A Lesson in Mindfulness

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~ Dalai Lama

This towel was going to be a gift for the kind woman, Cheryl Wilfong, who introduced me to meditation at a time when I needed it most.  She shared her skill and loving kindness each morning and afternoon with a small group of appreciative vacationers.

I wanted to do a word block with some of the phrases that she used during her guided meditations.  I used the Artista Software and a variety of fonts and colors.  It was fun to move the words around, and insert the tiny images.

 I  began to stitch.  The colors looked great, I had used 2 layers of stabilizer on the bottom and solvy on the top, and I was smiling when I took my hoop from the machine.   That is, until I began to tear the stabilizer from the back of the towel.  One of them was a CUTAWAY!  If I tugged and pulled, I could get some of it from around the back of the block, but there was no getting the stabilizer from between the words and letters.  Sigh.

So I will keep this towel, and do another for Cheryl.  I may revise it a little. I will be reminded of  Katherine Graham's quotation from a previous post.  And I will think back to my morning meditations, where I concentrate and attempt to be mindful of the moment.  Maybe I can learn to slow down, not multitask and hurry, and be mindful of what I am doing in the moments seated in front of my Bernina!

Little Mermaid

 The Mermaid
       Who would be
       A mermaid fair
       Singing alone
       Combing her hair 

       Under the sea,
       In a golden curl
       With a comb of pearl,
       On a throne?
              ~Alfred Lord Tennyson                                                                                    
                                                                               

     I did Katelyn's second tank top with a mermaid applique that I got from Designs by Juju.  I worked with it in the Artista software; I made it a little larger and added her name.  I used the Harrington font,  which was a true type font.  I brought it into the fonts folder of my computer, then brought it into the software and digitized it into stitches.  I curved and rotated it just a little, and it fit around the body of the mermaid perfectly.

This tank is a perfect example of why the right stabilizer is important.  I used a layer of polymesh behind the tank and hooped them both.  When I attached the hoop to the machine I slid a piece of tearaway under the polymesh, then added a layer of solvy on top.  I was working in pretty close quarters;  I had the medium hoop bunched up all around, and the solvy kept pulling up.  Finally it hit me!  I used the basting stitch function on the 780 and stitched around the perimeter of the design, holding the solvy in place.  

Then I just watched carefully as it stitched, making sure I didn't catch the tank,  and was thrilled when there was not a pucker to be seen!

Little Owl, Chapter II

Mistakes are simply another way of doing things.                           

       ~ Katherine Graham







Finally!  I got the owl on the t-shirt.  Joe did an early morning run to the local Wal-Mart.  ( I have vowed not to enter it again, but I realize this was the same thing.)  And don't you know I ALMOST sewed the thing together again?  Actually, I DID sew it together, but the result was not tragic and I could remove the offending stitches.

   I changed the background fabric to something a little lighter, put the polka dot for the body, and stitched out his feet in orange.  The feet get lost a little on the coral shirt, if I were doing them again I would change them to a bright yellow. So if Katherine graham is correct, I simply have another way of doing LOTS of things.

But I surely do have a good time while I'm doing it!

If at first you don't succeed....

Don't look where you fall, but where you slipped.
 ~African Proverb

Rachel gave me a little pink tank top to stitch up  for Katelyn, and I thought that this owl would look cute on it. I had a photo with the colors of the skirt that she would wear it with, and I carefully picked out fabrics and threads to match. Joe and I had just gotten back in town, and I admit that I did have a sip or two of wine with Mandy,and I was a little tired,  but upstairs I went to finish the project that I had started.

I used an orange stripe that I had gotten from .the Atlanta Sewing Center in Duluth, a green polka dot from my stash, and added a blue feather accent.  I was getting ready to stitch out the eyes and the details that were going to give life to the applique. 

 As I ran my fingers over the fabric to admire my handiwork, I felt it... the dreaded lump under the hoop.

I was so excited about this design.  The stitching is so pretty, not just ordinary satin stitches around the fabric, but I guess you will not see those in this post.

 

So, girlfriends, when will I learn?
I am an early bird,  I sew best in the morning.

I am a cheap date, and even a glass of wine makes me just a little too relaxed        to sew.

So I am off tomorrow, I will make a trip to Walmart to hopefully find another little tank top, stitch it out and get it in the mail to Birmingham.  Hopefully this will be a lesson learned!

Linda's Shower Curtains



"When true friends meet in adverse hour;
'Tis like a sunbeam through a shower.
A watery way an instant seen,
The darkly closing clouds between."            ~ Sir Walter Scott

 

 

     Linda wanted to snaz up her bathrooms with embroidered shower curtains, and I was more than happy to help her.  They are very simple, taupe and white, with reverse thread colors.

 

The taupe towel was done with a white monogram in the Blackboard font.  Because of the size of the letter, I changed the fill stitch from a satin stitch to a step.  For underlay I used a step stitch and an edgewalk. 

 

I used a different font for the white towel, still a simple manuscript B, but with not such a heavy body.  It is a true type font, @Batang, and one I have never used before.  Not only did I change the fill stich and underlays, but I changed the stitch spacing from .44 to .39.  I changed the pull compensation from 2.0 to 3.5.

I hope Linda's new shower curtains make her smile as she walks through the door.

 

 

 

Peace, love and coconuts

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.
                       ~Ralph Waldo Emerson



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 Peggy and I spent a wonderful week in Puerto Moreles, Mexico.

 

We went as part of a groups doing yoga everyday on the beach.  The week was planned and organized by the talented Ann; Thea was the yoga instructor extraordinaire.   We had two hours of yoga on the beach every morning,  followed by an incredible home cooked brunch, then the rest of the day to do whatever we chose.   Cheryl Wilfong, author of The Meditative Gardener, graciously offered to lead us in guided meditation each morning and afternoon.

 

It was without a doubt the most relaxing week of my life.

 

 

 

We wanted to give Thea and Ann a special thank-you, and a beach towel seemed to be a good choice.  I appliqued peace, love and coconuts in Spanish on thick terry towels, using a multicolor chevron print for the lettering.  I used the Groovy font to add Mexico 2013 and their initials.

I have been searching for MY peace for several years now, in many different places, with many different prayers.  Now I find Emerson's quote.  It says it all.  And honestly, I am there.

A Truckload of Easter Wishes

This rather creepy looking little girl is here to wish you a very happy Easter.
My little girls won't be sporting springtime dresses this Sunday.  The early Easter just kind of crept up on me, and with a few other projects going, fancy dresses didn't get done.  Bad Bibi this Easter;  it should be the highlight of my sewing calendar!


Kathy has been more productive than I, sewing t-shirts for her little boys in North Carolina and Texas.   They are precious, of course, and they have her special touches.  So I cannot tell you just what font she used, or where she got her design and what she did to change it in her software.  But I can tell you that she uses her wonderful Bernina 830, she uses lots of stabilizer, and she has an almost limitless stash of fabrics from which to choose for her appliques.

I am on my way to my sewing room to finish up a beach towel that has a sad story to tell.  Let's hope I can repair my careless mistake!

Cousins? or twins?

    Mae tried Katelyn's Seashore Sundress on this morning, so that I could check sizing and see if I needed to make any changes.  She is being very insistent.  "I want my dress to be just like Katelyn's.  Put a K on it, Bibi."  Really?  I do give in to my girlies little whims, but I imagine that this is one I will not indulge.  Mae Mae's sundress will sport an M, front and center!

Bye Bye Bear

A bear, however hard he tries,

Grows tubby without exercise.

Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,

Which is not to be wondered at.

But do you think it worries him

To know that he is far from slim?

No, just the other way about—

He’s proud of being short and stout.

                          ~ A.A. Milne

     The blue sundress is all ready for warm weather in Birmingham, and will go in the box tomorrow to be mailed to the Magic City.   I completed this dress with NOT ONE hand stitch.  I used my serger to finish the seams on the inside of the dress and the bottom hem.  Then I used the #5 foot and a blind hem stitch to do the hem.  I had to press it a good bit to make the it lie flat, and I hope that after it is washed that it will not curl up.  I used the #18 foot, the button sew on foot, to attach the big green buttons.  It worked fairly well on these thick buttons;  I have not had much success when using the foot with thinner buttons and finer cotton.

    I decided to used corded buttonholes, they are easy to do with foot 3A and gimp, and they give the buttonholes a polished look.

The renegade bear, who was not to be seen in the bed linens upstairs, was found behind a chair, hiding in a plant, and can be included in the box to go to Birmingham.  I would love to know how he found his way into the Night Blooming Cereus, and I know one little girl who will be very happy to see her old friend.

I Want to Buy a Paper Doll That I Can Call My Own...

                        (If you remember the title of this post as a song from the Mills Brothers when you were young, well...lets just say you are not a part of Generation X.)

The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been.  ~Madeleine L'Engle

One part of my youth that I have not lost is my love for paper dolls.  Oliver + s has a precious design for their pattern envelopes, and I picked up this pattern at the Atlanta Sewing Center in Duluth.  You know I love the way my Children's Corner patterns fit, but this Seashore Sundress had some cute details and  I decided to give it a try.  This particular dress was a special request from Katelyn.  "Purple and pinkish flowers, and if we can't find that...Blue flowers."   We wanted a polycotton blend so that we could take it out of the wash and give it a shake, so this Tutti Fruitti  fabric  was our choice.

After cutting it out, which is somewhat of a chore for me, I did the applique K on the center front, using the Sassy Applique font.  With the Artista Designer Software I was able to topstitch on top of the satin stitch outline. (with a little help from a friend)  The easiest way was to go over to my color film on the right of the screen, then duplicate the first placement stitch and place it at the end.  It is not perfect;  I have a few pokie outies, but I am pleased with the result.

My little Birmingham girls are happily at home with mommy and daddy;  I was not quite able to finish the dress, but I will hopefully do that today.  I will send it tomorrow with her Chevron Skirt and BEAR, who is still sleeping peacefully upstairs.  Thankfully a wise mommy made sure that she has 2 BEARs and BUNNY, so my little girl is not too sad when she goes to sleep at night.