, but it is much different this time because my mother-in-law is no longer here to run the household. That now falls to me. While I’ve cooked in this kitchen off and on for 25 years, it is so different now actually doing instead of just helping. I find that even my tried-and-true recipes aren’t turning out the same. Very strange. I’ve begun making notes on my computer so that I’ll have some idea of what I’m doing right or wrong. Luckily, I won’t be in charge of holiday meals this year!

I have similar problems in machine embroidery. I’m rarely satisfied to leave things exactly as the designer suggests or the embroidery patterns insist on. Of course, sometimes I just understand they my machine will be happier if certain adjustments are made. As long as I think things through before making changes, all is usually well. Of course, these are intentional changes and not the weird, unidentifiable ones happening in the kitchen.

Striking Machine Embroidery designs and supplies

A couple of months ago, the thought of leaving Greece to go back to our home in California was quite distressing. We decided to stay for one more year. Then, career plans changed, and we are returning home after all. However, now that it is real, instead of just being thought about, I find that I am looking forward to returning home.

First, there are all the different foods that I love that I can’t get here; simple things like non-dairy coffee creamer and real donuts beckon me. Fast food and Chinese take-out are guilty pleasures that I can’t wait to indulge in again. While I love Greek food, nothing beats a greasy burger from one’s favorite joint.

Mostly, though, I’m looking forward to going home where I can go shopping and find all the wonderful embroidery supplies  that make my heart sing. Here, I can get some thread for machine embroidery, but it’s just not enough! I need stabilizer and embroidery designs and Peltex and Mulberry Paper and everything else. When trying to find those things here, most of the shopkeepers think I’m trying to sell them something. It’s funny to hear the words “no thank you” when I’m trying to buy something, but it gets frustrating, too!

Commercial Machine Embroidery designs!!!

During our four years here in Greece, I’ve has so many people get excited when they find out that I do machine embroidery. They always say they should have me create this or that project. In that time, only one of them actually did so, and I had to turn down the commission because the project was both against copyright laws, and would not have been a proper project to highlight my skills. Strangely, now that we are leaving for home in a couple of weeks and my embroidery supplies are packed up, everyone seems to want me to create something for them.

When it rains, it pours!

When I have to turn down every request, I get one of two responses. The first is a glad assurance that their project will just take a second. Really. The second is a knowing look followed with the sudden remembrance that moving is time consuming. Regardless of the response, I’m reminded of a good reason to move. None of these people have offered true neighborliness, instead asking me to do something for them when I have very little time for myself.

Embroidery Designs: The Delight of variety

I only began my machine embroidery passion after many, many years of sewing and quilting. Once I understood just how versatile embroidery designs could be, I decided to try my hand at digitizing my own. My first attempts were awful, but I enjoyed the process so much that I just kept trying. I soon realized that I had discovered a passion that I could actually embrace as my new full-time job, leaving behind the dry and boring career of accounting forever. This was something I had been looking to find for a long time, so you can imagine my excitement!

Of course, providing top quality machine embroidery designs takes more than just deciding to do so! It took more than a year to find my style and test my own designs until they were all that I hoped they would be. Placing my first designs for sale was both exciting and terrifying! What if I had failed? Dreams are hard to put aside, so I just kept moving forward. I’m so glad that I did.

Every digitizer of embroidery designs has their own style, own goals, and own ideas on what they want to provide for their customers. Because I love to share and teach, I like to provide free embroidery designs as often as possible. This allows embroiderers to test my designs to make sure they like them, and also allows me to help out those whose budgets don’t allow for a lot of different embroidery patterns.

My style keeps evolving, which is both wonderful and not. Each new style shift means many more hours of practice and test stitching, which takes away from my need to create. But, trying out new ideas also keeps my creativity going strong. It is obvious that I will never grow bored because there are so many different types of embroidery designs and styles to try out!

My goals are twofold. For those who stitch my designs, I want them to enjoy every step of the process and never have any issues with the embroidery that they create. I know that I will not always succeed with this goal, but I always try! For myself, I simply want to never have to go back to the staid, uncreative job of number-crunching. Creating machine embroidery designs will never make me monetarily successful, but my life is so much richer for the choice I made to follow my dream.

I sometimes wonder what the future may hold for me. Will I create my own line of embroidery supplies? Will I discover a machine embroidery thread that never breaks? Will I discover a way to make my embroidery machine also sweep the floor and fold the laundry? Hey, it’s my fantasy! Dreaming big just means that our smallest dreams will come true. We may have to work hard for the biggest dreams, but I believe the journey is worth it whether the dream is realized or not.

Take a moment each day to work towards your dream. Everyone should be as content as I am today.

Quilting- The Joy of Gifting

It is better to give than to receive. This is a quote that most of us know. For me, it is also very true. I love Christmas, birthdays and other gift giving occasions like new babies, weddings, anniversaries, housewarmings, and more. I adore giving hostess gifts whenever we are invited to someone’s home as well. I just love giving gifts. I’ve never been able to afford extravagant gifts, but I think that my joy in giving shows in the choices of the gifts.

With my love of quilting, machineembroidery, crochet, cross-stitch and decorative painting, along with soap-making and cooking, I’ve given my share of homemade gifts over the years. With rare exception, my gifts have always been much appreciated. I’m very glad I took up soap-making and made time for embroidery as these are the quickest of crafts!

During a recent online discussion at a machine embroidery group, it came up that those of us who make homemade gifts rarely receive homemade gifts. Instead, we receive purchased items. While any gift is appreciated, it is the consensus that we would all love to receive something that was crafted just for us.

While I do create homemade items for my friends who are also crafters, they never reciprocate. They show me their projects for praise and pointers, overjoyed when I compliment their work (I always pronounce ever project as perfect). But, I am never the recipient of their artistry. Maybe they feel that it’s not good enough, or maybe they feel that I could just make it myself if it was something I wanted in the first place.

I had been quilting and doing my other fiber arts for 10-15 years before I finally allowed myself to purchase that first embroidery machine. I had convinced myself that I just didn’t have time for it with everything else that I was doing. I was both right and wrong in that assumption. While learning the intricacies of machine embroidery and discovering all the free embroidery designs I could find online, my other fiber arts suffered from neglect. But, once I stopped discovering and started stitching, my new embroidery passion enhanced all of my others crafts! I’d call that a win!

Not long after this, and after a huge bout of stocking up on new-to-me embroidery supplies, I realized that I would like to digitize my own designs. While I could find just about anything I wanted to stitch, I like to think that my style is just a bit different, and I wanted to be able to reflect that in embroidery. So, new software and thick manuals once again took time away from my quilting. I forgot how to crochet and cross-stitch entirely. Cooking became a dirty word!

Like many before me, I had the thought that I no longer need purchase beautiful linens or someone else’s embroidery designs. I could do it all myself. And, like all those before me, I was woefully wrong! While I gained the knowledge and skill to be able to make just about anything my heart desired, I still lacked all the time in the world to do it all.

Ten years later, I have a system. I will happily buy pretty linens and clothing if they fit in my budget. If not, I will think about the time needed to digitize similar designs. If I can find something close at my favorite embroidery design gallery, I will humbly succumb to another digitizer’s artistry. It’s all about time, now.

It works great for me. Now, if I could only convey to my crafty friends that I really can’t just make whatever I want and would love one of their homemade hand-painted silk shopping bags or crocheted cashmere scarf, my world would be complete!

Keep Embroidering!

I’ve been looking forward to moving back into my sewing room now that Molly and her almost fully grown, but still quite young, kittens have been moved to an outside enclosure. They took over the room for four months! I have lots of cleaning to do and lots of organizing; I also had even more enjoyment of them living and growing safely while they destroyed the room!

I had planned on doing the cleaning and organizing this weekend so that Monday morning would see me bright eyed and bushy tailed getting some of my backed up embroidery projects done. And, then, my loving husband springs some news on me. The house we are interested in will be vacant in three months. Last time it was vacant, we couldn’t afford it. Now we can.

As a bit of background, we all rent here in Greece. We have a housing office that shows us houses that should meet our requirements. Unfortunately, not all the best houses are always available. We were shown three houses and had a tough decision between two of them. One had everything we wanted except a view and a pool. However, it had modern amenities and plenty of space for my machine embroidery and quilting activities. The second house had the view, but still no pool. We chose it. It wasn’t set up as well as the other one, but we’ve made it work for the past three years. The house we are interested in will be ours if we want it, since the owner has known us the whole time we’ve been here. We won’t have to deal with the housing office telling us it isn’t available (because one of their friends wants it). All of this is in our favor.

Did I mention that the house has a pool and a view! Not to mention a perfect setup for my hobbies and my husband’s, too.

I had just finally gotten settled in my sewing room before Molly had her kittens. I’m just getting ready to get back in there. But, if we are moving in 3 months, I should concentrate on packing. At first, I was really stressed out about it and then I remembered something.

When I set up my sewing room this time, I made sure that all of my furniture pieces were either portable or could be taken apart, or both. I don’t have any large items that will be hard to move as most of them are light enough that I can move them myself. This is a huge plus! And, I still haven’t unpacked most of my embroidery supplies or fabric, and all of my embroidery designs are on the computer, so that’s less packing I’d need to do.

I’ve always been interested in sewing room setup since I got my first dedicated room ten years ago. Besides setting up areas for machine embroidery and/or quilting, it’s important to also have an area for cutting and pressing, and these should be set up at an ergonomically correct height (about 1-2 inches below your bent elbow), whether you stand or sit to do them. If a space needs to do double-duty, it needs to be thought out ahead of time and then tweaked until it works. Nothing should be set in stone!

I love the look of the commercial sewing tables! They are beautiful and look so organized. The truth is that they actually limit what can be done by offering only “stock” spaces. Whether you are trying to complete some large embroidery patterns or put together your latest quilt, the spaces are not big enough. Instead, opt for inexpensive smaller pieces like student or office desks. On average, it’s possible to buy 20 of these and use them how you want for the price of one of the commercial sewing tables. No, I don’t have 20 desks! I have three office-sized ones! Plus some folding tables and small pieces like stacked cubes. Everything on wheels.

And, a great sewing room can truly be put together for very little money! Use items you already have, repurposing where necessary. For a cohesive look, it’s easy and inexpensive to simply paint all the pieces the same color. Add a good desk chair, from the office supply not the sewing supplier, and you’re good to go!

If you set up a room on a budget, it leaves you wiggle room for that new embroidery machine or lots of fabulous machine embroidery designs! You decide!

Simplifying Quilting and Embroidery

Whether it’s making quilts or digitizing machine embroidery designs, I seem to be in a constant state of confusion lately! Since I make my living doing both, this is not good!

Years ago, I could happily check the state of my quilting supplies and just get to work on whatever idea popped into my head. Or, I could choose an embroidery design from my collection and make pretty things as often as I wanted. Then, I began teaching classes and all that changed!

Instead of just stitching for my own pleasure, I now had class samples to create; these had to be certain styles and consist of the new in colors, regardless of my own personal preferences. The longer I taught, the harder it was to just make a quilt. My mind was always revolving with class-type ideas. My stash of fabrics and threads began being dominated by the latest trends instead of what I love.

I let this sorry state of affairs continue for much longer than I should have! My reward was to lose my love for my fabric arts. It is said that artists do best creating from the heart instead of the pocketbook, and I can vouch that this was true for me as well. My beloved stitching became work! Oh, no!

It took me a while to realize the full effect of this; I then wasted more time brooding about it! Finally, a little at a time, I began working to change the habits that had filled my brain and held me back from the love of my craft.

I can honestly say that I am back to making quilts for fun and stitching embroidery for the love of beauty! It took me some time to get to this point, but it was so worth the effort!

If you’re a stitcher who has lost your way, let me help!

First, you need to decide what you love. If you enjoy making quilts, what colors and styles speak to your innermost heart? What embroidery patterns are your favorites? Whether you write it down or just think about it, this is the first step to reclaiming the love of your art.

Is there a certain reason why you’re not creating what you want? Too many gifts? New babies? Charitable work?

When making gifts or quilts for newborns, it is difficult to just use the colors we like. We must think about the recipient. But, it is still possible to put our personal stamp on it by choice of pattern and other finishing touches. The recipient will love it no matter what.

When making quilts for charities, many quilters err on the side of false frugality. Many of the quilts look like the quilter used the worst fabric in their stash and didn’t really care if the finished product was attractive or not. While I understand that quilting can be an expensive endeavor and that these quilters may be doing the best they can, these quilts do not look like much love went into them. So, if you are making quilts for charities, why not take a little bit more of your time to create something completely from the heart?

Another thing that had held me back was that I am the only woman in a household of men. Even most of our pets were male! Since I’m not a frilly type of gal, keeping things neutral wasn’t that hard, but I was craving some of my favorite colors … pink, purple and fuchsia. I was tired of my bedroom being in shades of blue and tan. Actually, the whole house was in those shades!

In a fit of rebellion, I made a quilt in very light shades of pink and sage that just scream out that it is feminine. Strangely, even the men in the house love that little snuggle quilt. As a result of that, my whole home now reflects my taste in all shades of red without making the men feel like they are in a ruffle palace.

Not only did I reclaim my love of quilting and use of what makes my heart sing, but I made home my haven. That is the best testament to the power of making quilts from the heart.

Take charge of your art and make yourself happy!

Innovation in Embroidery

I love learning new techniques for quilting and fashion sewing. It’s wonderful when I figure out that I can use a technique meant for making quilts to also create interesting effects on clothing.

I am currently taking an online class for creating embellished vests. There is so much information and so many ideas that I am spurred to try many new things. I want to add machine embroidery and worried about the construction of the vest making it difficult. Then, I realized that I could use a quilting technique, called Foundation Piecing, to put the outer layer of my vest together.

Once my main fabric is attached to interfacing in the foundation piecing technique, I can add embroidery designs to my heart’s content. Then, I can stitch the vest and lining together which will sandwich the backside of my embroidery between two layers of fabric.

This is wonderful for two reasons. First, my embroidery will be protected inside the lining. Second, the vest will remain reversible with the back side of the embroidery hidden. If I am truly inspired, I could even add embroidery to the lining fabric before stitching the vest together, making it an embroidered reversible vest. Beautiful.

Whether I am making quilts, machine embroidering a project or creating fashion, I find that it is very important to think about what I want from the finished item. What do I want? How will it be used? How will it be cared for?

Based on questions like this, I plan the construction of the project from beginning to end. Because I like my home furnishings to be easily machine washed and dried, I begin with cotton fabric. If I want to be able to wash a rayon skirt, I wash the rayon for maximum shrinkage before I sew the skirt. For anything that may need to be bleached, I choose polyester thread since it can be bleached without ruining the colors. I make many decisions like this before I ever begin a project.

In the case of my vest, I will create a sloper (sample garment) by stitching a vest from interfacing. Using the sloper, I can make adjustments in the fit before cutting out my fabric. When I cut my pieces, though, I will also cut it from interfacing. Then, I will draw lines on this to show me where I want to stitch my fabric pieces together using the foundation piecing technique. I can use the sloper to try out different ideas before drawing these placement lines.

While all this may seem fussy, it is something we all do when planning our quilts or embroidery design projects. It’s the same as figuring out if we will utilize embroidery quilting and where we will place it, what type of design we want for a pretty blouse, and where it should be stitched. Whether we make a huge production of making these decisions or just do it on instinct, we all make these types of decisions with every project.

Because of the decision and planning I have made, my pieced seams will be very secure because of a quilting technique. This same technique will have stabilizer (interfacing) already attached to my fabric, making the hooping for my machine embroidery a snap!

What could be easier?

Warm Up for Winters with Embroidery

The winter holidays are just around the corner and, as always, my mind is filled with the thoughts of cooking special meals, baking yummy treats and creating fabulous gifts for friends and décor items to make my home festive.

Two years ago, I hosted twenty people for Thanksgiving. Since it had been many years since I had hosted this holiday and special meal in my home, I created coordinated linens for the dining room that included tablecloths, chair covers, hot pads, and cloth napkins; all were embellished with fabulous machine embroidery designs. I placed scented candles in decorative wine glasses, and my tables were beautiful.

Because my Thanksgiving décor is complete, I can concentrate on Christmas for my projects this year. While I am hosting the Thanksgiving feast again this year, I am also having several Open House receptions during the Christmas season. I will need projects that can be easily laundered so that they are fresh for every set of guests.

Several years ago, I created pillow covers for the throw pillow on my couches. These covers are created with holiday themed fabric and were constructed using foundation piecing to attach the fabric to a layer of batting and backing fabric. I then stitched the front to the back and finished the covers. Every year, these covers get freshly washed and pressed before taking place of honor in the living room. These covers utilized techniques I generally use for making quilts. This year, I will take them apart, add some machine embroidery for a fresh look and then stitch them back together.

Since my home has an open floor-plan with living, dining, and kitchen all flowing into one another, I need to color-coordinate the dining room and kitchen to my pillow covers. I have several beautiful tablecloths that I’ve collected over the years, but they are starting to get small holes and frayed edges.

In order to salvage my beloved tablecloths and coordinate my holiday home, I will use embroidery designs utilizing fabric appliqué to cover the holes. To freshen up the hems, I will stitch yards and yards of free-standing lace borders. I love this style of machine embroidery! I will stitch festive designs on one of my smaller cloths and drape it over the curtain rod in my kitchen, bringing the celebratory décor to that utilitarian room.

To finish off my décor for the receptions, I will use a free embroidery design I have that makes a collar that gets placed on the stem of a wine glass, making it easy to identify who it belongs to. These are quick and easy to make and elicit lots of wonder from my guests.

After wining and dining our guests, we will see them off with a little drawstring goody bag. These easy-to-make pouches will be decorated with tiny embroidery designs and filled with chocolate coins. A sweet treat to help our guests remember the evening and also have a little bag to hold jewelry or coins or anything they desire.

While I truly believe that good food and wonderful friends are all that are needed for a fabulous gathering, I also believe that a beautiful setting can make it even better! Celebrate and enjoy life!

When Time Flies With Embroidery

Since my son graduated from school a few years ago, it would seem normal to be more relaxed in the latter days of August. No longer do I need to rush about buying clothes and supplies, alter band uniforms, or scurry to get the household organized so that the home and my career run smoothly once school starts. I really don’t miss those crazy days, but not much has really changed!

Now, with the school supply specials, I look for deals to stock up my office and sometimes even find great deals on craft supplies. Quilting supplies like rotary cutters and mats can often be found at the local office supply store! Then, I take stock of my every day supplies for batting, interfacing, stabilizer, thread and more. Since the fabric stores are competing for business with school shoppers, deals are especially good at this time.

Instead of rushing to organize house, school and career, I spend the time organizing my sewing studio since fiber arts is my career! This year, as well as setting up a new studio, I am also creating a lot of soft items like chair covers, cork board covers, a new padded cover for my large, homemade ironing board and new fabric leaders for the rollers on my machine quilting frame. And, for the first time, I’m actually color-coordinating everything! Woo hoo!

I’ve been running my embroidery machine almost non-stop and this morning had a good laugh when I realized that it was a good excuse to stay in or near my studio. I could spend the time organizing the space. Of course, I find myself cleaning the rooms and areas on that floor, too! While I enjoy the feel of creating new embroidery designs, right now I am more interested in organizing. Strange!

Since the second floor is as clean as it’s going to get, I’m thinking about moving my embroidery machine down to the dining room. Then, I can embroider for hours while cleaning that level of the house. Of course, moving my needed embroidery supplies downstairs, and keeping the cats out of them, might be too much for me to want to deal with!

This is actually a great way to get motivated to organize my life. I can work on my little netbook to do my administrative work, stitch designs, clean, and altogether immerse myself in my work! I have very few complaints about my day.

If moving my embroidery designs to the first floor works, I may even move it down to the basement for that phase of cleaning and organizing. Of course, my family may not see me for months! The basement is a dangerous space for a dedicated fiber artist to have. Lots of space for storage that never needs to be cleaned because no one sees it! Still, I open up the basement to the area’s population of stray cats and dogs, so I would much prefer that it start out clean this winter.

Tomorrow, I’ll be taking a break from the studio. My son arrived here in Crete a few days ago, so we will be getting his Alien ID renewed, his other paperwork taken care of, and adding him to the auto insurance. Then, we will finish up his enrollment for his college courses here and online, order his books, and shop for supplies. Since he’s been gone for a while, I also plan on buying him some much-needed clothing.

Like I said, not much has changed at all!

Embroidery Your Creativity

When I’m not cleaning my house or caring for my family and fur babies, all my endeavors are creative. Well, online shopping isn’t creative, but it does fill me with inspiration for future projects. While I love my creative endeavors, I had gotten into the habit of doing my tasks in an almost wooden manner … all technical skills and little artistry. Then last night I had a dream.

If it had been a dream of a wondrous new quilt block or fabulous new technique for creating perfect machine embroidery designs, it would be a great dream. Instead, this dream just reminded me of a couple of bits, important bits, that I had not included in my monthly quilt lessons. While these bits are on the technical side, they are also what make the artistry of machine quilting so easy! I had been so proud of the early completion of my lesson, but this morning, I got right to work changing it.

While editing, I also recognized a couple other areas where I had let the artistry slide in order to increase efficiency or to allow my brain to concentrate on something else while my hands did the technical work. The enjoyment was there, but it was strongly muted. That’s no way to create art!

Why do most of us still do hand-crafts in this age where everything is available locally or online? Some still do it as a more economical way to obtain both necessary and luxury items. Some do it in order to create one-of-a-kind items. Still others do it for the sheer creative joy of it.

So, why do so many of us get so bogged down by the technical aspects, which include time-management, easy or quick results, and constant research for new tools to make things easier, without first having learned the time-tested techniques that work wonderfully?

It’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve called my hand-crafts art or myself artistic. Before, I described what I did as crafts and myself as creative. My sewing just didn’t seem as important or awe-inspiring as a painting by one of the great masters or as beautiful as the dance of a prima ballerina or arias from that lovely soprano voice. In other words, I was insecure about my creative efforts no matter how many people complimented me and were in awe of what I had created. When I added machine embroidery to my daily routine of quilting, fashion and décor sewing, and other hand-crafts, it got too complicated to tell others what I do.

Three years ago, I figured out that what I do is create art with fibers. I am now a fiber artist. Not a quilter, not a seamstress, not a designer. Fiber artist. Two words and they describe who and what I am.

Wow, that sounds like all of my insecurities are gone, doesn’t it? Well, they aren’t. I don’t have an artist’s soul. I trained as an accountant. So, no matter what I do, the art isn’t the only thing I think about. I also think about the project when completed … what’s the purpose, where will it go, how much did it cost, is it worth the time and money? All of that really takes away from the artistry and enjoyment!

I can’t be the only one like this that then compensates by looking for that new great free embroidery design or a new source for inexpensive quilting supplies! Today, I have decided that I will concentrate more on the art and less on the fiscal aspects of it.

Writers are told to write for enjoyment, not for sale, for the best books. Painters are told to see their subject, inside and out. Dancers and musicians are instructed to feel it.

I think that’s good advice for us hand-crafters, fiber artists, or whatever we call ourselves. We should craft for enjoyment, see the world around us for project inspiration, and just feel the creativity pouring out as we create.

When we accept that what we do is from the heart and soul, and let go of the insecurities, we can let our artistry reach new heights!

Embroidery- The Joyful Art

It is one of my strongest personal beliefs that anyone who does embroidery can never be a bad person. The art of embroidery is so subtle, so passionate that anyone who indulges in it has to be someone with a lot of perseverance and of course a very good heart. The patience that the art requires is commendable and anyone who has that much of patience is truly to be appreciated.

Embroidery is also an art that projects joy and happiness. Most often the colors chosen for free embroidery and the embroidery designs are utterly delightful and a pure source of joy. Embroidery is hence one of the most joyful arts. The way the thread works with the fabric to make something of sheer beauty is just amazing. If seen separately, thread and fabric are just two simple objects not of much interest and use. But when worked with the love and care that embroidery requires, they can turn out to be beautiful objects that are loved and desired by all.

Another thing about embroidery that makes it so endearing is the way it can be used for any number of purposes. Embroidery can be put to use for clothes like sweaters, socks, jackets, shirts, gloves, mufflers, etc, for home décor stuff like dining sheets, table mats, tea cozies, bed sheets and much more. The versatility of embroidery makes it all the more fun. This allows for limitless experimentation and you can mix and match designs and styles. Colors and fabrics can be experimented with each other and you may come out with something that is absolutely new and amazing.

Embroidery is one of the most ancient arts spread across a number of cultures. Most of the ancient civilizations have their own specific styles of embroidery that are still popular and are widely used. Thus embroidery designs is a joyful art that fills your life with color and vibrancy.

Embroidery Designs

Embroidery has been one of the most favorite hobbies of women in all times and on all continents. The endearing beauty of an embroidered piece is hard not to love. The tenderness and care that goes into creating embroidery makes it very dear to the creator and everyone who sees it. Embroidery can beautify almost any item. Whether it is on clothing or household items, a little added color is always appreciated and stylish.

Embroidery designs can be used to add beauty to almost anything. A tea-cozy can look great with small little flowers or fruit embroidery on it or a design of a small vintage kettle on it. You can similarly use a lot of embroidery designs on table cloths, table mats, wall hangings, dining table covers, bed covers, cushion covers, pillow cases, etc. All you need is a little creativity and a lot of passion! Embroidery designs can enliven almost any garment. You can work wonders with cute little designs on your little daughter or granddaughter’s frocks, blouses or socks. Or put embroidery designs of planes, trains, puppies, etc. on your little son or grandson’s overalls or t-shirt and suddenly, an ordinary piece of clothing has become a loving work of art! There is a whole new world that can be explored and expressed through embroidery threads.

You can use embroidery designs in a number of ways to beautify your home. Stitch elegant initials on the corner of a handkerchief, napkin or muffler to give as a gift. This is a great way to personalize the object and it also reminds that person of you wherever they go. There are innumerable options when it comes to embroidery. You can choose from so many colors and types of embroidery threads and fabrics. Your creativity will soar as you let your mind imagine combinations of different styles of embroidery and you are sure to come out with something new and innovative as you explore the possibilities.

Embroidery today has become a lot easier with the availability of machine embroidery designs online. A number of sites bring a huge variety of machine embroidery designs right to your fingertips. You can get help on these sites and come up with some amazing ideas using embroidery designs. When you combine these designs with your creativity and diligence, you can create some truly beautiful masterpieces, individual and unique as each of us are.

Crisp Leaves, Hot Coffee and Embroidery

Winter approaching is always a beautiful time of year. As the crisp cool air swirls around us, warm scarves and mittens find their way out of the seasonal cupboards and forgotten closet corner. Suddenly, we need to bundle up with something warm and cozy. There are many great fabric fibers that provide warmth, especially wool. Sweaters and cardigans, mufflers and mittens, socks and caps are all so colorful, stylish and beautiful. As the frost, fog and snow take hold outside, we find comfort and enjoyment in activities at home. It’s the best time of year to sew and embroider. The holidays are quickly approaching and it’s a great time to start on our gift list. We can put the time to best use by taking to embroidery and creating something new and wonderful this season.

Embroidery can improve any winter garment. A muffler for example can be made extremely beautiful and stylish by adding a few leaves, snowflakes or flowers to it. Or you can sew a pocket on the muffler near the end and use an embroidered patch on the pocket. You can choose bright colors to compliment more neutral colors or vice versa, both are equally beautiful. It is great fun to decorate socks with embroidery. You can use small embroidery designs on the ankles. Create your own unique style by personalizing your socks, scarves, mittens, mufflers and hats with machine embroidery designs.

Your sweaters can be made much more colorful and lively with just a little bit of embroidery. Embroidery designs of various sizes and colors can be used to make a boring knitted sweater fun and stylish. If it is not possible to do the embroidery directly on the garment, you can use machine embroidery design as patches.

There are many embroidery designs that are perfect for Fall and Winter home décor. A table runner or table cloth can dress up a holiday table, creating a festive mood. Holiday towels decorated with embroidery give your kitchen and bathroom a fun, holiday feel. Christmas tree skirts, warm lap quilts, “welcome” door decorations and wall mini-quilts give your home a cozy, old-fashioned atmosphere. And embroidery gives all of these things that special touch that turns ordinary items into heirlooms you can pass on through generations to come. With a little extra work (that is more fun than work) all of your clothing, accessories and decor will become much more attractive. Embroidery gives all our garments and home decorations that extra sparkle which creates one of a kind inspiring beauty, for this Winter season and beyond.

Embroidery- A Gift from Grandmother

Sweet reminisces of childhood brings the memories of home baked cookies, of puppies playing in the backyard, of frilly frocks and long walks. Childhood is beyond doubt the most innocent time of our life. And blessed are those who have had the lucky chance to share this beautiful bit of their life with their grandparents. Through our Grannies and Grampas we get a glimpse of that bygone innocent era that held everything that was pure and beautiful.

The most cherished memories of childhood are comprised of little, minute details that so often get lost in the maze of the complicated life we create for ourselves. My most treasured memories of childhood are of me sitting beside my Grandma and watch her do her embroidery . In the dusk of her life her embroidery was her refuge and her embroidery designs were her cohort. It was a sort of tradition that twice a year she used to embroider beautiful articles exclusively for grandfather. In honor of him, this tradition continued and he kept living on in her designs and colors.

With decades of experience and hoards of passion she fervently took to embroidery and started creating small miracles with needle and threads. Hand embroidery had always been pleasurable, but at the advent of machine embroidery, a whole new world was opened for her. Machine embroidery offered much more variety and ease. There was now a scope for ample experimentation. Machine embroidery designs were more vibrant and quick and were much more fun to work with. This passion passed on from my dear Grandma was inherited by my Mother and now by me.

My most prized possessions include hand embroidered artifacts from my Grandmother and Mother. And now that this hobby that has been imbibed in me, I make the most out of it. I play around with colors, fabrics and designs and availability of designs online make it all the more pleasurable. There are a number of sites and online clubs that bring you a good variety of designs and ideas for embroidery. You can log in at anytime and browse through all the wonderful designs they offer. What’s more, you can even upload your own designs and share with other embroidery lovers.