Wendi Gratz

New Kit - Make a Shiny Happy Bunny!

2012-02-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've wanted to do this for a long time and I've finally made it work. A kit! A Shiny Happy Bunny Kit!

When I was a kid my Grandma June used to buy those fabric panels to make stuffed animals. I remember one set in particular - a pair of groovy seventies lions printed on velveteen. My daughter collects lions and I really wish I knew where those guys had ended up! Anyway. . .

I remember it being so easy to put these softies together. No fussing with pattern pieces, no fancy construction, no special tools - just sew, stuff and hug. That's the ease that I wanted to recreate with this kit. And I think I did! When we finished shooting the video (yes - there's a video!) my husband's first comment was, "That looked really easy!" Yes!

A word about the fabric. I had these printed on Kona cotton. That's the good stuff that serious quilters use and I was thrilled with the quality. I scanned some of my paintings to use for the pattern and I was really happy with how it reproduced! Want to see some close ups?

I love the way the brush strokes show up on the body, the squiggly lines on the inner ears, and the grid lines on the hands and feet. But I think my favorite might be the backs of the ears.

Those swoopy swirls were really fun to paint and I love how they look on the fabric!

So - here are the nitty gritty details.

There are two versions of the bunny softie kit available in the shop.

The Basic Bunny Kit is just the fabric. It's $12.50. You'll need to provide stuffing, thread, and a needle or sewing machine. There are basic instructions printed right on the fabric - for those with some sewing experience. If you want more detailed instructions you can download this PDF AND there will be a video available on Tuesday.

This is the kit to buy if you're a crafty person and already have things like needles, thread, and pins around.

The Everything But the Scissors Bunny Kit has - you guessed it - everything but the scissors. :-) You'll get the fabric, 4 ounces of stuffing, lavender thread, a needle, and 12 pins. The total cost is $24.

This is the kit to buy if you're going to Grandma's house and want to make this while you're there and you want everything you need all in one place. Or if you live in a tiny apartment and don't want a partial bag of leftover stuffing hanging around for the next three years. Or if your kid is just trying out this whole sewing thing and you don't want to buy a whole raft of sewing and stuffing supplies for what might be a passing fancy. You get the idea.

No matter which version of the kit you get - you're going to have fun. :-)

The project is perfect for beginners of all ages and can be sewn by machine or by hand. If you sew by machine it will take about an hour. If you sew by hand it will probably take a few hours. Either way - you have plenty of time for Easter sewing. :-)

Get your bunny softie kit here.

Want to use your own fabric? Get the bunny pattern here.

Download the printable instructions here.

Check back on Tuesday for the video instructions.

Happy sewing everyone! And have a great weekend!

Best,
Wendi

Show & Tell: Carrie's Been Busy

2012-02-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Carrie's been a busy stitcher lately - take a look at some of the cuteness she's made! I love this cell phone case with the silly puppy stitched on it.

And look at this tablet case! She used my favorite bird from the Bird Sampler pattern. It looks so pretty on that oatmeal-colored fabric!

She doesn't just do embroidery either. Look at this cutie-pie bunny!

Carrie - thanks so much for sharing your lovely work!

Want to make your own? You can find the puppy embroidery pattern here, the bird embroidery pattern here, and the bunny softie pattern here.

And then share! I love seeing the creative ways you all use my patterns! You can post a photo to the sewing or embroidery groups on Flickr, or simply email them to me. :-)

Happy Thursday!

Best,
Wendi

Ask Wendi: Enlarging and Reducing Digital Patterns

2012-02-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Holly asks. . .

I purchased your cat embroidery pattern and I totally dig it. Those kitties are great. It turns out my girl, who is 6 and very fond of felines, is pretty handy with a needle and thread. I wonder if there's an easy way to biggen the picture? She'd have more success, I think, with a little bit larger deal. I've tried opening it in a photo editor thingy, but to no avail, since it's a pdf.... is that on purpose? Or maybe I'm not doing it right?

Good question! One of the things I love about embroidery patterns is that they're really versatile. See the dog in the photo? That was a teeny-tiny pattern (2 inches square from this collection) that I enlarged and stitched on a T-shirt for my daughter. I could also have turned it into an applique pattern, or used it for woodburning, painting, collage, etc. Buy one pattern, use it a kajillion times - that's my motto. :-)

And one of the things I love about digital patterns is that's it's really easy to enlarge and reduce your pattern without going to the copy shop (for me that's over an hour away).

Of course, if tech-speak makes your eyes glaze over please just print out your pattern and enlarge or reduce as necessary on a copy machine. But if you want to do it yourself, here's some help.

First - a warning. These are going to be pretty general instructions because I assume you all have different software. But the general steps should work no matter what program you use. If you need specifics for your software - with helpful screenshots or even a video - google something like "opening a PDF in Photoshop" or whatever your photo editing program is. I use Gimp, which is free and awesome. It's not always super intuitive, but there are lots of terrific tutorials on YouTube teaching you how to use it.

Ready?

1. DON'T open the image as a PDF. Instead save the PDF to your computer.

2. Open whatever photo editing software you use.

3. Now inside your photo editing program, open the PDF file of your pattern.

Opening a PDF in a photo editing program will usually involve some kind of importing command. Most programs will pop up with some sort of window saying, "Whoa! Hold on there Missy! You can't just open a PDF all willy-nilly in this program! You have to import it." It will probably prompt you to choose which page of the PDF you want to import and at what resolution. If you can , choose just the page with the pattern you want, and set the resolution pretty high (like 300 dpi). That will import the page in as a picture, which will allow you to play with it. Neat!

4. Now you should see that full pattern page as a single image. It's going to include the full page, with lots of white space, my title, the Shiny Happy World link in the footer, and the entire pattern. Crop away any parts of the page you don't want. For Holly, she may want to crop away all but one of the cats. If you're enlarging one of the birds from the bird sampler to stitch on a T-shirt, you may want to isolate just one bird. Crop away anything you don't want.

5. Time to resize. Use the scale image command to adjust the image to the size you want.

6. Save your new image.

7. Print!

Like I said, these are general instructions and you may need to play around with your computer a bit to find the exact commands you need, but this should give you enough guidance to get there. If anyone else has helpful suggestions, please add them in the comments!

Got any other sewing or embroidery questions? Send them to me here.

Happy Wednesday!

Best,
Wendi

Here - Have a Cookie!

2012-02-21T08:14:00.000-05:00

I've been experiencing a few technical difficulties, so there's no new video today. Sorry! Would a cookie make you feel better? Here's my favorite recipe. . .

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup shortening (I use Crisco)

Leave these out for a few hours to soften them. Don't melt them or you will have flat cookies. You can use all butter, but the cookies will be softer, without that perfect crispiness around the edges.

Beat into the butter mixture. . .
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix in. . .
3 cups flour (I use King Arthur - it makes a difference)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Add. . .
1 cup chocolate chips (this gives you chips in every bite, but it lets you taste the yummy cookie part too)

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet in an oven preheated to 375 degrees. You can make these any size, but I think the texture is perfect when I use my small ice cream scoop to portion them out. It makes half-spheres that are 2 inches across and I bake them 14 minutes. Your time will depend on the size you make them. When they rise up and then just start to fall, they should be about perfect. Check them - they should be soft in the middle, but just starting to brown and firm up around the edges.

Enjoy!

The guy in the picture has nothing to do with cookies. He's just one of a collection of beasties I've been working on. And see that tiny bit of blanket stitching in the corner? That's the video I was going to do - so look for it soon. :-)

Happy Tuesday!

Best,
Wendi

Tutorial: How to Make an Oatmeal Scrubbie

2012-02-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

'Tis the season for dry, itchy skin. For me, oatmeal baths are the answer. You can just dump some oatmeal in the water, but I don't really like to lay on the oatmeal bits, so I make these oatmeal scrubbies. :-) They're cheap and easy and very soothing.

First, for each scrubbie cut two 4 inch squares of fabric. I usually use super cheap cotton muslin - the cheapest I can find. Or use some really ugly cotton fabric out of your stash. (How does that stuff get in there?)

Sew the two pieces together around three sides. I use a 1/4 inch seam allowance, but it doesn't really matter.

Fill each bag with 1/4 cup of old-fashioned oatmeal. Sew it together across the top.

Voila! You have a finished oatmeal scrubbie.

I usually make a bunch of these at one time - I can make about a dozen in 15 minutes. They're terrific for any itchy skin issues. Toss one in the tub while it fills. Let the water pound down on it for a little while to mash out the oatmeal goodness. Once I get in the bath I also squeeze the bag every once in a while. Just having the stuff in the water is good, but it's also great to rub the scrubbie directly on any itchy places. It helps sooth poison ivy, sunburn, dry skin, allergic reactions, and more. Last summer my daughter "forgot" that she was allergic to grass and repeatedly rolled down a freshly-mowed hill wearing a tank top and shorts. She was covered with itchy red welts, but one bath with an oatmeal scrubbie took care of it.

Enjoy! And have a great week!

Best,
Wendi

New Pattern: Happy Hippo Applique

2012-02-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

$5.00

Purchase the hippo applique pattern here.

There's a new block in the safari quilt collection - a happy hippo. :-)

You saw a sneak peek of her in this week's video about handling inside points with my favorite machine applique technique. Now here she is in all her lavender glory!

She's a teeny bit more complicated to make than the Cheerful Chimp. She has a couple of extra pieces - teeth and nostrils - and those inside points, but nothing too difficult. If you want to make her even easier, you could use felt for the small bits so you don't have to fold under the edges of a woven fabric.

I made a slight change to the Cheerful Chimp pattern. These make big blocks (16 inches square) and I like to include full-sized pattern pieces so you don't have to mess with enlarging anything. On the chimp that means it printed out on two pages. The hippo's a little. . . wider. . . so she printed out on three. :-) They're easy to tape together, so if you're actually making these quilt blocks that's handy. But one of the great things about applique patterns is that you can also use them for lots of other things - smaller applique, embroidery, cut paper collage, wood burning, painting, etc. For those things you probably don't want a pattern so huge, but being spread over 2-3 pages makes it hard to enlarge or reduce. So now both patterns have an additional page with the image roughly 6 inches wide. That way you can easily enlarge or reduce it to any size you like. Handy!

So - a link recap is, I think, in order. . .

how-to videos
How to Machine Applique Convex Curves video

How to Machine Applique Inside Points video

patterns
Cheerful Chimp Applique/Quilt Pattern

Happy Hippo Applique/Quilt Pattern

Safari Quilt Block of the Month series

Don't they look cute together? I wonder what's coming next month. . .

Happy stitching! And have a great weekend!

Best,
Wendi

Show & Tell: Rag Dolls

2012-02-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Olivia (aka projectrandom13 over on Flickr) has been quite a busy bee. Remember the two boy dolls she made? The ones I named Karl and Carl? Well take a look at the girl dolls she's been making! I love the pink hair on this one - and I'm always a sucker for polkadots. :-)

And here's another little girl - looking all relaxed, kicked back with her legs crossed.

Great job Olivia!

Purchase the rag doll pattern here and make your own! Olivia is clearly partial to the Lucy hairstyle (also my favorite) but the pattern includes two other hairstyles and faces to choose from.

When you're done - brag a little! Share a photo in one of the Flickr groups or send it to me and I'll do the bragging for you. :-) I love seeing what you all make!

Happy Thursday!

Best,
Wendi

Ask Wendi: Let's Talk Needles

2012-02-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Liz recently asked me. . .

I have a question for you - what sort of needles do you use? I am experimenting with different sorts but haven't yet found the perfect one. It looks like you are using six strands in your eyes video - which needle are using for that? And what would you recommend for three strands?

I'm going to use this as an opportunity to talk about needles in general. See that photo up there? I loaded it up in a large file size so you can click on it to see it closer - and that's a sewing bobbin in there for size reference. The three needles there are the ones I use most often (and they're the ones you receive in my stitch kits - unless you especially ask for all of one kind). Let's start from the top. . .

The top needle is a size 5 embroidery needle. That's pretty much the only size embroidery needle I ever use. Mostly I stitch with 4 strands of thread and it's perfect for that. But it doesn't hurt to use fewer, and if I concentrate really hard (and remove my glasses) I can get six strands through that eye. Technically you're supposed to change needle size according to the number of threads, but I don't really want to carry a full complement of needles with me wherever I go and lightning hasn't struck me yet for using the wrong size.

The middle needle is a size 4 sharp. That's a basic sewing needle. (Basic sewing needles are called sharps - just to confuse you. All the needles in the photo are sharp, but the middle one is actually called a sharp.) If you click on the photo to see it larger I hope you can see that the eye is much smaller than the embroidery needle. In a pinch you could maybe fit 3 strands of embroidery thread through there, but it would be tough. That said, I have used a sharp to embroider with 1-2 strands of thread and, again, lightning didn't strike me for using the wrong needle.

The bottom needle is a size 8 between or quilting needle. I have no idea why quilting needles are called betweens. I think it's just one more thing to scare away the people who opted out of home ec. Anyway - this is my preferred size for quilting, but I often recommend for beginning hand quilters to start with something larger and work their way down. I can stitch with a needle that's even shorter, but that makes my stitches smaller than I like. There's a school of thought that says the best quilting stitches are tiny little pinpricks - but I actually like to see a bit of stitch. This needle is also sharp, with a small eye like a sharp, but it's shorter and thinner. I've been known to sew with a between, but I never quilt with a sharp.

And now one more thing to confuse you - as needle sizes get bigger, the needles get smaller and vice versa. So a size 5 embroidery needle is smaller than a size 3. It's like wire gauges.

So there you go - an intro to the basic types of needles I use most often - along with many (many!) asides reminding you that you can use whatever kind of needle you like best. The needle police will not come and lock you up. :-)

Got any other sewing or embroidery questions? Send them to me here.

Happy Wednesday!

Best,
Wendi

New Video: How to Machine Applique - Part 2

2012-02-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

I posted a video recently showing demonstrating the basics of an easy machine applique technique. That basic technique is good for gentle convex curves, but there are a few additional skills you'll need to handle things like concave curves and points. In this video I tackle inside points - really easy to handle, once you know what to do. :-)

Like the looks of the hippo block I use to demonstrate the technique? I hope so! She's the next addition to the Safari Quilt Block of the month club. I think I'll have the pattern finished and ready to post by the end of the week.

Happy stitching everyone!

Best,
Wendi

2012 Resolutions: More from the WIP Pile

2012-02-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm back on track with my 2012 resolutions this week. Though there were still cupcakes to be made (and eaten) I managed to squeeze in some extra sewing time. Or snap time. That's all this doll dress needed! One snap had come loose and needed to be replaced. For that it sat in my basket for who knows how long.

I know this one was in there for 5 months. My daughter sometimes likes to wear these stretchy tubes of fabric to hold her hair out of her face. I made this one a bit too big and it sat, buried and forgotten in my basket for 5 months while I waited to run a new line of stitching a half inch closer than the original. A line of straight stitching about 6 inches long. Then when I tried to work on it this weekend, I used a stretch needle that had a big burr on it and snagged the fabric badly. Too badly to rescue so now it's in the trash. Oh well - at least it's not in my basket. :-)

I ripped open the seam of these jammie pants a couple of years ago and they've been waiting for repair ever since. Five minutes of work and they're back in my closet and off my work table.

And here's my favorite find of the week - a shark softie that my daughter made over four years ago. There's nothing wrong with it - she just didn't want to keep it and I wanted to take a picture before we donated it to her old school's rummage sale. FOUR YEARS this has sat in that basket waiting for me to snap a photo. Sheesh! *shakes head, mutters to self*

How are your resolutions coming?

Have a great week everyone!

Best,
Wendi

New Embroidery Pattern - Night Owls

2012-02-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

$5.00

purchase Night Owls embroidery pattern here

Here it is - my newest embroidery pattern! I call it Night Owls. These patterns were really fun to stitch - similar to the Birds Sampler pattern. I especially love the effect of the fly stitch on that big guy's wings.

What you get:

a full-sized pattern for tracing (total image is roughly 6 1/2 inches square)
a reversed image for use with iron-on transfer products
a complete color and stitch guide with links to videos teaching you the stitches used

A few notes:

I designed the owl "poses" to work on or off the branches, so you can stitch them either way.

I used thread from every one of my thread bundles - mostly mediums and lights. But these are pretty. . . um. . . technicolor owls. :-) I think they'd be beautiful stitched up all in neutral colors too.

Stitch them on T-shirt, in hoops, on jeans, on tea towels, cloth napkins, hankies, bread cloths, pillow covers, etc. As I always say - if you can get it in a hoop, you can stitch on it. :-)

The thought of them on pillow covers totally reminds me of my Grandma Gloria. Her house was FULL of owls - all given to her by her children and grandchildren. Owl figurines sitting on shelves, owl macrame wall hangings (this was the 70s, after all), owl mugs and platters, owl-shaped candles - owls everywhere. She told me once that she didn't know how it all started - that she didn't even especially like owls - but that she loved her collection of owl gifts.

So stitch up an owl gift for someone! :-)

$5.00

Night Owls Embroidery Pattern available here

Have a great weekend everyone!

Best,
Wendi

Show & Tell: This One Will Make You Laugh

2012-02-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

Ha ha ha! I LOVE this! The oh-so-traditional circle outline. . . the cute, smiling, innocent little girl. . . and then the words. Too funny! And I'm absolutely going to steal that saying.

You can thank Mary Miller (aka Spoolhardy Girl on Flickr) for this bit of awesome!

If you want to make your own, you can find the Rainbow Girls embroidery pattern here.

All of you - please keep sending your photos my way! You can email them to me here or post them to the groups on Flickr. I love seeing what you make!

Happy Thursday everyone!

Best,
Wendi

Ask Wendi - When do you need to "true up" fabric?

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

Back in this video about cutting strips using a rotary cutter I showed folks how to "true up" the edge of your fabric. That is - make sure that you're cutting straight strips with the grain of the fabric.

Loretta asked. . .

This makes sense for when you have a piece of fabric that you might get from the store that has selvedge edges. But what if you are using scrap fabric - like you are cutting up an old shirt or pair of pants to make bean bags? Do you need to make sure that your fabric is true?

Ooooh - good question! It's really a judgement call and depends on what you're making.

A good guideline is to ask yourself if the finished thing you're making is going to hang - on the wall, in a window, on your body, etc. If it's going to hang, you usually want to make sure you're working on the straight grain. As it hangs, it stretches, and if it's not cut on the straight grain it will stretch unevenly. Have you ever had a T-shirt that got all twisty over time? Where the side seams stopped running straight up the sides and instead kind of spiraled around your body? That means the grain was messed up. It can happen with pants too. So annoying!

For stuff that won't hang it's not as important. So for most softies and beanbags, most patches for scrap quilts, etc. just cut out your pieces to maximize the fabric you have, or to get the pattern to run in the direction you want.

For really precise pieced quilts (like super-fancy stars and things like that) the pattern will often include cutting instructions and a good pattern will let you know if the direction of the grain is important.

Got any other sewing or embroidery questions? Send them to me here.

Happy Wednesday!

Best,
Wendi

New Video: How to Machine Applique Convex Curves

2012-02-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

This is the first in a series of videos teaching a machine applique technique that I like quite a lot. In previous videos I showed you how to applique with fusible adhesive and how to do needle-turn applique. This technique is kind of the best of both worlds. It's almost as fast as using fusible, but without the stiffness and sometimes clunky outline. It's similar in look to needle-turn, but not as slow. It's a great technique for snuggly quilts that you want to wash and dry in the machine without a lot of fuss.

So - in this video I'm using the technique on a specific pattern (the Peekaboo Bear Quilt that I'm teaching over at STITCHED - you can still register!) but you can use it on any convex curves. Those are curves that bow out, like the edge of a circle or oval. In future videos I'll expand on the info here - showing you how to handle inner points, concave curves, outer points, and more.

This is the basic technique I'm recommending for the Safari Quilt Block of the Month Workshop series - you'll be able to use it in all those patterns. You can also use it for just about any other applique pattern you find out there in the world. The only thing it doesn't handle really well is teeny-tiny pieces. I don't think I'd use it for a Baltimore Album Quilt, for example. Then again - if you're making a Baltimore Album Quilt you're clearly not in any kind of rush (and you're probably not reading this blog). Just go ahead and use needle-turn and settle in for some quality time on the couch. But I digress. . .

Video. Machine applique. Easy and fast with nice results. Machine wash and dryable. That about covers it.

Here's a quick list of all those links.

Other Applique Videos
How to Applique with Fusible Adhesive - best for wall hangings
How to Needle-Turn Applique - gorgeous, but slow hand technique

Applique Patterns
Safari Quilt Block of the Month Workshop
Cheerful Chimp Applique Pattern
Anywhere Bear Applique Pattern

Happy Tuesday!

Best,
Wendi

By the way - did you know you can use just about any embroidery pattern as an applique pattern? It's true! Just enlarge it until it's a comfortable size to work with and you're ready to go!At this point you'll want to look for something that's all convex curves. Betty's Beehive would work. So would the Robot with the Flower - if you did all the parts as separate applique pieces.

Cupcakes Instead of Resolutions

2012-02-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

This weekend I didn't get anything on my resolutions list finished. I was too busy helping my daughter achieve one of her goals.

We visited New York City during the holidays and she found the many cupcake bakeries. . . inspiring. She decided she wants to open her own cupcake bakery someday and we've been working on developing and testing recipes. (Yum!)

I was talking to a friend of mine about it. She had a big party coming up and she decided to hire Jo to make some cupcakes. Eight dozen! So Jo and I had a busy baking weekend and the house smelled fabulous. :-)

Here are a few photos of my girl in action. . .

Fun! For those reading this in a reader - you can go to the set here.

I guess I can't knock something off the list every weekend! :-)

What did you all do this weekend?

Best,
Wendi

New Patterns: Easy Skirts with Yoga Waistbands

2012-02-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've got two more skirt patterns this week from the Shirt Off Daddy's Back series. Last month I started the series with the 15-Minute skirts - easy skirts made from T-shirts or button-down shirts, with elastic waistbands. This month we're taking a little extra time to replace the elastic waistband with a comfy yoga-style waistband. I call it the 25-Minute Skirt - and it's totally worth the extra 10 minutes. Here's what the finished waistband looks like.

Just like last month there are two patterns - the 25-Minute Skirt for knits (to make out of a T-shirt) and the 25-Minute Skirt for wovens (to make from a button-down shirt). I've decided to sell these two as one bundle - The 25-Minute Skirt pattern.

In addition to the two PDF patterns, you'll also get access to two videos. The main one teaches you (in tremendous detail) how to measure, cut and sew on the yoga waistband. The other one shows you how to cut the skirt body from a button-down shirt.

And, of course, if you've purchased The Shirt Off Daddy's Back Pattern of the Month Workshop, these patterns and links to the videos will automagically arrive in your inbox, 1 month after your sign-up date as the second pattern/lesson bundle.

I think this calls for a wrap up. . .

New pattern bundle
The 25-Minute Skirt pattern - contains 2 PDF patterns and access to two videos.

Last month's patterns
The 15-Minute Skirt for knits
The 15-Minute Skirt for wovens

The Whole Shebang
The Shirt Off Daddy's Back Pattern of the Month Workshop

Free Fancification Videos
Add a Knit Ruffle
Embroider the Hem
Add a Crocheted Scallop Border to the Hem

Have a great weekend everyone!

Best,
Wendi

Show & Tell: A Parliament of Owls

2012-02-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm a bit late posting these fabulous owls - they were made for Christmas - but I think Emily's Awesome Idea could easily be adapted for everyday. Here's what she said about them. . .

Just wanted to share some photos of Christmas Tree owls. We made 20 of them so far for the school kids, but a few adults have been dropping hints. So, we might have to whip up a few more today. The little felt "talons" that we added are just loops to hold a candy cane, or a message to Santa! They are about half the height of your full size pattern.

Here's a close-up of one of the owls so you can see how those felt loops work.

Brilliant, no? And I can't believe how many they made! I think it would be really fun to make these for any other holiday - or any special day.

I love old-fashioned stick candy like this.

The colors are so pretty and swirly. :-) Make the owls up in pretty colors that would look good with your candy. Slide a stick into the felt loops with a little message attached. Maybe a birthday card? Or a valentine for someone extra special with a classic valentine pun like "Owl always love you" or "Whoo will be my Valentine?" If you want to give it a try, you can purchase the Owl Softie pattern here.

Emily - these are terrific! Thanks so much for sharing!

I love seeing what you all make with my patterns - you knock my socks off! Please keep sending your photos my way! You can email them to me here or post them to the groups on Flickr.

Happy Thursday everyone!

Best,
Wendi

Ask Wendi: Embroidering on Felt

2012-02-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've gotten a few questions lately about embroidering on felt - and I'm going to answer them all here today.

These are smallish shapes. Do I transfer the pattern, hoop them and stitch, and then cut them out?

Well - I buy pretty expensive felt (there's no point embroidering it if it's going to get all pilled and nasty-looking the first time someone touches it) and I don't like to waste any of it. That means no excess for hooping. You don't really need to hoop felt anyway - and it's hard to get the vrimp marks out when you do. It's stiff enough to embroider easily without a hoop. Just be careful not to pull your stitches too tight.

My method is to transfer the pattern, cut it out, and then stitch.

How do you transfer your pattern to felt? You can't trace through this stuff, and any pen or pencil tends to lift the fibers.

I always use one of my iron-on transfer pens for felt. In my experience the ink transfers beautifully to those bright felts I keep buying. Which brings me to. . .

Where do you find wool felt in such gorgeous colors?

I get mine from Heather Bailey's shop. She has a tremendous range of colors and she's always adding new ones. She carries wool blends and bamboo blends - which I still must try. I love bamboo yarn, so I'm guessing the felt will be nice too. Like I said, the good stuff can be pretty pricey, but if you sign up for her mailing list she sends out occasional coupons. My philosophy is - if I'm going to spend hours making something, I want to make it out of the best materials and make it to last.

Happy stitching! (By the way - that picture up at the top is a close up of some of the blocks from the Felt Blocks Embroidery Pattern. Those were so much fun to stitch!)

Got any other sewing or embroidery questions? Send them to me here.

Happy Wednesday!

Best,
Wendi

How to Add a Crocheted Edge to Anything

2012-01-31T08:10:00.001-05:00

All right folks - today we're going all out with the fancification you can add to the hem of a simple skirt (or a pillowcase, a hankie, a tea towel - anything with a hem really). Today I bring you my favorite fancy schmancy embellishment - the crocheted scallop edge.

Here's what it looks like. I happen to think this elevates a simple T-shirt skirt into something really nice. That simple band of color around the bottom, the addition of a different texture - it just works. And it works for grown up clothes too!

Want to see it closer?

I don't care if you've never picked up a crochet hook before - you can totally do this! The video is longish - not because it's extra complicated, but because I take you slowly through every step. AND I've also made up a printable PDF with a kajillion step by step photos that you can keep near you on the sofa while you work. You can download that here. I tell you what needle size to use and I even took photos of the label of the yarn I use so you can see all the details. You can do this!

This is the last of this batch of skirt fancification videos. Here's a rundown of the whole series.

The 15 Minute Skirt Pattern for knits (make with a T-shirt)

The 15 Minute Skirt Pattern for wovens (make with a button-down shirt)

How to Add Ruffles to a T-shirt Skirt (video)

How to Embroider the Hem of a T-shirt Skirt (video)

How to Add a Crocheted Scallop Edge to Anything. That's this one. :-)

Are you ready to sew some fabulous skirts? I'm ready to see them! Please send me photos or add them to the Shiny Happy Sewing group on Flickr. I'll brag about you in a Show & Tell post. :-)

Happy stitching everyone!

Best,
Wendi

I finished the quilt!

2012-01-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Woo hoo! It was a really busy week and weekend for me - but I kept this quilt on my couch and stitched on the binding a few inches at a time, every time I had a couple of spare minutes. Those few inches at a time do add up. I got it done!

And now on to the next quilt.

I've been drafting up designs for a couple of different quilts that I want to offer as patterns. But I've been stuck on what kind of quilt to do: a scrap quilt (using up some of my overflowing scraps is always a good thing) or a quilt using pre-cuts (buying - and using - new fabric collections that I'm really excited about is also a good thing). The two kinds of quilts offer different kinds of design challenges - and I like doing both!

So I asked you. :-)

I put up a question on Facebook and asked: scraps or precuts? I also left things open for you to add additional options for people to vote on. One person has suggested mixing them - and another suggested two quilts, one made with precuts and one with scraps.

I'm especially intrigued by the second suggestion. There are certain classic designs that are perfect for scraps. Pinwheels. Nine-patches. Lots of star quilts. Quilts that work with pre-cuts are often designed to show off a particular fabric. The blocks tend to be bigger and the whole thing is more. . . uniform. (Not sure if that's exactly the word I'm looking for, but it's the best I can come up with at the moment.)

I'm kind of in love with the idea of designing a quilt to show off a fabric collection, and then adapting that same pattern to make it work well for scraps.

But I want to hear what more of you think! Please head over to the Facebook poll and cast your vote. Or leave your thoughts in the comments on this post, if you don't do the whole Facebook thing. :-)

I'm itching to make another quilt, now that I've gotten this one out of my UFO pile. Tell me what to do!

Happy Monday!

Best,
Wendi

New and Improved Queen of Hearts Embroidery Pattern

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hello all! Happy Friday!

With Valentine's Day coming up I decided to give a bit of a face lift to the Queen of Hearts embroidery pattern. Let me tell you what's new. . .

It always bugged me that I stitched her on red fabric. It looked cute on my daughter's T-shirt, but when it was isolated on the pattern cover I could only think of one thing. Painful sunburn. Now she's on plain muslin. Whew!

I satin stitched the hearts on her crown. What can I say - I've been a satin-stitching fool lately.

I added a couple more curls.

All the thread colors now come from the dark, medium and neutral thread bundles. Have I mentioned lately how much easier these thread bundles have made my life? I love them.

I've been playing a bit more lately with blended colors, and I used two different (easy, of course) techniques on this redesign.

I used whipped backstitch on her crown to give it a nice mix of yellow and orange. I like the regularity of this blending on the crown.

For her hair I wanted a different look and used a different technique.

I used 3 strands of brown mixed with one strand of pink and got nice, natural-looking pink highlights in her hair. I might have to start using this technique on all hair - you all know I love the fun-colored highlights I put in my rag dolls. :-)

So there she is! A new Queen of Hearts embroidery pattern, ready for some Valentine's Day (or any day) stitching.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Best,
Wendi

Show & Tell - Super Sly Cat Card

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

Look at this terrific card that Carrie made! Yes - card. It's stitched on paper! Here's what she wrote about it. . .

I wanted to share a card I made for a good friend who just turned the big 60! That cat just looks like he’s up to no good, so I had to show him thinking of something kinda mean : ) It was lots of fun stitching on paper!

Carrie - you did a great job! I love his thought bubble. :-) Thanks for sharing!

Anyone else want to give it a try? Here's a video showing how to embroider on paper and you can click here to download the free Sly Cat embroidery pattern. What devious thoughts will your cat be thinking?

Happy Thursday everyone!

Best,
Wendi

Ask Wendi - Prewashing Tea Towels

2012-01-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Do I have to wash new tea towels before I embroider them? And then should I iron them before I stitch them?

I prewash everything. Everything. I don't mess around. When I come back from the fabric store, everything I just bought goes straight into the laundry hamper and isn't allowed in my sewing room until it's been washed, dried and ironed. I'm a little obsessive about it - but I have a good reason.

The very first thing I ever sewed was a tablecloth. Truly, the ugliest, worst-made tablecloth the world has ever seen. One of the many things I did wrong was that I didn't prewash my fabric. So the first time I threw the tablecloth into the wash, it shrank just enough for every seam to pucker and look terrible. This was exacerbated by the fact that I had a seam running right down the middle of the table - the long way - but that's a whole other sewing problem. :-)

Now I always prewash everything.

Including tea towels.

They'll come out all wrinkly and you'll definitely want to iron them before you stitch on them. The hoop will leave rings in your fabric and you can press them out - but I usually throw the whole thing in the wash again. It's a towel, right? And it's going to be washed a million times. Just go ahead and wash those creases out. If you need to iron them after you've done the embroidery, do it carefully.

I don't like to iron my embroidery - it compresses the stitches and they don't look as nice. I've found that if you iron from the back of the piece over a layer of terrycloth towel (so the stitches have something to sink into) the stitches don't get squished.

Good luck!

Got any other sewing or embroidery questions? Send them to me here.

Happy Wednesday!

Best,
Wendi

New Video: How to Embroider the Hem of a Knit Skirt

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I released a pattern for The Fifteen Minute Skirt - a pattern to make a quick and easy (and oh so comfy) skirt out of a T-shirt. One of the things I love about this pattern is that I can whip one up in no time - leaving me lots of extra time for a little fancifying. Like this. . .

I'll tell you - I love this skirt. I'm going to be so sad when Jo outgrows it! I really need to make one for myself. . .

But you want to know about the embroidery. That's what the video is for! :-) I show you exactly how to do it. It's easy. Even easier than the ruffles video I shared last week. But it takes longer - that's why I waited to do it second.

Want to know something else? You don't have to do this only on a skirt. You could totally stitch a rainbow like this around the hem of a regular T-shirt and it would look awesome! Just make sure it's not too tight a T-shirt, because this stitching will kill the stretch.

Next week I'll have the fanciest fancifying yet - how to crochet a scalloped hem. Oooh. . .

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Best,
Wendi

2012 Resolutions - More UFOs

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

I stitched two tea towels up about six months ago. The idea was to turn them into curtains to cover the area under a sink, but the first bunch of grommets were two small for the rod I was stringing them on. Grommets are kind of a pain to remove once they're hammered in - so the finished towels sat in my UFO basket (wrapped around a package of larger grommets) for half a year. Half a year!

This weekend I get busy with a screwdriver. I pried off the smaller grommets, hammered on some gigantic ones, and. . .

. . . now the underside of this sink is curtained off and my basket is a bit emptier.

I had intended to make myself a skirt this weekend, but I didn't have the right color zipper for it, so I'll have to put that off until next weekend. I decided to use the time to tackle a bigger project from the UFO pile. I've been happy to clear out lots of little things so far, but I wanted to dive into something big. So I quilted a quilt.

I basted this a couple of months ago and it's been sitting on the top of one of the piles. A whole quilt - almost finished - mocking me.

I did simple quilting - all straight lines, all on the machine - and I got the whole thing done. I'm hoping to get the binding on this week. If I do, I'll show you the finished quilt next Monday. And I'll have a great big thing removed from the pile. Woo hoo!

Happy Monday everyone! If you've been making progress on your 2012 resolutions, please share in the comments!

Best,
Wendi

New Embroidery Pattern - Hearts Sampler

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here. Have a heart. Or two. Or nineteen! That's how many hearts there are in this sampler - each with a different design in it.

Stitch them up in a cluster straight off the pattern or go crazy scattering them around on anything you can get in a hoop. Need some ideas?

t-shirts
onesies
jeans
aprons
tea towels
quilt blocks
tote bags
seriously - anything you can get in a hoop

You can even stitch them on things you can't get in a hoop - like paper for some deluxe Valentines. (How to Embroider Paper video here.)

As always - you get the regular pattern for tracing, a reversed pattern for use with iron-on transfer tools, and a complete color and stitch guide. (By the way - all the colors I used in this are in the Medium and Dark Thread Bundles. Just sayin'. . .) And, also as always, the pattern has links to videos teaching you how to do every stitch I used. There are a bunch in this one - but nothing too complicated.

In an effort to keep my 2012 studio uncluttered - the sample I stitched for the cover is for sale too. :-) You can find it in the fancy-schmancy drop-down menu in the listing for the pattern in my new shop. Shipping is included in the price.

So - get ready for Valentine's Day and get your Hearts Sampler Embroidery Pattern here. Spread some love around!

Want to see some close-up shots of individual hearts? I uploaded a few to the shop - but this one's my favorite. I fell in love with the chain stitch outlining the puffy satin stitch. So lush!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Best,
Wendi

Show & Tell Time: Karl and Carl

2012-01-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm sharing more Karl doll awesomeness this week. Look at these guys I found in the Shiny Happy Sewing Group on Flickr! They were made by the talented projectrandom13. She didn't include any info with the photo, so I decided that their names are Karl and Carl. I love how she made them mirror images of each other! Projectrandom13 - please chime in in the comments and tell us more! These guys are great!

Purchase the Karl (with a K) boy rag doll pattern here and make your own. Then share it with us! Have I mentioned how much I love seeing what you all make with my patterns? :-)

Happy Thursday!

Best,
Wendi

Ask Wendi - T-shirt Stabilizer for Embroidery

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Do I have to pick out all the stabilizer from the back of a T-shirt when I'm done stitching?

No!

Let me back up a little. If you plan to embroider on a T-shirt (or any stretchy fabric) you MUST stabilize the fabric to keep it from stretching while you're working on it. It's really not optional. I use this Sulky Totally Stable and I love it.

You iron it on to the back of the fabric you're going to embroider. It has a papery feel and you stitch right through it and the fabric together. It does a great job of keeping everything neat (and non-stretchy) while you stitch. (This video shows step by step how I prep things to embroider on stretchy fabrics.)

When I'm done stitching I peel up any of the excess stabilizer I can easily get at. That means I cut/tear away all the excess around the edge of my design, but I don't worry much about the interior.

Why not?

I'll admit that it's mostly because I'm lazy. Lazy. Lazy. Lazy. I find that after just one washing the stuff is pretty dang soft. Like Kleenex. Both my daughter and I are are extremely sensitive to itchiness and the excess stabilizer doesn't bother either of us one bit. So why mess with it?

I also don't like tugging at my stitches, and to get every bit of stabilizer out from every single stitch would definitely take some tugging. After you wash it a kajillion times most of it works its way out anyway. (See the note about laziness, above.)

So no. You do NOT need to pick out all the stabilizer after you're done stitching. Use that time to stitch something else!

Got any other sewing or embroidery questions? Send them to me here.

Happy Wednesday!

Best,
Wendi

Video: How to Add Ruffles to a T-shirt Skirt

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

So last week I listed two new easy skirt patterns. One is for making a skirt out of a T-shirt and the other turns a men's button-down shirt into a skirt.

My favorite is the one made out of a T-shirt. How can you go wrong with soft, stretchy knit? They're easy to make, easy to wear, and easy to fancy-up a bit.

Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing a few tutorials for dressing up the hem of a plain skirt. I'm starting with the easiest method this week - using some of the scraps from your T-shirt (sleeves are especially great) to add a bit of ruffle to the hem of the finished skirt.

I added just one demure little ruffle to the hem of this skirt for me. Jo wanted two rows on her skirt.

This is SO easy - and a great way to use up those last few scraps from turning a T-shirt into a skirt. And I'm making the lesson extra easy for you. :-) There's the video up at the top of this post - and I also have a printable tutorial. It's the same info - just in two different formats.

To recap:

Easy Knit Ruffles video here.

Easy Knit Ruffles downloadable PDF here.

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi

Resolution Report

2012-01-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

I made a little more progress on the UFO Basket(s). This is a scrap of upholstery fabric Jo found. . . somewhere. . . and asked me to make into a rug for her doll house.

It's a really cool fabric with great napped ridges on it. It really did look like a rug! But it was really ragged at the edges so I need to bind them. This should have been another easy 5-minute project, but those napped ridges were a bear to bind. It didn't help that I was using really skinny binding tape (what I happened to have on hand) and on the first pass I didn't bother to use any pins.

*pick*pick*pick*swear*swear*swear*pick*pick*pick*

I did it right the second time and it turned out great.

And one more that really was an easy 5-minute project. Repair the clasp on this necklace. 5 minutes with my jewelry tools and it's out of my basket.

How are you all doing?

Happy Monday!

Best,
Wendi

New Patterns: 15-Minute Skirts

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

Two new patterns in the shop this week - both for what I call 15-Minute Skirts. They really do take just 15 minutes to make, because they're made from thrifted T-shirts or button-down shirts and I teach you how to reuse the hems and/or pockets. No tedious finish work!

This pattern is for use with T-shirts. Nice, soft, stretchy T-shirts. :-) And that doesn't mean you need a fancypants serger. Just your regular sewing machine with a stretch needle in it. Easy peasy.

And this one is for use with a woven shirt - a basic men's button down. Cute, no?

You can see additional photos of each skirt if you click through for more info. Oh - and with each pattern you also get a link to a super-secret video showing you every step of the construction. You can totally make these - and I'll bet you won't make just one. :-)

These are the first two patterns in the Shirt Off Daddy's Back Pattern of the Month Club.

All of the patterns will be available for sale separately, but you'll get a discount (and monthly delivery to your inbox) if you purchase the whole bundle.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Best,
Wendi

Show & Tell: Karl in Tahiti

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

That's right - I said Tahiti. Tahiti! Valérie lives there (wow!) and was kind enough to send photos of the fabulous Karl doll she made.

Wouldn't you love to join him there? Me too! But he already has a girlfriend. :-)

Aren't they a cute couple? Didn't Valérie do a great job? Yeah - I think so too.

Want to make your own? You can purchase the Karl pattern here, and the pattern for the Becky rag doll here.

I love seeing (and sharing!) the things you all make with my patterns! Please post your creations to the Sewing and Embroidery groups on Flickr, or send a photo right to me.

Happy Thursday!

Best,
Wendi

Ask Wendi - Why Is My Softie Growing a Beard?

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

I recently made a little stuffed toy out of cotton fabric, and also a couple of neck pillows. After I finished these items, I started noticing the stuffing fibers migrating through the fabric. I'm using a Fairfield poly fil and I think it's called Silky Soft or something like that. Am I using the wrong filling? Is there any way to keep the filling from coming through the fabric like that? I made a cute little red ladybug for a baby but it didn't look so cute when it started sprouting white fibers! I tried to remove them with a lint roller but I think I would have emptied the stuffed toy completely if I kept doing that.

Ugh. It's called bearding and it's a pain in the neck. It happens to quilters too and it's even worse for them. Can you imaging finishing an entire quilt and then noticing those ugly fibers starting to "grow" through the fabric? You can restuff your toy without too much effort. A quilter would have to pick out all the quilting and then start over again.

There's nothing you can do to fix it once it happens, but you can take steps to prevent it.

The problem is the way some fillings react with some fabrics. Quilters can easily avoid bearding by using cotton batting. Polyester and wool beard, cotton doesn't. Cotton batting is more expensive than poly, but it wear well, quilts beautifully, is machine washable, and is totally worth the extra money. It's an easy solution.

For softie makers the answer isn't so easy. I like using polyester stuffing because it's light and fluffy, doesn't compact, and lofts back up really well even after repeated machine washing. It's also inexpensive.

So - since I want to keep using polyester stuffing I need to look at my fabric. I think the only time I've had bearding in my toys is when the fabric I use is a cotton/poly blend, or has a somewhat open weave. That's not to say cotton fabric will never beard - just that bearding in soft toys is way more likely if the fabric also has some polyester in it. I wonder it it's the polyester in the fabric reacting with the polyester stuffing? I don't know. But eliminating all polyester fabric from my softie-making has meant no bearding for a long time.

And if you use cotton fabric and still have bearding, you can always pick open your stuffing opening, unstuff the toy, and restuff it with cotton stuffing. I suspect, though I can't say for sure, that bamboo and other plant fibers would also be good choices. It's annoying - sure. But at least you aren't undoing hours and hours of quilting.

Got any other sewing or embroidery questions? Send them to me here.

Happy Wednesday!

Best,
Wendi

Peekaboo Bear Quilt Workshop

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

Just a quick reminder that you can still sign up for the STITCHED workshop where I'm teaching students how to make this Peekaboo Bear quilt - and 19 other instructors are teaching their own fabric projects. Get all the details (and a link to register) here.

The class just opened on January first and I've already received the nicest note from one of the participants - who's already made a ton of progress!

It is not the question, but just want to tell you how fun is this. I never did embroidery before, and I never didn't even know that I could enjoy in this so much. I already have 12 faces, and I admit the first one is not so nice, but it looks like he has his own character, so I will use it; and after a few faces, it start to going so fast and I really like it.

The faces are so cute, and I already have a plan for my next quilt with my kid favorite dog toy for the inspiration. Really this project is for me so relaxing and fun and like I did discover new stitching fingers in me….and the practice make a new master in me. Isn’t that fab?

Fab indeed! I can't wait to see her finished quilt!

Hope to see some more of you over there. People are making some really terrific things!

Best,
Wendi

Resolution Report - The UFO Pile

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've been traveling and sick with a cold that I can't seem to shake, so I haven't been able to get much done on my new year's resolutions, but I did manage to tackle one project from the UFO basket.

My daughter spotted this gorgeous ribbon in one of my trim bins ages ago and asked me to make her a belt out of it. I already had D-rings that were the right size - I have no idea why. This should have been a five-minute project. Why did it take me months to get to it? I have no idea.

Seriously. Five minutes.

How are you all doing? Share your progress in the comments - and link to blog posts if you do that sort of thing. :-)

Happy Monday!

Best,
Wendi

New Pattern - Cheerful Chimp!

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

All right folks! I've been promising some quilt patterns for a while now and this is a start. A Cheerful Chimp applique pattern!

Here's the deal. . .

There are actually two patterns available. The Cheerful Chimp applique pattern is for one applique block. (The pattern is for a 16 inch square block, but you can size that up or down if you like.)

What can you do with one block? Well. You can make a wall hanging or a pillow cover. You can applique the image on a T-shirt or a tote bag. You can use paper instead of fabric and make a greeting card. You can even turn it into an embroidery pattern - it's all outlines, after all.

Maybe you want to make more than one block. Make a row of three in different colors and you have an Andy Warhol-ish triptych. :-) Make 20 and you can make a twin-sized quilt like the Peekaboo Bear quilt. By the way - if you want to make that Peekaboo Bear quilt, registration is still open and you still have plenty of time. :-)

Or maybe. . . maybe. . . you want to make a quilt with a lot of different blocks. A Safari Quilt, with a chimp, a lion, a zebra, an elephant and lots of other African animals. Well then, what you want is the Safari Quilt Block of the Month Club.

This chimp is just the first of 12 blocks - plus a final lesson on assembling them all into a twin-sized quilt. You'll get a new applique pattern every month, with new skills added as you go along. The chimp is the easiest - all big pieces, straight lines, and convex curves. In later months we'll add concave curves, points, smaller pieces and more. My the end of the year you will be the queen of applique - ready to tackle just about any pattern out there.

Click through the links for more details (and to purchase) either pattern. Dip your toes into the world of easy machine applique with just The Cheerful Chimp. Or make him the start of something bigger. Something grand. Something FUN with the Safari Quilt Block of the Month Club.

Let me know if you have any questions, ok?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Best,
Wendi

Show & Tell - Lovely Apron

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

Look at the gorgeous apron Rachel (from outside London) made! She says she just treated herself to a new Pfaff (I love my Pfaff too!) and this is the first thing she made with it. I love all the greens together - makes me want to garden. :-) Sadly - my garden is covered with snow right now.

Want to make your own? She used the Hot Stuff Patchwork Apron pattern.

I love seeing (and sharing!) the things you all make with my patterns. Please post your creations to the Sewing and Embroidery groups on Flickr, or send a photo right to me.

Happy Thursday!

Best,
Wendi

Ask Wendi - What Kind of Fabric Can I Use for Embroidery?

2012-01-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to a new feature here at Shiny Happy World! Every week I get questions from all of you. Good questions! And I try to answer them as quickly as I can. But I figure for every one of you that actually sends a question - a bunch of other readers have been wondering the exact same thing. So I'll still answer your questions directly - but I'll also pick some of them to answer here on the blog every Wednesday.

I'm starting out with a question I hear a lot. . .

What kind of fabric can I use for embroidery?

I never really addressed this in the post about embroidery tools and supplies - because the answer is anything. You can embroider on anything.

If you're just starting out, I recommend a smooth, woven (non-stretchy) fabric. It's easiest to transfer your pattern to light fabric, but there are tricks to working with darker fabrics. Watch this video.

I said non-stretchy, but you can embroider stretchy fabrics too. It just takes an extra step in preparation - you have to stabilize the fabric with something like this. I show you how in this video.

I love stitching on velvet and other napped fabrics (those are fabrics with a pile like a rug - velvet, corduroy, terry cloth, etc.) Stitching on them is easy, though you may need to use an extra strand or two in your thread so your stitching doesn't disappear into the pile of the fabric. The real trick is transferring your image. I use this product. It's a water-soluble translucent film. You draw your image on that, then hoop it together with the fabric and stitch through both layers. Swish your finished embroidery in some water and the film just melts away. Easy peasy! I show you this stuff in action in this video.

If you want to stitch on some very fine, thin fabric, I recommend stitching through a double layer. It helps keep your threads in the back from showing through to the front.

Want to stitch something extra thick like paper or leather? I have some earrings that I embroidered on metal! Poke your stitching holes first and then stitch. I show you how to stitch paper in this video. The process is the same for anything thick.

You really can embroider anything!

Got any other questions? Send them to me here.

Happy Wednesday!

Best,
Wendi

It's 2012 - Do You Have a Calendar Yet?

2012-01-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've got two in my shop - both PDFs delivered to you at the speed of light. Buy it once, print up as many as you need!

There's the general embroidery calendar, featuring some of my favorite designs from last year. . .

. . . and a special calendar I made with my daughter Jo to benefit our local animal shelter.

For both calenders I just showed the first 6 months. You'll see all the months if you click over to their listings in the shop.

Each calender is just $5 and you can print it as many times as you like.

Happy 2012!

Best,
Wendi

2012 Resolutions Update :-)

2012-01-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Ok - so one day in to the new year I don't have much to report. :-) But I did gather up my pattern drafting tools. The only one I needed to buy was that funny curved ruler. It's the Dritz Styling Design Ruler. If you want to get the same one you can find it here, but there are other brands too. You want one that has a French curve, a hip curve, and a straight edge.

I'll be checking in every Monday with updates on my 2012 New Year's resolutions and I'd love to have you all join me. How are you doing so far? :-)

Happy New Year!

Best,
Wendi

Happy New Year! And Happy Birthday!

2012-01-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Happy 2012! Shiny Happy World officially launched on January 1, 2011 - so we are one year old today. And, incidentally, it's also my wedding anniversary. I do like to start new adventures on New Year's Day. :-)

Do you like that birthday embroidery pattern? Would you like to have it? Then sign up for my mailing list and wait for your birthday. You'll get it for free on that day.

When I started Shiny Happy World I was posting new sewing and embroidery lessons every week. I designed the order of the lessons to work like a curriculum, so you could work your way toward more advanced skills and projects as you went along. That worked great for people who were reading the blog from the very beginning, but I'm not sure new readers were even aware of it.

You can always go digging back through the blog archives to get the lessons in order - but that's pretty tedious. You could use the links to lessons in every pattern and on the sewing and embroidery school pages - but that doesn't offer the skills in any kind of logical order. I wanted a way to let new readers have the experience of taking a systematic "class" in the skills they wanted to learn. And now I have it!

When you sign up for the mailing list, you can choose from two new FREE weekly lesson series: Sewing 101 and Embroidery 101. Just click the boxes by one or both of them and you'll start getting a weekly email directing you to a video sewing or embroidery lesson and a pattern designed especially to practice that new skill.

For those of you who are already on the mailing list, the easiest way for you to make the change is to wait for the next email you get from me. Go all the way to the fine print at the bottom of the email and click on "Update subscription preferences." That will take you to a page that allows you to sign up for one or both of these series - and also to choose what kind of information you'll receive from me in the future. Yes - I have different options there now too. If you do nothing you'll continue to receive a monthly round-up of all the new lessons and patterns at Shiny Happy World. OR you can update your preferences to specify just sewing, embroidery, and/or quilting news. OR you can choose to get information only about discounts and sales.

I know that sounds a little complicated, but I think you'll find it's actually really clear on the sign-up form. I just want to make sure every email you get from me is one you want to get. :-)

So if you haven't signed up for the mailing list, sign up now. How else can I send you a present on your birthday?

And if you're already on the mailing list, look for an email in your inbox today that will allow you to set your preferences and sign up for Sewing 101 and/or Embroidery 101.

Happy New Year everyone! Check in tomorrow for the first update on my New Year's resolutions.

Best,
Wendi

2011 Show & Tell

2011-12-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

1. Betty's beehive, 2. new doll, 3. pink bunny, 4. Scrappy Mug Rug 4 ~ Little Robot!, 5. AhH58EuCQAAlCuc, 6. Bunnies on the shelf, 7. bunnyjack1, 8. DSCF0072, 9. Finished Rainbow Girls beanbags, 10. DSC_1614, 11. DSC_1601, 12. His and Hers Beast Bags, 13. IMAG0819, 14. Raining Rainbows, 15. Get to Work Apron, 16. Needle book with embroidered cover

I thought it would be nice to end the year with a little mosaic showing just some of the things people made this year with patterns from Shiny Happy World. You can see more in the Flickr Sewing Group and Embroidery Group.

Happy New Year!

Best,
Wendi

Snow's Coming embroidery pattern

2011-12-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Solstice has passed and the days are getting longer, but we still have a lot of cold, snowy days ahead of us. So here's a snowy embroidery pattern for you to stitch on a cold winter night - preferably in front of a toasty fire with a warm beverage at your side.

The stitches are easy ones - mostly running stitch, backstitch and straight stitches for the snowflakes, with a handful of French knots thrown in for fun. The pattern has links to video tutorials for all the stitches used - and a link to a video showing you how to use applique with your embroidery, as I did for the bird and the branch. No time-consuming fill-stitches here! It's all easy outlines and you can finish the project in an evening - maybe two.

Purchase the pattern here and get stitching! This will take you to the new shop-in-progress. Sorry about the ugliness. :-)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Best,
Wendi

Shiny Happy Resolutions

2011-12-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

So far I've shared my personal resolutions for 2012 with you - I'm going to start drafting patterns and making clothes for myself, I'm going to tackle my UFO pile, and I'm going to learn to make amigurumi. I'll be posting my progress on these every Monday - noting progress made is a good way to start every week, no? And I invite you all to play along if you have your own resolutions you'll be working on.

So those are some of my personal goals for the year. But I have some big plans for Shiny Happy World too. Most of this work will be going on behind the scenes, but some bits and pieces will be trickling out as I go along. Here are just a few of my Shiny Happy Plans for 2012. . .

I'm working on a new shop. It'll be very similar to my Etsy shop, but it will have better searchability, the ability to put something in more than one category, and some other nice features. I've already started to link to the new shop for some items, but it's still ugly and incomplete. I hope to have it ready for a Grand Opening in the second half of January.
I'm working on a proposal for a new book. (You can find my first book here.) This one will be a sewing book for kids (girls and boys) and I'm really excited about it.
And finally - I have wanted to design fabric for as long as I can remember. This is the year I'm actually going to work on it. I already have a very clear idea of what I want a collection to look like and I'm excited to spend some time painting. I'd like to upload some of it to Spoonflower so I can have actual fabric to make things with, but ultimately I'd like to license the designs to a fabric manufacturer. I'll definitely be sharing this as I go, but I probably won't have time to start painting until February.

2012 is looking like an exciting year! Hope you all have fun plans too!

Best,

Wendi

Learn How to Make Amigurumi

2011-12-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

So far I've shared my 2012 resolutions to draft patterns and make clothes for myself, and tackle my teetering UFO pile(s). I've also decided that this is the year I will learn to crochet amigurumi.

I learned how to crochet as a kid, but I have trouble following patterns because I can never remember the names of the stitches I'm doing. So most of what I do is simple and flat. :-) No more! I'm venturing into 3D shapes with cuties like the mini monsters you see above. Aren't they adorable? There's a free tutorial here that looks great and it's what I'm starting with. I figure I can make a bunch of them to get a feel for different yarns and shapes.

I don't know where I'll go from there, but I'm hoping that by the end of the year I'll have progressed enough that I can tackle the awesomeness that is this Bob Ross. Happy little trees! Happy little clouds! Just thinking about him makes me smile. :-)

You can get the Bob Ross pattern here and lots of other cute ones here. Dwight Shrute! Wonder Woman! Oompa Loompas! My geek head is spinning with the possibilities!

I love the small size of amigurumi - it feels realistic to try to do at least one a month. But I'm also pretty enamored with this book full of patterns for larger crocheted softies.

So cute, no? You can buy the book here. It looks adorable! I'm not starting with these - oh no - but I hope to be there later in the year.

What new skill are you planning to learn this year? If it's sewing clothes for your kids, take a look at this Pattern of the Month series. And if it's learning to applique, check out this workshop starting January 1st and running for 6 months.

2012 is just around the corner!

Best,
Wendi

Tackle the UFO Pile

2011-12-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I shared one of my New Year's resolutions with you - drafting patterns and making clothes for myself. Today I'm sharing resolution #2.

Tackle the UFO Piles in My Sewing Room!

You all know what UFOs are, right? UnFinished Objects. Where do they all come from??!? It started out as a small basket. See it up there? It's got some doll clothes that need repair, a skirt that no longer fits my daughter but that she loves and wants me to remake in her size, an embroidered tea towel that just needs grommets added so I can hang it as a curtain, some vintage trim my daughter asked me to make into a belt, etc. You know the kind of things, right? No single project will take a ton of time, but there they sit. . . accumulating. . . until you have to add a larger basket. . .

. . . and then that's overflowing too and you start accumulating things in a pile on the floor. . .

. . . stacked really tall, of course, because otherwise it would really be three piles and you'd trip over them and be unable to vacuum up all the thread bits that constantly accumulate on the floor of your sewing room.

No more! I know it's not going to happen overnight, but over the course of the next year I want to get my UFO pile back into the nice, manageable small basket you see in the first photo. I promise myself that every week I will make some progress on the UFO pile. No matter how small! I know that small steps taken regularly add up to lots of finished work.

I'll share my progress every week - showing you what I've finished - and you can do the same. Who's with me? Please tell me I'm not the only one here with a mountain of unfinished projects mocking me every time I turn around, making me feel guilty for every new project I start. :-)

Best,
Wendi

Pattern of the Month Club - The Shirt Off Daddy's Back

2011-12-26T12:30:00.000-05:00

This morning I shared one of my New Year's resolutions - to get better at drafting patterns and making clothes for myself. I'd love for you all to join me! But if your own goals for the new year involve learning to make clothes for your kids, then I have a new class for you.

This is a new format for me - based on feedback from those who took this class as a two-month workshop last summer. You all are busy! You don't have time to pack a bunch of crafting into a few short weeks - or even a couple of months. You want me to spread things out a bit. I hear you! So this year you'll see a few Pattern of the Month Clubs. You'll get one pattern every month until the class is finished. Those of you I talked to said making one thing a month was doable - and they liked the idea of progressing from easiest to hardest, so that you're adding new skills every month and practicing old ones. Done! Here's the first Pattern of the Month Club. . .

The Shirt Off Daddy's Back! Learn to refashion men's T-shirts and dress shirts into skirts, shirts, dresses and aprons for girls. Some of the patterns work for women too - but they all work for girls.

You'll learn. . .

how to make a straight skirt from knit T-shirts or woven button-down shirts - no serger needed.
how to make those skirts with elastic or comfy yoga-style knit waistbands.
how to draft patterns for both gathered and fitted A-line skirts.
how to make a convertible skirt/tube top dress - with no itching under the tube top :-)
how to make an A-line dress out of a T-shirt or button-down shirt. (I provide a pattern for girls sizes 3-8.)
how to make a gathered half-apron and a full apron with an adjustable neck strap.
how to draft a pattern to make an easy, breezy summer sundress. Yes - you will draft a pattern and it will fit!

Every month you'll get an email with a downloadable PDF pattern AND a link and top-secret password to a companion video, taking you step-by-step through the entire construction of the garment.

All of these patterns will eventually be available for sale individually, but they'll end up costing a total of $69. When you sign up for the pattern of the month club you get them for $40 - plus they arrive magically in your mailbox without you having to do a thing. A friendly little reminder that this is a skill you want to learn. :-)

Sign up for the Shirt Off Daddy's Back Pattern of the Month Club here. Please note - this link will take you to a new shop I'm building. It won't be finished until later in January - so for now please ignore the ugly colors and incomplete product selection. It's going to be awesome (I'm bringing back the "shop by time needed" feature!), but right now it's not at all pretty. :-) Thanks!

Best,
Wendi

Learn How to Draft Patterns

2011-12-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hello all! I hope you had a terrific holiday weekend! This last week of the year always finds me thinking about my New Year's resolutions - and this year is no exception. :-) But this year I'm going to share my resolutions with you and invite you along for the ride. I've also got a few new things planned for Shiny Happy World that will help you out if your resolutions involve sewing, embroidery, or quilting. More on that later. For now - my first resolution. . .

I will learn how to draft patterns the right way - not just by the seat of my pants. :-) And not kids clothes - those are easy because kids don't like their clothes to fit too snugly and they don't have many curves. I mean drafting patterns for a real grown-up woman with real curves. I'm making clothes for myself!

I spent the last few months doing some research and I've finally settled on the book Design-It-Yourself Clothes by Cal Patch. The clothing looks (mostly) like stuff I might wear myself and her approach makes sense to me. I'm going to make my way through the book from start to finish - with a rough goal of making one garment every month.

Want to join me? I'll share my progress every month and you all can share too! I'll be making the first pattern in the book - a basic A-line skirt - in January. A-line skirts are really easy. I actually already have a pattern I drafted for myself - one that I like a lot - but I want to see how her technique differs. If you want to play along, here's what you need to do. . .

Buy the book.
Take a look at the introduction and buy any tools you'll need. She doesn't call for much - another reason I like her approach. :-)
Check your stash or buy some fabric to make your skirt.
Check back in January for progress reports.

I'm so excited to make some clothes for myself! I hope you are too! Check back tomorrow for resolution #2. I think it's one most of us can get behind. :-)

Best,
Wendi

Happy holidays!

2011-12-24T11:15:00.002-05:00

I hope you're all enjoying shiny, happy holidays!

Best,

Wendi

Free Zippered Pouch Pattern

2011-12-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's another day closer to Christmas - time for another bag you can use as wrapping! Get the free pattern for this zippered pouch here. I stitched a few monsters from the Monster Mash embroidery pattern on the sample you see on the cover - but at this point you'll probably want to just whip one up with some super-cute fabric. :-)

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

A Beastly Gift Bag

2011-12-20T08:00:00.001-05:00

If you're giving a little monster some books as a gift this year, why not wrap them in a beastly book bag? You can find the pattern here.

Hope you're enjoying the holiday season!

Best,
Wendi

Free Goody Bag Pattern

2011-12-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

You can whip up some easy peasy reusable fabric gift bags with the free pattern you'll find here. If you use a cute fabric and some ribbon you can whip up a batch in no time. If you fancy a little stitching time in front of the fire - try some of these Made by Joel designs on them.

I think they'd be great made up in black fabric and filled with black licorice for a little sack of "coal" to add to a stocking. :-)

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

12 Days of Christmas - Last Minute Gifts

2011-12-16T08:26:00.002-05:00

It's Day 12 of our 12 Days of Christmas series and today the focus is on last minute gifts.

This 2012 calendar is a terrific last minute gift to have on hand. It's a DIY prantable calendar (which means I can ship it after this Friday's deadline and you can get it at the speed of light). Buy one file for $5 and then print out as many copies as you need for stitchy friends, teacher gifts, neighbors, etc. These are very easy to assemble. Print it out. Cut each page once down the middle, clip the pages together with a small binder clip and you're done! Repeat as needed. Get the 2012 embroidered calendar here.

Jo and I also made a calendar just with dog and cat images - especially as a fundraiser for our local animal shelter. Jo stitched half the months and I stitched the other half. Can you tell who stitched what? I didn't think so - and Jo was so proud when she realized that! :-)

The calendar works exactly the same as the one above - and 100% of your money goes to help the Mitchell County Animal Shelter (in North Carolina) care for the many furry friends who come through their door every day. Get the 2012 animal shelter calendar here. And thanks!

How about a gift certificate? I love to receive them. Guilt free shopping! Woo hoo! They're in the shop in $10, $20, and $30 increments - but I'm happy to set up a custom one for you in any amount you like. Normally I send out handmade cards - but we're getting down to the wire here (and this is a post about last minute gifts) so I'd be happy to send a digital gift certificate instead. Don't worry - I'll make it cute! :-)

And finally - how about giving someone the gift of an online workshop? 24 hour access to a set of 20 online workshops for 6 full months sounds like a great gift to me! You can find more information about the workshops here and here. I'm one of the 20 instructors and in my workshop you'll learn to make that cute Peekaboo Bear quilt you see in the picture. Sign up here. Clicking this link will take you to the registration page on the STITCHED website - where you'll also find additional info.

One last reminder that the last day to ship physical items (kits, supplies, and ready-made items) is TODAY, December 16. All orders need to be received by noon EST in order for me to pack them up and get to the post office on time. After today that part of the shop will be closed until January 15. Get your supplies now! (Ooooh - one more gift idea! The Big Thread Bundle with a pack of Floss-a-Way bags to get a beginning stitcher all organized. Nice!)

Happy Friday!

Best,
Wendi

Peekaboo Bear Workshop - last day for free patterns

2011-12-15T12:30:00.000-05:00

Just a quick reminder - today is the last day to get 3 free patterns when you sign up for the STITCHED workshops.

You can find more information about the workshops here and here. In a nutshell, STITCHED is a collection of 20 online video workshops. The series runs for 6 months and you have 24 hour access to all the classes for the whole time! In my workshop you'll learn an easy machine applique technique and all the basics you need to make the simple quilt you see in the photo.

The workshops open on January 1, but registration is going on now. Everyone who registers by midnight tonight EST through the link here on my blog will get a free bundle of any three patterns from my shop.

Sign up now. Clicking this link will take you to the registration page on the STITCHED website - but don't worry. Through the wonders of modern technology, if you get there from my site I'll get a notification when you register. (I love living in the future!) That will allow me to send you a welcoming email - and ask you what you'd like for your free patterns.

This could be your kid! :-) Hope to see you in the workshop!

Best,
Wendi

12 Days of Christmas - Stocking Stuffers

2011-12-15T09:30:00.000-05:00

It's Day 11 of our 12 Days of Christmas series - and today the spotlight is on stocking stuffers. These are all quick and easy to make and the patterns are free.

Make this bookmark to put in a stocking or slip in a book gift. Get the pattern here.

These Snake Charmers are so much fun to play with - plus they're easy to make and use only scraps. Get the pattern here and make a horde of them. :-)

Five Stones is an old, old game that plays similar to Chinese Jacks - an 80s favorite. Get the pattern here.

Also - a quick reminder that the last day to ship physical items (kits, supplies, and ready-made items) is tomorrow, December 16. After Friday that part of the shop will be closed until January 15. Get your supplies now!

Happy Thursday!

Best,
Wendi

12 Days of Christmas - A Cozy Cover for Tech Gifts

2011-12-14T08:44:00.000-05:00

It's Day 10 of our 12 Days of Christmas series - and today the spotlight is on tech gifts. I'm talking MP3 players, tablets, iPhones, cameras, etc. You know what those gifts need? A handmade case! The Gizmo Cozy is a free pattern with instructions showing you how to fit it to any device. You can sew it by hand or by machine. You can embellish with embroidery, applique, beads, or nothing at all. It can fit items as small as a phone or as large as a laptop. I even had one Mom write to tell me she used the pattern to make a case for her daughter's insulin monitor! You can use this pattern to make a cozy for anything flattish. :-) Get the free pattern here and make a cozy case for those coveted tech gifts.

Happy Wednesday!

Best,
Wendi

2012 Cats and Dogs Calendar - all funds benefit our local animal shelter

2011-12-13T12:30:00.000-05:00

This is a project dear to my heart. My daughter wanted to do something to help raise money for our local animal shelter. I just happened to have recently designed some really cute embroidered dogs and cats and a 2012 calendar - and I decided to combine the two into one product especially to benefit our furry friends.

I enlarged the images from the Dog Embroidery Pattern. . .

. . . and the Cat Embroidery Pattern. I transferred the images to fabric, Jo and I divided them up, and we got busy stitching.

I stitched up half of them and Jo stitched the other half. The great thing is that when she saw the calendar all printed up - she couldn't tell which ones she had done and which ones were mine! Embroidery really is a great project for kids. :-)

This calendar works the same way as my regular 2012 calendar.

Step 1: print

Step 2: cut

Step 3: repeat as many times as you like until you have gifts for all your animal-loving friends.

I like to print them on cardstock. You'll probably get the best results with an inkjet printer. If your printer is cranky, just slide the PDF onto a flash drive and take it to your local copy shop for printing.

Cut them in half. Two months print on a single 8 1/2 x 11 sheet.

I clip mine together at the top with a small binder clip. It makes a handy hanging hook and allows me to reuse the top of the calendar when the month is over.

The calendar is just $5 and all of the proceeds will go to the Mitchell County Animal Shelter here in Mitchell County, North Carolina. You can buy it here.

And if you'd like to make a donation directly to the animal shelter - they have a donate button on their website. They are good people doing good work with almost no money - they are funded almost entirely by donations and I'm astounded by how many pets they save every year.

Have a great day everyone! Hug your pets!

Best,
Wendi

12 Days of Christmas: Kids Who Love Harry Potter

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's Day 9 of our 12 Days of Christmas series - and today the spotlight is on kids who love Harry Potter.

Every young wizard needs a cloak - and this post has a video showing you how to whip one up without a pattern. These are EASY! I made them with 20 kids in one hour and they loved them.

Your wizard might also like an owl. This is another pattern I designed to be especially easy. You can see lots of finished owls made by kids in this post. My daughter (then age 8) made the one you see on the pattern cover with no help from me. You can make this! Purchase the pattern here - just $4 today only. Tomorrow it will go back to $5 and something new will be marked down.

Also - a quick reminder that the last day to ship physical items (kits, supplies, and ready-made items) is this Friday, December 16. After Friday that part of the shop will be closed until January 15. Get your supplies now!

Happy Tuesday!

Best,
Wendi

12 Days of Christmas - Geeky Guys

2011-12-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's day 8 of our 12 Days of Christmas series and today the spotlight is on gifts for geeky guys. What's more geeky than an R2-D2 beanie? Absolutely nothing!

Today only - the pattern is just $4. This pattern works with The Basic Beanie pattern. You need them both - so that pattern is discounted today too.

Remember - these items are on sale today only. At 8 am EST tomorrow they go back to $5 and something new will take their place!

Also - a quick note letting you know that the last day to ship physical items (kits, supplies, and ready-made items) is this Friday, December 16. After Friday that part of the shop will be closed until January 15. Get your supplies now!

Happy Monday!

Best,
Wendi

Meet Holly the Elf and Mrs. Claus - new rag dolls

2011-12-09T12:30:00.000-05:00

I really enjoyed turning Karl into Frank and Vlad for Halloween. Then Jennie got me thinking about turning the basic rag doll pattern into a Mrs. Claus doll, which got me thinking about an elf doll - and they're finally finished!

First up - the pattern. If you already have the basic rag doll pattern, then all you need to do is click here to download some extra parts. You'll get a pattern for the elf hat, patterns to change the bare rag doll arms into long sleeves and hands, and a boot pattern with curly toes to replace the regular doll boot pattern. The construction is the same as for the regular dolls.

If you don't already have the doll pattern, you can buy it here. Every doll pattern purchased from now until Christmas will come with the extra PDF for Holly & Mrs. Claus.

Do you want to just buy the finished dolls you see on the pattern cover? I've got them in the shop! Holly is here and Mrs. Claus is here.

I also have one additional finished rag doll in the shop.

Her name is Becky Belle and she's as sweet as can be! I love her smile, her pretty pink highlights and her soft denim dress, and I just know the perfect girl is out there waiting for her. If that perfect girl is someone you know - you can buy Becky Belle here.

Want to see Holly and Mrs. Claus from head to toe too? Here's Holly. . .

. . . and here's Mrs. Claus.

I hope you like them!

Happy stitching - and happy holidays!

Best,
Wendi

12 Days of Christmas: Gifts for Stitchy Friends

2011-12-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's Day 6 of our 12 Days of Christmas series and today the spotlight is on your stitchy friends. Or friends who want to be stitchy. :-)

For a friend who's just getting started - I recommend the Super Stitch Kit. It has everything they'll need to start stitching right away - a blank tea towel, a hoop, a bundle of coordinated thread, pins, needles, nice sharp scissors, and a travel tin to keep the pointy things in. And the pattern of their choice! You can find it here - but there's only ONE left in the shop and I won't have them in stock again until January.

For beginning AND experienced stitchers, I recommend the Big Thread Bundle. It has a hand-picked selection of colors chosen because they look good together - dark, medium and light shades of every color in the rainbow, plus a nice array of neutrals. Today and this weekend only - I'll throw in a pack of Floss-a-Way bags with every Big Thread Bundle purchased.

This is the product I use to store my thread and it works great. There are 36 bags in the pack and 24 skeins of thread in the Big Thread Bundle - so you'll have some extra bags to use for any additional favorite colors you want to add to your palette.

And finally - in addition to some useful supplies - I'd like to recommend this gorgeous book. It's out of print now but you can find several used copies here. You can read my review here (and take a look at some of the lovely art). Here I'll just say it's an utterly inspirational book for anyone even remotely interested in embroidery.

One more quick reminder - there's just one Super Stitch Kit left in stock, and only 5 of the Big Thread Bundles. Once they're gone they will be gone until at least the middle of January. Get them now and make a stitchy friend happy. :-)

Happy Friday! And have a great weekend!

Best,
Wendi

A Playdate with Made by Joel - and a Giveaway!

2011-12-08T08:54:00.001-05:00

What do you get when you combine Joel's Free Holiday Gift Tag printable with my Free Goody Bag pattern?

This! A cute, reusable gift bag!

The Joel, of course, is Joel Henriques, the amazing dad who blogs at Made by Joel and author of Made to Play - a book showing you how to make tons of great, creative handmade toys.

Want to make some of these goody bags yourself? Click here to go to the tutorial on Made by Joel. They're quick and easy to stitch up and most of the designs are perfect for kid stitchers.

Want some that are already made? Then today might be your lucky day! I'm giving away five bags here. . .

. . . and Joel is giving away the other five on his site. (Playing together is fun!)

Leave a comment here to enter my giveaway. Then visit Made by Joel and leave a comment there to enter his giveaway!

We'll choose winners on Saturday morning and the bags will ship out on Monday.

Have a great day everyone!

Best,
Wendi

12 Days of Christmas: Kids Who Love Robots

2011-12-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's day 5 of our 12 Days of Christmas series - and the spotlight today is on gifts for kids who love robots.

On Sale Today Only at Shiny Happy World

All three robot embroidery patterns are discounted to just $4 - today only. There's the robot admiring the pretty daisy. . .

. . . the robot with the duck pull toys. . .

. . . and the robot driving the flashy red car.

Don't have the time to stitch these up before the holidays? I have the samples I stitched for the cover photography for two of them - and today only they'll ship for free. You can get the finished Duck, Duck, Robot here, and Beep! Beep! here.

Handmade Gifts from Other Awesome Shops
I love this robot amigurumi from Indigo Toy Box. It rattles!
How about this robot mousepad? It comes in green too!
This is just one in a collection of fabulous robot prints from John W. Golden.
This robot pillow is awfully cute too! You can get it (and prints and T-shirts) from Little Korboose.

So there you have it - some of my favorite gift ideas for kids who love robots! :-) Remember - the sale in my shop is just today. At 8 am EST tomorrow the patterns go back to $5 and finished items will no longer ship free. A new crop of sale items will take their place!

Check back at lunchtime today - I'm partnering with Made by Joel for a fun giveaway!

Happy Thursday!

Best,
Wendi

STITCHED Workshops - Your Questions Answered

2011-12-07T14:00:00.000-05:00

Hello all! Last week I announced that registration is now open for STITCHED - a collection of 20 video workshops taught by 20 different fiber artists. That quilt you see in the photo is what you'll learn in my workshop. :-) I've gotten a lot of emails with a lot of questions about how exactly these online workshops work - so here's some more info.

Registration is open now. Workshops open on January 1st. At that time you'll have access to all 20 workshops for 6 full months. You can do them in any order you want, at any time, day or night. That right there is my favorite thing about online workshops - I can do them in my jammies at whatever time is convenient for me. No driving. No babysitter. No having to be at a specific place at a specific time. I love it!

These are video workshops, so the lessons will primarily be in the form of videos. Most of the instructors will be breaking their project down into a series of videos - so that no one video is crazy long. My workshop, for example, is a series of seven videos. I love video lessons. It helps me so much to see the actual project being made in 3D instead of trying to figure out instructions from a book. I also love being able to rewind and watch the tricky parts as many times as I need to. :-)

So - it's mostly video. But every workshop also includes a PDF that you can print out and keep forever and ever. This PDF will include any pattern pieces, plus any additional info that would be best delivered in written form. In my workshop that will be a materials list, and a guide to what you'll learn in each step of the workshop, plus some tips and tricks for along the way.

Each workshop has its own online "classroom" where you'll find the link to download the PDF and the links to all the videos. You'll also find an area to chat with the instructor and all the other people currently taking the class. This is where you can ask (and answer) questions, share successes, etc. Nice!

So - registration is open now and the cost is $89. The workshops open on January 1 and will remain open for 6 months. During that time you can take as many or as few classes as you like. You can take them at any time that's convenient for you. You can work at your own pace. This is AWESOME! (Wouldn't this make a great gift?)

But wait - there's an extra little bonus I'm throwing in just for you guys. :-) Everyone who registers before December 15 through the link here on my blog will get a free bundle of any three patterns from my shop.

Sign up now. Clicking this link will take you to the registration page on the STITCHED website - but don't worry. Through the wonders of modern technology, if you get there from my site I'll get a notification when you register. (I love living in the future!) That will allow me to send you a welcoming email - and ask you what you'd like for your free patterns.

Please let me know if you have any other questions! You can leave a note in the comments or email me directly.

Have a great day!

Best,
Wendi

12 Days of Christmas: Aprons

2011-12-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's Day 4 of our 12 Days of Christmas series, and today the spotlight is on aprons. I've got discounted patterns, a free pattern, and FREE SHIPPING on a handful of already made aprons. Ready? We'll start with the Get to Work Apron. It's good for boys, girls, men and women and it's really easy to make - all straight line sewing! Today only the pattern is discounted - just $4. Get it here.

Don't have time to make your own? I have ONE that's already made in a cute tool-print fabric. It would fit sizes 4-7. You can see more details (and purchase it) here. It ships free today.

Here's a pattern for a patchwork apron you can make entirely from scraps. Today it's on sale for $4. Get it here.

Looking for an easier than easy apron pattern? This is it - and it's free! Get more details and the download here. And if you want the one that's pictured on the cover - today's your lucky day. You can get it here and shipping is free.

I have a handful of additional ready made aprons - all shipping free today only. This red and white gingham half-apron is from The Shirt Off Daddy's Back workshop (coming back soon in an exciting new format!). Get the finished apron here.

Finally - I have a small selection of full-body aprons (the pattern is coming next year). All of these fit boys and girls ages 5-8, have adjustable neck bands, and open and close with velcro at the sides instead of ties in the back, so kids can put them on and take them off "all by themselves." Also - they all ship free today. You can get the green with scottie dogs shown above. . .

. . . this fun tool print. . .

. . . this paisley print with a contrasting pocket. . .

. . . or this yellow print with blue beetles. Click on any of the links to see additional photos - including close-ups of the fabrics.

That's it! A whole slew of aprons for you - patterns to make your own and finished aprons ready to ship. Remember - the sale in my shop is just today. At 8 am EST tomorrow the patterns go back to $5 and a new crop of sale items will take their place!

Happy Wednesday!

Best,
Wendi

How to Recover Headphones - Tutorial

2011-12-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

Aren't my "new" headphones cute? They were sooooooo easy to make! Here's what I did.

The original foam covers on my cheapo headphones were disintegrating. Eeewww. And the hard plastic was sticking out. Ow.

I pulled off the foam covers and measured across the widest part of the ear piece and up over the sides a bit. Use that for the diameter of your circle.

I grabbed some fabric scraps and a bit of batting (so that's what I keep the teeny-tiny otherwise-useless bits of batting for!) and quilted the layers together. Nothing fancy - just some wonky freeform spirals.

Next, I cut it into a circle (using that measurement as the diameter) and bound the edges with some old bias tape I had (1/2 inch wide single fold). And when I say old I mean OLD. The price was on the package. 4 yds/39 cents. Thanks, Granny for giving me all your old notions! See - I'm using them!

I used a blunt needle (technically a tapestry needle) to thread some faux hemp cord through the channel that the bias tape made and left some good long tails sticking out.

As soon as you start to pull on those tails, the circle will start to cup up around the edges. Fit it over the earpiece and tighten the cords as much as you can. Tie it off in a knot, trim the ends, and voila!

No more painful headphones! Made from scraps in less than 20 minutes. You can't beat that with a stick!

Now that I can listen to my holiday music I'll go back to my holiday sewing. Mrs. Claus and a little elf girl are coming soon. The elf girl's shoes have pointy curled toes with bells on them! Fa la la la la. . .

Happy stitching everyone!

Best,
Wendi

12 Days of Christmas: For Kids Who Love Pirates

2011-12-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's Day 3 of our 12 Days of Christmas series, and today the spotlight is on gifts for kids who love pirates.

On Sale Today Only at Shiny Happy World

First up - the pattern for the Pirates vs. Ninjas Finger Puppets. Sew them by hand or by machine, made by kids of adults - either way these come together quickly and easily. The pattern also comes with a blank template so kids can design their own puppets after they make these guys.

Put some in a stocking - or put together a kit with all the supplies kids will need to make them themselves! It's a great gift to give when you'll be visiting Grandma's house and away from all their regular toys - something they can start playing with right away. Include this pattern, a couple of squares of white cotton fabric, a black marker, some colored pencils or crayons and a needle and thread. Easy peasy - and fun! Today only the pattern is just $4. Get it here.

You know what goes great with pirate and ninja finger puppets? A puppet theater with a pirate ship template! This one is free, fits in a doorway, and rolls up for easy compact storage. If you can sew a straight(ish) line, then you can make this is less than an hour. Really! Get the free pattern here.

For all you stitchers out there, here's an embroidery pattern for your little pirate's room. I've got you covered if your pirate's a girl too - the pattern includes an option for Hurricane Hattie, a girl pirate with wild pigtails and an eyepatch. :-) Today only, the pattern's just $4. Get it here.

Handmade Gifts from Other Awesome Shops
I'm not the only maker out there who loves pirates! Take a look at this lovely pirate ship wooden pull toy!

You can get it (or lots of other beautiful wooden toys) at Armadillo Dreams.

Or how about this Pirates vs. Ninjas Checkers Set from Goosegrease?

Here's an awesome Pirate Hideout that fits over a card table. Clever! You can get it from Miss Pretty Pretty.

This pirate-themed matching game from Love Monkey is pretty terrific.

And finally, take a look at this pirate adventure kit from Maya's Momma. It comes with a map, "gems" in a pouch, a key, a notebook, and more. Very cool!

So - some of my favorite gift ideas for little pirates! :-) Remember - the sale in my shop is just today. At 8 am EST tomorrow the patterns go back to $5 and a new crop of sale items will take their place!

Happy Tuesday!

Best,
Wendi

Show & Tell Time - Awesome Owl!

2011-12-05T13:00:00.000-05:00

Today I want to share with you a letter I got from a customer - a letter that put a huge smile on my face. :-) And pictures! She sent pictures!

Just wanted to let you know that your owl pattern was a big success at our house. My six year old son made his owl on a Sunday morning. He loves it and takes it everywhere. He likes to change her expression by tucking the eye disks under the flap, or leaving them out (depending on the owl's mood).

We used some polar fleece for the eye disks. It's a little bit of an "upgrade" from the felt, and we were pleased with the results!

I love that she sent photos too! I especially love this focused face while he sews on the button eyes!

And - of course - this proud one of him with his finished owl. :-) And - get this - they're planning to scale down the pattern to make holiday ornaments for his school friends. What a brilliant idea!

I love, love, love seeing kids sewing! Thanks so much, Emily, for sharing!

Best,
Wendi

12 Days of Christmas: Gifts That Are Cozy and Warm

2011-12-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's Day 2 of our 12 Days of Christmas series, and today I'm spotlighting gifts that are cozy and warm.

On Sale Today Only at Shiny Happy World

One of my very favorite patterns ever - Blockheads! These little guys are so much more than mere beanbags. Fill them with rice so you can microwave them and use them as little handwarmers. Slip a couple in your pockets on a cold and blustery day.

I like to mix some herbs and spices into the rice in each bag - so you can use them to play a blindfolded "guess the scent" game. My daughter LOVED that Montessori lesson so this was a special favorite way to play with hers. I used a wide variety of herbs and spices in her set so it was a good introduction to the art of cooking too. "You're right - that's thyme. That's what I put in corn chowder." and "Mmmmmm. Rosemary! That tastes so good mixed with lemon." It's also fun to match the scents to the different facial expressions - try peppercorns or mustard seeds in the Angry Guy. :-)

The beanie filling makes them stand up well (so they work well as dolls) and the variety of expressions are great for encouraging kids to come up with little stories for them. This pattern includes happy, very happy, chagrined, surprised, angry, and nerdy. I know nerdy isn't an emotion so much as a state of being - but I had to include him because he's been a favorite in every set I've ever made - and I've given a lot of these as gifts.

This may be one of the best toys I ever made for my daughter - hours and hours of ever-changing creative play, easily portable, and made with scraps. That's my kind of toy! :-) Today only - the pattern is on sale for just $4. Get it here. These would make really fun stocking stuffers!

Looking for a larger rice bag - one that would be appropriate for grown-ups? :-) I've got you covered there too.

My rice bag pattern is free - always. If you can sew a straight(ish) line, you can make this. Pair it with some bath salts or scented candles and some hot cocoa mix and you've got a nice little gift for someone who needs to pamper themselves a little. Get the pattern here.

Handmade Gifts from Other Awesome Shops

Soft-boiled eggs give me the heebie jeebies - but I'm tempted to give them another try just so I have an excuse to buy these adorable egg cozies.

Yokoo makes amazing hats and scarves - I especially love her big, chunky pieces - and this hat is one of the biggest and chunkiest. Love that crazy huge pompom!

Sometimes you want to get warmed up from the inside - and this "South of the Border" cocoa kit would definitely do the trick. The cocoa mix has a touch of cayenne pepper in it and the giant homemade marshmallows that come with the kit have swirls of dulce de leche running through them. Yum. . . .

So - a collection of some of my favorite toasty warm gifts. :-) Remember - the sale in my shop is just today. At 8 am EST tomorrow the Blockheads pattern goes back to $5. A new crop of sale items will take its place tomorrow morning!

Happy Monday!

Best,
Wendi

Introducing the Super Stitch Kit

2011-12-02T13:00:00.000-05:00

I've been planning this for a long time and kept having to put it off while I waited for some of the supplies to arrive - but they're finally all here! Introducing The Super Stitch Kit - everything you need to start stitching! Here's what you'll get. . .

a felt circle with three needles - standard is one embroidery needle, one sewing needle, and one quilting needle, but I'm happy to give you three embroidery needles if you ask
another felt circle with three pins
a pair of high-quality small scissors with finger holes big enough for grown-ups
a hinged tin box to hold your scissors, pins and needles. This is what I keep in my purse all the time. Mine also holds my current thread colors, a couple of bobbins of sewing thread, a thimble and a seam ripper. :-) It's the size of an Altoids tin.
a thread bundle (choose lights, mediums, darks or neutrals)
a 7" embroidery hoop
a white cotton tea towel - a nice large 28" square
one downloadable embroidery pattern - your choice

Start stitching yourself - or get a friend hooked on your favorite craft. The whole set is just $36 and it's in the shop now. BUT - most of my scissors were backordered so I only have two - for now.

A word about some of the supplies. . .

The embroidery needles are size 5. That's my go-to size that I use for just about everything.

The colors of the felt circles will vary - but they will always be cute.

The scissors are key. I spent FOREVER looking for just the right ones. They needed to be small enough to fit in the tin toolbox, nice and sharp so they'd cut thread with a clean (easy to thread) edge, and with large enough finger-holes for grown-ups to use. These are PERFECT. I'm not exaggerating when I say I've been looking for these scissors for years. I did a little Snoopy dance when I finally them. :-)

The embroidery hoop is my favorite kind. Bright colored smooth plastic with a nice fat screw for easy tightening. A little lip at one edge to help lock everything into place. A slightly curved edge to the inner ring that makes the crimp mark from hooping less extreme and easier to press out. I LOVE these hoops! Colors will vary.

The tea towels are nice and big - and easy to stitch. I use mine for drying my hands in the kitchen, but also for covering bread dough put to rise, wrapping bread in a bread basket, drying dishes, etc. They are awesome!

So - all my favorite stitching supplies in one handy bundle. Get yours now!

And have a great weekend!

Best,
Wendi

12 Days of Christmas SALE: Gifts for Babies

2011-12-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's Day 2 of our 12 Days of Christmas series - and today I'm spotlighting gifts for babies. First. . .

On Sale Today Only at Shiny Happy World

You can't have enough receiving blankets! They're perfect for using with a stroller or car seat, or tossing down for a quick diaper change. The pattern for this one is FREE - you can get it here. The bear stitched on the sample is the Anywhere Bear applique pattern, available here. Today only it's just $4.

You'd rather have one that's already made? How about this furry red one? It looks like it was made from the Pelt of Elmo and it's super soft. It's one I made for the book Sweet Booties and ~~it's available in the shop today with FREE US SHIPPING.~~ (Sorry - this blanket just sold. You can still make your own though! The pattern's free.)

Here's one more for the sewists out there. The Shiny Happy Bunny is a great first softie project to sew - and it's got no buttons or fancy trim so it's safe for even the youngest babies. The pattern is just $4 - today only. Get it here. For an extra sweet gift - make it from an old outfit from big brother or big sister. The pattern works for knits or wovens.

And now for my stitchy friends. The Prince of Bedtime is sure to bring sweet dreams. I love him framed simply in a hoop to hang on the wall. Get the pattern here - just $4 today.

Or how about these friendly bunnies? You can get the pattern here for $4. Or get the finished piece I made for the cover photography here - with FREE SHIPPING today.

Handmade Gifts from Other Awesome Shops

Holly at Chez Beeper Bebe makes the such sweet things - and this little softie is one of the sweetest. Get him here - and get him soon. She doesn't make many!

This little teether is really clever - with both hard and soft surfaces. The back of the ears is soft bamboo terry cloth - excellent for soaking up the incredible amount of drool a teething baby generates. :-)

I laughed out loud when I saw this print. So awesome! Get it here - you can choose from a bunch of different colors.

So - my favorite handmade gifts for babies. Remember - the sale in my shop is just today. At 8 am EST tomorrow all the patterns go back to $5 each, and the finished pieces will no longer ship free. A new crop of sale items will take their place on Monday morning!

Happy Friday!

Best,
Wendi

Registration is now open for STITCHED Workshops

2011-12-01T13:30:00.000-05:00

OK folks! I've hinted about this here and here - showing you sneak peeks of the project I designed for it. Today is the day for the big announcement! Registration is now open for STITCHED. What the heck is STITCHED? I'm so glad you asked! :-)

STITCHED is a collection of 20 online video workshops by 20 talented fabric artists. Each workshop provides you with high value and high content information to get you sewing, designing and creating 20 unique fabric art and sewing projects.

20 workshops by 20 different artists teaching 20 different projects for just $89! I'm so excited to be a part of this group. This is the project we'll be making in my class. I call it the Peekaboo Bear Quilt.

I designed this quilt especially for those brand new to applique. Is that you? Want to learn how to make it? Then join us!

My workshop is a series of 7 videos taking you step by step through every part of making this quilt - fabric selection, embroidering the faces, an easy peasy (and fast!) machine applique technique, piecing, basting, machine quilting, and binding. You can make a whole twin-sized quilt (like I did), a smaller wall-hanging, or a single block to make into a cute pillow.

But that's not all! Mine is just one of TWENTY online video workshops - and one registration gives you access to all of them, any time around the clock ~~for six whole months~~. BREAKING NEWS! Stitched workshops have now been extended through the end of the year! This is really a fabulous deal!

The workshops open on January 1, but registration starts today. And here's an extra little bonus I'm throwing in just for you guys. :-) Everyone who registers before December 15 through the link here on my blog will get a free bundle of any three patterns from my shop.

Sign up now. Clicking this link will take you to the registration page on the STITCHED website - but don't worry. Through the wonders of modern technology, if you get there from my site I'll get a notification when you register. (I love living in the future!) That will allow me to send you a welcoming email - and ask you what you'd like for your free patterns. May I recommend Bailey Bear for one of them?

He's the one who inspired the quilt pattern and it'd be really cute for a special someone to snuggle up with him under this quilt.

You can find more information about the online workshops here.

Happy stitching!

Best,

Wendi

12 Days of Christmas: Day 1

2011-12-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Time to deck the halls! Today we're talking holiday decorations - and I've got some swoony ones to show you. :-)

I love these screen printed beauties from Jane Foster.

And how about this Seuss-inspired one? I love the wonky stripes! You can find it (and other awesome stuff) at Good Wishes Quilts.

Of course - I have a free stocking pattern. :-) You can download it here. Use it as a base for all kinds of embroidery or applique work.

I've got an ornament pattern too. Download it here.

And here's a post showing fun ways to combine them, like this stocking with a mini stocking pocket on it.

I'm so in love with these teeny tiny felted boots. Adorable, no? Get them at Felt Story and then hang them on your tree.

How about some garland for your tree too? There's a great tutorial for this fun twisted felt garland at Purl Bee.

It's not new, but I've loved these Martha Stewart gumdrop guys ever since the first time I saw them. Get the instructions here.

Like these cuties all bundled up in snowsuits? You can buy a kit to make them here.

And, of course, there's an embroidery pattern in the shop for some Christmas baubles. For ornaments you can frame them up in tiny embroidery hoops. . .

. . . or in these frames. Or you can stitch them on some dinner napkins or tea towels to add some holiday cheer to your dinner table and kitchen. Or stitch them on a mini tote (free pattern here) for some fanciness under the tree.

Lots of great holiday goodies. Have fun!

Best,
Wendi

Meet Becky! And thanks! And a peek at December!

2011-11-30T08:54:00.001-05:00

First - I want to thank you! Many, many, MANY thanks to all of you who shopped in my store this weekend and all year! This happy little business has been a dream of mine for a long time - and you all are helping to make it come true. Every single purchase you make makes a difference. And not just to me!

Today I want to introduce Becky. She has worked at my local post office for the last 50 years! Yes - 50 years! Actually - she IS my local post office. It's a small place. :-)

This is the entire inside. I love the old PO boxes - aren't they gorgeous?

And this is the outside. It sits right next to a river and my daughter likes to play outside while I ship packages.

There's a newer, more modern branch "in town." It's close to the grocery store and probably more convenient. But I always go to Becky. She learned my name the first time I went in, she always has a basket of candy out, and she calls me when I get a package. She worries that her tiny branch will close - especially with all the talks lately about the financial woes of the postal service. She has a quota she has to meet - and she thanks me for each and every package I ship. I wouldn't have anything to ship if it weren't for you - so today I thought I'd pass her thanks on and add it to mine.

THANK YOU!

And now. . . on to December. I can't believe tomorrow is December 1! I've got some fun things planned for the month. Daily swoons will be replaced with themed daily gift guides - things you can make and things you can buy.

There will be a few new patterns and tutorials.

Remember the Halloweenification of Karl and the ragdolls? I'm working on something similar for Christmas - remaking the basic ragdoll as Mrs. Claus and also as an elf. I'll also be attempting a Karl as Santa makeover. And maybe Karl as an elf too? We'll see how they turn out. . .

Everyone who has been asking (and asking, and asking - sorry it's taken me so long!) about quilting - I'm putting everything together for a couple of block of the month clubs. Yay! I think you're really going to like the designs I have planned.

Oh - and registration opens tomorrow for an online quilt workshop I'll be doing as part of the STITCHED workshop in January.

So lots of good things coming your way - in December and in the new year.

Thanks again - you all are fabulous!

Best,
Wendi

Holiday Sale Starts Today - Buy 2 Get 1 Free and Free Shipping!

2011-11-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

I decided to start my holiday sale a couple of days before the crazy madness sets in - so you can get a jump on things if you're so inclined. If you're in more of a "wait until the last minute" kind of mood, then hold out until just before midnight on Tuesday. That's when the sale ends. Specifically - at midnight EST on Tuesday November 29.

I'm actually running two sales - one for physical products and one for digital - so that EVERYTHING in the shop is discounted somehow. Here are all the details. . .

All digital products - that's sewing patterns, embroidery patterns, and the 2012 calendar - are Buy 2 Get 1 (of equal or lesser value please) Free. No special codes to enter. Just let me know in the Message to Seller field when you check out what pattern (or patterns) you'd like for free. That's right - I said patterns. Plural. Buy 2 get 1 Free. Buy 4 Get 2 Free. Buy 6 Get 3 Free. You get the picture.

Most of my patterns take an afternoon (or less) to make, so you still have plenty of time for holiday crafting.

I'm offering Free Shipping (US only) on all physical products. That's all kits, thread bundles, stabilizers, and transfer pens. That also includes all finished samples. Yep! Looking for something already made? I have several things in the shop. These are all one-shot items, so you'll have to take a look to see what's available, but as of this posting there are a handful of children's aprons, two finished Karl dolls, one rag doll (her name is Becky Belle), a couple of Huggable Blockheads, and one extra cool receiving blanket that looks like it was made from the pelt of Elmo. :-o

There are also several embroidered pieces that you could quickly sew up into something else (tote bag, pillow, sachet, etc.), or simply frame in an embroidery hoop. Remember - there's a video here showing you how to do that. It takes 5 minutes and uses no glue.

To get free shipping you'll need to enter the coupon code GOBBLE at checkout. And remember - the samples are all one of a kind. If you see something you want, don't dawdle. It may not be there when you come back. :-)

So that's it! Everything in the shop is on sale! Physical stuff is free domestic shipping - use coupon code GOBBLE. Digital patterns are Buy 2 Get 1 Free - no code, just let me know what you want. Sale ends at midnight EST on Tuesday November 29. Shop now and you can do some full-belly crafting tomorrow afternoon. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Best,
Wendi

Daily Swoon: Asher Jasper

2011-11-23T07:58:00.001-05:00

Asher Jasper does the most beautiful needle felting I've ever seen. I mean - look! Look at this lovely set of Three Bears! You guys know I'm usually all about the color - but I'm in love with the natural hues of these guys.

She does color too. I love this set of baby animals with bells inside.

And this set of six royals. Love the Frog Prince in there! And the egg carton packaging is so cute!

Take a look at her shop - every single thing is lovely.

Happy Wednesday!

Psst! Be sure to check back at lunchtime - I have a big sale announcement!

Best,
Wendi

Gift Certificates in the Shop!

2011-11-22T12:34:00.001-05:00

Just in time for holiday shopping - I've added gift certificates to the shop!

Here are the nitty gritty details. . .

You'll find listings for $10, $20, and $30. If you want a different amount just let me know and I'll set one up for you.
They are only redeemable in my shop. NOT other Etsy shops.
They are good on anything in the shop - including shipping.
They are not returnable or redeemable for cash.
They never expire.

Now here's the best part. You all know I'm big fan of digital items delivered at the speed of light. But not for gift certificates. Gift certificates should be a delightful surprise you get in the mailbox. A special something hidden among the bills. So your gift certificates will be hand written, in a handmade card, using paper I painted. Colors and papers will vary, and I'll ship them for free anywhere in the world.

Are you ready for the big shopping weekend? I intend to stay home in slippers and comfy pants, stitching in front of the fire and shopping at my favorite indie shops online while I nibble on Thanksgiving leftovers. Jo and I are working on a special calendar to raise funds for our local animal shelter - I'll be sharing that with you soon!

Best,
Wendi

Daily Swoon: Jill McDonald

2011-11-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've been a fan of Jill McDonald for years. She designs for Land of Nod and Pottery Barn Kids. She's an illustrator for Barefoot Books and Peaceable Kingdom. And now she has an Etsy shop with wall art, canvas growth charts, and more. I especially love this one of knights, castles and dragons! Want to see some detail?

Fabulous, no? Go check out the rest of her shop! She's having a sale right now - use code TADAMERRY for 20% off your order! Visit here for more details about the sale.

Happy Tuesday!

Best,
Wendi

2012 Printable Calendar - Embroidery

2011-11-21T11:51:00.001-05:00

Looking for inexpensive gifts for some stitchy friends? Look for further!

Step 1: Print.

Step 2: Cut

Step 3: Repeat as many times as needed until you have gifts for all your friends.

So that's $5 for as many calendars as you want to print. They're in the shop right now. Friends, family, teachers, the helpful ladies at your local fabric store, strangers you meet on the street - give them all a calendar filled with embroidered cuteness.

Here are a few more details. . .

Two months print on each page - so the finished calendar is 5 1/2 inches wide and 8 1/2 inches tall.

I clip all the months together at the top with a small binder clip from the office supply store. It's neat and tidy and also makes a handy hanging loop. You can punch a hole instead, if you like.

Here are January through June. And July through December.

I tried to fit some seasonal images in there, without them necessarily being tied to only a specific holiday. So you'll find snowflakes in December instead of Christmas or Hannukkah. The Pirate Poster is in September for National Talk Like a Pirate Day - of course. :-)

These should print very nicely on any home printer (especially an inkjet printer). If your printer is too cranky for anything except printing up the occasional recipe or receipt, simply load the file onto a flash drive and take it to your local copy shop. It won't cost much at all and you won't be tempted to chuck your printer out the window. (Can you tell I've had some bad luck with printers?)

That's it! Print, cut, and give. The 2012 Printable Calendar is in the shop now.

Here's to a shiny, happy 2012!

Best,
Wendi

Daily Swoon: Little Nore Cuteness

2011-11-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Little Nore has lots and lots (and lots) of cute things - but I've been on a bit of a cat-embroidering kick lately, so her cat brooches especially caught my eye. I especially love this brown one. I've had many, many cats in my life - but never a brown one. They've all been black cats or gray tabbies with white blotches. Anyway - check out Little Nore's shop. It's not all cats! There are some really cute little girls too. I especially like this bandit.

Hmm. . . I wonder why? :-)

Happy Monday everyone!

Best,
Wendi

Free Stocking Pattern + Free Ornament Pattern = Fun Handmade Goodness

2011-11-18T11:30:00.000-05:00

So. You have the free Swell Stockings pattern and the free Neato Ornaments pattern. They're fun on their own, but look what you can do when you mix them together!

We'll start simple. Sew some rickrack onto the ogee and sew the ogee to the stocking. If you want to get fancy you can run a line of stitching from the top point to make it look like it's hanging. This stocking will take maybe 20 minutes to make and it's very easy for a beginner.

Here's another super simple one - and one of my favorites. Stitch the little ornament-sized stocking to the regular sized stocking but leave the top unstitched. Now you have a stocking with a stocking-shaped pocket on it, perfect for holding a little Pez dispenser or a couple of lollipops or a small toy. Cute!

You don't have to limit yourself to just one felt applique. For this stocking I cut out three tree triangles from the ornament patterns, stitched them to the stocking with a little swaggy zigzag action, then added random buttons. A forest of decorated trees!

You can fit exactly five of the large ornament circles in a stack up the side of the stocking. Lay them in place, stitch one row of stitching up the middle, and you're done.

Here's a variation with a more well-defined stripe. Instead of simply stitching up the middle of the dots, I laid a strip of satin ribbon down the center and then stitched over it. Easy peasy!

Forget about felt applique! For this one I didn't sew down the big dots - I just used one as a pattern. I traced around it (randomly scattered over the stocking) and embroidered the circles with split stitch in white thread. Doesn't it look minty fresh?

And then there's this beauty! The big ornament circles make great eyeballs, no? The black strip for the mouth is a bit of satin ribbon, and the teeth are simply felt triangles tucked behind the ribbon before stitching.

And now - my favorite. I used the big circles from the ornament pattern - and Ed Emberley's Picture Pie: A Cut and Paste Drawing Book. Those three birds are straight out of the book - and it's filled with other cool pictures too, all made from circles.

I'd love to see what variations you all come up with! Get the ornaments pattern here and the stocking pattern here. And then please post your finished projects to the Shiny Happy Sewing Group so everyone can see and swoon!

Have a great weekend everyone! Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

Daily Swoon: Cookies for Santa

2011-11-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Last year my family spent a month in Japan. Everywhere we went, young schoolgirls who saw Jo would squeal "kawaii!" It means cute - and she got more squeals if she waved and said hello to them in Japanese. Well folks - I squealed like a Japanese schoolgirl when I saw this super cute pattern from Mollie of Wild Olive. Kawaii!

The pattern has each cookie individually and the image of the plate full of them. Get the pattern here.

Check back at lunchtime for some more holiday fun. I'll show you some easy ways to combine the FREE stocking pattern and the FREE ornaments pattern for some super cute stockings.

Happy Friday!

Best,
Wendi

Neato Ornaments - FREE Pattern!

2011-11-17T11:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I gave you a pattern for a good, basic holiday stocking. Today it's felt ornaments. (Psst! Come back tomorrow and I'll show you how to use the two patterns together in some really cool ways!)

But now. . . ornaments. The pattern (click here to download) includes some really basic shapes - a tree, a stocking, an ogee, and two circles. The fun comes with what you do with these basics.

Add rickrack. (Boy - do I love rickrack or what?)

Add buttons!

Add fancy vintage trim!

Layer them together with a bit of really simple embroidery!

Don't feel like you're tied to traditional colors. I love these yellow and orange ones! (Especially nice too for folks who celebrate solstice.)

Download the free pattern. Gather up your tiny scraps of trim, your odd beads and buttons, your little bits of yarn - and have fun! These shapes are really simple and fun for kids to play with too. Put on some Christmas carols, serve up some cookies, and let them sew the rickrack on with the machine (nice easy straight lines). They - and you - will have a blast. I promise.

And don't forget to come back tomorrow for the best part - combining the stockings and ornaments in really inventive ways. :-)

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi

Daily Swoon: Stitch Organic by Betz White

2011-11-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

Have you already seen the Stitch fabric collection from Betz White? No? Then you're in for a treat! The Fat Quarter Shop is carrying the whole collection and I LOVE IT!
It's available in two colorways - Thimble (my favorite) and Pincushion (also gorgeous).

All the prints are inspired by textiles - knitting, weaving, embroidery, quilting, etc. - and I think they're all terrific. But this one. . .

. . . this one I want to make into a simple A-line skirt and embroider right over the design with my own chain stitches for some lovely texture. Wouldn't that be gorgeous?

Happy Thursday!

Check back at lunchtime for another free pattern - holiday ornaments easy enough to sew with young kids.

Best,
Wendi

Swell Stockings - FREE Pattern!

2011-11-16T11:30:00.000-05:00

Planning to make any holiday stockings this year? Here's an easy peasy pattern - and it's free! Click here to download.

The pattern is for a basic stocking made from felt and takes less than an hour to make. But (of course) you'll want to fancify it up a bit. :-) The one on the pattern cover just has a bunch of inexpensive pearly buttons stitched on it - with the thread tails visible.

See?

Or use just a handful of buttons in a vertical stripe.

Beads are always nice - and beaded trim is super easy. You'll still finish this one in under an hour.

This one has a strip of feather boa across the top. Ooh la la!

How about some rickrack? A couple of bands across the top are nice. . .

But vertical stripes are good too.

For this one I cut some dots out of felt (traced around a quarter for the size) and then laid them out and embroidered lines between them.

And here's one with fancier applique (still easy). I used the Anywhere Bear pattern - but any pattern would work. How about embroidering on a stocking? One of the puppies or kitties would be really cute! So would one of the Rainbow Girls! Or one of the birds from the Bird Sampler! And did you know you can turn any embroidery pattern into an applique pattern?

So there you have it - a bunch of swell stockings! Download the pattern and make one this year.

Tomorrow - ornaments!

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi

Daily Swoon: Knitted Friends

2011-11-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Such a cute puppy, no? I found him at Yarn Miracle on Etsy. If you knit, you can buy a pattern. If you don't, you can buy one already made. Perfect! She has lots of other critters too - cats, bears bunnies, birds, foxes and more. Take a look!

Happy Wednesday!

Best,
Wendi

Organize Your Sewing Bobbins

2011-11-15T11:30:00.000-05:00

You know what that is? It's a bobbin full of thread clipped to the thread it goes with. Genius, no?

Here's how they work. See the little plastic doodad in the picture? That pops into the hole in your spool of thread. It's fits snugly (won't fall out) and still leaves the hole free for the spool to fit on the spool-holder on your machine. The bobbin snaps into the doodad and everything stays together. It's magic, I tell you!

Let's flash back to several years ago when my daughter was a baby. I loved sewing for her and I did most of my sewing at night, after she had gone to bed. At night - with artificial lights - the worst situation for trying to figure out which dang bobbin goes with which spool of thread. Then I found these little thingies called Handibobs. I bought a pack, loved them, bought some more, used them. I wanted some more, but the store stopped carrying them. I looked and looked and couldn't find them anywhere (and also couldn't remember what they were officially called or who made them, which didn't help). I gave up and just tried to make the most with what I had. I brought thread to classes I taught and people saw the bobbin clips and asked what they were and where they could get some. I always had to say I didn't know and that I thought they must have been discontinued. Until the last time I taught a class. I knuckled down and dug through the internet until I FOUND THEM. And I ordered enough for every spool of thread I owned - plus a few extras.

I don't know why the major sewing stores (I'm looking at you Jo-Annes and Hancock!) don't carry these because they're amazing. And every sewist who sees them in use immediately understands how awesome they are. But they don't carry them - so I do. :-) Click here to find them in my shop!

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi

Daily Swoon: Cheerful Birds

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's a gloomy gray morning here, but this pillow full of colorful birds makes me want to sing. So cute! It's available on Etsy at Sukan Handmade Design. There are lots of other color combinations (as well as other great styles) but I love this jumbled burst of color. :-)

Happy Tuesday!

Best,
Wendi

Organizing Embroidery Thread

2011-11-14T11:30:00.000-05:00

Way back in March I wrote a newsletter post and then a blog post about how I organize my embroidery thread. I had tried a few different methods - but none really gave me exactly what I was looking for so I asked you all for your advice. Wendi from Sew Cat Sew had a genius approach I had never tried before - and I pounced, with a tiny variation of my own because I couldn't find the exact product she mentioned at any of the sewing or craft stores in my area.

Each color thread goes in its own ziplock bag. I couldn't find the special bags Wendi used, so I just used snack-sized ziplocks from the grocery store. I punch a hole in the bag with a regular hole punch, then I write the DMC # on the bag with a fat Sharpie.

I put all the same colors together onto a binder ring (available at any office supply store). I have separate rings for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, white and off-white, black and gray. I dump all the bundles into a pretty basket. Easy peasy.

When I choose all the threads for a project, I pull them off their rings and create one ring with everything I need for that project. This makes it super-portable, which I love.

I realized I was constantly pulling off the same colors over and over again, so I took a good hard look at my enormous thread collection and created a ring with all my favorite lights, mediums, darks, and neutrals (the inspiration behind my new thread bundles, by the way). Now I start here and only pull from the other rings when I need something outside my normal range.

There was still one slightly annoying problem. Even though I wrote big, and with a nice fat black marker, the numbers on the baggies were sometimes difficult to read at a glance - especially if there were threads visible behind the number, which is usually the case when they're all ringed together.

So I went back to Wendi's note and found the baggies she used. Floss-A-Way. They have a handy little white area to write on. The bags are smaller (and therefore easier to schlepp around). And the holes are already punched. Handy! All of that makes them totally worth the small amount I paid for them. The shipping cost more than the bags! Grrr. . . I hate that.

But now they're in the shop for you to buy too - with reasonable shipping. :-)

Do you know how I decide what kinds of supplies to carry in my shop? It's what I can't buy locally. I live in a really rural area. I drive over an hour to the nearest craft and fabric stores and I only make that trip once a week. If I can't get it when I go in to town I have to order it online and I HATE wading through the big stores' unwieldy websites. Most of the online independent fabric stores (which I love, and love to support) carry few, if any, notions, so I decided to carry them myself. I've heard these baggies are available at Jo-Anns, so if you have one of those near you, by all means buy them there and save yourself some shipping. But I've looked for them at Hancock's, Michaels, and AC Moore and none of them had any idea what I was talking about. So here they are in my shop!

Tomorrow I'll introduce another organization supply - one that revolutionized my thread/bobbin organization. But that's a whole other story. . .

Happy stitching!

Best,
Wendi

Daily Swoon: Adorable Coin Purses

2011-11-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Take a look at just two of the adorable coin purses available at Misala Handmade on Etsy! She's got birds, bunnies, fish, sheep, piggies, whales - lots and lots of cute animals in bright colors. You can see the whole collection here.
Happy Monday!

Best,
Wendi