zip..zip..zip..

I thought I would try my hand at making a wallet. I failed at the wallet but learned what needs to be fixed. My failure resulted in a nifty little zipper pouch at least.

I've seen the card holder wallets everywhere but never find one that I REALLY like. I will keep trying at it until I come out with one that works. Below are the pix of the project.

I love the color combo and the fancy stitches...but as far as holding cards in place, it fails.

Machine Embroidery Adventure

Very excited that I finally got around to trying out the Machine Embroidery on the Bernina B330.

Even though it only has one set of letters (in basic block font) and numbers its still pretty darned cool. I tried it out on some felt to get a feel for how it works.

Hit the "A" button and use the left or right < > directionals to find letter. Drop presser foot (no need to change the foot from the main foot, COOL) and sew. It does take a little time to get a feel for when to stop and punch in the next letter. I haven't tried to memory option with the M.E. but it would be helpful as to not have to seek the same letters over and over for multiple projects using the same words or numbers.

Will be doing a little more tinkering with embroidery soon. Next time free hand!

Gator Fever.

Since Moving to Gainesville I decided to try and craft some Gator colored items. My first project was started in Oct. I didn't get around to posting the project or pictures. I am doing so now. :P

I was sent a bracelet a year or so ago in a swap from Swapbot that sparked the idea.

The Original:

What I've come up with:

This is the most that I've tinkered with embroidery. I picked up a few books at a library book sale that were from the 70's. So many neat ideas as far as patterns and stitches. I'll be trying them all and see what works and what doesn't for these little 'buttons'. I plan on stringing them together to make a 'bib' style necklace and a few bracelets. I will also be using the Bernina to do some free hand embroidery as well.

The Materials:
-Felt cut into 1-1 1/2" circles
-Embroidery Floss
-Buttons
-Beads
-Any embellishment suitable for wearable art

The Project:

Cut felt into 1" or 1 1/2" circles (depending on how big or small you want them).

Decorate one circle (Add beads, embroidery, sequins, hand-paint something..etc etc.)

Once your finished decorating place on top of a blank circle, place button between the two felts and use your fave finishing stitch (I used the blanket stitch) to close the edges around the button.

Now you can place a pin back on the finished piece or string them together for a necklace/bracelet/belt, whatever you fancy. A fun and easy project with endless results. I've been thinking about using these for the inside of some felted flowers as well.


Although I'm still not a Gator and might never be a Gator, I can make gifts for others that are Gators. GO Team GO!

Namaste.

Holiday Catchup

My oh my its been a while. Lots of work and unpacking over the past few months. I did get a chance to get some Holiday sewing done. I decided to try my hand at making fun beanies. I couldn't find a pattern so I freehanded one. It took a little altering but I finally made one that worked out.

The first try left me with a very tight fit. Granted the hats I wanted to make were for an 11yr old. I hope they fit!

This was the first try:

The pattern:

My project was inspired by a picture the munchkin doodle had on his FB page. Its a Vampire Bunny. He seemed to dig it a lot so I decided to make a beanie and stuffie of the Vampire Bunny.

Project time: 5hrs

Materials used:
- The Bernina B330
-Fleece
-Felt
-cotton label
-Fabric paint
-Thread
-Embroidery Thread
-Braided black yarn

The Stuffie almost done:

The finished beanie!!

The two finished pieces:

Hopefully I'll get a picture of him in it soon.

I'm not sure that I remember ever sewing really thick layers before but the Bernina really handled them well. I was shocked at how thick the layers of fleece and felt got. I had pondered doing some free hand embroidery but decided that will wait til the next project.

Hope everyone is having a great Holiday season!! Best Wishes for the New Year. Happy Stitching.