Cookie Asks-Why Blog?

Quick Project Idea!

2008-08-03T19:43:00.003-04:00

Back to school makes this a great gift idea and it's easy to do. I found this wonderful lunch bag while working at a show and visiting with Susan Mars of Allaboutblanks.com. The blank lunch bags come in several colors, with my personal favorites being lime green and chocolate. Inside the bag there is a really cool strap to keep a drink stationary and not crushing your lunch and yes, the bag is insulated!

To embroider the bag, I used a 7"x5" (180 mm x 130mm) frame size and created the lettering in my digitizing software. I also printed out the template and pinned it on the bag for the exact placement. I used one of the best sticky stabilizers I know of (http://www.terradonembroidery.com/) as it has a great adhesive quality, while still being an easy removal after embroidering a project. With the template pinned on, I placed the lunch bag onto the sticky paper which was hooped. I added a few pins through the bag and the sticky paper to ensure no movement, in case of accidental bumping. :0

Once I had the machine lined up perfectly using my arrow keys, I removed the template and hit GO. The results were a great placement of the lettering , and easily removed from the stabilizer afterwards - so give this a try!

On a final side note, I am typing this from St. Louis and your newsletter with the newest project idea (no this is not the file for it) will be sent out at the end of this week for the month of August.

Hugs to all, Cookie!

How to Organize Your Embroidery Files and more!

2008-07-25T02:10:00.009-04:00

LET'S GET ORGANIZED on our computers, too! another little video just for you...

There are many choices on the market for organizing your computer file-folder system for pictures, embroidery files, etc. I fell in love with this one, The Deduper, a year ago at a conference where I was teaching because it is inexpensive, easy to use, works well and I can use it for my embroidery files, as well as for removing duplicate photos and more.

Being a scrapbook hobbyist & beginner knitter, my evening are spent playing with my digital scrapbook files, and also surfing the net for free knitting patterns. Consequently, like many of you I have "occasionally" downloaded the same file twice (Ok - maybe I have done it two or three times per file in my excitement!) This post is to help those who are struggling to remove duplicate files, empty folders as well as for those working with zipped downloads to quickly, easily and efficiently clean up and organize your collection of digital files.

I have put the Deduper software on the main site of cookiescreations and in the last 3 weeks, the response has been amazing without any real promotion. This time, in effort to stay ahead of the teaching curve, I have made this little on screen overview tutorial to help show the features. I am also new with doing on screen presentations so this can only get better, but this little overview despite my "stumbling blocks" will give you the information needed to get you started with removing duplicates, empty folders and working with zips. I will re-do it once I get better with the on screen software. (Another learning curve for me.)
Ok, back to knitting that sweater!

Multi-Projecting * for those who love to do too much!

2008-07-13T09:27:00.005-04:00

UFO's in the sewing/embroidery/hobby world means "unfinished objects". I view them more as "PIPS" (projects in progress). Just a few weeks ago, I started a sweater, a knitted felted handbag, 25 kits for a sewing class, a video and this Tuesday I leave for the Indiana Embroidery Conference. So my sweater is still in progress (after all I am a beginner at this knitting thing) but my knitted bag is finished! My first video is on the side bar of this blog: How to Embroider Socks, the kits are together and as I began typing this I wondered who else has several projects going on at one time. Do you have PIPS? Are you into Multi-Projecting?

Carol Price was so sweet to whipped me up some shrug directions for a beginner, so that is being added to my PIPS and another video on how to embroider? To all those who feel they can't start one more project until they are finished with their current one(s), throw caution to the wind and put your efforts into showing "lots of progress" in "many ways".

A special hug to Brooke who enjoys PIPS and turns out beautiful objects continuously!

Creative and Talented Friends...

2008-06-22T12:05:00.009-04:00

I am always appreciative when I receive a handmade gift. This one is particularly special. Carol Price took the time to make me this beautiful shrug, in my favorite color out of her busy life. She sent it as a total surprise and let me add that she knitted it right under the nose of my best friend from college who recently moved and joined Carol's knitting group. So it was a double surprise. The picture does not show fully the beautiful detail of it. Carol is not only a very talented digitizer but she is also quite the accomplished knitter and began at a very young age.

She sells many different types of tutorials on her website as well as designs.

Her Tidbits Design Set work nicely with the Sock Easy Set available at cookiescreations.com which is the tool I use to embroider socks quickly and easily.

Carol's website is also worth a look whether you are an embroiderer or knitter. If you are a knitter, be sure to check out her knitting patterns. I have done the chemo caps with great success as a beginner and it is a very worthwhile project. Carol didn't do the belt, but she did give me the lucky pin which she brought back from Ireland.

A twist on the use of the Sock Easy: One more thing, if you are a knitter and love fingerless mittens out of silk, if the cuff is ribbed in a workable size, the sock easy can let you monogram it. Use a layer of water soluble topping on top of the area to be embroidered in addition to the usual sporty sock method (with the glove turned inside out) shown in the video blog of June 10th.

Learn how to embroider socks!

2008-06-10T15:35:00.011-04:00

Embroidery on socks can be seen in all the stores and it is so easy to do. When I am working shows, I am constantly demonstrating different ways to do it. I use the Sock Easy tool to do it, and it lives up to its name. Not all of us learn by reading directions and sometimes it's of benefit to actually see how it is done. To those people who have asked me how I embroider all those little socks, this VERY amateur self help video is for you. The sock easy is available at cookiescreations.com Reminder while visiting the site be sure to sign up for your monthly free newsletter.

Stella Sleeps In

2008-05-16T09:20:00.002-04:00

For the last several days, I have been attending certification training for software - big thank you to Julie & Jack Pierce of Atlanta Sewing Center.

Stella was exhausted by the lack of attention while I was in classes but she has had her way to get even. She is not suppose to be on the bed, and look who tucked herself in. She didn't even open her eyes while I ran for the camera.

I did several projects this week so I need to set up my "serious" camera and get them up here on Monday! And so I will...

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T10:46:00.004-04:00

Right now I can hear pots and pans stirring in the distance with my daughter and husband creating breakfast. The flowers in that vase are gorgeous, thank you Ryan and Brooke - I wish you were here.

Bentley (my wonder poodle) welcomed me this morning by kicking me with his back right leg... I mean actually kicking me. Do you think it was a nervous twitch? Can dogs actually do that? Does Bentley know he is a dog? Oh, and his tail was wagging furiously.

Stella on the other hand has been sitting by me sedately. I am going to see how this day unfolds.

Update, brunch was excellent - vegan French toast with a dash of chocolate and raspberry! The brunch was followed up with a great show at the Cobb Civic Center, featuring beads, mineral rocks, jewelry.... And the winds in Atlanta only knocked down three of our trees upon the return. Considering the damage across the US, it was minor.

I hope that your Mother's Day was special and fun.

An Email Interview

2008-05-01T17:21:00.013-04:00

With Loes van der Heijden of Artistitch.com - the maker of my favorite drawing program "Pre-Design"
___________________________________

Greetings Loes!

Could you share how one goes about designing for the long arm quilting machines? What does one need to own and how expensive of an investment are we talking about? I also realize that there are those who are involved in both embroidery and with this type of quilting who may not realize that the Pre-Design software they already own, can integrate with both of their creative outlets. I am so impressed with all the capabilities one has with Pre-Design and this truly adds another dimension to the joy of ownership!

Thanks! Cookie

Loes’s Responds:

"About getting into longarm quilting: check out the websites of MQS and MQX. Those are two of the largest longarm quilt events:

MQX is at http://www.mqxshow.com/newhome.html
MQS is at: http://www.imqa.org/MQS2008/MQS-Show2.htm
And the major "classic" quilt shows like Houston and Paducah now also having more longarm quilt booths. Plus longarm quilted quilts can be entered into quilt challenges too: lots of beautiful winners :)

From what we learned over the last year, longarm quilting is a profession, not a hobby ...yet:
the longarm machines start at 10,000 US$ up to 30,000 $, computer systems come on top of that. So most longarmers have a home-based business and quilt for others; which is a very successful combination! Most quilters love to create quilt tops: find fabrics, choose colors, cut and sew hundreds of patches together to make a work of art, but then..... The top has to be quilted together with batting and backing fabric and that is another story. Many, many quilters really would like to start creating another top, instead of quilting the parts together and many quilters have lots of UFO's: beautiful tops waiting to be finished.

And that is where the longarm quilters come in more and more: they can do that quilt job. Up till now with a choice of paper pantographs which they follow with a laser stylus on the longarm machine, but there's a growing community of quilt pattern designers offering digitizing quilt patterns.

Since Pre-Design entered the market early 2007, the longarm quilters are noticing that they are capable of creating their own patterns too, as Pre-Design is so easy to use. So instead of spending hours to find the right type of pattern for a special quilt, they can just make a photo of one of the fabrics, trace it in Pre-Design and create a matching quilt pattern.

Pre-Design can export to DXF format, for the computerized quilt systems, but it can also be used to draw quilt patterns and print at actual size: then take a tracing wheel to punch holes in the paper pattern to turn it into a stencil, and chalk spray to transfer the pattern onto the quilt, or use the print to trace with the laser stylus. That makes Pre-Design suitable for all types of quilt systems: longarm machines with or without a computer and domestic machines too :)

See http://quilters.pre-design.eu/screenshots.htm there are 2 slideshows how to create quilt stencils: for domestic machines and for longarm machines and slideshow #3 shows how to create a panto roll with Pre-Design.
We feel that the quilt world is now at the point where the embroidery world was about 9 years ago: more people will start digitizing their own patterns now. And they still will purchase patterns too (same in the embroidery world: almost everybody has some sort of digitizing program and still the design companies are doing great).

In the past year we saw that more companies are launching quilt systems for the "midrange" quilters, at a lower price setting, like the HandiQuilter and frames for domestic machines. The MQS in Kansas even has a new type of classes, the "Just for Me" classes, as there are more quilters now, who get a longarm machine for their own quilts, not so much to quilt for others.

So the longarm and midarm quilt world is rocking and rolling.
I am a member of several longarm quilt Yahoogroups and it is so much fun to see familiar names: people who own an embroidery machine and digitizing software, who already have Pre-Design and who use it now to create their quilt patterns. And the funny thing is that more quilt pattern designers are now also starting to offer their designs in pes-format :) and you can combine patterns and save those as one new pattern:)"

The other way around could be done too (finally starting to reply to your question ):

people who are serious about digitizing quilt patterns should visit a longarm quilter, just to see how the machine works, what a pattern should look like (there's a big difference in effect between open and closed parts in a quilt pattern: open parts will sort of pop-up in a quilt). They will have to know the size of the blocks which can be quilted without rolling the quilt frame etc. Then in fact all they would need is Pre-Design and they could sell their DXF patterns, which will work in most longarm quilt systems, (provided they drew the patterns in the right sequence) but.... by selling the DXF you are sort of giving away your source format, as the DXF is fully editable in AutoSketch. So the best choice is to invest also in Pro-Q Designer, where you can save the pattern in the format for all major machines (and you can combine patterns are save those).

Oh, and if you think that digitizing a manhole cover is nice, I can digitize a cup of cappuccino too :) See
http://www.apqs.com/quiltboard/viewthread.php?tid=8706
and http://quilters.pre-design.eu/mqs_class1.htm And now Theo is addicted to drawing too -"

------------------------------------------- Some thoughts on this information:

I gave this drawing information serious thought and realized that while I save my own pennies to embark on a new "interest" aka Longarm quilting, that I was not using my Pre-Design tools to all its advantage for my own needs. So last week I decided to try it for illustration purposes with one of my projects by taking a picture, tracing it, and then coloring in sections to make a set of directions easier. It's actually for the denim bag I did for AEC. I was amazed how I could create an illustration that simplified things for my students. So let's add illustration to the list of can-do's! Granted it's not cappuccino but I enjoyed my cup of coffee while drawing this.

More information on the software is also on the cookiescreations.com website.

Bunco Door Hanger - Girl's Night Out

2008-04-22T22:01:00.004-04:00

One of my friends is quite involved with her bunco group and wanted a door hanger for the party night. Quickly I copied and pasted little poodles from my mini design set, and added the lettering from the bunco design set that is available free on the cookiescreations.com website. With a little stuffing and a quick whip stitch this went together in the hoop in just a matter of a few minutes.

Bunco is a parlor game involving 3 dice. It is amazing how many ladies are involved in a once a month bunco get together. There are many websites discussing how to play bunco.

If you need the free designs for your embroidery machine then you should click here and if you want to read more on bunco check out this link...

April's Project being featured in the newsletter...

2008-04-16T21:39:00.004-04:00

For months I have been working on moving my website to a new server while preparing to teach at several events. I have learned several lessons along the way and have had set backs from time to time. But my own club members and students have weathered through it.

To celebrate the survival for so many of my list members, this months fun newsletter email gift is a sleep mask which stitches out completely in the hoop, and you can even add the elastic at the time it is being embroidered.

Now here is my really dumb moment. When I finished making these masks a couple of years ago, I thought they were such fun that I raced to mirror to try it on to see how they looked! Duh, I couldn't see a thing obviously. Even Bentley stared at me in disbelief!

Now that is what working until the wee hours of the night will do to you. So get your sleep and celebrate the move with me.

If you own an embroidery machine and want to enjoy making your own sleep mask, simply subscribe to the newsletter on the cookiescreations website before April is over to get yours.

Embroidered Socks Made Simple

2008-04-04T20:24:00.006-04:00

After five days at the American Embroidery Conference, I am finally home and unpacked, ready to begin my local classes once again. The featured socks on the left were embroidered with designs from Cookie's Creation's mini boys collection Snips & Tails. A big thank you to Donna Hoffman and Beverly Willingham for their hard work in helping me make samples.

The next big event is the Indiana Embroidery Conference (July 16-19, 2008) where I will be holding a "sock hop in the Hoop" using the Sock Easy embroidery tool. This little Sock Easy device holds one side of a sock completely out of the way for embroidery to be completed. It is so simple to use that I actually made 36 pairs of socks in an afternoon.

Tip on adding ribbons, lace, etc.: Be sure to embroider your socks first and then add the embellishments! - Cookie (ask me how I know!)

To make the class more fun we will be adding all kinds of trims to create one of kind socks which will delight whoever receives them. You can also use the sock easy on ribbed cuffs and the cuffs of little gloves... Leave it to my girlfriends Donna and Beverly to encourage "experimentation".

I love living in the South. In the five days I was away, my yard went from dreary winter to cheerful spring. My favorite tree is now filled with gorgeous flowers and the azaleas are just coming into bloom. My puppies greeted me with great enthusiasm and looking into their happy eyes removed any exhaustion I was feeling.

Time to get busy as I have several files to work on tonight.

Felting - A Fun Adventure whether you sew, knit, or scrapbook!

2008-03-23T13:49:00.006-04:00

Fun "Wristlet" Bag to make in an afternoon!

I use to believe that if the object was not moving that you needed to embroider it. It made my poodles very nervous as well as it kept them moving.

But my latest embroidery projects are different. I love to take roving, which is wool that may be dyed but not spun into yarn (available at sewing and knitting shops), and with the help of a felting machine, I create my own fabric to embroider. In this case, I used the babylock Embellisher machine, with roving and created plaid fabric. I embroidered it with one of the designs in my decor1 Kaleidescope collection and added some fun crystals. The wristlet strap, which is attached to the zipper closure, is made out of alpaca yarn that I knitted with double pointed knitting needles rather quickly. I then threw the "knitted strap" in hot water with a little soap, added some agitation and gave it a quick spin in the dryer to felt it as well.

This project class is being featured at Atlanta Sewing Center, in Marietta on April 12th at 10:30 in their "I Love to Sew" Club. The class is open to the public but you must call in advance and reserve a spot. I love felting because it is relaxing. There is no threading involved. Felting machines have little barbed needles that tangle the fibers in such a neat manner forming fabric. You can also manually felt projects by using a hand held tool but that takes much longer and for me it is a bit tedious. Felting machines are great for embellishing home decor, clothing... the possibilities are endless. Making your own fabric is just one project idea. I have other past projects in this blog if you are sitting home with your felting machine crying out to you. Check them out.

In three days, I will be teaching at the American Embroidery Conference and I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the event. Happy Felting! Cookie!

I'm back on line getting ready for the AEC Conference!

2008-03-11T14:41:00.008-04:00

I have been immersed in website rebuilding, classes, and events. And today is a day of celebration as I cleared out all of my email. The joy of having no old messages waiting for attention is something that many of you can relate to.

My projects are all sewn, and the kits are 90% together for the The American Embroidery Conference which is being held here in just a few short weeks.

This Denim Patchwork Bag is one of my classes for the event. It is lined with white and navy Toile fabric and has a secure zippered closure. There is a handy clip holder inside to help secure the car keys. Most of all it is easy to make. As I was packing up kits thanks to the help of Lulu, Kim, Fran and Kristen - I made a discovery. I had never opened the box of zippers I ordered. Upon doing so I found pale yellow zippers! As soon as my helpers left, I got on the phone and called the company in NYC and my Navy zippers have been shipped out today. So that is why the kits are 90% finished.

The new website has been quite an undertaking and will be released shortly. After 12 years of residing on the same server using the same program for creating it, I received a notice letting me know that the server was coming down, the company was purchased by another, and that my Frontpage was now a terminated program. This happened within weeks of a comcastic holiday, so coffee drinking and blogging had to be put to the side. But all is well now. In retrospect, I needed to rewrite over 100 pages of html codes, and it was time to learn new software, and the shopping cart needed to be written, and of course, I needed to compile the mailing list.

So how has your last 2 months been?

I just feel happy to have it almost completed so I decided this was the day to brew mid-day coffee and blog...

This post has the approval of Stella Bella the wonder poodle!

Then and Now....

2007-12-31T23:22:00.001-05:00

Getting ready for 2008 camera wars. Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year! As I sit here blogging I can hear fireworks from the neighbors across the way. Bentley is glued to my side, so that I can protect him. Brave Bentley but at least he does bark. The holidays have been amazing. Lots of friends and family have visited and tonight it is calm as we move on to 2008. There are many things to be thankful for. In the case of this picture, I am thankful that I am actually the owner of that camera, but I have concern that Ms. K. is looking very comfortable with it. After days of visiting and two parties, it is nice to have tonight to relax. I was going through pictures when I spotted this one Ron celebrating his twenty something birthday and not sharing his cake with Ms. K!

I've had an evening of strolling through photographs and it made me think of the country song,"Remember When". It's so true. There are many things that have changed yet over the years I have stayed in touch with my friends from high school and college and so to look through those pictures really reminds me of the many things I have to be grateful for. This is the perfect time to look through old photograph albums if you haven't done so. Of course, people change but for the most part I have to smile for as much as hair, clothing, makeup experience "fashion change", --- everything does repeat itself. Here's an example of 29 years, LOL!
It was lots of fun looking at the family pictures and with that said, tomorrow I will wake up and do the finishing touches on a scrapbook. I need to that before the recipients make it to that one year anniversary! Look at us, it happens so fast!

Wishing everyone a very Happy, Healthy and Joyous New Year! 2008

Wishing a Happy New Year to the Couple of the Year 2007 that is!

2007-12-29T17:48:00.000-05:00

As 2007 draws to a close, let's wish this newlywed couple a bright and Happy New Year. I am in the midst of winding up their scrapbook and I have to tell you that every picture I have of them from their wedding is flawless. My number one resolution is to send them their scrapbook before their first anniversary. And that will happen.

In my family, everyone knows that yes, I love to do scrapbooks, but they take me almost a year to complete. I work on them on the wee hours of the night when I can't sleep.

I think scrapbooking is great therapy but sometimes I tend to get to bogged down with which font I want to use, and then I look at the picture to closely and start wiping out things. (Yes, wrinkles, weight, etc. but not in this case) This couple simply has too many great pictures and it's hard to pick and choose. It was a fabulous Turkish wedding which makes it more difficult. Oh and the rehearsal dinner also fabulous,,,, and brunch... oh my. For those of you who scrapbook, you can feel my plight. Decisions decisions... but I have them made and completed. Sadly, they could not be with us for the party - but happily they did spend the 50th with Richard. So I made a point of putting them on my UMBRA photo tree. So they were there in spirit.

Wishing everyone a Very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year! Cookie

50 Years Young...

2007-12-28T23:29:00.001-05:00

And this is what 50 years young looks like, and he was definitely surprised to find a room filled with family and friends to greet him as he entered Sugos.

A fun time was had by all. Honorable mentions has to go to Luanne for her unusual hand made gift of "sushi" candy. It was truly special since our families go out together for a "sushi" fix so this made all of us laugh. The presentation was amazing and rice crispies never looked or tasted so good. So Lulu, are you going to share your recipe? Absolutely, the best display of food!

It was great seeing cousins Scott and Sharon. Sharon showed us a few great moves for self defense and it is no surprise that she owns the successful Dynasty Dojo in New York.She really knows her stuff and after listening to a few stories, it is easy to see why Scott never sneaks up on her. Let's see was that a bruised nose, that taught him a lesson?

Things we learned at the dinner party: there is such a thing as too much good food, raspberry chocolate cake can always be squeezed in no matter how much you have eaten. That there are no shy people among Ron's family and friends. Action photos are hard to take. That umbra photo trees are excellent for displaying photos as table toppers. It's important to make sure you are always in control of your facial expressions when a camera points at you. If in doubt, consult the umbra trees for examples.

A special birthday wish to Richard: you are 9 minutes older than Ron and one day in the distant future you will no longer remember that those 9 minutes makes the difference between old and ancient. Happy Birthday!

Holiday Shopping Bargains and did you know that .....

2007-12-20T07:01:00.001-05:00

In my travels for unusual gifts for the holidays, this has to be the number one bargain gift,

"Genuine Fake Watches"

New York City has nothing in comparison to the watches being sold in this location and they are definitely proud of it. For those on my holiday shopping list, don't be too disappointed that I didn't get you one. Being genuine, they were a little high priced for me.

On the home front: Did you know that the TWINS in our family are quietly turning 50? It's true and it happens this weekend. What keeps that smile on Ron's face is knowing his brother is 9 minutes older

So for those that know my twin, be sure to give him your birthday wishes. His brother doesn't read blogs either.

Lastly, one more handle to knit then it's a quick felting in the washer and I can upload it. Only a few days left to have it ready.

Projects - several on the road to completion!

2007-12-12T22:01:00.000-05:00

The holidays are rolling in and it's a serious time for those of us who like to make our own gifts. Last week I did finish a blue, teal and green scarf made out of yarns that had silk, nylon and light weight wool. For fun, I added some lighter green ribbons to mix with the yarns for the fringe.

I have the handles to finish up on a knitted purse. I had to put it down until my glasses could go back on, to ensure that I picked up the right yarns. It's the kind of wool that wants to split easily so added care was needed, the kind of care that required reading glasses.

I did manage to finish up cushions for the kitchen bench. The thought of making cushions for a bench in my kitchen has been on my list for 3 years. It is one of those functional projects that you can't get too excited about. It is surprising to see how many more complicated projects get done in avoidance of a project you find uninspiring. I learned a few good things in doing this like: how to measure for fabric, that green foam has a greater density than the white or off-white foam. You can make a pattern easily by measuring the circumference of the foam in both directions and divide each measurement in half. Fold your fabric in thirds and mark off those same dimensions and sew on the lines. I finished the closure with Velcro on the bottom.

Others benefitted from my inability to don my glasses. My daughter was pleased to get her kitchen curtains finished. The home is ready for company for the holidays. And Stella, my toy poodle, has learned a new trick, "Stella kiss Chandler". Now you know the level of boredom one can reach when my glasses have to be out of use!

It's amazing how much one can do when they can't read their email. But the glasses are back on the handles of the purse are back to being knitted fast and furious!

In closing these random thoughts. What a difference two years can make in everyone's lives.
2005 and now!

Knitting fast and furious....and felting!

2007-11-27T08:56:00.000-05:00

Could you find felt in the color blends of this flower? Could you find a perfect wool to make a matching vest, purse, etc? Here's been my experience with felt machines on the market.

I can't wear my reading glasses at the moment, so it limits everything I can do. However, I can knit. How do I accomplish this at a time when I am so eyeglass dependent? Big thick yarn, size 15 needles and the wonders of felting. I always tell myself, "felting is very forgiving"! I learned just how forgiving it is through Debi Light of the Whole Nine Yarns as I made my first project with her help many months ago. Since then I have become a felting fanatic. I love to felt knitting projects, and also to felt old sweaters and make those into purses, wristlets, book covers.... I think you get the idea of the level of my felting illness.

Since I am limited to what I can do, now I am working on my felting machine. Several companies have their own version of them. Babylock has the Embellisher which does a fabulous job of felting roving and other wool and blended fibers. Janome has a version of one, as well as Nancy Ziemen. Other companies have attachments that you can add to their sewing machines like Bernina, Brother and I am sure there are others but these are the ones I know about. I have both the attachment Feltscaper on my Brother and the Babylock Embellisher. There are pros and cons to both. The Brother attachment which mounts on the PQ1500 is 5 barbed needles in one replaceable unit. The Embellisher has 7 barbed needles individually replaceable. I have looked at the Janome and it is similar to the Embellisher style of machine. For those with limited space, having a separate machine may not be the solution. All the felting machines are light weight as I am far from muscular and can easily carry the felting machines. So a shelf is all you need, but if you are an out of sight out of mind person, than the attachment is best for you. No matter which style of Felter you have be sure to clean it out regularly.

I have gone nuts with these machines as I can actually do this safely with my current sight as all of my machines have safety shields and I can definitely see those. Keep your fingers away from that area and there are no problems. You can also felt by hand using a small affordable tool for under $10 but it does take MUCH longer and I wouldn't dare do it without my glasses planted on my nose. Those barbed needles are painful. I have purchased several of these units for when I travel that I ended up with one too many in a box, and raffled one off a few years ago at a show, and the winner, Denise Spanos, has truly embraced her machine. The business she has created Try Our Designs is a wonderful place on the Internet to purchase supplies, and gather great tips. She even dyes her roving to make gorgeous colors and has very good pricing. Mind you when she purchased her raffle ticket it was to help the children of Kids IN Distress never imagining she would win this.

I love the look of smashed roving, but sometimes I want the final fiber product to look like store purchased felt because I need an unusual color for a project. I use roving, and felt it with my felting machine while blending shades and then I put it in a small bag made out of tulle, lay it flat in a baking tray of hot water. I shake it back and forth for a few minutes and voila - great personal colored felt! It looks just like any other felt you would purchase at a store except you can't duplicate the color at JoAnne's or Hancocks.

Whether I need a felted wool garment or accessory or a piece of felt for a child's project - I can match it perfectly with my Felt machine and quality roving dyed to perfection. I know many of you have machines in boxes or on a shelf, pull them out and give it a try. Think of the cute felt ornaments you can make in minutes, or some wool flower pins for your jackets. My poinsettia will be done this week as well.

My family is jumping for joy that I am at home this week because I am making the cushions for the kitchens of my home and my daughter's. It's the same old story of the plumber's wife who has leaky faucets or the shoemaker whose kids need shoes! Let me mention also that having a magnifier on at OTT Lite by your sewing machine has really been useful this week. And frankly, not being able to digitize yet has given me the time to catch up with friends. Sometimes we can be so work oriented we forget that spending time with family and friends is what matters most!

Knitting is the perfect hobby to take along with you...

2007-11-20T18:06:00.001-05:00

I had to take some time off to take care of a "couple" of things and after being off for a week and a half, I returned to my email box today to find emails from a few ladies of the AEC asking to see more of Eli! May each of us look at least half this good at 85. He's still quite the man at a party.

During my time off attending to things I had limited access to my hobbies so I finally found knitting needles and have begun another purse. I hope to post it up shortly. I love the knitting books called:
Pursenalities, which is where the pattern I am using is from. Many cute patterns with really great directions for a beginner knitter. There are two volumes out. Both are great.

A Tip: I took my copy to Office Depot and had it spiral bound. I take all my favorite pattern books and do this so they will lie flat and it also preserves the pages better. I do this for my sewing manuals as well. The price range has run me from $2 to $4 a book depending on the thickness.

It's great to be back online, and although I have much to catch up on, I am delighted to be able to do so now. I will be finishing up a brochure for the American Embroidery Conference shortly, and my knitted purse. In the meantime, class descriptions are available on my website or at the main conference site: www.braeco.com. Pleasure and work combined - now that leaves little room for complaining or stress. I think of it all as fun challenges.

For those that knit, I just joined "ravelry.com" which is a hot spot for knitters. There is a waiting list to get in but it's worth checking out.

Other news: My mini designs for the sock easy hoop will be released on December 1st so for those that have no little boy designs, the set has several little boy designs for those cute little sock projects. All is well at last and I hope it is with you , too!

Let the eating begin, again

2007-11-10T19:16:00.000-05:00

Sushi! With Janna giving approval. Ron, you must let go of the platter, it's time to share! Saturday night in ATLANTA! An amazingly full platter was emptied within minutes of its arrival and from there we ended up at Starbucks to watch a slide show of friends in Mexico. The Starbucks was attached to a shoe store, so I ducked in real quick and managed to purchase cute boots in 15 minutes. Apparently everyone in our group thought I was late in arrival, and Mr. Cutie got the full picture of where I had been when he saw MY shopping bag and HIS bill.

Now for the rest of the comcastic day..... NO TECHS Showed up with a Thermal Indicator, in fact no techs at all between 11-2 or the rest of the day for that matter. Are we surprised? But enough of that - I'll save that for the other blog about my Comcastic Kingdom

I'm having another Comcastic Day - Time to Sew/Embroidery

2007-11-10T07:43:00.001-05:00

What is a comcastic day? Click here and to find out.
Who would have thought I would be using my cell phone to run my business? But I am here to tell you that it is a good band aid when all else fails. It can be your blogger, and apparently Sprint has shared with me that it can be a modem, although slow. So "necessity is the mother of invention" and while my designs are stitching I will do just that as my cluster group is waiting for the final part of their design set for the holidays and I can't upload it. Maybe my cell will be the solution -
I certainly had fun with photo wars (using the cell) at Dad's 85Th birthday party. For the AEC ladies who were in love with Dad 8 years ago at The AEC event, we still can't keep up with him or Sandy who both danced continuously at the party. Sandy did so with an ankle injury! So AEC ladies, thank goodness Dad met Sandy to be his wife for we could never keep up.

On another fun note - I am finishing up the mini designs for the Sock Easy units I have on my main website this weekend and I will upload when I am able to here residing in my Comcastic Kingdom. I did have a fun day at work yesterday morning looking at several sewing/quilting/embroidery machines. Does it sound like I am contemplating a new one? It's tough with the newest elegante & duetta 4500. I have the Ellageo/Innovis for my home play machine and the Professional for work and my home ones are working fabulous which makes this difficult to rationalize why I need new ones. Maybe I do the big no-no and sell them leaving empty spots. Could I just come home with a new one and say I won the raffle? Would my AEC and IEC buddies support me on this when I am questioned?

Betsy, I had no idea you could press enter on remote of the TV and place orders on the Home Shopping Network! Thanks for sharing and when the powers at be get my phone, Internet and cable running again - I will do that first thing. I still want those HUGGABLE Hangers!

Donna is not a lobster!

2007-11-05T07:19:00.001-05:00

Phone blogging is tricky. This is Donna showing perfection. Somehow just the lobster showed up on the previous one. I don't want friends thinking you look like a lobster or that I named the lobster ! One photo only seems to be my mobile limit so now we know

Gigantic Lobster in NJ

2007-11-03T20:59:00.001-04:00

I have just sat down to dinner at Pub 199 and we have gathered for dinner. The lobster arrived and it is the size of a large pizza pan. Atomic lobster -and judging by the joy on Donna's face - it's perfect.

How do you like your coffee? This is only a test.

2007-10-29T12:40:00.001-04:00

I am testing out my mobile blog and I want to share with you that I find it amazing that it is possible with just a phone to "blog on". I see a new level of phone wars ahead! Rusty wrote me an email professing shock that I would drink Starbucks in Turkey. What can I say? Although Turkish coffee is wonderful, there is something to be said for being able to drink quickly without fear of choking on grinds. I am always on the go and therefore "how to drink my coffee" is not what is uppermost in my mind. It is the laptop in front of me that gets my attention when I am on the road. However, since you say you still love me despite this flaw - I say ditto to you! Let me also share with my coffee club friends, that in my travels around the globe to date, that Starbucks dark roasted coffees have been consistently the same in flavor which suits me just fine. Also, its that sense of being home when you are in a far off land that gives comfort!

To the family at large and my fun loving students - setting up for mobile blogging will impact you on some level--- of course, you know that. To Rusty, I am surprised that you didn't post your dismay as a comment. You are such a good soul and I am lucky to have you in my life.

To Debra, my inserts have arrived.