5 Reasons I went Batty Monday and What I Did

Mondays are definitely tricky for everyone, but yesterday morning I went batty. Here’s the lineup of the things that happened.

1.       Insurance guy asks for forms that were sent out express mail 10 days ago and delivered 5 days ago;

2.       Had to explain to Hubby that the dishwasher is not self unloading and loading;

3.       Mouse became completely unresponsive when I was trying to write a blog post;

4.       Black cats decided that their favorite sleeping place was a white sofa;

5.       Couldn’t find the necessary embroidery hoop because it was hiding under the item to be embroidered.

Okay, so no one item is that critical but it seemed like everything I touched or did had challenges. So what did I do? I embroidered my ‘Going Batty’ towel. We photographed it today with the participation of our feline models, Daphne and Sylvie. Daphne took possession of the towel, so Sylvie wanted in.
Lesson learned........ “The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” (e e cummings}

Have you laughed today?

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Week 2 of 52 Weeks of Gifts - this is for you Cooks out there.

It’s that time of the year when I start thinking about cooking those wonderful comfort foods: chili, meatloaf, mac ‘n cheese, stew, etc. The cookbooks come out and I cook on the stove, so that I don’t have to turn the heat on yet.
So what does this have to do with machine embroidered gifts, you say? One of my favourite gifts is an apron, personalized in some way for the recipient.  Have you been invited for a holiday meal this year? A great hostess gift (one size fits all) is an apron. They can be monogrammed or funny, seasonal or generic. It’s totally up to you. Since you can give a gift to yourself, I made one for myself and hope that it works!
Since we’re talking about aprons, I thought I would share our family favourite chili recipe. This recipe was given to me by my mother-in-law, Nan, after she served it to us. If you are a chili purist, you may object to this recipe. But I have served this to people of all ages and have been asked for the recipe after each occasion.  You can brown your beef and onions  in the morning and throw it all in a crock pot (double recipe) on low. Or you can make it quickly at the end of the day. Don’t forget to wear an apron!!
Quick & Easy Chili - aka Nan’s Chili
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 – 14 oz. can kidney beans – rinsed and drained
1 – 10 oz. can tomato soup
2/3 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1 – 2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. white vinegar
Instructions:
Brown the beef and onion together. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer 10 – 15 minutes.  Yield: 5 cups.
Notes: I don’t think that I have ever made a single recipe. Usually, I double or triple it and put it in my large crock pot on low. The amount of chili powder you need depends on you. If I cook the chili in the crock pot all day, I tend to use a little less chilli powder as the flavour does develop. Also, while it calls for white vinegar, I have used cider vinegar instead. BTW, I serve this on plain white rice or make corn muffins or corn bread to accompany it.
Enjoy!!
PS: Thanks, Louise, for being this week’s model!

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Calling all Cycle Enthusiasts! How do you handle this challenge?

If I were to be honest, I was a cycle maniac. While I like cycling outdoors, I also used to love riding in spinning classes. The challenge in both environments is what to do when the inevitable happens...........you sweat or perspire for the ladies out there. I have to admit that I am in the former category of perspiration.
So thanks to the racing bike design from one of my favourite embroidery design houses, Embroidery Library, I created this towel for a client with a sense of humour.  Do you bike? What is your favourite type of cycling? Please let me know. I need all the encouragement I can get to go back cycling.  I guess I better make a towel for me.

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52 Weeks of Gift Ideas - Week #1 - How do you choose your gifts?

As the days get shorter and cooler, at least in these parts, I start thinking about the gift-giving season. Actually when I think about it,  gift-giving is something we do year-round. There are weddings, births, showers, birthdays, holidays; need I go on. These occasions used to panic me until about 10 years ago when my first embroidery machine entered my home. I then realized that a machine embroidered gift gave me the means to say “I was thinking about you and know you like ......................”.
So to help you with your gift giving, I decided to present a machine embroidered gift idea, each week for the next year.  My selection for week #1 is machine embroidered bathroom towels. The photos show a set of towels and bathmat made for a recent wedding.  Bath towels sets can be made for all ages and all occasions and display the interests of the recipient, their name or a monogram.
Do you have gift idea challenges? I hope you’ll share your thoughts in the comments and look forward to hearing from you.

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Will I ever get a Round Tuit?

As I sit here staring out the window, my embroidery machine purring in the background and the rain pouring down, it occurred to me that summer is now ending. While for many this means the back-to-school season, to me it means attacking the long list of “to-do’s” that I created over the long hot summer days.

Several years ago, my father-in-law, Mel Rilstone, gave me a Round Tuit. So in his honour, I created this quick design and stitched it on a kitchen towel. Here’s the saying on the Round Tuit:

“At long last we have a sufficient quantity of these so that each person may have one of his own. Guard it with your life. These <<Tuits>> have been hard to come by.

Especially the round ones. This is an indispensable item. It will help you become a much more efficient worker.

For years you have been saying: “I’ll do that as soon as I get a <<round tuit>>.  Now that you have a <<Round tuit>> of your very own, all those things that have been needing to be accomplished will surely get done.”

Thanks, Mel, for the inspiration.  Do you need a round tuit?  Let me know......

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The Making of a 5" Monogram

The ladybug towel that I showed in the last post was made to test a monogram that I made using Monogram Wizard software as well as the addition of the ladybug design in Husqvarna Viking's 4D Pro embroidery software. These are the two main software programs I use to customize and personalize all the embroidery that I do. When creating a new design, I test sew it to ensure that the final stitching will work perfectly on the item or garment that the embroidery is placed on.While the 4D software allows me to see on computer how the design will stitch, nothing can replace stitching out the design on fabric.

I wanted to show you how the machine ties off each colour and switches to a new colour seamlessly. The Babylock BMP9 machine has six needles, each able to hold a different colour thread. Also, you can see the LCD control screen which shows where the stitching is taking place on the design, the colour number being stitched and the time the design will take out. I have to admit that I feel a bit like Captain Kirk from Star Trek when manipulating the controls. Pushing 'go' is still an adventure.

Please share your comments or questions. I would love to hear your what you want to learn about machine embroidery and any ideas you may have for future projects.