Halloween Hang-ups

I promised I would be back with photos of my freestanding lace Halloween ornaments...and here they are...aren't they fabulous?!! I have been having so much fun working on these machine embroidered ornaments - and this is just a small selection...there are 20 different ornaments in this digitized Halloween Lace collection by Anita Goodesign (this is an older and harder to find collection from 2007) and I have been working on them in an assortment of colors. If you read my blog yesterday, then you know these are done on an embroidery machine...using digitized designs, the machine embroiders the ornaments on water-soluble stabilizer - once the design is completely stitched, you put it in water and the stabilizer dissolves, leaving you with a beautiful piece of lace made completely of embroidery thread. These spooktacular ornaments are larger in size most measuring over 4" x 4" and would be perfect for decorating a Halloween tree, wreath, or garland...and they look fabulous hanging in a window with light shining through them! If you happen to have an embroidery machine, I hope you will try making some of these detailed decorations yourself...but for those of you who would like purchase some that are ready to hang, I have a good assortment listed in my Etsy shop...

These ornaments stay looking great for years and can be pressed with a hot iron and/or starched at any time to keep them sturdy and flat.

I can't wait to start decorating our home for Halloween/autumn - I need to get my seasonal cross stitch designs exchanged...and some of these spooky ornaments will definitely make my ornament tree stand out! Do you decorate you home for the seasons?? - I would love to hear some of your fall/autumn decorating ideas...

Oh...one more thing...for my dear friends and students who know the "bat story", yes, there is a bat ornament! :-)

Autumn Leaf Ornaments

I managed to finish quite a few machine embroidered lace ornaments over the last couple weeks...if you have followed my blog for quite some time, then you know I make these to slip inside cards, tie on packages, and for seasonal decorations. These have been so popular, I decided to make even more to put in my Etsy shop...and not only did I make additional snowflakes (which are always in demand), but I made some autumn leaves...and a bunch of Halloween motifs. The autumn leaves and snowflakes are already listed in my Etsy shop and the Halloween ornaments will be posted very soon! These ornaments are made on my embroidery machine...and are technically called "free-standing lace"...they are made entirely of thread!

For those of you not familiar with an embroidery machine, here is a little idea of how these autumn leaves are made - using digitized designs, the machine embroiders the ornaments on water-soluble stabilizer...once the design is completely stitched, you put it in water and the stabilizer dissolves, leaving you with a beautiful piece of lace made completely of embroidery thread. I like to put a piece of ribbon through the hanger on each leaf or snowflake before placing it in a card or on a gift. Each large motif can take anywhere from 45 minutes to well over an hour to make, so I usually set up my machine and let them embroider while I am working on various other chores in my studio...the larger and more detailed the design, the longer they take to embroider. In the photos you can see a selection of my embroidered leaves...the size of the maple leaf is 3.91" x 3.93" and the size of the oak leaf is 2.82" x 3.94". Many digitizers offer freestanding lace designs for machine embroidery (just do a google search), but if you are interested in these particular leaf designs, they are designed by Criswell Embroidery & Design...you can purchase the digitized designs from this designer at your favorite quilt shop or download them from their website.

I will be back to post again soon with photos of the Halloween ornaments...they are truly spooktacular!

Hearts & Snowflakes

Machine Embroidered Faux Tatted Hearts

Now that I am feeling much better, I have been playing catch-up with all things Blue Ribbon Designs...and one of the very few creative endeavors I can pursue while working at my desk is machine embroidery. My sewing table is only a few feet from my desk in my studio, so I am able to set-up and run my embroidery machine while I work at the computer. I have had many requests for more machine embroidered lace snowflakes, so I wanted to get a few sets put together for my Etsy shop...and with Valentine's Day right around the corner, I have been enjoying making machine embroidered motif and faux tatted hearts! I have actually been working on three different styles of machine embroidered hearts - motif hearts, faux tatted hearts, and faux tatted hearts with a pecot edge. Each heart measures just under 4" square...and is completely made of embroidery thread. I worked with several shades of red and pink - and added a ribbon hanger to each (which can be easily removed) so they can be tied to hang in a window or on an ornament tree...and these hearts would be great for scrapbooking, for embellishing a valentine card, for a gift tag, or for inserting in a valentine as a gift. I have listed quite an assortment of snowflakes and hearts in my Etsy shop....

Machine Embroidered Motif Hearts

Machine Embroidered Faux Tatted Hearts with Picots

Machine Embroidered Snowflakes

Although I have an overwhelming business to-do list right now, I do have some great sewing/quilting projects ready to go...I absolutely love fabric for Valentine's Day and just went into my fabric stash and pulled yardage of cute reds and pinks for a few fun ideas. Now I just have to make the time...