Happy Valentine's Day!

Well, not exactly but it is on the horizon.  This is my second favorite holiday and I love making all of the heart designs and of course the color RED.  Today is Technique Tuesday on our icon and icon 2 Facebook group and I would like to share the heart shape Valentine bag purse for everyone.

There is no charge for viewing the blog and you can read the News and Tips and Tricks to help you understand your machine.

You can find the link to the blog post here. The post includes the heart template for the bag and step-by-step directions including making the tassel.

You can find the rose sketch design here and you can buy it for $4.99 or if you have a mySewnet library subscription you can send it to your machine and stitch it out following the directions on the blog post.

You can also use a design from your machine or be creative to embellish your bag.

Don't forget that the mySewnet software BASICS is free to everyone and if you decide to give the subscription a try, call the store for the year long price.  You get 12 months for the price of 10!  You also get the Silver version of the software and there are many features in this version to use without jumping into the Platinum version.

I would love to see what you create so feel free to share your project with all of us.

Make it Sew!

Happy New Year!

Lordy, lordly - how quickly the Christmas festivities have come and gone. I personally become sad after all of it is over. It is such a happy time in my life especially with having grandchildren who are so excited with every gift they open.

And without a blip, I am now getting Valentine's Day emails filled with project ideas.

BUT FIRST THERE IS....

Husqvarna Viking along with mySewnet.com have a FREE collection called  New Years Eve Photo Props.

They have also included a pdf sheet of instructions for you to download on their mySewnet site.  Have you signed up for your own account yet?  Be sure to do because they are offering FREE designs for download and you will own them forever.

Here is the link they have to connect you to the information above.  Included is both the pdf directions and the VP4 files to send to your cloud.  

If your machine does not read VP4 files, then download the FREE Basic mysewnet software here and convert it to a VP3 file.  If you use a different file format, EXPORT it to VP3 and then open up the FREE software for your particular brand of embroidery machine. Here I am using the Free Bernina Artlink 8 software.  A strange occurence is that it did not bring in the 2022 but you can add it with the fonts on your machine.

Since I have the Silver version of the software I am able to export it as a JEF file for my multineedle machine. This is pretty handy since I know many of us own more than one machine.

Today I am off to play and you will see in the next few blog posts what I am 'playing' with.

FREE mySewnet Design

                          

Yes, that is correct - FREE!  YOu can donwload this Santa mat and stitch one up for your very special little one just in time for Santa's arrival.

You can find the file here along with the pdf for the instructions. If you don't have a mySewnet account yet, be sure to sign up for one here.

This is pretty exciting as this is the first FREE Holiday mySewnet design that they have offered.  If you have an Epic 2, you can now access this design right from your machine's embroidery screen.

And it wil be available soon on the Pfaff Creative icon 2 coming this spring. Yippee!

Let's get stitchin'

Dollar Tree Junkie

 

My non-sewing friend calls me a Dollar Tree Junkie and I just laugh because I really am one!  when I realized I had to get my grands gift box out the door, I ran to the Dollar Tree and picked up the last two glitter snowflakes stockings they had. I filled them with Dollar Tree' stuff' and candy.  My granddaughter got Skittles because she doesn't like chocolate- I just don't get it!

So I decided to embroider their names and it was so quick and easy, they were done and in the box in about an hour.

I hooped the 100 x 100 mm metal hoop with Sticky Back tear away stabilizer and marked the line for their names. Then I pulled to stocking top so it layed flat on the hoop with the right side of the fur up.  I programmed his name and turned it 180 degrees so it would read correctly when you turned the fur top back down againset the stocking.  Make sense?  I laid a water soluble stabilizer on top which is a must when working with any type of fabric with nap.

                               

  

I used the magnets to keep the stockins away from the stitching area.  What I really needed was the Creative Hoop Metal Guide set.  It is perfect for these small areas.  I need to add that to my Christmas list.

Here is what they looked like when I finished them.  Dakota's name is hard to read but you get the idea.

If you would like Santa to bring you a Creative icon, we have a used one in perfect condition and it can be under your tree on Christmas Eve.  If you are like me, I am my own Santa! check out the details below.  Stop by the store on Monday for a demonstration of this fabulous machine.

Preloved Creative icon

Stop by tomorrow for a another quick and easy idea.

Last Minute Gift Ideas

 

Only 1 week until Christmas Day!  Are you ready yet?  Not me, the only thing I have managed to accomplish is to mail my grandchildren's gifts.  But I do consider it a BIG accomplishment.  I had to fit int two gifts that were odd shape, like a stuffed animal.  So I dug into my scrap Christmas fabric- c'mon I know you have one- and made two quick and easy gift bags.

My granddaughter wanted the popular 'Pop it Figet' toys and I found a few rainbow designs on Amazon.  The box didn't fit into the shipping box I had but the fabric bag could be squished into a space. Viola! Yes, I created the gift tag to match but you do know that a store bought tage would work as well.

For my grandson I made a larger gift bag to hold his Marshall stuffed toy and matching blanket.  Again I needed to squish it into a space, so this was perfect.

You can find a quick and easy pattern by Karen Charles on the Husqvarna Viking page here. 

I cut up my scraps and sewed strips to the top to add to the bag.  I just inserted ribbon as the drawstrings and skipped the beads. But as you can see you can embroider a quick design for that special person in your life.

You don't really need a top of the line machine to make these gift bags.  We have a fabulous pre-loved Passport 3.0 which would be a perfect gift for someone to make these last minute gift ideas. Contact the store for more information.

Stop back tomorrow for a quick Dollar Tree gift idea.

Happy Halloween Witches!

Happy Halloween!  Why? you ask.  When my kids were growing up I tried to make the holidays really meaningful and it put a lot of stress on this teacher mom.  So with Halloween all I had to do was buy some candy and make a costume.  The only Halloween fabric then were orange and black solids!

My favorite Halloween movie is Hocus Pocus. So of course I had to watch it again this year and I am anxious for Hocus Pocus 2 of course.

I have to admit that I started this design last year and I had only a few designs added to the hat.  But this year I was inspired to finish it and hang it up in the store.  

The project was designed to feature the built in designs on the Pfaff Creative icon, but darn if a few ladies didn't talk me into teaching it!  The hardest part was going back and trying to write directions for what I did! 

Then a customer wanted one for her Epic 2 and I actually had time to design one at the store and stitch it up before Halloween. And yes, all of the designs are in the machine except for the witches hat.

I was so excited when a few of the ladies shared their finished projects with me.  Cindy C added a few hanging spiders and made it into a mini quilt with the added binding and a sleeve to the back.

Vivian E had a totally different idea and bought a frame on clearance at Hobby Lobby.  Notice the bow? It covers up the scratch on the frame.

It matched  the rest of her spooky Halloween decorations perfectly.

I hope you have been inspired in some way by the 10 Days of Halloween ideas! If you are ever in the Tampa Bay area, come and visit us.  We would love to see you!

Day 10 Are you Crazy for Candy Corn?

Are you crazy for anything candy corn?

I have to tell you that I am not a fan of candy corn candy but I am a fan of candy corn sewing and quilting! We have 2 bolts of this super cute candy corn fabric at the store and I couldn't resist buying some.

But what to make with it? I found this table runner on Krista Moser's site here.

And I thought I could get a topper done by Halloween but I am not sure if I am going to make it! She has very thorough directions and I think I should just save this for next year.

So with only 24 hours until Halloween I set out to find some quick and easy candy corn projects.  Deb's Days has a cute blog post with a candy corn potholder- simple and quick to make with scraps.  You can find the link to her supply list and video tutorial here.

Last year Janome had a really cute and quick Candy Corn pouch pattern and FB live.  I am all about watching any video for inspiration.  

They included both patterns and vip format.  The link to the FB live video is here. If you do not have any software to open these files, don't forget you can download a free version of mySewnet here.

Well it looks like I may not have time to do too much today but I did find an svg for a quick pair of Candy Corn earrings.

Go out and have a spooky terrific day!