I monogrammed a couple of these yesterday (teacher gifts) and thought they were so cute! They came from Target and I think they also come in at least 1 other color (royal blue). Love the pocket for the cell phone and such. There is also a “pocket” per say up top that goes OVER the chair (I guess if it will fit). See the circle insert photo on the bottom right corner. There is nothing more aggravating than trying to lounge and a gust of wind blows your towel over your head. Problem solved!

I did a hot pink Specs “H” on the top of these. The H is about 5″ tall (maxed out my 5×7 hoop).

 Not much else going on around here. Our calendar is thinning out and we’re looking forward to summer. I am also looking forward to my children adjusting to summer and sleeping past 7:00. Hopefully it’ll happen! The around-the-house to-do list is long. I need to organize closets (winter to summer) and HANG PICTURES! Maybe by our 1 year mark this house will look more like a home.

Have a great week! Oh I DID work on some exciting pieces last week for a certain magazine photo shoot for TJ’s Fabrics, but I can’t show them to you just yet! Stay tuned!!

 Here it is again after I first appliqued the shirt. The red tee is a good ole Fruit of the Loom tee from Walmart as well.

 Closeup ~ I trimmed pretty closely around the stitching. Don’t forget the Heat N Bond Lite on your applique fabric!! I would say without it, this might end not end up so well. Wonder Under might work too ~ any fusible product.

Here is the design right out of the washing machine last night. So far so good.

And out of the dryer earlier today. I did run the iron over it once. I have a bad habit of letting clothes sit in the dryer for hours or days after they are dry. Basically everything I washed with this tee is still in the dryer and may still be there this weekend. With 3 kids laundry is an every.day.task. I digress…

 In summary, I’m so thrilled with how this turned out and am anxious to do more designs in this fashion! We will be listing this version with our next batch of new designs! In case you didn’t know, I personally test Applique Cafe designs (usually 5×7 size PES format) and I wanted to be sure this washed OK before I start a new trend (HA!). Knit could be used with any of our raggy designs and my head is spinning with more I’d love to do!

Here is Mallory last night with her flowers. Her costume was a cross between Russian princess and Christmas at Opryland! The girls were all precious and while I’ll never be a “Dance Mom”, I really enjoyed the (2 hour) recital and Mallory did great! If you missed the news on Facebook, she broke her collarbone last Tuesday night so yes, that is a brace on her shoulders. Sister fell out of the bed at about 4 AM. We got her back to sleep in our bed, but the next morning she was still complaining so I took her to the Pediatrician first thing. He sent us down the street for X-rays which revealed a broken collarbone. She gets to wear the brace for 3 weeks! Woo hoo!! Good times as we start summer playing outside, going to the lake/pool….! All in all she is doing wonderful!!

In all the wacky-ness, I’ve managed to get a little bit of work done. Here’s a sample Snake tee I sold yesterday with the name added. It’s amazing how adding a name can add so much to a shirt!

 I also sold this sample mini whale onesie and added the name. Mini embroidery designs are great for hats, polo (generic brand) shirts, onesies, etc.

 Here is a new technique I tried this week upon recommendation from a customer (thanks LT). It’s a raggy version of our Shark, and I used a cut up turquoise t-shirt as my fabric. I applied Heat N Bond Lite to the fabric and trimmed closely when I was done. The red shark tee is actually in the wash, so once I dry it I’ll report on how it held up. The girl who suggested this said hers washed great! I’m super excited to try this on some other designs, and I think this type applique looks great for older kids (boys especially). I got a cheap t-shirt from Walmart. In hindsight I should have gotten a PLAIN t-shirt, as I would have had more “fabric” to use for other projects. I also looked at Joann yesterday and saw some knit (t-shirt material) fabric there ~ mostly solid colors. Old t-shirts work great too! It seems like Chez Ami also sells knit fabric? I don’t know what the difference is in all the types of knit though??

 Here’s a closeup (duh). As you can see I trimmed pretty close. As I said, I used HNBL so it fused to the shirt and should NOT fray as much (raggy) since it has HNBL on it. If you ever pay attention at Walmart, Old Navy, (Boden?) etc. you probably notice this type design on their tees and onesies. Why I have not tried this before, I don’t know? Anyway, just something different to try! If my shark shirt dries OK, I’ll be listing this design and many others!

 I also posted on Facebook a while back that I saw these adorable tea ribbons at a wedding party at my sister in law’s house. I got some black grosgrain ribbon (1.5″) from Hobby Lobby last week (50% off of course) and finally tried it out. It was super easy!

 I’m using fast frames and sticky stabilizer, but you could also hoop sticky stabilizer. I did mark my center on the ribbon (but you can’t see the dot) and pinned the ribbon in place. I used Monogram Wizard Plus Bobo font and made each word (sweet tea and unsweet tea) .74″ tall. (SWEET TEA = .74″ tall X 4.74″ wide, UNSWEET TEA = .74″ tall x 5.87″ wide) I also wrote down how long I cut the ribbon, but there is no telling where that piece of paper is. I suggest getting out a pitcher and measuring it yourself depending on how you’d like to tie it on.

 I did these for the Director of G & M’s preschool and she wanted white thread. I burned the edges of the ribbon with a lighter, but you could also use Fray Check.

I have some more of these to do so I’ll try to post more detailed instructions when I do them (length of ribbon, etc).

That’s about all we have been up to. We have been in our house a year July 4th weekend. If you came by you would think we moved in a month ago. My mission for summer is to get this house in shape. This is our DINING ROOM! We did finally get new den furniture, so the old got relocated to our dining room. It’s going to Birmingham hopefully in a few weeks. I’ve had this furniture since probably 1999, so it will be missed. Maybe one day we will get a dining room table…

 This very bad picture is of part of our bedroom. All the things that one should hang on the wall when they move in a new house are piled here. The sad part is that I look at this every day, and every day it drives me CRAZY! And jest, it’s still there. I guess it’s not going to hang itself? No?

All this to say, I would love to get everything in order this summer! That’s is my goal!! You all know how long it took me to do the sewing room, so I need help and encouragement!! Or a double shot of espresso in my coffee! Have a great week!

Applique Cafe fans, we are currently having a SALE through Tuesday, May 22nd.

The winner of my basket, Demonica, posted this photo on Facebook. If you’ll remember my last post, she rode from New Orleans to Birmingham on a TRAIN! I just think that is so awesome and fun! She said it was very relaxing and gave her some quality time away from the family to rest and do a little work on her laptop (in the sleeper car). I honestly had no idea you could ride a train anywhere, so it’s even cooler that she rode a train to come to the Everything Applique Conference!

Now on to the basket… I included my go-to stabilizer, 12×12 and 8×8 2.2 oz precut medium cutaway stabilizer squares. Both of these came from Sewingmachine.com. Check out all of their “commercial backing” and you can narrow down your search by the type of stabilizer you are looking for (cutaway, precut squares, tearaway, etc.). Click HERE for precut squares. They come in a variety of weights, but I like the 2.2 oz, as it is not too thick or heavy. I have used 2.5 oz as well and it’s not too heavy either. Their commercial cutaway also comes on the roll, but the squares are really convenient.

As you can see the 8×8 squares are perfect for the 4×4 hoop. (This is my Brother PR650 4×4 hoop)

The 12×12 squares are great for the Durkee 9×9 hoop and also the 5×7 hoop. Check out this post for more info on the Durkee Hoop, which is compatible with most multi-needle machines.

You can use the entire 12×12 square for your 5×7 hoop, or cut a few inches off before you hoop.

 Now on to Sulky KK2000 spray. This is a temporary spray adhesive that I use to “stick” my cutaway stabilizer to the inside of my shirt before hooping. It keeps the stabilizer in place so I am able to hoop my shirt. I also use the 99 cent tape measurer from Hobby Lobby! I keep one in my purse as well ~ you never know when you’ll need to measure something. When I do a shirt, I measure from armpit seam to armpit seam and mark my center. This distance is usually a good even measurement (14″, 12.5″ etc).

 Spray adhesive can build up and make things sticky, so I recommend spraying it OUTSIDE. My sewing room is right by our front door, so I walk out on the porch and spray my stabilizer over the bushes. My bushes might be sticky, but at least my carpet isn’t!

 My shirt is inside out, I’ve sprayed my stabilizer with spray adhesive, and now I stick the stabilizer to the shirt. Turn it right side out and I am ready to hoop! The Sulky KK2000 spray is temporary, so when I am finished appliqueing my shirt, it pulls right off so that I can trim the excess stabilizer around the design. See this post for more info on hooping.

 Also in my basket: Schmetz Embroidery Needles (75/11) and an air erasable pen. I use the air erasable pen (from Joann or any sewing store) to mark the center of my shirt (or bib, or towel, etc). It disappears with a little time, or you can also squirt water on the dot and it’ll go away. A wet Q-tip works as well. If I am marking the center of a dark item, such as a navy blue t-shirt or a fluffy blanket, I use a straight pen. Chalk would work as well. You may notice the lint buildup in the clip on my pen. I have had this pen since I started doing applique about 5 years ago!

As far as embroidery needles, I use 75/11 needles for everything. Some people use ballpoint needles and some people change out their needles for various projects. 99% of the time I am doing samples or tshirts so this is the type of needle I use. You can get Schmetz needles from Sewingmachine.com, Joann (I stock up when notions are 50% off) or most any sewing store. Steve (Sewingmachine.com) recommends Schmetz, as they are the oldest needle company around. Basically they have been making needles for a long long, long long long, time!

Bobbins ~ for my Brother PR650, I use the Fil-Tec Magnetic Core Bobbin. A box of 100 is $28, again at sewingmachine.com. I recommend any prewound bobbin, as the tension is consistent and it’s fast and easy to change out your bobbin. These were not in my basket since I didn’t know what kind of machine the winner would have, but I’m including them in my favorite things!

 Heat. N. Bond. Lite ~ check out this post on why I love this product!! You can buy HNBL by the bolt, in a box, on a small 3 yard roll, 15 yard roll, etc. Some people buy it at their local Walmart, but I have not seen it in Montgomery. You can buy small packages at places like Joann or Hobby Lobby. Sewingmachine.com sells it as well. I used to stock up at Joann when notions were 50% off, but lately I have not been able to find any there. Wonder Under is another fusible product you can use, but I use and recommend HNBL.

Instructions ~ very easy to use!

 Another item NOT in my basket, but still one of my favorite things (and a necessity in applique). The iron is your friend! I have a Shark iron. It’s not fancy and yes, it leaks water sometimes. Iron your shirts, iron your bibs, use the iron for your HNBL, iron when you’re done. IRON!! Do you get hoop burn? Squirt with water from your iron, iron over the hoop burns. They are gone! I see photos on Facebook a lot and it looks like someone took a picture of a t-shirt from the dirty clothes basket. Ironing can make all the difference in your appliques, your pictures, etc! I hate to iron my own clothes, but ironing is so important when doing embroidery and applique.

 Scissors ~ I did include 4″ curved Gingher scissors in my basket, as well as a 2-pack of Fiskars fabric-cutting scissors. I use the Ginghers in the applique process only to trim the fabric around the tackdown stitch. I use regular fabric-cutting scissors to cut fabric, to cut stabilizer, to cut ribbon, etc. You can never have enough scissors! p.s. I got my Ginghers at Joann and you can usually catch them on sale or use a coupon.

The Ginghers are great for trimming closely around your applique! The curved end helps you to NOT cut a hole in your shirt (been there, done that, got the t-shirt)!

 As you can see here, I trim very closely. I do this with the help of a) the scissors and b) the HNBL on my fabric makes trimming easy and CLEAN! This design is ready for the satin stitch!

 There were also a few fabrics in my basket. I typically buy 1/4 yards of fabric since a little goes a long way when doing applique. I LOVE polka dots, ginghams, stripes and small florals and prints for applique! These are all my GO-TO fabrics, as you can probably see in my design sample photos.

 You can’t beat good ginghams, and try to avoid the cheap thin ones. Fabric Finder brand ginghams are great!

 One more item that I should have included in my basket but didn’t have time to get… a REAL thread chart! This is the Isacord real thread sample thread chart. I also have the Exquisite (formerly Poly-X from Kens Sewing Center) thread chart and use them both. We all know the color print charts are impossible to match as well as the color square on your computer screen. These charts are usually $10 each and are well worth every dollar when you are searching for thread to match that funny colored peach dress.

 Another tip that I NEED to do ~ mark, circle or underline the colors you have on the chart. That way if the sticker comes off of the top of your spool of thread (which happens to me all the time), you have a record on your chart of which colors you have and like!

 I did include a few spools of thread in my basket ~ Isacord 5830 is my favorite lime (it’s hard to find and only comes in 1000M as far as I have found)! I also included a hot pink, yellow and turquoise. Demonica also got an Applique Cafe Gift Certificate in her basket! (Hint Hint: Mother’s Day is 2 weeks away)

There are probably a few more things I consider my favorite things, but that was about all I could fit in the basket! If you have any questions please comment or email me ~ rosemarygulledge@appliquecafe.com! A lot of these things were discussed in our class, Applique the Right Way!

I first want to say how overwhelmed I was at the amount of people I met at the conference who said they read my blog, had been following for years, asked about my kitchen, etc. Honestly there are times where I wonder if anyone is reading, or if I am just blabbering my heart out to my 3 friends and long lost cousin. So, I left the conference this weekend re-energized about blogging and I promise to do a better job at it from now on. I think I am still on a Conference high. It was so exciting and fun and I told someone at church yesterday it felt like an out-of-body experience. Did I mention there were over 700 women (and a few men) there?

Friday night a couple of hundred women came for a “Meet & Greet”, which was a lot of fun and I think it ‘broke the ice’ and calmed our nerves a little! Each of us had a table for our door prizes and samples. (sorry some of these photos aren’t fabulous – some were taken from my phone). Here is my table, and next year I hope it’ll be a little snazzier! This was kind of a last minute “bring some samples” thrown-together kind of thing.

Each digitizer did a basket of “favorite things” as well as other various door prizes (gift certificates, fabric, thread, etc.)

Here we are on Friday night ~ L to R: Cristy from Itch 2 Stitch, Brandy from Applique Momma, ME from Applique Cafe, Emily from Applique Alley, Kathy from Applique Corner (she is the one who put this whole shindig together), Holly from Applique Junkie, Rachel from Embroidery Boutique and Karen from Applique Market. We are all competitors, and after talking on Facebook, email, messaging 24/7 for 2 weeks straight, we all met for the first time this weekend. It was SO MUCH FUN! A few of these ladies I have “known” for a long long time, and it was so much fun to hang out w/ them!

 I, along with Brandy from Applique Momma, taught 4 classes on “Applique the Right Way” and I just hope what we said and did made sense! Our first class was a group of advanced women (hello nervousness), but overall I think they walked away maybe learning SOMETHING?? Some weren’t familiar with Heat N Bond Lite and they were great to ask and answer questions, so it was a great 1st class. After advanced we had 2 packed-out classes of Intermediate folks (200+ people), followed by our last class of beginners.

Here is our class presentation table!

We discussed designs (satin, zig zag, raggy, etc). I am excited to report that I took all of those cut out samples of our AC test designs and USED THEM!!!! We were able to pass them around the room for each class so everyone could see the different types of designs (satin, raggy, zig zag, mini). We also discussed fabric, thread, stabilizer, scissors, and Brandy demonstrated the applique process on a shirt for each class. She did a great job!

 We discussed all the different types of stabilizer, most of which came from Sewingmachine.com. They were vendors at the conference and I think they were a big hit ~ most of the people in our classes were shocked when I told them the large roll of medium cutaway stabilizer (on the right by the Exquisite thread chart) costs $12.99! Look for their commercial backing on their website, and I recommend the 2.2 oz! We also discussed thread, and as you can see I use both Exquisite (Ken’s Sewing Center) and Isacord (Sewingmachine.com). I love them both! Exquisite has some colors that Isacord doesn’t have, and vice versa, so I use both.

We had a Brother PE770 machine in the room as well as a PR650 6-needle. The PE is a great starter machine!

Here’s another shot of my “favorite things” door prize! After the conference I met the sweet girl (for the 2nd time) who won my basket. First of all, when they called out a ticket number for my basket, no one stood up. I wish I could remember her name, but the girl who eventually won told me she prayed “Lord, please let me win!!!”. Her number was THEN CALLED!!!!!!! How fun!!!! She then told me that she rode to the Conference on a TRAIN all the way from New Orleans! How AWESOME is that!?!?!??!! Had I known she would have gotten a prize for mode of transportation, for sure!! It was fun to talk to her and I hope she will message me! I met so many women that I’ve “known” from Facebook! I met one lady who I’ve ‘known’ for years, and it didn’t hit me until my ride home who she was. We also signed a couple of autographs (ba haaaaaa haaa) which was fun!!

Here is picture of the stage and our master conference planner, Koral! She kept us in line and on our toes all weekend! The items on stage were just a portion of the many door prizes that were given away (including a PE770 machine!!!!!)

Here is an attendee winning the thread collection from Ken’s Sewing Center!

Here is Steve from Sewingmachine.com – he demonstrated some great machines and hoop options during lunch! Even the table of digitizers were in awe as he demonstrated the Mighty Hoop!

The only thing about the conference that I would change is that I would have LOVED to sit in on the other classes! I’ve heard such great reviews on the Photography and Marketing class! We all know I could use some help on photography!!  Here are some pics from our class (Applique the Right Way). First of all, please notice I am holding a m-i-c-r-o-p-h-o-n-e. Those of you who know me know that I am relatively quiet and this is so out of character for me. But, we were forced to use it by the first class. We taught 4 classes total ~ the intermediate classes were over 200 folks each. Here I am discussing spray adhesive.

Brandy is demonstrating sewing a shirt on a PR-650. Notice how a lot of people are taking notes (or writing down out their grocery list for next week).

Lots of people asked lots of great questions, thank goodness!

Here are the digitizers again. Our aprons are from 4Retro Sisters on Etsy! Aren’t they cute??

This is the view from the back of the room where we all met. That’s Jeff walking on the left. It was an amazing turnout!

At the end we all got up on stage for a Panel Q & A!

This photo is blurry, but we presented Kathy with a beautiful framed painting from Donnie Sasser. Kathy and her husband were FABULOUS to work with and we were all so honored to be able to help with this event!!

 It sounds like Kathy is already planning for next year! She is considering making it a 2 day conference which would give more time for classes and vendor shopping. This year was wonderful (and the planning was done in a matter of 2 to 3 months). I can’t imagine how awesome it’ll be when she has a whole year to plan! Lastly here is a picture of Jeff and Jim. Jim is Karen from Applique Market’s hubby and he & Jeff hung out all weekend and had a great time. They were put to work during lunch!

In the meantime, pray for me. Pray for US! Pray for safe travels for all who are driving, flying, etc. to this conference.   I really hope it’s fun and meaningful to the women (and men) who are coming! Also in the meantime, I listed 6 new designs today at www.appliquecafe.com and they are all on sale (40% off) through FRIDAY only (yes, this Friday, April 27th).

I went to Atlanta recently ~ need to post about that. Lots to catch up on so check back next week!

 I still have my thread stands and Expedit cubbies. Those are several of Browder’s paintings and such from his art classes on top. 2 calendars on the other wall – we keep 2 months pretty full. Side note: I recently asked Steve (Sewingmachine.com) about my thread and the threat of dust. He told me that dust CAN accumulate on your thread if it’s stored out in the open. Such dust CAN get in to your machine too. But, if your thread is not directly under an air vent you should be fine. He saw my set-up and seemed to think mine was OK. I have started dusting mine off before I use it just in case. If you are like me and use your thread daily, it’s not reasonable to keep it stored covered up somewhere. If you store your thread on stands like me, just check to be sure it’s not directly under an air vent. If you see dust on the thread or the spool, wipe it off before using it!

Same setup w/ desks and machine. I had several people suggest me moving things around, but the way it is now I can sit at my desk and everything is within reach (except for fabric and thread). I have my iron, machine, hoops, etc. all within reach, so this is the best possible setup of our furniture. I do share this space w/ Jeff, so it’s not like I can completely take over!

Closeup of the valances. This is Waverly Modern Essentials from Joann.com. The black gingham I got at King Cotton here in town. I love the colors!

 I have posted before that my machine used to be on a Craftsman tool chest from Sears. My machine is now on a file cabinet “desk” from Home Decorators, but I still use (and love) my tool chest. It’s where I store all of my hoops, stabilizers and “junk”. The top is a GREAT surface for hooping as well! I would recommend either of these pieces as a machine stand. Both are sturdy and I have never had my machine vibrate or move AT ALL. p.s. The “real” machine stands are great too!

 Precut 12″ squares from sewingmachine.com on the left, 8″ squares on the right under my machine toolbox. Fil-Tec Magna bobbins and my big roll of sticky stabilizer. All of this is from www.sewingmachine.com! The other 2 drawers were too messy to show you!

And… I posted a while back about throwing away my samples. Several of you got on to me for throwing them away, so since then I’ve kept them. They are done usually on stabilizer if I don’t have a t-shirt to do them on. OK folks… here is my pile of samples. What am I supposed to do with them? Any ideas??

Reminder: Our current 35% off sale at www.appliquecafe.com ends this Wednesday, April 11th! We are also gearing up for the upcoming Everything Applique Conference in Birmingham, AL on April 28th! There is still time to register ~ the deadline is Monday, April 16th at midnight. Check out the EAC link to register or for more info! As of right now there are over 600 folks signed up to attend! I’m really looking forward to a fun time and getting to meet so many people I *know* on Facebook and through my blog. SIGN UP!!

Wednesday we headed to the lake for a couple of days with 2 other families. This was our Spring Break on the cheap. The water was freezing but the kids had a blast! Thursday we all (13 of us) went to a place called Niffers at the Lake to eat lunch. The manager guy challenged us all to hula hooping for free *stuff*. It doesn’t take much for us to jump on the chance to get something for free. As I tell my kids, “if it’s free, it’s me”. Anyway, surprisingly enough I can still hula hoop. The guys got a free beer and the kids all got free jolly rancher popsicles!

 And look at my precious G! He had the hand going and his tongue hanging out. It was (and still is) so cute! When we got back to town he insisted on a trip to Walmart to buy our own hula hoops! The kids have had a blast with them and it has been cheap entertainment ($3/hoop). Maybe good exercise too?

 Following lunch we all took a tour of the Lake Martin Dam. Aside from the “dam tour” jokes, it was actually fun and very interesting! We got to walk across the dam and go down in the dam to see the “stuff” that makes power. Educational, fun and FREE!

The kids went back to school Monday for a short week and no school tomorrow, so we get a long weekend for Easter. Jeff & I are actually hosting Easter this year (even though I have no dining room, coffee table {sold in the yard sale} and the furniture we ordered from the den is not in yet). I’m trying to look past all that and not worry about it. I think we have 35 or more folks coming for lunch after church (and of course an egg hunt). I hope you all have a Happy Easter!

Changing subjects… There is a new blanks supplier in town ~ https://www.facebook.com/blanksboutique. Right now they are taking preorders, then fulfilling those orders (versus you being able to just go online and order). The owner sent me a couple to try out and I really like them! Very thick and soft!! Here is a new design from AC I sampled on the girl tee. This company is actually out of Birmingham and hopefully they will get to a point where it’s easier and faster to order. They are now working on their 2nd preorder so check out their FB page! You can also request a price list and from what I remember they are very inexpensive!

It has a cute little puff sleeve! I believe you can see in this photo too how THICK they are!

And a cute ruffle around the bottom of the shirt. The shirt is intentionally made long, and after washing it shrinks to the perfect length. Check out the Blanks Boutique Facebook page for more info on expected shrinkage.

 I also did a boys tee! Again, very thick and soft! It’s kind of hard to compare them w/ a photo, but you can maybe see that the BB tee on the left is thicker. The Kiddy Kats shirt on the right is a smidge see-through. These are both 5T/5/6′s w/ 5×7 designs.

Back to Easter… Yesterday I hosted Sissy’s class Easter egg hunt at my house. The kids were SO cute! We have a great yard for it, hence us getting to host Easter I guess. That is Sissy on the right running to get some eggs!

 I actually made her a shirt this year! Every time I go to Walmart I pick up their girl Garanimals blank tees (when I see her size). I have bought about 10 white ones, plus purple, yellow and today I found a hot pink!

Here are a couple more things I’ve done for her (which is a miracle b/c I never sew for my own kids). I got these shorts at an overstock sale last year for like $8. Not sure if they were meant for a boy (no ruffle), but I thought they were cute! This is the AC Fat Fish minus the little fin. Again, this is a Garanimals tee ($3.88 I think!) Thank you Garanimals for not putting a pocket on them this season! p.s. Another reason I bought the shorts is because I knew I had matching fabric, which is always a plus.

This is an outfit (2 pairs of bloomers were included w/ this A-line top) from the same overstock sale. I got it last year but it seems to run big so she never wore it. I added the AC Loopy Flower, which is one of my all time favorite designs! Love the Michael Miller Ocean Ta Dot fabric too!

 I think that is about all I have? Soccer has started (practice) and all 3 kids are playing. Jeff is coaching Mallory & G’s team (along w/ our niece) and Browder also plays (with Jeff as asst. coach). Needless to say our April calendar is jam packed.

Does anyone have a vinyl cutter? I actually do but have not learned how to use it yet. My niece has a Cricut and has recently started doing things, which made me get mine out and want to learn. It comes with software and a how-to CD so I hope to find some time to learn how to use it! It’s a Silhouette SD. Not sure if this is it (below) – mine is still in the box! I’ll let you know how it goes! I have had it for probably a year and 1/2 and am just now getting it out.

Have a wonderful weekend! HAPPY EASTER!

 The Flower Flip Flops:

I did quite a bit of work yesterday so that I could take a break over Spring Break and also get my machine serviced! I get asked quite a bit if I take orders. I have also been getting lots of calls and emails lately wanting me to do customer work. I have to say that I do a tiny bit right now. I would LOVE to do more, and I certainly enjoy it. The truth is with 3 kids I have ZERO time these days for much more than keeping up with email, laundry, cooking, errands, my household and 3 kiddies. It’s the season of my life right now which I’m sure you can all relate to!

I think I mentioned in my last post that we had our stairs painted last week as well as our OFFICE/SEWING ROOM (FINALLY!!!)! Here are our stairs “before”. Nothing really wrong with them, but I didn’t like *ALL* of the oak (trim, spindles, handrail, stairs…). The poor painters came to our house 3 mornings in a row at 7:00 AM to paint these stairs. The first time they painted them a stark white, which was TOO white. The 2nd time they painted them to match our trim, but didn’t cover all of the white too well. The 3rd time they did enough coats so that the stairs now match our trim. Before:

 Here is “after”. Again, nothing over the top or mind blowing, but definitely BETTER! I wanted to get rid of as much of the oak as I could, so we painted the spindles and handrails and all! It looks a TON better! I think once I put something in the space beneath the stairs (and do our dining room which is to the left and pretty much EMPTY), it’ll look much better and I won’t obsess so much about the stairs.

We also had our office painted, again. We had it painted white when we moved in. If you have read my blog in the past 6 months you know the white drove me crazy.  

You can’t tell too much in this photo, but this is the “after”. It’s a nice Benjamin Moore color called Elephant Tusk. The contrast with the white-ish trim is MUCH BETTER!! Again, not Pinterest worthy or anything extravagant but a huge improvement!

Here is my fabric and my valances are being made this week (and/or next). Mainly the floral with the checked in the pleats and maybe some trim. I think they’ll look great and tie in the green and black! I might also recover the chairs in the checked fabric – to be determined!

 Lastly, I have to give a shout-out to my homeys! I spent Thurs-Sunday with these girls down in Mexico Beach, FL. We had the.best.time! It was roughly a 4 hour drive both ways given our stops for lunch, bathroom breaks, etc. We never turned the radio on and didn’t turn a TV on the entire trip! I met all of these girls in college and whenever we get together, we have the most fun! Last year we all went to Charleston and we’re already planning our trip for next year! A few of us are pledge sisters (1993 Phi Mu Troy University). I love these girls and cherish our friendships. We have a way with being *real* with each other and no one cares where you live, where your kids go to school or whether or not your dress came from Target (and not Banana Republic)! Anyway, I miss them and so enjoyed our weekend together. The weather at the beach was incredible too!!

These are old planters that we had at our old house (the house we moved from last July). Planters are expensive, along with everything else involved in moving in to a new house. I was inspired by Pinterest to throw $10 in to these planters with a couple of cans of spray paint.

BEFORE:

I got a couple of cans of this Rust-oleum textured spray paint from Home Depot. I may have even gotten a 3rd can to finish the job. Can’t remember. Anyway, I scrubbed the planters with a brush and water to get the flakes of terra cotta (sounds right?) off and all the dirt and dust. I let them dry and then spray painted away. They were originally a dark red and ended up more orange and faded as the years went by. They matched the brick of our old house, but that’s beside the point.

Here they are at our new casa, and I think for my $10 investment they will work for a while!

They are now a textured bronze-ish brown color and coordinate well with our house. Anyway, that is my DIY project for the first quarter of 2012. I think my pansies look pretty nice too. The angel planter was a wedding gift we got almost 11 years ago!

This, my friends, is POLLEN on our front porch. It’s really disgusting.

I’ve been working over the past week and here are some of the shirts I’ve done. The SHARK is an AC design and the crab is an EB design. My customer told me what to do with all the fabrics/colors and I think they all turned out great! I LOVE SIMPLE!! These are tees and rompers from Monag and are super soft. I don’t stock Monag btw, my customer brought these to me. They are for big and baby brother.

These will go with matching blue gingham shorts. I love the shark with contrasting thread.

p.s. we now have a mini embroidery shark (aka all thread), which is great for polo type shirts for boys.

These are all Applique Cafe designs ~ String of Fish, Pirate Ship and Sailboat.

p.s. Kelly’s Kids is using a similar fish design this season. Maybe mine inspired them, since mine came first?? I like to think so. I love red and turquoise together.

This is a great summer shirt! I like these color shirts too because they won’t show as much dirt as white (if you are my kids).

More AC designs ~ Raggy Anchor, Sailboat Patch and the Lizard.

Again, I love the lizard with a contrasting thread color! It’s also no secret that I am obsessed a little with orange.

In Sewing Room news, we are CLEARING OUT so that the room can be PAINTED!!!!!!!!!!!! Painters arrive at 7 AM in the morning to paint this room and also our stairs. I’ll post pics of that too. Valances aren’t being made yet, but I hope to get the fabric ready asap.

 Jeff is literally moving stuff out of here as I type, so I had better go! If you don’t know already, we are having a great Spring Sale on applique designs! I just sampled 4 new ones today, so they will be listed asap! It’s a great time to stock up on designs for Easter, Spring and Summer, and that is my sales pitch for the day! www.appliquecafe.com