True Type Fonts in Stitches!

What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness. ~John Steinbeck

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

I got another lesson today from Kathy on changing any old true type font into stitches with my Bernina Artista Version 6  Software.  I was so excited to see LOVE in stitches on my computer screen, that I ran downstairs to my internet laptop to type these instructions .

I wanted the font, Chopin Script, but it was not in the true type folder in my computer.  So I went to 1,001 Free Fonts and downloaded the font, saving it to my desktop.

(Now for most of you, this is no big deal, but I am telling you it took me awhile.  Just stick with it or get your son or daughter to help.  click, save to, and I save to my desktop because it is easy to see and click and drag.  You just want the font to show up on your desktop.   Go to START in the bottom left corner of the screen, and click on Control Panel.  When this screen comes up, you just have to scroll until you find a Fonts folder.  It is really there, honest!  Then minimize your screen, click on the font that you have saved, and drag it into your fonts folder.  WooHoo!  You are almost done! Really not as hard as I seem to have made it.)

Now it is time to open your Artista software, reading all of those nice little tips as you wait.  When your software opens, click on Art Canvas.  Then if you click on the A icon on the left, fonts will appear on a toolbar at the top, there are all of your fonts in alphabetical order and Voila!  The font that you saved is there, right where you need it!  Click on your font.

  Go to the middle of your screen and type whatever it is you want to stitch. Now go to the top icon on the left and select.  It took me a few times.  You are almost there!  Click on the corner of your lettering and drag on a diagonal and your lettering will increase in size.You can play around with the size on this screen, and you will want to get it to the right size here, because you can't make changes once you take it into the embroidery canvas.

When you have the size you want, find the icon on the bottom left that says to change to embroidery, left click, and go back to the embroidery canvas. DONE! At this point you might want to change or add the underlay a little, depending on your project.

My next linen pillows will be stitched in the pretty Chopin Script font. And if it is a month from now when I get to it,  I know where to go for the directions!

Gather ye rosebuds...

 I have been trying to gather these durned rosebuds for over 30 years!

I smocked this insert for Mandy,  on a pretty little rosebud print that was very popular back in the 70s, when she was a toddler.  Then I put it down; didn't finish it up, and forgot about it.   I pulled it out to finish it years later, and realized that I had used too much of it to make some smocked bonnets.  OH NO!  There was not enough to put a back on the dress.

  This was before the internet, and I searched high and low, to no avail.   You can't imagine my joy when Margo came into the store last week with a piece of the rosebud cotton for Kathy, who has a new granddaughter.  I hate to admit it, but I snatched the fabric from Kathy's hands before she could get a good grip on it.

     I haven't decided for sure, but I will probably just make a  little yoke dress with a Peter Pan collar and puff sleeves.  That was the intention many years ago,  but it will be sweet little Sarah's face above the collar instead of Mandy's. 

   Won't it be fun to get a photo of Aunt Mandy and Sarah and a little rosebud dress! 

Missing someone...

Missing someone gets easier every day because even though it's one day further from the last time you saw each other, it's one day closer to the next time you will.  ~Author Unknown

Doin' it Our Way!

"One, two three, four, five, six, seven eight,

Schlemiel!  Schlimazel !

Hasenpfeffer Incorporated."

This project just makes me grin .   Sisters visit our store from time to time ;  I believe they are twins, and they appear to embroider night and day.  On their last visit one of them was wearing an oxford cloth shirt with a traditional monogram on it, and I have to admit , I loved the look .  So I came home to my closet , found an old ,white , no iron shirt from Orvis, and headed to my Bernina.  I used the Wedding font, because it was swirly like Laverne's big L, dropped each letter slightly, and now I have my version of Laverne's sweaters.   I can't wait to wear it with an old pair of jeans.

Little Sewist

 Take your needle, my child, and work at your pattern; it will come out a rose by and by.  Life is like that - one stitch at a time taken patiently and the pattern will come out all right like the embroidery.  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

As you can see from the photograph where Katelyn is intently  concentrating on  the sewing machine, Miss Sarah has nothing to wear and needed a dress.  Katelyn and I had spent a rainy day shopping  for fabric at JoAnn's, and she picked out a loverly butterfly print with sparkles sprinkled lightly over it.  We then took a trip to Target and bought 2 little tank tops.  Katelyn picked a purple one for Sarah, and we went back to her home to start the little dress.

I was amazed again at how she was able to sew a straight seam on my old Bernina 830.  We first repaired her pillowcase, and she followed my pencil line easily.  She had to sit on the very edge of the chair in order for her toes to reach the foot control.  I pressed a tiny double fold on both long edges of our torn strip of fabric, pinned it in place, and Katelyn slowly stitched the seam, using the guide on the foot.  It was fun watching her regulate the speed...("ooooh, that's too fast!") and guide the fabric at the same time.  I am so looking forward to the time it will take together learning this new skill. The last step in our little project was to attach the skirt to the tank top. I did this step with a fairly loose zig zag stitch, and Sarah appears to be thrilled with the results.

 The only way  I could coax tiny Sarah to stand still for a photo was to promise Cheeze-its, so of course I resorted to that.  I leave Birmingham and these two little powerhouses tomorrow, worn out but happy!                                                 

Details

                                             

                            
And since all this loveliness can not be Heaven,
I know in my heart it is June.

            ~Abba Goold Woolson (1838–1921)

This jacket is seeing June weather in an entirely different perspective .  Cold winds, blustery rain and fall weather have arrived in Auckland , New Zealand!

Small details can make a huge difference in a garment, and I wanted to make a note to self of that fact in this post !  I am guessing that what is pleasing to my eye may not be pleasing to another, but something about Issa's jacket on the right just bothered me.  I had not yet added the buttons and the bright pink and white gave the jacket some interest.  And it dawned on me that the Capital I didn't add much to the side of the jacket, so I added the parentheses from the Twirly font. All of the sudden the little sweatshirt was ready to be packed in a box and sent to Auckland, to be worn by a very sweet little Kiwi.

Sarah's Pillowcase Dress

In June 'tis good to lie beneath a tree
While the blithe season comforts every sense,
Steeps all the brain in rest, and heals the heart,
Brimming it o'er with sweetness unawares.
        ~James Russell Lowell  (1819-91)

   While in Birmingham, I decided to bring my old 830 and I set up shop in Katelyn's dining room.  Katelyn and I have repaired a baby stroller, hemmed a pair of pants, sewn stitches following a pencil line, and made a pillowcase dress for Sarah.  I had this soft white pillowcase with pink and green embroidery in my stash, and decided to bring it with me.

The dress is done without a pattern.  I just cut out little armholes, used my excess fabric to make 1 inch bias strips, and I stitched, then whipped the bindings to the inside of the armhole. I put casings in the top of the front and the back, and ran pink ribbon through the casing. I will replace the satin ribbon with some grosgrain; the satin just doesn't have enough body to hold up in the casing.

  

We went outside to take our photographs;  Sarah had a bad case of Bed Head but I was anxious to get the picture because a storm was threatening.  But there is nothing prettier than a little girl in a soft white cotton dress on a summer day.  Nothing.