November 2007 - Posts

• Christmas Tree Skirt from Table Runners

  To take a simple or plain idea and mold it into something personal and unique is always rewarding. Michelle Gauthier created a special Christmas tree skirt to become a focal point for holiday cheer in her home. Without spending a lot she gave of her time and love to bring special smiles to those around her. This is a clever and simple way to make a tree skirt, but if you insist on the Battenburg lace variety, you can find them on my site. Michelle's Description I made this skirt out of 3 1/2 table runners that I purchased from the Dollar Store. I chose to use two different colors, but three could be used, or it could all be made from one color. I have to give full credit to AnnTheGran embroidery design contributer Diane Carothers, whose snowman designs inspired me to make something out of them. Step by Step: I took the 4 table runners, purchased for one dollar each. I cut them in half so that I could double the tassled ends available to me. I chose to use Christmas red, and cream, and alternated, sewing together along the already finished seams. On the cream pieces, I embroidered the snowman designs by Diane Carothers. Once the embroideries were completed and the pieces were sewn together, I simply turned the top edge under and under a second time to form a pocket to run a fancy cord through. The purpose of this is a drawstring to pull the top of the piece around the trunk of the tree and gather it to make it look fuller. Once the drawstring was fed through, it was as simple as tying the drawstring around the trunk and straightening the skirt out around the base of the tree. What Makes This Project Special I started with something simple and the result was an expensive-looking, original tree skirt that is one-of-a-kind. I am excited to present this easy, attractive and inexpensive idea to the sewing community. I hope that others are able to take my idea and expand on it in ways I haven't yet thought of - and then let me know how you have improved on the idea. Skill Level I think that this is a very simple project and might be good for beginner or budding seamstresses. I would also suggest trying applique designs on the panels, as this would be an attractive variation. Even to put padding under the applique would be really cute. Products Table Runners Snowman Designs Attractive Cord (for drawstring) Time Invested The entire project, once embroidery was complete, takes approx. 30 minutes. The embroidery is something you can do while doing other stuff around your house. Why I Love This Project My kids love the idea that the tree skirt is special and unique and their friends' families do not have anything like it under their tree. That is what makes it worth the work, I think. Seeing smiling faces at Christmas time is the best! I hope you can all enjoy my idea and make a tree skirt for your home that is uniquely your own. Send Us Your Creations Do you have any creations that go with a great story? If so, we'd love to hear about them, and see them! If we choose to post your project, you'll get a free $25 gift certificate to use in the AnnTheGran.com online store. Click here for details on how to submit your creation. What Would You Do? Michelle used simple $1 runners to inexpensively create an item that can sometimes be quite expensive to buy. Click on the Comments link to tell us about the most creative item you have used to make a decorative project. Posted Nov 28 2007, 08:19 PM by atgadmin with no comments Filed under: table runners, gift idea, christmas, holiday designs, entertaining, tree skirt, battenburg lace, sew many designs, applique, snowman

• Simple Baby Quilt for Cold Northern Winters

  Creating keepsakes for loved ones is such a joy for those who love to sew. With her simple blankets, Sue Kerlin shows us how she continues her love of giving to family even when life is too full for intricate details. Sue's Description: I picked this pattern of baby quilt because I am not a detail quilter. I was sent a picture of a quilt with "outside seams" and thought it looked easy enough. The effect it gives the quilt is inviting, warm, cozy and so soft, just perfect for a "northern winter" baby. I have sewn for years, but working full time and sewing, I have lost interest in real "detailed" items. In my book, this is a "simple" quilt. Step-by-step: I used blue and white checkered flannel for the squares that I embroidered, and a blue cloud flannel for the strips between. The small squares are a solid light blue. The larger squares are 10 inches and the stripes between are 5 inch by 10 inch pieces. The small squares are 5X5. You can determine the size of blocks by what size you want your blanket. I embroidered the larger blocks, using mostly patterns I got from AnnTheGran web site. To assemble, I used a 5/8th inch seam toward the front of each piece. After it was completely put together, I attached it to a fleece back that I also embroidered with name, date of birth, weight, and length. I also sent my love and signed the blanket with embroidery. Each of the little blocks are also tied to the fleece with doubled yarn knots with one inch pieces left. This holds it really solid for washing. On the front reversed seams, I clipped them about every inch. Each time it is washed, it becomes fuzzier and softer. What makes this project special: This was first made for my 3rd granddaughter, then for my first grandson. The granddaughter's theme was ducks, so I used them in the pieces between the embroidered blocks and ducks for some of the designs on the blocks. My grandson's theme was wild animals, so I changed the block size and did his a bit different and it was a little easier to do. It is so nice to have ultrasounds and know ahead of time what designs can be used. Notice the little boy with the side-ways hat is on both. That design fits the way their daddy looked when he was growing up, I am so glad we found it. I made different blankets for the first 2 granddaughters, but I liked the look of this so much that I made a full sized one out of denim and patterns that my 15 year old granddaughter could relate to for Christmas last year. The blocks of it were denim with flannel cat fabric between since she was called "kitten" by her uncle when she was little. Skill level: This is VERY simple. Centering the design in the middle is so easy, I folded it in quarters and chalked a dot for the middle. I then lined my embroidery hoop so the dot was in the center of it. Assembly is also easy. If you can sew a straight line, you can make the quilt, and I find it very relaxing to do. Products: I have a Brother PE-150, a small embroidery machine. I never thought I would use it as much as I have, but find it fun and a nice way to personalize things. I work full time, but hide out and play often in my special room. Time Invested: I have no idea. Each block took at least an hour, but while they are stitching, I also did other things with my regular machine, so time flew by. It was fun watching the different designs progress. Why I love this project: It was fun, not stressful at all and is a great keepsake for my grandbabies. They will always know I stitched it with love. The free patterns available at AnnTheGran.com are wonderful. If I would have had to pay for all of the designs I used, I simply could not have afforded to do it. Send Us Your Creations Do you have any creations that go with a great story? If so, we'd love to hear about them, and see them! If we choose to post your project, you'll get a free $25 gift certificate to use in the AnnTheGran.com online store. Click here for details on how to submit your creation. What Would You Do? Sue has found fun ways to keep on sewing even when life consists of a full time job and growing family. Click on the Comments link to tell us about your favorite stress free project or past-time. Posted Nov 23 2007, 11:33 AM by atgadmin with no comments Filed under: baby quilt, children, embroidery designs, babies, scissors, sew many designs, quilt, blanket, ducks, happy animals, perfect placement, alphabets

• A Little Treasure - Should I Or Shouldn't I?

  Hi, Folks, I'm in a bit of a quandary. When I set up this blog, I made it clear to the team here who help me get this to you that I really wanted the blog to focus on projects contributed by the AnnTheGran community. So far, you've all been great with that, and we've seen some great stuff and heard some wonderful stories. What I absolutely didn't want was for this to be was a place to try to sell you more stuff. Everyone has to make a living, so I have AnnTheGran.com to help me pay my bills, and I figure you'll tolerate a few harmless links to my site from here, but I wanted to make very sure that I never crossed the line. I was contacted the other day by the fine people at Gaballi, whom I've known in one capacity or another for a quite a long time. If I didn't really like the gals who run the place, I wouldn't have even considered it, but I figured, as most of this particular group of products isn't stuff I sell on my site, and if I actually like it, I could justify letting you know about it. I'm counting on you to let me know if I'm crossing the line here (use the Comments link below). In fact, I'm quite excited to share this little treasure with you. The gals at Gaballi actually offer 6 different product lines, 4 of which are embroiderable, and one of which I sell on AnnTheGran.com. Apparently, they are clearing out some of their inventory. Anyway, they called me and wondered if all my ladies (and a few gents too!) would be interested in a WHOLESALE DISCOUNT on all their products. That's 40% off the retail price of everything in their store. So I replied, "I don't know, I'll ask them!" So, now I'm asking you. Are you interested? If so, take a browse through their site by clicking here. The way I figure it, your embroidery can add the finishing touch to many of their products for your family, friends and loved ones, so it could be a great source for holiday shopping and gift giving. I also feel obliged to tell you, because it's the kind of person I am, that I will receive a small commission if you order anything. There are no minimum orders and no sign-up is required. Just be sure to enter the coupon code GRAN in the shopping cart when you check out and the 40% discount will be calculated automatically! And keep sending me those projects! Click here for details on how to submit your creation. Best Wishes, Ann Posted Nov 20 2007, 11:35 AM by atgadmin with no comments Filed under: children, gift idea, babies, gaballi, embroiderable products

• The Perfect Gift - Embroidered Wine Bottle Bags

  Tuck a bottle of their favorite beverage inside a festive wrap - no wrapping paper required. Trisch Rosema's embroidered gifts of wine got rave reviews even though they were quick and easy. What a lovely hostess gift one of these custom wine bags would make! Or you could do as Trisch did and make a special beverage wrap for everyone on your list. Trisch’s Description Easy to make wine bottle bags. These will fit a standard 750ml wine bottle but you can adjust the measurements to fit any size. Make it extra special by embellishing with beads, hot-fix crystals, craft shapes, holly, bells etc – let your imagination run riot! Step-By-Step Instructions Below is how to make them out of felt or any other fabric that does not require overlocking. If this doesn't fit what you are doing, leave me a comment here on Ann's Blog and I'll see if I can help. Measure your wine bottle and determine the size of the red fabric by taking 75 % of the length of the bottle. Do the same for the white, using 25%. Remember to allow for seams and keep the width of the fabric a little looser around the bottle to allow for easy insertion. Hoop up the red fabric, centered on a large hoop with the bottle length of the fabric running vertically. Embroider the holiday design of your choice. Stitch white fabric to red fabric at top. (Tip: use pinking shears or decorative scissors to finish off the top edge of the white). Stitch up sides of combined fabrics. Stitch bottom closed (Tip: to remove bulk, stitch a 45degree seam on both sides to make an ‘envelope’ effect and trim away bulk). Insert bottle of wine. Loop green ribbon around the neck and thread beads to end of green ribbon. Tie securely. Embellish with additional sparkly stars or include a cute festive cork and personalise with a gift tag. What makes this project special Because Christmas is in the heat of summer in the Southern Hemisphere, gifts such as fresh fruit, nuts and wines are top of the list when we’re invited to friends for dinners during the Festive Season. We are so lucky to have some of the finest vineyards in the world here in South Africa, so making a special gift bag is a way of making sure we show our appreciation for the hard work our winemakers have put into their product! Skill level No need to be a skilled seamstress. As long as you can stitch straight lines, you can make this bag! Products 1 piece red fabric 13.2" x 12" 1 piece white fabric 6.2" x 12" 4 pieces green ribbon 15" 2 gold or silver beads Design of your choice Cottons colours of your choice Stabilizer I used my own embroidery designs. On some of the embroidery I used metallic threads – slowed my machine down a bit and used the right needle to make sure my project sewed out beautifully. I also added a few seed beads here and there. The fabric I chose to use is Fasco, a pure 100% cotton, because of the heat here in South Africa. I would, however, make these out of felt if I lived in the snow because it would give a ‘warmer’ feel to this project. Time Investment Rather than making one bag at a time, I spent a weekend embroidering about 30 and then made them up sausage-factory style… stitch all sides, add all tops, insert all ribbons and so on. But if you had to make a single one, I’d say you’re looking at about an hour’s work, depending on the complexity of the embroidery design you’ve used. Why I love this project Because every person who received one of these was so overwhelmed at the effort made to give them a simple bottle of wine! Send Us Your Creations Do you have any creations that go with a great story? If so, we'd love to hear about them, and see them! If we choose to post your project, you'll get a free $25 gift certificate to use in the AnnTheGran.com online store. Click here for details on how to submit your creation. What Would You Do? Trisch added sparkling stars to some of her bags to give them extra holiday shine. Do you have a special way to make your holiday embroidery projects sparkle or shine? Click on the Comments link to share your ideas. Posted Nov 16 2007, 11:37 AM by atgadmin with no comments Filed under: gift idea, christmas, holiday designs, entertaining, perfect placement, wine bottle bags

• Race Car Themed Quilt for "Big Boy Bed"

  Every child's first birthday is exciting and every mother wants to create great memories of the event. This race car themed quilt was created by Gina Martinez to complete her son's graduation to a "Big Boy Bed" and give him a special birthday memory to cherish for years to come. General Description Hi, my name is Gena Martinez and I'm a Work at Home mom who makes diapers and slings and has just discovered the joy of quilting! For my son's first birthday, his daddy and I got him a race car bed. I made him a fun, personalized quilt to cover it! I love the way the quilt makes the car bed look complete - almost like the hood of his new race car! Step-by-step Description I quilted together squares of Disney's "Cars" printed fabric and some yellow race car fabric. I chose a nice piece of faux Suede for the back/top. I cut a circle out of checkered flag material. I printed a #1 out to trace and I cut the #1 out of the yellow race car material. I appliqued the #1 (It was his first birthday) onto the checkered flag circle and then the circle on to the Faux Suede. In the bottom left corner I embroidered his name and the year.   I added batting and attached the 2 pieces and tacked around the circle to complete my quilt and the perfect compliment to his new toddler bed!   What Makes This Project Special? This project was very special to me because it was a neat way to commemorate my baby boy's first year. Hopefully he will always have this #1 quilt as a reminder of his first big day and his first big boy bed!   Skill Level This is only my second quilt, so I'd say a beginner would be able to tackle this project.   Products Fabric, thread, sewing machine, embroidery machine, batting   Time Investment 8-ish hours   Why I Love This Project I love the way it looks and he loves the way the material feels! All of our party guests wanted to know where I had his blanket made! Send Us Your Creations Do you have any creations that go with a great story? If so, we'd love to hear about them, and see them! If we choose to post your project, you'll get a free $25 gift certificate to use in the AnnTheGran.com online store. Click here for details on how to submit your creation. What Would You Do? Gina personalized her quilt with a name and date. We would love to hear your favorite way to record the when, where and who of quilts and other heirloom gifts that you create. Click on the Comments link to share your stories. Posted Nov 13 2007, 11:58 AM by atgadmin with no comments Filed under: children, gift idea, babies, nursery, applique, quilt, boys, blanket, race car, big boy bed, zoom zoom designs, first birthday, alphabets

• Tote Bag With Embroidered Double Pocket

  Friends come in many shapes and sizes but each has a special place in our lives. The same is true of people with whom we enjoy doing business. Ann's Partners have favorite stories and projects to share just like you. I thought that you would enjoy hearing from them from time to time, to meet the people behind some of the products that bring our creations to life. Today's feature is by Carol Brown, creator of Fancy Jumble Alphabets. Creating useful items, especially totes, is one of her many passions. I will now hand you over to Carol. General Description I call the pocket on this tote bag “Double Pocket” because, as shown here, I can put things inside the pocket as well as behind the pocket. It is quite easy to embroider on a flat piece of fabric and turn it into a Double Pocket. You can then sew the completed pocket to a bag you are making or to a ready-made bag. Not only is it easier to make the embellishment in this way, but it also adds extra storage to a bag. Step-by-step Description Click here to view a pdf file with instructions. What Makes This Project Special? I love personalizing totes for myself and for gifts. I digitized a name with fancy fills when I wanted to embroider something special on a gift for a former professor, and liked it so much I created ten whole Fancy Jumbles alphabets. I also think a tote can’t have too many pockets. This project provides an easy way to add a pocket and a personalization at the same time. Skill Level This is an easy project to sew. It requires only straight seams. Products Fancy Jumbles Alphabets Tote bag waiting for a new pocket. Sturdy fabric for pocket. Nylon or Polyester coil zipper 3-4 inches wider than desired pocket. Embroidery machine. (Mine is a Husqvarna Viking Designer I). 100mm x 170mm embroidery hoop or bigger, depending on embroidery design. Tear-away stabilizer. Embroidery thread. Time Investment One hour or less should be plenty to embroider, construct and attach a pocket. Why I Love This Project I love designing and sewing bags and I love teaching others to make bags, too. Bags make great gifts and are always the right size. Students who are new to sewing enjoy an easy success and are proud of their work. Send Us Your Creations Do you have any creations that go with a great story? If so, we'd love to hear about them, and see them! If we choose to post your project, you'll get a free $25 gift certificate to use in the AnnTheGran.com online store. Click here for details on how to submit your creation. What Would You Do? Carol is someone just like you, who turned her love for creating things into a business. Is there anything you'd like to ask her? If so, click on the Comments link to post a question, and we'll ask Carol to give you an answer. Posted Nov 08 2007, 10:34 PM by atgadmin with no comments Filed under: medium tear-away, gift idea, embroidery thread, carol brown, tote bag, home embroidery business, pocket, fancy jumble alphabets

• Blown Away By Baby Blankets

  This project was submitted by Kim Yunkun. I chose to post this one because it is simple but beautiful and any level of embroiderer can do it. Not everyone is an expert, but everyone can share the sense of pride that we all feel when we've accomplished something. Sometimes, when we've been doing it for a while, we forget that every project is an accomplishment. Kim's Description I buy these blankets from Charles Craft (usually online but occasionally you can find them in a fabric store.) They are called Rainbow Baby Blankets and are 30 inches by 36 inches with light blue, pink and light yellow lines crisscrossing on them. The corners are plain white and are 6.5 X 6.5 inches. Step-by-Step description To make these blankets is very simple. Choose embroidery with a baby theme. I try to make all the pictures have the same theme. I use a 100mm X100mm hoop or the 130mm X 180mm (5X7) hoop. The designs I have been using lately are by Sew Many Designs and even have included their font for the name which I place on the lower right corner. What makes this project special The absolute joy that the new parents have when they see the blankets make these so special. We all know the time we put into our embroidery and it feels so good when you give these away and the recipient is speechless. Skill level As long as you can center a design in the corner squares and you can embroider you can make these blankets. The blankets are extremely easy to embroider and I have been doing them for at least 5 years. In that time I have never messed one up and had to grab another to complete the project. Products I used embroidery designs from Sew Many Designs. I use the Husqvarna Viking SE machine and use the 100X 100 hoop or the 130X180 (5X7) hoop. The blankets are by Charles Craft and are called Rainbow Baby Blankets. Time Investment You can finish a blanket in one to three hours, depending on which embroidery you choose. The Sew Many Designs embroidery are appliqué and require more time for fabric placement but the results are so worth it. Why I love this project This is the same answer as what makes this project special. I make these baby blankets for everyone I know who has just had a baby. They are for everyone from friends, co-workers, family and church members. Everyone that receives one is totally blown away with them and I am as proud as I can be. The reaction of the new parents to these blankets is unbelievable and makes me the proudest embroiderer going. Send Us Your Creations Do you have any creations that go with a great story? If so, we'd love to hear about them, and see them! If we choose to post your project, you'll get a free $25 gift certificate to use in the AnnTheGran.com online store. Click here for details on how to submit your creation. What Would You Do? Kim found a simple formula that she's used many time on many projects, to great effect. Do you have a "formula", a combination of items or techniques you've used time and again that still produces great results? Click on the Comments link to let us in on your "secret recipe". Posted Nov 02 2007, 01:27 PM by atgadmin with no comments Filed under: children, gift idea, babies, nursery, sew many designs, blanket