My Favorite Things

Posted by on May 4, 2012

I had a couple of people ask me what was in my “Favorite Things” giveaway basket at the Everything Applique Conference this past weekend. I hope these are in a somewhat logical order, but if not, you’ll get the idea! I’ll also try to reference where everything came from. First of all, here is a picture of my door prize ~ Applique Cafe’s “Favorite Things” basket. The basket, or Angled White Beverage Tub, came from Target. If I knew how to use my vinyl cutting machine, I would have adorned it with lime and/or pink polka dots! The cellophane basket bag came from Michael’s and the Raffia came from an Etsy store. I also used hot pink crinkle cut paper filler from Caffco Floral Outlet. (I had a lot of fun doing door prizes). The AC stickers came from Zazzle.com!

The winner of my basket, Demonica, posted this photo on Facebook. If you’ll remember my last post, she rode from New Orleans to Birmingham on a TRAIN! I just think that is so awesome and fun! She said it was very relaxing and gave her some quality time away from the family to rest and do a little work on her laptop (in the sleeper car). I honestly had no idea you could ride a train anywhere, so it’s even cooler that she rode a train to come to the Everything Applique Conference!

Now on to the basket… I included my go-to stabilizer, 12×12 and 8×8 2.2 oz precut medium cutaway stabilizer squares. Both of these came from Sewingmachine.com. Check out all of their “commercial backing” and you can narrow down your search by the type of stabilizer you are looking for (cutaway, precut squares, tearaway, etc.). Click HERE for precut squares. They come in a variety of weights, but I like the 2.2 oz, as it is not too thick or heavy. I have used 2.5 oz as well and it’s not too heavy either. Their commercial cutaway also comes on the roll, but the squares are really convenient.

As you can see the 8×8 squares are perfect for the 4×4 hoop. (This is my Brother PR650 4×4 hoop)

The 12×12 squares are great for the Durkee 9×9 hoop and also the 5×7 hoop. Check out this post for more info on the Durkee Hoop, which is compatible with most multi-needle machines.

You can use the entire 12×12 square for your 5×7 hoop, or cut a few inches off before you hoop.

 Now on to Sulky KK2000 spray. This is a temporary spray adhesive that I use to “stick” my cutaway stabilizer to the inside of my shirt before hooping. It keeps the stabilizer in place so I am able to hoop my shirt. I also use the 99 cent tape measurer from Hobby Lobby! I keep one in my purse as well ~ you never know when you’ll need to measure something. When I do a shirt, I measure from armpit seam to armpit seam and mark my center. This distance is usually a good even measurement (14″, 12.5″ etc).

 Spray adhesive can build up and make things sticky, so I recommend spraying it OUTSIDE. My sewing room is right by our front door, so I walk out on the porch and spray my stabilizer over the bushes. My bushes might be sticky, but at least my carpet isn’t!

 My shirt is inside out, I’ve sprayed my stabilizer with spray adhesive, and now I stick the stabilizer to the shirt. Turn it right side out and I am ready to hoop! The Sulky KK2000 spray is temporary, so when I am finished appliqueing my shirt, it pulls right off so that I can trim the excess stabilizer around the design. See this post for more info on hooping.

 Also in my basket: Schmetz Embroidery Needles (75/11) and an air erasable pen. I use the air erasable pen (from Joann or any sewing store) to mark the center of my shirt (or bib, or towel, etc). It disappears with a little time, or you can also squirt water on the dot and it’ll go away. A wet Q-tip works as well. If I am marking the center of a dark item, such as a navy blue t-shirt or a fluffy blanket, I use a straight pen. Chalk would work as well. You may notice the lint buildup in the clip on my pen. I have had this pen since I started doing applique about 5 years ago!

As far as embroidery needles, I use 75/11 needles for everything. Some people use ballpoint needles and some people change out their needles for various projects. 99% of the time I am doing samples or tshirts so this is the type of needle I use. You can get Schmetz needles from Sewingmachine.com, Joann (I stock up when notions are 50% off) or most any sewing store. Steve (Sewingmachine.com) recommends Schmetz, as they are the oldest needle company around. Basically they have been making needles for a long long, long long long, time!

Bobbins ~ for my Brother PR650, I use the Fil-Tec Magnetic Core Bobbin. A box of 100 is $28, again at sewingmachine.com. I recommend any prewound bobbin, as the tension is consistent and it’s fast and easy to change out your bobbin. These were not in my basket since I didn’t know what kind of machine the winner would have, but I’m including them in my favorite things!

 Heat. N. Bond. Lite ~ check out this post on why I love this product!! You can buy HNBL by the bolt, in a box, on a small 3 yard roll, 15 yard roll, etc. Some people buy it at their local Walmart, but I have not seen it in Montgomery. You can buy small packages at places like Joann or Hobby Lobby. Sewingmachine.com sells it as well. I used to stock up at Joann when notions were 50% off, but lately I have not been able to find any there. Wonder Under is another fusible product you can use, but I use and recommend HNBL.

Instructions ~ very easy to use!

 Another item NOT in my basket, but still one of my favorite things (and a necessity in applique). The iron is your friend! I have a Shark iron. It’s not fancy and yes, it leaks water sometimes. Iron your shirts, iron your bibs, use the iron for your HNBL, iron when you’re done. IRON!! Do you get hoop burn? Squirt with water from your iron, iron over the hoop burns. They are gone! I see photos on Facebook a lot and it looks like someone took a picture of a t-shirt from the dirty clothes basket. Ironing can make all the difference in your appliques, your pictures, etc! I hate to iron my own clothes, but ironing is so important when doing embroidery and applique.

 Scissors ~ I did include 4″ curved Gingher scissors in my basket, as well as a 2-pack of Fiskars fabric-cutting scissors. I use the Ginghers in the applique process only to trim the fabric around the tackdown stitch. I use regular fabric-cutting scissors to cut fabric, to cut stabilizer, to cut ribbon, etc. You can never have enough scissors! p.s. I got my Ginghers at Joann and you can usually catch them on sale or use a coupon.

The Ginghers are great for trimming closely around your applique! The curved end helps you to NOT cut a hole in your shirt (been there, done that, got the t-shirt)!

 As you can see here, I trim very closely. I do this with the help of a) the scissors and b) the HNBL on my fabric makes trimming easy and CLEAN! This design is ready for the satin stitch!

 There were also a few fabrics in my basket. I typically buy 1/4 yards of fabric since a little goes a long way when doing applique. I LOVE polka dots, ginghams, stripes and small florals and prints for applique! These are all my GO-TO fabrics, as you can probably see in my design sample photos.

 You can’t beat good ginghams, and try to avoid the cheap thin ones. Fabric Finder brand ginghams are great!

 

 One more item that I should have included in my basket but didn’t have time to get… a REAL thread chart! This is the Isacord real thread sample thread chart. I also have the Exquisite (formerly Poly-X from Kens Sewing Center) thread chart and use them both. We all know the color print charts are impossible to match as well as the color square on your computer screen. These charts are usually $10 each and are well worth every dollar when you are searching for thread to match that funny colored peach dress.

 Another tip that I NEED to do ~ mark, circle or underline the colors you have on the chart. That way if the sticker comes off of the top of your spool of thread (which happens to me all the time), you have a record on your chart of which colors you have and like!

 I did include a few spools of thread in my basket ~ Isacord 5830 is my favorite lime (it’s hard to find and only comes in 1000M as far as I have found)! I also included a hot pink, yellow and turquoise. Demonica also got an Applique Cafe Gift Certificate in her basket! (Hint Hint: Mother’s Day is 2 weeks away)

There are probably a few more things I consider my favorite things, but that was about all I could fit in the basket! If you have any questions please comment or email me ~ rosemarygulledge@appliquecafe.com! A lot of these things were discussed in our class, Applique the Right Way!

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Here I am!

Posted by on March 12, 2012

Once again it’s been a WHILE… since I last posted. I think of my blog often, but usually don’t have time to sit down and type up a post or don’t feel I have anything to share or get sidetracked on Pinterest or Facebook. Today I finally have a few things to share! First of all, I’m a Pinterest addict. I can’t go a day without perusing the new Pins on my wall, and get upset (not really) when no one has pinned anything new. If you aren’t on Pinterest, get on it. It’s a close 2nd to Facebook as far as sucking you in and next thing you know an hour has gone by and you’ve done nothing productive. I have, however, been inspired by Pinterest and here is my recent DIY project involving spray paint (fyi you can spray paint anything according to Pinterest. Spray paint it, cover it in burlap and attach it to a pallet).

These are old planters that we had at our old house (the house we moved from last July). Planters are expensive, along with everything else involved in moving in to a new house. I was inspired by Pinterest to throw $10 in to these planters with a couple of cans of spray paint.

BEFORE:

I got a couple of cans of this Rust-oleum textured spray paint from Home Depot. I may have even gotten a 3rd can to finish the job. Can’t remember. Anyway, I scrubbed the planters with a brush and water to get the flakes of terra cotta (sounds right?) off and all the dirt and dust. I let them dry and then spray painted away. They were originally a dark red and ended up more orange and faded as the years went by. They matched the brick of our old house, but that’s beside the point.

Here they are at our new casa, and I think for my $10 investment they will work for a while!

They are now a textured bronze-ish brown color and coordinate well with our house. Anyway, that is my DIY project for the first quarter of 2012. I think my pansies look pretty nice too. The angel planter was a wedding gift we got almost 11 years ago!

This, my friends, is POLLEN on our front porch. It’s really disgusting.

I’ve been working over the past week and here are some of the shirts I’ve done. The SHARK is an AC design and the crab is an EB design. My customer told me what to do with all the fabrics/colors and I think they all turned out great! I LOVE SIMPLE!! These are tees and rompers from Monag and are super soft. I don’t stock Monag btw, my customer brought these to me. They are for big and baby brother.

These will go with matching blue gingham shorts. I love the shark with contrasting thread.

p.s. we now have a mini embroidery shark (aka all thread), which is great for polo type shirts for boys.

These are all Applique Cafe designs ~ String of Fish, Pirate Ship and Sailboat.

p.s. Kelly’s Kids is using a similar fish design this season. Maybe mine inspired them, since mine came first?? I like to think so. I love red and turquoise together.

 

This is a great summer shirt! I like these color shirts too because they won’t show as much dirt as white (if you are my kids).

More AC designs ~ Raggy Anchor, Sailboat Patch and the Lizard.

Again, I love the lizard with a contrasting thread color! It’s also no secret that I am obsessed a little with orange.

In Sewing Room news, we are CLEARING OUT so that the room can be PAINTED!!!!!!!!!!!! Painters arrive at 7 AM in the morning to paint this room and also our stairs. I’ll post pics of that too. Valances aren’t being made yet, but I hope to get the fabric ready asap.

 Jeff is literally moving stuff out of here as I type, so I had better go! If you don’t know already, we are having a great Spring Sale on applique designs! I just sampled 4 new ones today, so they will be listed asap! It’s a great time to stock up on designs for Easter, Spring and Summer, and that is my sales pitch for the day! www.appliquecafe.com

Filed Under: Applique Cafe, Design, Misc | Tagged: Tagged With: ,

Everything Applique Conference (and Sewing Room)

Posted by on February 21, 2012

The neatest thing has happened! Right now there are 8 embroidery/applique website owners who have come together to put on a first ever APPLIQUE CONFERENCE! Yes, we are all competitors. We’ve put that aside and are working together to make this happen. This Everything Applique Conference (EAC) is the brain child of Kathy at Applique Corner. She has graciously enlisted us to come along side her and make it work! Did I mention this was going to take place on Saturday, April 28th? Yes, like 2 months away! Luckily it’s taking place in Birmingham, AL which is just up the road for me. While it started small, it has grown quickly and the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) is being secured for this event. The 8 of us are messaging day and night, brainstorming, coming up with vendors, door prizes, etc. There will be a website up SOON to register, and more info will come as far as vendors who will be there and classes/breakout sessions that will take place. Stay tuned, and check out and *like* the Facebook Page in the meantime! Click on the link or logo to go there.

Believe it or not, I am making progress in the ole’ sewing room. We have decided to PAINT it (after months of deliberation) and lose the white (which is what we painted it when we moved in last July). I am going with Benjamin Moore Elephant Tusk, which is also the color of my son’s room upstairs. It’s a pretty neutral color and I think it’ll look mucho better than the white. So… this weekend I got out our can of Elephant Tusk and painted several areas to be sure this is what I wanted. I painted in one of the Expedit cubbie spaces to see how it would look. It was then that I realized that my Expedit is (creamy) white as opposed to a High Gloss White, which evidently is now being offered by Ikea. As of last week they did not show it in the 25 Expedit, but did in the smaller ones (16, etc).

 However….. this is the picture they show of the 25 cubbie. Doesn’t it look bright white?? I may just have to make another trip to Ikea, or try to call them and gain clarity on this matter. Not even sure if bright white would look any better? We shall paint first and see! 

Here I had to see what my thread stands would look like on the ET paint. I can always paint them as well (the stands).

 And… seeing how my makeshift valance would look w/ this color. I met w/ my sewing lady a couple of weeks ago and she is going to make me 2 cute valances for the 2 windows. I just need to find a trim fabric for the pleats (green, orange, blue??). For now it’s thumb-tacked over the window.

Can’t leave out the bulletin board.

 I think this color will look much better and break up the white! Someone did email me this morning and mentioned rearranging the furniture. I might see if that is even possible when we unload the room to paint and then have to reload. The dilemma is that there is a TV mounted in the corner for Jeff’s pleasure so I’m not sure how we could rearrange with that. And, the way things are, I have my machine and (Craftsman Tool Chest) work surface all within reach. We’ll see though! I’m not ruling anything out! Hopefully the paint thing will happen in the next few weeks. I believe he’s a couple of weeks out, and is also going to do some painting on our stairs (which is another post in itself).

Please check out the EAC Facebook Page! New info will be coming SOON and as I said, the website to register should be ready any day!

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