Shop

Sunday, February 11, 2007

New business!

I've got a deal with the neighborhood restaurant to make these pillows - a brainchild of one of the owners. My plan (Julie's idea) was to go there and stitch one day a week... have lunch, then SEW SOME SEEDS (for business) as well as some SEAMS! Well, the owner saw me stitching and asked if I could make pillows for her niece's three children, who call her "Auntie Pillows." While we talked, she thought about registering the name and selling them in the restaurant! So I'll be madly sewing pillows for a while! I'm very excited about this!

The center section is hand-embroidered, and I purposely chose a simple quilt block pattern for the outer portion to cut down the time it takes to complete each pillow since the embroidery takes so long. I'll be changing the design a little for the store owner's three pillows. She requested that I make each pillow with the kids' names on them so they say:

name
love,
Auntie Pillows

This particular pillow will be for display in the store, with a sign that says customers can order pillows in their own colors.

I'm hoping I can sell other items through her shop as well - pin cushions, small quilts, tea pot cozies and napkins, soap, greeting cards...









Monday, January 15, 2007

My Light Table

Here's the "light table" I use to trace my patterns onto fabric for redwork. It's homemade - just a piece of Plexiglas and one of those lights you mount under a cabinet. I started using it about 10 years ago for calligraphy, and what I like best about it is that I can adjust the angle to suit me as I go along. The board rests in my lap (it's not heavy), and I can move it a little or a lot as I trace a pattern. It measures 19 by 24 inches. I got it at a hardware store and it must have come pre-cut because I would never ask for those measurements! The light rests on my desk top (it's not hot), and the bulb seems to never burn out!

When not in use, I store the Plexiglas under the desk and the light on a shelf behind my desk. (It stays plugged in.)

Front view - from over my chair


Back view - so you can see the light fixture better. It measures 12.5 inches long.

Pinkwork for Deena

My friend Deena LOVES pink! And we both love tea parties. Here is a pillow-in-progress I'm making for her; it's almost finished. I'm stitching the dedication on the back of the pillow, then I'll sew front to back and put a pillow form inside.

The floss is two strands of DMC (not sure what color number). It was fun to stitch this!