Merry Christmas!

Christmas is always such a crazy time of the year.  BUT I wanted to wish all of you a Merry Christmas with  a little of my stitchin'

"Merry Christmas" is from the 82009 Bernina Holiday Magic collection and the cottages are from the Sarah Vedler designs - It's A Sterling Life on Berkeley Square"

Enjoy!

Part 2 - The Gingerbread Man Cookie Recipe

After a suggestion on the Facebook page for a kitchen towel, I searched for a recipe and found one in Taste of Home. (check the link in the previous post).

I typed it up in Microsoft Word and brought it into the V7 software.  I used the suggestions from the March 2014 Software Sampler for the fonts and sizing.  I then used the function of combining multiple hoops to create the stitch file for the design.

I soon realized that it was waaay too large for a towel and the project morphed into an apron!  

I used Abbey Lane's pattern called Lady Godiva.. You can find the pattern here or ask for it at your favorite quilt store.

                                                 

Naturally I always 'make it my own' so I eliminated the pockets and added a ruffle to the top!  The best part about the apron was I used fabric from my Christmas stash!!

Stitching the ruffles was a snap because I used #16C gathering foot for my Bernina. I prefer the larger foot as it sits over both of the feed dogs evenly.

Here is a closer look at the recipe - I used Floriani's 60 weight thread which is PER-fect for stitching out a recipe.

As a holiday gift from me to you, I would like to share the stitched file.  Here they are!

You can find the files below: 

Bernina Art 50 here

Bernina Art 60 here

Bernina Art 70 here

The fonts that I used are Jenna Sue - a free font from www.dafont.com here and Roman Small in the Bernina V7 software.

If you download them, please let me know it you were able to use them!  Happy baking!

Part 1 - The Gingerbread Man Cookie project!

Last week my husband said to me that he would like me to make Gingerbread cookies this year.  Now I have to say, I no longer bake cookies for a variety of reasons but most importantly - I am not bakin' when I can be stitchin'!

So I 'googled' for a recipe and found this one on Taste of Home.com (you can never go wrong with their recipes)!

Well one thing led to another and I decided to make a cutwork gingerbread man using the DesignWorks software.  I started with a line drawing from a coloring page and then started building my guy. (no wonderful smells coming from the kitchen....)

When I design my files, I always add a placement stitch (red line) for the fabric size.  Then I add a tackdown line (blue line) for the basting stitch.  With this file I can cut out up to 6 gingerbread men at once.

I sequence the lines so all of the red stitches cut out first, then the blue lines basting them down all at once.

Here are the cut pieces in the hoop - ready to go!

All cut out and ready to be stitched!

Here is the embroidery finished file... 

I have to add that I added his eyes and smile in the V7software because they were too small to fuss with.. :)

Here he is all stitched out!

Coming next....  Part 2 - The Recipe

Noel Card Holder Wallhanging

At one time in my life, I used to send out 50+ Christmas cards.  Those days are over and I certainly have a tough time sending out the few that I do today.  This card holder wall hanging is an adaption of a pattern by Janine Babich and can be purchased from Brewer or directly from her here.

What I love about it was that it included the cutwork files for all four letters in the mega hoop or two letters each for the oval hoop.  One of our customers stacked four layers of fabric and cut all four letters for the Noel wall hanging at once.  I do hope she comes out with more cutwork compatible files.  Included are different embroidery formats and a file to be used with the Silhouette Cameo machine.

Instead of adding the sashing to the blocks and creating a wall hanging, I added the sashing to the letters and turned them into pockets.  Then I just switched up the background slightly so I could feature each pocket individually.

Now on to make a few holiday cards to send!

Part I - Cutting the files with the Cutwork Tool in "It's A Sterling Life in Berkeley Square"

Well it has been over a month since I last blogged the project I am working on. If you think this is a quick project, hmmmm -it is NOT!

I am currently working on the two houses to the right and left of the center block and I am challenging myself once again.  The first house that I am working on is Prosperity Place. ( I will continue on with that section in another blog post.)

The center block designs were cut with the Bernina cutting tool and if you are missing any files in the original CD, just let your dealer know and they will have the missing cut files for you.

You will have to purchase the cutwork plate as well although many of you may have received it when you  purchased your Bernina.

You may also purchased extra cutting blades but honestly  I have been cutting with the same blade for over a year. ( The tool comes with two blades)

I only printed out the sheets as I needed them but one one of our customers printed out all of the sheets.  Not sure how many there are...

I then cut the appliqué fabric into the sizes as recommended in the instructions. I ironed the Appli-Kay Wonder to the back of each piece and if there were multiples, I stacked them together using a light spray of 505.

The first file I cut was the Yellow fabric.  Unfortunately I was not planning on blogging my experience so I have only a few pictures of the actual cuts.

This cut is 4 layers stacked on top of one another and then cut all at once.

This layer is two separate pieces but cut all in the same hooping.

If you noticed I placed all of the cut outs in a sandwich baggie BUT the biggest mistake I made was NOT to number them on the back.  Be sure to do this as once I was finished I had a ton of cuts that looked similar to the others...

I took me approximately 3 hours to cut out all of the designs and organize them for the center block.  This is actually not bad for all of the pieces that are included in the center block design.

if you have any questions, please feel to comment below and I will do my best to answer your questions.

Coming next...cutting the house designs with the Silhouette Cameo

Christmas is coming!

Well I just finished  my store samples for the upcoming holiday season at the Bernina Sewing Center!

My first sample is a T-shirt and pj's - an perfect ensemble for Christmas Eve!

Here is a close up of the T-shirt.

The crystal snowflake is from the DesignWorks collection "Deck the Halls"

The "merry & bright" is one of my designs created in the DesignWorks software.

You will find the zipped file here.  I designed it using the 10ss Hot fix crystals from Kandi Corp.

Enjoy and please let me know if you give it a try!

Welcome to Berkeley Square!

Last week I started the center block for the brand new collection from Sarah Vedler - "It's A Sterling Life on Berkeley Square".  You can find the pictures for this collection on here website here.

       

Sterling Edition Quilt

• Finished size 77” x 77”
• Compatible with 7 Series or 8 Series machine using the maxi or jumbo hoop

This is close-up of the center block of the quilt.

                                   

You will receive this collection when you purchase the Bernina 880 Sterling Edition ( coming out soon!) or you can purchase the CD today from the Bernina Sewing Center in Tampa, FL.  I will be stitching my project on my signed 830LE Edition.

                     

Bernina 880 Sterling Edition Includes:

• Exquisite Faceplate Design
• “It’s a Sterling Life on Berkeley Square”, quilt and embroidery design collection created for BERNINA by Sarah Vedeler
• “It’s a Sterling Life” Embroidery Kit
• Ornamental silver plate for engraving and adhering to the machine
• Invitation to an exclusive 3-day Sterling Retreat at the BERNINA Creative Center with special guest Sarah Vedeler
• Special accessory and software offers included
• PaintWork Tool
• CutWork Tool
• CrystalWork Tool
• Rotary Punch Tool
• Rotary Punch Needle Plate
• Commemorative Holiday Ornament

One of our customers (thank you Betsy) suggested to me that I start blogging my stitching progress and so I decided that would be a terrific idea!  I usually stick with the original color wave when I start a huge project such as this.  It saves me from buying twice as much fabric!

Step 1 - Selecting the fabric, threads and stabilizers.

The main fabric that I selected is "Dimples" By Andover Fabrics (color C2).  It is a great tone-on-tone blue grey and perfect match for this collection.

The brights I selected are from the Jazz Basic collection by Timeless Treasures.  Here are a few of the colors that I selected.

Sarah's instructions included the Aurifill threads but I selected mainly Floriani threads for my project.

                                                        

Here are my color matches for the quilt:

Black - Floriani 900

Lemon - Floriani 501

Yellow - Floriani 523

Pale Yellow- Floriani 521

Dusty Orange - Floriani 172

Burnt Orange - Floriani 755

Light Leaf Green - Floriani 2015

Olive - Floriani 210

Fuschia - RA 5560

Light Magenta - RA 5561

The stabilizers i selected are:

Floriani Medium Tear Away

                                                                            Floriani Appli-Kay

 

                 

                 

I hope you join me on this blogging journey.  Please come back often and now it is back to stitching!

and sew on....

Adeline          

Quilting on your Bernina

This Bernina video features the quilt function of the Bernina sewing machines.  A great tutorial which highlights the best tools to improve your quilting experience.

Check it out!

Bernina DesignWorks Project

Amanda Murphy posted this photo album cover in 2012.  I thought it was worth revisiting for this blog post.  I have also included a quick video to use for inspiration on your next DesignWorks project.

                      

Click on the link here and it will take you to her post.

Video Tutorials for the Bernina 350

I cam across this link today and I thought it would be valuable to many of the ladies who have recently purchased this machine.  It is always nice to have a refresher video when you have a questions.

   


         Bernina 30 Sewing Mastery

Ladybugs in my Garden Table Runner

I recently taught the Spring  "Tool Time' class at the Bernina Sewing Center in Tampa, Fl.  I found this design in the McCall's Quilting Magazine here...  I purchased the digital version and began my journey of adapting this design using the Bernina DesignWorks Software and tools found here

The original table runner looks like this...

My version is slightly different and a used a Bernina DesignWorks Collection as well as creating my own cutwork designs.

The collection I used was 21010DW Citrus Blossoms.  I thought it was a perfect complement to the original design.

                                                      

Here is a closeup of the table runner...  My March 2014 DesignWorks class was learning how to create the basic shapes using the DW software.  Here  are a few more pics...

Isn't this lady bug sooo cute?

Contact your local dealer for the Bernina DesignWorks Software and Tools.  No local dealer?,  feel free to contact the Bernina Sewing Center in Tampa, Fl at www.berninapfaff.com

DesignWorks Tutorial

Sarah Vedeler has a great tutorial on her website in using CrystalWorks...yeah!  I wish we had more of these on the WeAllSew blog!

Here is her new collection...Jazzilicious

You can order this design collection from the Bernina-Pfaff Sewing Center in Tampa, Fl!

You can learn how to create this design from the DesignWorks class at the Bernina-Sewing Center!  Come join us!

DesignWorks class on April 14th - Bitmaps, ClipArt and Dingbats, oh my!

Bernina V7 class sample

I recently taught a class on the Bernina V7 software following the directions from the Dimensional Elements webinar.  It was an awesome class and I have a few photos that I would like to share with my V7 friends...

Here is the table runner that I created using fabric leftover from my kitchen window treatments.

I used the Ecco design collection to create the Stumpwork leaf in the software. I used a #26 gauge wire and then used the Cutting tool to cut out around the leaf.

Here is a close-up of the dimensional leaf stitched onto the table runner.

The next element was the Punchwork leaf....

I used a wool blend yarn on the felt to create the dimensional leaf.  The Cutwork flower design is also shown in this picture - sooo easy with the Cutwork tool!

The last tile that I did was the Raised Satin stitch - it turned out beautifully! Unfortunately you can only see the one center of the flower below...

I absolutely LOVE the idea of editing existing embroidery designs and turn them into a work of art! ..... This is WHY I bought a BERNINA!