Dear Friends, If you receive my newsletter then you learned yesterday that the letter B became available last night. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the home page or welcome page and grab it. It’s only here for a week. If you haven’t yet, be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you are up-to-date on all the happenings here at Embroidery It. The sign up form is at the very bottom of the home page or on the side bar of most other pages.
Along with the two golf designs I showed you yesterday, I created one of my own designs that I stitched on my skort. I think it turned out very sweet and I hope you enjoy it too. It is available in the Embroidery It Etsy Shop.
I’m not a golfer, nor do I play one on TV, but my dear sweet husband does play and he is sure that I will enjoy golf as well. I told him as long as I hit a hole-in-one at least once a week that will keep me happy. 🙂 So for mother’s day he got me golf lessons with a women’s group. Last night was my first lesson. It was fun enough as we were taught putting and chipping.
He also got me a new outfit which means new clothes for me to put my touch on.
Here is my golf shirt. I used designs built into my Brother 1250D to stitch these right above the pocket. The shirt is a stretch knit.
Here is my golf towel which is a microfiber cloth. This design came from Designs by Sick.
Since both fabrics have stretch I used a sticky stabilizer and did not hoop the fabrics themselves as I didn’t want to pull them and cause stretch and puckering. Instead, I just stuck them down to the sticky stabilizer and that held them in place beautifully.
Here is my latest inspirational cuff made entirely in-the-h00p. I love the colors and the font I used. To top it off I put a sweet flower button on it as the clasp.
I tell you what friends, watch those clearance racks for buttons. Buttons are expensive and you can find beautiful buttons for pennies on the clearance rack. I’m having such fun designing and making these cuffs. They stitch up so quickly and I love the look.
For a limited time I am offering the Banner Alphabet “A” as a free embroidery design. It will be available for about 1 week and then I will replace it with a new letter. I am doing this instead of having sales as I feel this is a fair way to offer quality designs to everyone. Quite frankly, I hate purchasing something and then it go on sale a week later. That grates me. So, I want you to know to grab it free at the beginning and once it is removed from the free section, it will be offered for sale.
For those of you who receive my newsletter, you learned of this yesterday. If you haven’t signed up for my newsletter, consider doing so. It will keep you up-to-date when I have new and noteworthy information to share.
Now, for the banner alphabet…You will need a 5 x 7 hoop for most of the letters that will be offered. There are a few letters that will fit into a 4 x 4 hoop, but most extend beyond the edges so a 5 x 7 hoop is needed. It is available in PES format. The final stitches are the buttonholes. Your machine will automatically stop before stitching them so you may use these letters as an applique and just leave the buttonholes off.
To download the design, go to the “Home” page and scroll to the bottom. There you will see the link. Click on the link and then save the ZIP file.
Today I want to show you my “Eat Healthy” inspirational cuff. This is my favorite cuff so far. I like it for a number of reasons. One is that eating clean natural foods is something I’m really working on here in my home. I’m doing my best to get all the processed junk out. It is a struggle and I cave from time to time, but my eating habits have certainly changed for the better over the past few years and I want them to continue to get better. This cuff just reminds me to make good choices in everything I put in my mouth.
I also like the cuff because I love the colors. I love the gray, dark sage green and yellow together. I also like the print. Finally I like the border I created around the cuff. All-in-all it is just my style. 🙂
I have the digital file available over at my Etsy shop. It, as well as all the cuffs, are available in PES format. They also require a 5 x 7 hoop.
One more tip. The cuffs are 7″ long and then there is the little loop. If you think that is going to be too tight on your wrist, just make the elastic loop a little longer to fit.
Embroidery blessings everyone. I hope you are all having a beautiful and fun summer.
Be Courageous! Shoot for the stars, step out of your comfort zone! You will be reminded of this as you wear the Be Courageous cuff. This machine embroidery cuff is made in-the-hoop with only one hooping.
Friends, when I was a little girl I would literally hide behind my mother. I was incredibly shy and it took me a long time to get over that. Still to this day I have to stretch myself. I never want to create waves and I absolutely hate confrontation even when it is necessary. It is easy for my stomach to get tied up in knots when doing something new. Even things like this website. You have been hearing me talk about it a lot lately. Doing this website is out of my comfort zone as it is new and I want to do it right. Dealing with it is a challenge I have to face head on. I know that may not make sense to some of you but it is how I feel.
So Be Courageous. Whatever fear you are facing, take a deep breath and move forward.
Today’s inspirational cuff encourages us to finish. Don’t throw in the towel. I need to be reminded of that with this website in getting it running properly. I won’t quit with it. I might take a breather for a bit, but I won’t quit and I hope you don’t quit either. 🙂
You can find this and my other inspirational cuffs over at my Etsy site.
As you know, I’ve struggled with getting this website’s shop working properly. It caused me to pull my hair out for a while. 🙂 As I mentioned before I was going to take a breather from it. I need to come back at it with fresh eyes which I will do. So…..In the meantime I decided to fire up my Etsy shop. I’ve had the shop for some time but it has been sitting there empty. Well, not anymore!
Currently I’m putting up my line of inspirational cuff bracelets made all in-the-hoop and will be adding to this daily.
Thank you all for your support and encouragement. It means the world to me!
The embroidery challenge this month over at You Can Digitize is doing this sweet Jacobean design. The biggest problem it posed was figuring out which areas of the design needed to be stitched first so that the other areas could be built upon the design in a logical manner. I didn’t get too creative as it is mostly done with a satin fill stitch. The biggest thing I focused on other than the order for it to be stitched in was to get travel stitches positioned correctly so that they did not show and that there were no jump stitches. When moving from one area of the design to another of the same color I was usually able to hide the travel stitches under the stem. Once again, everyone in the challenge did this same design. I look forward to seeing what others came up with. It is amazing how everyone gets to digitize the same artwork and yet how different everyone’s designs turn out in the end.
Mike and I celebrated our 26th anniversary on June 4th. I wanted to do something special for him on the embroidery machine. I think embroidering for a man can be challenging at times. They don’t care for all the bling and fussiness of machine embroidery. After giving it some thought, I grabbed a hankie out of his drawer and decided I would put 26 to commemorate our years together.
The frame was built into my machine, a Brother 1250D as well as the numbers. I used wash away, tear away stabilizer and did the stitching with cotton thread rather than embroidery thread. I didn’t want the shine of polyester or rayon embroidery thread. I just wanted a subtle look.
He loved it! Mike is my biggest supporter and my best friend and I love him so much. We met and married in college. God has always been the center of our lives and I know it is because of that that God has blessed us many times over. That is not to say life hasn’t brought us challenges and difficulties.
2013 was a very difficult year with much happening in our lives. I’ve written bits and pieces about it in previous posts. Some things just can’t be written for public eyes but one of the many large events was moving across country. You know my words for this year have been “Forward Strong.” For the first half of this year that is what I have been doing. I’ve focused on myself and on being healthy which was much needed. I have focused on our home and the differences that life in Michigan has offered. I feel that life is much back in order, the way it is meant to be.
Now I find myself yearning for a simpler life. Now that there is order there needs to be calm and I need to embrace the calm. With that said, I truly want my embroidery business to get off the ground. It seems I run into stumbling blocks at many turns. I think that is normal though for new businesses and I’m not letting it keep me from moving forward. What I am doing though is letting it slow me down and now I’ve decided that slowing down is quite ok. I’d been finding it stressful because of the many ideas I have that I want to get out, the many digitized designs I have been creating and want to share and even sell, the newsletter that you have signed up to receive and have yet to get one.
Now that things are in order in my life I need to embrace the calm for a bit. Those designs will someday be available, the newsletter will someday get to you. I’m going back to my roots of just sharing what I’m working on with you and letting go of the pressure of getting the business started. It will happen and I look forward to it. Thank you for being here and sharing my journey.
I received word last week that the state of Michigan approved Embroidery It as a business entity and it is now officially Embroidery It LLC.
I have many exciting plans for Embroidery It but my first plan is to get the e-commerce portion of the website up and running. I have things to sell and things to give away!
You’ve been hearing me speak of the embroidery challenges I’m involved in over at You Can Digitize. Here is my latest entry. The challenge this month was applique and we were all given this penguin artwork to digitize into an applique.
I did the entire design in felt. The black felt is glitter felt so it has a bit of sparkle to it. I’m all about the bling!
With doing the design in felt, it created a natural puffiness so the cheeks and lips have more puff as the needle had to stitch through several layers of felt.
Finally, the eyes are a stitch on google eye that I got at JoAnn’s.
Digitizing an applique requires you to think through the design and start the stitching process with the part of the design that is the farthest back. Then you stitch each added layer.
It was a lot of fun! I’ve been working on an applique alphabet as well. I will be showing it to you very soon!!!
Many things have been going on behind the scenes here at Embroidery It so I wanted to give you a quick update. Things are happening more on the business side rather than as much digitizing, but it will soon all balance back out.
I’m taking classes at GROW which is Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women and learning much about what it takes to run a business here in Michigan. I’ve also just started an online business course that is strictly for those of us who are creating as a business so it consists of students who do all forms of art. I attended a Michigan embroidery conference a few weekends ago and made connections with local fellow embroiderers. Finally, I continue to be active in my Generations group, Generations is the software I use to digitize my designs. My greatest hurdle has been in learning WordPress.
Thank you all for being on this journey with me. I’m so thankful I can share it with you. It is truly an exciting time for me to be taking baby steps of starting my own business.
Dear Friends,
You may remember my post from January 1st this year (you can find it HERE). I have been reviewing my goals monthly in my journal but wanted to give you an update in this post now that we are a third of the way through the year. By posting on my blog it just helps me be more accountable.
FORWARD has been my word for the year with the word STRONG as it’s modifier. After having a difficult 2013, God has been using the word Forward to get me moving and on track. Just like Moses leading the Israelites out of the desert to the promised land. Unlike them, I have been trying hard to listen to God’s word and obey His commands. I don’t want to take 40 years like they did. Smiles
So I will quickly review my goals with their update written in red. I have changed some goals along the way as I’ve felt the need. As I mentioned in my other post, these goals are fluid and can be changed. I’m ok with that.
Family Goals
Spend quality time with family when they are home. Say ‘yes’ to family games and movies. YES – Doing this.
Visit Katie and Emily twice a year Visited Katie before she left for Kuwait. Will see Emily this summer
Home Goals
Remove paper from the home and keep remaining paper organized (#1 goal and more on this below) Making progress
Tidy home daily Yes, for the most part
Clean home weekly Yes, for the most part
Grocery shop one time a week- instead of several times a week I have been getting better and better at this and have been doing it well over the past 6 weeks.
Menu plan weekly Ugh, No – I need to do this
Go to bed with a clean kitchen About 50% of the time
Spiritual Life Goals
Continue habits of Daily Audio Bible and weekly adoration in addition to Sunday church YES
Become actively involved in the women’s group at church Not yet but plan to. I have been attending another activity that conflicts with the date and time the women’s group meets.
Read St. Faustina’s Diary No
Attend a women’s retreat like Captivating No
Notice God’s blessings daily Yes and I’ve started journaling about God’s blessings
Finance Goals
Pay bills every Thursday No, they get paid, just not on the schedule I’d like for them to.
Pause before making purchases Yes
Balance checkbook and reconcile credit card statements monthly No
Friendship Goals
Become actively involved in the women’s group at church Not yet, see above
Join Crafters with a Cause Not yet but plan to this summer
Maintain monthly contact with friends from New Mexico and other locations we’ve lived YES
Grow online friendships on this blog Yes!!!
Creativity Goals
Take one art class or attend a quilt guild meeting – monthly I did for only a couple of months. Going to Michigan Embroiderers Spring Fest in May. I take online digitizing classes weekly.
Learn a new craft I took a quilting class
Learn to digitize embroidery designs Yes!!!
Knowledge Goals
Learn a new craft Took a quilting class
Learn to digitize embroidery designs Yes!!!
Learn to set up a true website Currently in the process of doing this
Business Goals
Follow written business plan and get my business up and running (stop talking and start doing here) YES! One other thing I have been doing is attending GROW, Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women, and through it I have been learning all the in’s and out’s of running a business in Michigan. My business has started as you know I’ve been getting my designs up at Embroidery Ranch and sales have started trickling in. BIG Smiles! Also starting in May I am taking an online business class geared specifically for crafters selling their work.
Create a true website Currently in the process of doing. I need to focus more though on really getting it up and running.
Learn to digitize embroidery designs YES!!!
Blog 2 times a week No but I strive to do this. I’ve been focusing more on digitizing.
Listen to Entrepreneur on Fire Sporadic
Develop a newsletter Not yet
Create a contact list Not yet
Personal Goals
Clean eating Working hard at this. Still like candy too much.
10,000 steps a day About 50% of the time
Classical stretch daily About 5% of the time
weekly creative time Most weeks
New Personal Goal – Lose 20 pounds – Those pounds are stuck to me like glue.
Community and World goals
Choose a cause to support Plan to join Crafters with a Cause this summer
Blog Yes, but would like to more often
YouTube videos I have not made any new videos this year
Women’s group at church Not yet but plan to
My all time #1 focus goal this year is to get the paper out of the house. I mean ALL paper. Working at this. I have made some strides in this. I know of course that I cannot get ALL paper out, but working to make sure that all paper here in the home has a place. It honestly feels better not having so much paper around.
Finally, I wrote in my journal earlier this year that it is all about LOVE. God is Love. Jesus commands us to Love one another. “Faith, Hope and Love, but the greatest of these is Love.” Nothing else truly matters than Love when you look at the great big picture of things. I try to keep that focus in everything I do, for my family, home business, self, etc. Sometimes I’m not sure how to show love in my business. Quite honestly that has been a conflict for me. What I will say is that if you ever need a prayer, send me an e-mail and I will pray for/with you.
So, I keep reviewing these goals and reminding myself of them. I’m pretty happy with myself that I’ve accomplished what I have so far. My business goals are what I’ve moved forward with the most. I have learned so much in that area and it is where I can see the greatest strides being made. When I see the goals that I need to work on, I remember my words of Forward Strong and I try to keep those goals at the front of my thoughts.
Hugs and Blessings to each and every one of you,
Nancy
My latest design is is very light and perfect for knits. I had a lot of fun creating it using the fluid contour tool in Generations. Under stores click on Embroidery It to get to this design. I did it with one color stop so you can choose to do the swirl with either the same color or choose something contrasting.
How is spring coming along in your neck of the woods? We had another 2 inches of the white stuff a couple days ago. It is melted now and there are flower buds poking their heads up through the ground. Being that this is the first spring in our new home, I’m anxious to see what has been planted here. I’m thinking tulips, daffodils and maybe crocus? Flowers coming soon and I cannot wait!!!!
Blessings everyone,
Nancy
For this month’s challenge over at You Can Digitize the only tool we were allowed to digitize with was the satin tool and to use the features built into the satin tool. I used the border feature to create the outlines and the feather stitch feature to create the eyelashes. Everyone in the challenge used the same unicorn artwork. I’m not a cartoon gal when it comes to my embroidery. I prefer more realistic designs, but this made for good practice.
Blessings,
Nancy
My latest design is two designs in one. The first comes with the words, “Happy Easter” included with the design. The second is a blank for you to fill in with words and font of your choice. I used a built-in font from my machine to stitch “KATIE”.
The design fits a 4 x 4 hoop and would be perfect on a liner used in an Easter basket. Each recipient would know whose basket is whose. 🙂
As for what else has been happening, Timothy and I took the Amtrak to Hutchinson to visit my parents this past week over his spring break. It was a lovely visit with perfect weather. We’ve returned back to Grand Rapids and the snow is all gone except for where it was in piles from the snow plow. Best of all….I see some flower leaves poking their heads up through the ground. That makes me very happy.
Dear Friends,
