Just a note to let you know that the Alphabet Tag set begins in just 2 weeks. It is a fun in-the-hoop alphabet set. Be sure to let your friends know so they can get in on the beginning. As always, one new letter will be released each week.
Currently, we are finishing up the Cross Stitch Alphabet and are on the letter “y”. It will be available for instant download on the home page for 1 week.
Be sure to grab the cross stitch letter v on the home page. It is free for you this week!
As for other news. My brother and his family have been here the last couple weeks from Kansas visiting up here in Michigan. Around the table are my Sister-in-law, daughter Katie, Katie’s dog Nala, (we now have 2 dogs) My mom, Our daughter Emily, and my two nieces.
We’ve been to the sand dunes, the girls have gone tubing down the river and this morning we are going to a U-Pick berry farm to get some fresh fruit. Here is a good website if you are looking to find a place near you to pick your own fruits and berries. http://www.pickyourown.org/
What a rainy day we are having this morning. I’m thankful for the rain and the bit of coolness that it brings. Makes for a quiet day at home to embroider, and read.
I pulled out Mackinac Island Fudge coffee this morning for a pick-me-up and the girls like it too.
I want to remind you to be sure to pick up the free cross stitch letter “q” this week. I will be changing it out early Wednesday morning so you still have a couple of days.
Finally, and this is the first time I’ve shared this with you all, I’m working on getting Embroidery It up on Shopify.
There are several reasons for this. I think it is a good next step. I’ve still struggled with getting my own website shopping cart system working here. I just don’t know enough yet and if I had problems with the shopping cart, I wouldn’t know how to fix them. Shopify is more like Etsy in that they handle the payments securely and safely for everyone and I’ve heard wonderful things about Shopify. I think I can basically sell directly here on my website and then when you click to buy, it will take you over to Shopify. Still working out the details on that. On Shopify, I can arrange my designs in a way that will be easier for customers to navigate and find. Shopify will cost me less money. It is a monthly fee plus a small percentage that will be less than what Etsy charges.
It is a learning curve for sure though. Some of my pictures show up dark. I think I need a different photo editing software to correct this problem.
I won’t be leaving Etsy so for those of you who love Etsy, you will still be able to find me there. Etsy has a special place in my heart as that is where I started. Finally, I think it is a good thing to be a couple of places in that if Etsy ever decided to shut down for who knows why…I have a back up going. Or, if Shopify went away, I would still have Etsy.
Shopify will have a newsletter sign-up form and if all works as planned, it will merge with the one here so you won’t need to sign up again.
Update July 20, 2016 – At this time I’m no longer moving forward with Shopify. It still is not giving me what I want in a website. Pooh! I just need to get my own website here up and running properly.
That’s all for now…Have a wonderful day friends, no matter what the weather is like in your area.
Don’t forget to grab the free cross stitch letter “n” . It will be on the home page until Tuesday.
Also….Don’t forget that Embroidery It turns 2 on the 20th. There will be a week long celebration with a few secret surprises thrown in. You are not going to want to miss it. Be sure, if you haven’t yet, to sign up for the newsletter to keep up-to-date on all the Embroidery It happenings.
I’m home from vacationing in beautiful Florida the past couple of weeks. I feel so blessed that we got to live there for a year and a half several years ago and made some great friendships. The weather was beautiful and I had twinges of missing living there. That said, it is sure good to be back “home” in Michigan. It is just a slower pace and way of living up here and I thrive on that. 🙂
Amongst doing loads and loads of laundry and getting caught up on e-mails, I’ve been doing a bit of digitizing and stitching and will have a fun new design for you this coming week.
What is on your embroidery hoop this morning? I’d love to hear!
One final word, I will be changing out the cross stitch letters sometime Tuesday. Be sure to grab the current letters if you haven’t already.
Be sure to grab the cross stitch letter e through Wednesday this week. Just scroll down to the bottom of the home page. As you know, cross stitch is pure country charm friends. Use the letters to monogram a tote bag or towel. Collect them all and make them into a sampler quilt as I have done here!
One letter free each week or if you don’t want to wait, you can get the entire set HERE.
Wishing you a wonderful week.
Nancy
be creative daily and live life beautifully
ps. Look what happened last night. And here I thought spring was on its way.
Just a note to remind you to grab the cross stitch letter C this week down at the bottom of the home page. This machine embroidery design is free for YOU! Made in your 4 x 4 hoop.
Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the home page and grab the cross stitch letter b this week. It is a free machine embroidery design and it is made in your 4 x 4 hoop. It is free this week only!
We are ready for the beginning of a new free alphabet set. This is country charm at its best with a free cross stitch alphabet. We will continue it as before with a new letter being released each week.
This week is special as not only will you receive the letter “a” but also the “heart” design. By the way, these designs fit in your 4 x 4 hoop.
I have turned my alphabet into a quilt but these designs would look sweet on towels, tote bags or other items that you wish to put a monogram on.
I won’t have quilting directions here as there are thousands on the internet. I just came up with my own design. I will tell you that I used 1 pack of charm squares and two packs of mini charm squares. They are called “Strawberry Fields” from Moda. I stitched each letter of the alphabet as well as two of the heart designs. Once stitched, I cut those down to 5″ square which is the size of the charm squares. I cut the mini charm squares into fourths and them mixed them up and re-stitched together for the little patchwork squares. For sashing I used what I found on hand and cut strips 2 1/2″ wide. I bought 1/3 yard matching fabric for the green border and 1/2 yard for the red border. For the backing, I used something I had on hand.
One more thing, I knew this would be a wall quilt so I added the buttons for just a bit of fun charm. If it was going to be a lap quilt or a quilt for a baby, I’d have left them off.
If you choose to turn your cross stitch letters into a quilt, I encourage you to be creative or look through your patterns. No matter how you decide to use these letters, I would love to see a picture of what you create!
