I’m excited to announce I have a new article, Animal Instinct, published in Creative Machine Embroidery, September/October 2015 issue. The six page article covers the steps to create an embroidery technique I created, called Ghost embroidery.
Category Archives: Embellishements
Fashion Ladies Skirt
I love embellishments and little decorative details on fashions and that is why I love embroidery. I have a Bernina 200E/730 that I bought years ago and I still love this machine. It has the capability to do hundreds of decorative stitches and to do machine embroidery so I can create one of a kind fashions.
One year when I was at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Atlanta I discovered this embroidery company that does their own designs, which have an Asian design flare and not a lot of stitches per inch so the embroideries come out light to the touch and not stiff, which makes their designs perfect for flowing fabrics, light weight fabrics and knits. Momo-Dini Embroidery Art is owned by two sisters, Momo and Dini, Fine Art Professors originally from China, they do their own artwork and sales and they have won many awards for their paintings and designs.
I look forward to seeing Dini Yan at the Expo every year not only to see what new designs they have created but because she is so nice and friendly. This year I was really excited to be able to show her what I created with their embroidery designs.
One year they came out with these designs called Fashion Ladies and I immediately knew what I wanted to make to show off these designs. Unfortunately the design CD went into my “stash” like so many other fabrics and embroidery CDs do, but this year I made this skirt a priority on my sewing list. And I am so glad I did because it is beautiful and fun to wear. For some reason I feel like a little doll wearing it. It makes me happy.
March Madness – Sewing Style
I love March Madness, but not the same way that sports fans do. I have my own March Madness, every March I attend the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Atlanta. It is an expo just for sewing and quilting enthusiasts, where you can shop, take classes, watch fashion shows, view the beautiful quilt exhibit, and just absorb all the energy from all the friendly sewing people walking around. It is so much fun. If you don’t live near Altanta they also have the expo in many other states, just visit their website above to see their schedule.
The Expo offers a variety of classes and workshops, some years I take classes and some years I don’t. This year I decided to take four workshops spread out over three days. From past experiences I have learned to take a maximum of two workshops in a day, otherwise my brain gets tired and then I can’t truly enjoy the third workshop. I like to only take workshops where we are actually sewing, these are called “hands on”, because I am taking the class to have fun, if I learn at least one thing than that is an extra bonus. You don’t have to bring your own sewing machine, the sponsors supply them, so I got to sew on a Pfaff, a Viking and a Brother, which was great because I sew on a Bernina at home.
Awesome Gift Wrap
The other day I was needing to wrap two pieces of jewelry for gifts. I went to the store to purchase two cute little gift bags and I went down the wrong aisle, and what did I see but some really cute socks. Immediately I thought, why not wrap the jewelry boxes in socks. This would give the recipient an extra little gift, a pair of socks, very practical. After choosing two pairs of socks I walked down the aisle and on the end of another aisle I saw these beautiful fluffy feather pins or hair clips. I looked at the clips and thought these would be perfect to hold the ends of the socks together. Brilliant, now the recipient has another cute gift. This is how I did it. Continue reading
With Love – Prom Dress 2013
Boo Hoo, my grandaughter Angelica is a senior in high school. That means it is my last year to make her a prom dress; therefore, it has to be spectacular. This article is all about her prom dress I designed and made. It is full of pictures showing some of the sewing processes, the thought processes, and many couture details of the dress. I hope you enjoy the beauty of the dress as much as I enjoyed creating it. Continue reading
What Fabric are you?
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE lace!! There are so many different types of lace, so I can’t say that I have a favorite.
Lace can be very elegant for wedding gowns, lingerie, evening wear, or it can be dressed down. Lace can be mixed with all types of fabric including velvet, denim or leather. It can be made with cotton, silk or wire. I don’t care what it is made of as long as it is lace. Ahh, Lace!
Lace is romantic, provocative and sexy. Lace can be the whole garment, appliquéd on, as a decorative accent, or it can just peek through. It can be plain, simple or embellished with beads, sequins or feathers. It can be country, victorian or royalty. Lace can be sweet, demure and innocent.
I think lace is the most versatile fabric there is, because there are so many options on how to use it.
If I had to describe myself in the use of fabric I would probably describe myself as a piece of French silk lace hand embellished with exquisite beads and sparkling gems.
What Is Your Fabric Saying?
Fabric speaks to me, LOL. Sometimes I have an idea and I search for fabric, other times fabric jumps out at me and inspires me or challenges me to come up with a design just for it. That’s what happened with this fabric.
I don’t know what the fabric is called, or what it is made out of, it was a remnant I bought many years ago at an American Sewing Guild event.
The fabric is very soft, kind of spongy, stretches, and has a unique gimp looking pattern. When I looked at it, I thought hand cut fringe. I decided on making a coat out of it that would allow it to flow as I walked.
When I wear this coat, sometimes for special occasions and sometimes with jeans, I get a lot of compliments on it from people I don’t even know, asking where I purchased it. To me, that is one of the greatest compliments a seamstress can get.
Preview of Things to Come
I
n this gallery article I want to give you a little preview of some of the things that I will be blogging about throughout the years. I will not limit us to only these creations, they will be filling in, between other new designs, ideas, organization, and thoughts I have along our journey.
I love to sew and I tend to sometimes think outside the box. I like to push myself to try to out do my last project. I also like to just make something easy and simple, kind of like cleansing my sewing pallet. I am not in competition with others but with myself.
I love the appreciation and admiration that the sewing community have for each other’s talents. We are all at different levels and we all have a different flare for fashion, but yet we all inspire and help each other “grow” our sewing skills and our confidence in our sewing and confidence to wear our creations. I hope I can be an inspiration to you.
Let’s have some fun together creating! Remember to laugh at your learning mistakes, making them into a creative challenge, and to dance at your victories and throughout the sewing process.
Gail Patrice Yellen Workshop
I had a great opportunity last weekend to participate in a Gail Patrice Yellen Workshop, sponsored by the Atlanta Chapter of the American Sewing Guild. What a fun time I had. Gail is very talented, fun, knowledgeable, and she was very well prepared.
Friday night was a trunk show where she showed us her beautiful embellished fashions. Saturday, was a full day of serger techniques, and Sunday was a hands on day where she shared some of her unique techniques while we made samples.
Here is a picture of her felted skirt made from sweaters. I love, love, love this skirt; I am on the lookout for some sweaters now so I can make one too. I also took pictures of some of her other embellished skirts that I will share with you.
TechNeats 