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Creativity is not limited

I have been working a lot for my baseball clients and I haven't had much time to do anything other than that.  One of my clients asked me to do a Banner for Him.  For a softball team and I thought maybe you will like seeing what I did.  

The team is the Bandits. 

I digitized the logo.  The softball team and embroidered it folding my fabric  by four and centered the logo on the top. 

The logo took a good 1 1/2 to embroider out and while the logo was being run I was working on the design for the softballs.  This banner is made to be reusable so next year when the new kids come and play all you have to do is make new soft balls. 

I did 12 softballs and embroidered the name of the players.  When I finished the balls.  I didn't know what to do next. 




 On the Bandit Logo the softball had a like lines depicting the movement of the force or wind behind it. 
Taking a chance.  I started to place the designs all over the banner.  I wasn't sure if it would come out. I took a chance at randomness and a chance on different colors to depict movement. 

 Like force behind the ball as it is being thrown. 

This is what it looked like.  I placed the black Velcro on the center of the balls and on the  banner.   When I was in the process there is an unsureness of not knowing if it will come out like you see it in your head. 


  When I put the balls on the banner there was an excitement because it really looked like the balls were being thrown into motion from different directions. 

I really love how it looks. 

If you are creative its not limited to only one thing.   I have found that creativity is the highway to many roads.

  Sometime the journey is the best

part of traveling.  

Longarm Practice

Longarm Practice

 

 

When we see Longarm Quilting we only see the beautiful clean work of the quilter.  Not the process of practice that exposes the immature skill. 

 

When I got my machine, which was a Gammill Statler Sticher, I was intimidating.  It consumed my room and the money invested into the machine brought a sense of overwhelming impact. It took me time to decide to start practicing on it. 

 

 Especially when I did get on the Machine my work look like kindergarden writing not that beautifull quilting that inspired me to get a machine.  Some how I though the machine had the magic...heheheee..

 

I saw on YouTube a longarm quilter who just inspired me to play on the machine, regardless of my fear, ugly stitches, sloppy curves, and not even being able to make a straight line.  I was inspired.   

 

So I decided to start a YouTube account and document my practice.  

 

 I didn't know anything  about tension, stitch size, what regulated stitch was, continuous stitch, or how to sit on the machine. 

 

 

 

 

 

I recorded once or twice a week and practiced only 30 minutes a couple of time in the week. With in four week with maybe 6 hours worth of practice for the month.  My pebbles improved and confidence started to come into this longarm experience.  Every time I got on the machine I learned something new.  What sitting position was most comfortable, thread that looked the best, stitch length, and much more.  I also learned to be accepting of  the process. It's okay to not do perfect stitches sometimes.  It is practice.

 

 

 

 

  Growing in a new skill is never easy, but each step you take, will reveal the skill maturing. 

 

 

Quilts with Embroidery

Embroidery on Quilts

I did this quilt for one of my clients this is a kind of Family Tree Quilt.  I did the embroidery work for the quilt my clients mother-in-law quilted it on her home machine.  

My client was in the military and asked if I could embroider all the places they have traveled and special events in their life.  

I embroidered 40 little squares for her and also did the Circle of life Center piece.  This piece took about 14 hoops to accomplish the circular pattern.  It had all the dependence names which I though was a cool idea.  She came to me wondering can you do this and honestly I didn't know if I could until I started working on the square.

I recommend to embroider the larger lettering in Step Stitch.  Quilts are used and washed you don't want thread to fray.  If the lettering is small  Satin Stitch will work and not fray.    Also my favorite Tear-away stabilizer you don't want the weight of cut-away stabilizer and cut-away will create an outline around the design and it will be visible as you look at the top.

All the embroidery work should be done before you start quilting.  Also the least amount of quilting on the embroidery the better.  

Embroidery work is expensive in regular store front businesses each small 4 X 4 they wanted to charge my client $15.00 a square and just to make a template for the Circle of Life they wanted to charge her $60.00 for set up not even including the embroidery work.  If your paying for the work.  Allow the work to be the beauty of the quilt.  

3-D Design

Embroidering Hat

With Foam

I have a PR600 and I got a great deal on my machine.  Due to the great price I receive no training and one of the most difficult processes for me to learn is the Hat hoop. 

This is my Hoop frame.Their are teeth on the frame and I use tear-away stabilizer for hats.  I got a hug roll its worth buying.  I have had the roll for about 6 years and still haven't even gone through half of it.   It is already the height it needs to be, you just cut the width.  It saves time and you never know when you will get an order of 30 hats from a client.

Each hoop is different and this is how mine works. 
 On my frame you pull the lip from under the hat and slide it under the guide which is the picture on the left right under my thumb you can see the guide. 

I don't know if you can see the hooks that clamp on the side of the hat hoop frame. 

Before the machine starts to embroider the design you place the foam on top of the cap and tape both sides of the foam to keep foam from moving when the machine is embroidering the design.    



 When removing the foam Hold the area that is part of the design. 

 This is stiched in satin.   Foam is only good on satin design step stitch will compress the foam and not allow the design to be   3-D

The thread looks messy and now comes the clean up.

 This is where a the iron comes to play.  The heat contracts the foam and allows the thread to sit nicely on the foam. 

 Push in the foam and allow the thread to sit nicely on the design.    I tend to place glue on the bottom of the R and X so that the thread stays in place and doesn't fray.