Hello Sewing Friends,

The Sewing and Quilt Expo was very exciting this year, and attendance was up dramatically! There were sewing classes day and night for every level and interest, and inspiring quilts and embroideries were displayed in vendor booths throughout the showroom floor. My name is Darlene; I'm a fabriholic and I got my fix at the Expo!!

Before attending the Expo, I purchased a book called "Apron-ology" at JoAnn's and found it to be inspiring. I am fortunate to have old doilies, handkerchiefs, and crocheted dresser runners from my grandmother and aunt. They both stitched a sewing legacy in their lifetimes and I wanted to somehowhonor their memory by using some of the vintage treasures they left behind.

None of the pieces were anything I would use in my current decor, and some were stained or ripped in spots far beyond repair. However, this book gave me the inspiration I needed to utilize the pieces and stitch a keepsake of them to wear whenever I'm cooking.

It's ok to assemble a collage of vintage finds from crocheted handkerchief corners to antique brooches and buttons, to tablecloths and linens. It's a wonderful pallet to try experimenting with your machine's decorative stitches, too!



This first apron was made from a handkerchief crazy pillow top I made years ago and used only as a sample for crazy quilting. I removed the stuffing and added a bib and ties out of coordinating cotton. I chose not to add any pockets because I didn't want to cover up any part of the sentiment displayed on the apron. Simple, bright, and definitely unique!


The second apron's inspiration was the embroidered photo of our late dog, Pickles. I wanted to use the photo other than to have yet another framed picture to squeeze into the already over decorated shelf space in our home!! Besides, I feel as though she's closer on my hip pocket in the kitchen as she was always by my feet waiting to gobble up any morsels that fell to the floor.


The pieced pink and cream base was flat fold sold by the yard. This piece was purchased years ago. Using it as a base gave the project a vintage feel without spending any time piecing. Some of the blocks were even embroidered!

Battenburg lace pieces and pink lace scraps and findings from my stash completed embellishing the double pocket on the front. The addition of a small vintage linen runner over a crocheted doily that my grandmother made on the side made a convenient built in hand towel.

The beauty of these aprons is that they are simple to make. There is no right or wrong. Consider it a blank canvas and an opportune place to start experimenting with color combinations or harvested clothing parts to repurpose. A split cuff turned upside down makes a delightful pocket ful of built in architectural interest. For this month, I'm hooked on aprons.
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My sewing friend LaRhonda wrote to tell me about pillowcase dresses. I immediately Googled them to see what all the fuss was about. You can see that with the right vintage pillowcase, a darling little dress can be fashioned. It's fun to make old things new and useful again, and it's even more fun when you can turn the item into something entirely different than what it was!!

I found a beautiful pristine set of antique hand crocheted pillowcases during one of my dumpster-diving journeys (technical terminology for antique store browsing day!) The set was $25 and although I knew they would never end up on any of the beds in our house, they were screaming for me to take them home. Between Apron-ology and my friend LaRhonda, I had the perfect solution for the pair (since I didn't know any two year old twin girls); one would become a beautiful pillowcase dress, and the other would serve as inspiration for a delightful apron.

Here's what you'll need for the Pillowcase Dress:

               

•  A vintage pillowcases
•  Two pieces of 1" satin or grograin ribbon each 30" long 
•  Thread to match pillowcase and straight stitch

Directions for the dress:

1) Lay the pillowcase on your cutting surface

2) Cut off the seam at the short end opposite the case's opening

3) Draw mirror-imaged, small "scoops on each side of the top", using a French curve if you have one





4)  Roll-hem the raw edges of the scoop

5) Make a larger 3/4" rolled hem along the top of the dress



 
6)  Pull ribbon through the top casing using a bodkin or large safety pin

7) Tie ribbon ends together and dress your precious little girl! A one of a kind masterpiece, and YOU made it!!





Hope you'll stop by to visit again. Until next time....Sew Your Dreams, Darlene

NOW AVAILABLE!  Just in time for the day of love….. we are offering two new Embroidery CD’s presented by DarStar/Bertina Studios. The Design CDs have been especially digitized to work with these 9 popular formats. FHE, HUS, PES, (Vs. 4,5,6) JEF, VIP, VP3, XXX, DST and EXP. Fits 4" x 6" and 5" x 7"  hoop sizes.  Also included is a printable placement template and a thread color conversion chart that includes Melrose. Made in the USA!!! Order your “Be Kind Hearted” and “Hearts –A-Swirl” today at www.Bertinastudios.com!
 


Thank you all for your supportive e-mails and kind comments since the January 19th Today's Special. Following are a few of the questions I'll answer  that came into my mailbox this week. Who knows, my answer to someone else's question may help you!
BOBBIN PACKS!
My buyer just told me that the Quantum L-500 Bobbin packs are in the Quality Assurance department as you’re reading this. It is just a matter of weeks now before the item is available on dot com.

My book, “Sewing From Square One” is completely sold out at HSN but I do have limited quantities for $10.00 (and that includes shipping) ...they're chock full of easy-peasey gift giving projects and they make great gifts for the beginning sewer too! There are 20 pattern-less projects that you can make starting from a square and  covers crafts, apparel and home décor with lots of techniques, tips and tricks! A good place to start or a refresher book for someone who hasn’t sewn in years.

I have been working on my next book/DVD for over 18 months now and working feverishly  to launch it in July on HSN. Stay tuned for more info on that in the next few months.

BOBBIN TENSION : That annoying beeping signal indicating that your bobbin thread is broken on the Futura~~~~ this machine seems to like 60/2 bobbin thread. If you are using regular machine thread in a 40 or 50 weight, the answer to your problem could be as simple as changing the bobbin thread. I would first try to change to a 60/2 (60 weight 2 ply) bobbin thread, then I would try to balance the top thread’s tension. I often run my machine with the tension for embroidery at ‘zero’--- to get it to stop beeping at me and simply sew!!! Everyone's machine is slightly different, "Sew", don't be afraid to experiment with the settings.

 If you get completely desperate and all else fails, you could remove the bobbin housing (black plastic bobbin house--- you'll have to remove the throat plate to do this) and clean the shuttle area completely. You may need to adjust the teeny tiny screw on the side of the case. (I use my eyeglasses screwdriver for this) There is a slight chance that it may be too tight or too loose (depending again on your bobbin thread) but I wouldn’t fiddle with it unless everything else has failed and there’s no other way to continue sewing short of sending it to the Singer Hospital for a tune-up.

While we're talking about discombobulating the bobbin area, make a note that it should be cleaned out frequently. I just removed my bobbin housing after a lengthy Today's Special Prep and, YUCK!!! .......as you can see it was long overdue for a cleaning.

These fibers can bunch up and cause 'clots' that blocks the thread from feeding properly. You could end up with a big tangle in the bobbin if you don't clean this critical area every 10-15 hrs. of embroidery. There are times when I can do that in 2 or 3 days while at other times it may take 2-3 weeks to embroider that amount. It is also recommended to use the lint brush BUT stay clear from the cans of spray air. Spray air can push lint and dust further into the parts of your investment that you can't get to. 

Another option to try to balance tension is to alter the machine's stitch density settings. Make sure that you have chosen the correct settings for the fabric you are using and adjust the density a bit to see if that helps. You may access the embroidery settings menu by clicking on Design and then scrolling down to embroidery settings.

FAVORITE FONTS AND FRAMES:
If you feel more like Inspector Clouseau than Sherlock Holmes when trying to locate your new Favorite Fonts and Frames from the SES-2000 machine, you're not alone. There wasn't enough time to update the on-board tutorial when they added the program to get the product launched in November. Mystery Solved!!! Once the software is installed, The Favorite Fonts and Frames is accessed when you click on the large T in your tool bar. . You’ll notice that an additional tool bar will drop down when you click on the T.

 Now you have options.

1)    Click on the ABC icon (seen above) and another window will open up (see directly below) that will allow you to choose either one, two or three letters in a monogram outline frame. (large in the center, smaller on the outside)


Then you may choose which font you want from the FONT drop down menu.

 

2)    Or you may Click in the rectangular box and type in more letters such as a name : SINGER and then choose the font from the drop down font menu ( Script 2 etc…) 

3)    When you click on ‘Design’ in the top toolbar and choose EMBROIDERY SETTINGS,(see below)  you will have more options to customize your lettering. You can choose a satin stitch outline, increase the density or angle or even change the fill located under the Stitch Type Tab. Have fun and experiment on scraps first.



Hope this post helps to answer some questions and troubleshoot some concerns. Remember to subscribe if you'd like to receive a notice whenever I add content and TELL YOUR FRIENDS!
 
Now go finish a project!

 Sew Your Dreams!

 

No, You're not seeing double, it's  a sample into some of the affects you can expect from twin needle stitching with a machine that has 9mm stitch width like the Quantum L-500. Here are a few tips that might make your sewing easier.

1) Patterns that go in one direction--forward or sideways work best. When I tried a stitch that went backwards, my needle broke and at five bucks a pop, you want to preserve your twin needles as long as possible!
2) Skip the last two thread guides when threading the right needle thread. This helps the threads from dancing too close and doing the "Tangled Tango" , which can really interfere with your stitching by way of shredded or knotted threads.


3) Loosen the tension  just a bit to accomodate the extra thread.
4) Test the stitch first and remember that getting  adventurous with varigated threads can lead to very interesting optical illusions. I didn't use any here but imagine the overlapping elongated diamond pattern in a varigated.... 
5) Whatever stitch you choose, make sure that you reset the stitch width. Many of the stitches on the Quantum L-5oo are set at a default of 9mm------ this would crunch your twin needle!!!! (regardless what size needle you use) so you need to bring down the stitch width and turn the handwheel slowly through the entire pattern to make sure that the sides will clear both needles. 

One way to enjoy your decorative twin needle topstitching is on a stained glass quilt. When you use a straight stitch, the edges can still curl upward if the twin needle is narrow. (Yes,  I took this shot after I bent the needle)  



In the following example, I used a 3mm stitch width and a multi-stitch zig-zag to be able to move steadily and cover both sides of the bias (lead) tape.



Enjoy experimenting with your twin needle stitching and let me know what you've been working on. Sew your Dreams, Darlene

Thanks for the encouragement!

Sew Your Dreams,
Darlene
DarStar E-mail

darlene@darlenecahill.com
http://www.darlenecahill.com

Hey Sewing Friends!
my husband set up a BLog page for me so now you can ask questions & I'll try my best to answer them in a timely manner.
Makesure to tell your sewing buddies about this new blog...we've got lotsof new plans and future projects in the works, including books, DVD's,Podcasts, YouTube video projects and more!
Stay tuned for all these exciting developments and of course pictures of our new pooch Roxy who...
has decided to Hi-Jack my wardrobe! I think she must have seen the movie "Weird Science" with Anthony Michael Hall, Kelly LeBrock & Robert Downey Jr.!

Have a great week & keep your needles warm!

Happy Sewing,
Darlene Cahill