Coffee Anyone?

Below is an image of the towels I made using 4 of the Funny Coffee Bean designs I've been working on. Notice the border fabric! I like making things that are different than what you can find in the stores or through other sources. I used a coffee themed fabric by Timeless Treasures in a really yummy shade of brown with darker brown coffee related terms printed all over it. It adds a punch to the really cute embroidery designs, don't you think?

The towels measure 26" long x 14" wide; the border measures the full width of the towel x 1-1/2" high. The towels are a wonderful, soft and thirsty cotton in an off-white.

These will be added to the web site tomorrow. If you are looking for something different for that coffee lover you know, why not give them something not only practical, but a gift that will provoke a smile!

Unfortunately, we are not able to accept any more orders for this holiday season. We're getting ready for the Christmas holidays ourselves. Our office will be closed officially on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 and will reopen on Tuesday, January 3, 2012.

As this will be our final blog for 2011, I'd like to extend our wishes to all of our customers and friends for a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and a New Year filled with the very best of everything!

Christmas Placemats

Well, December has arrived and Christmas shopping is in full throttle! Happily, the Christmas placemats project was finalized and my customer is thrilled.

I had to make some changes to the original idea that I blogged about back in October. The designs I selected are wonderful, but for this project, they were too dense for the quilting fabric I used. No matter what tricks I tried, there was too much puckering and I didn't think that adding the stipple stitching would help. So, I came up with Plan B.

As you can see in the image below, I opted for appliques in three different Christmas themes, a star, tree and gingerbread. I had digitized the gingerbread design back in 2004, both as a filled embroidery design and an applique. I went back to edit it a bit more for this project, digitized the tree and star appliques and was able to finish the project in record time!

Unfortunately, you can't see the quilting stitches, but I stipple stitched around the appliques and went with a simple stitch in the ditch method for the quilt block area. Rather than competing with the bright fabric colors and matching (or close to it) threads, I opted for invisible thread and it worked out perfectly.

Now that this project has been completed, I'm working on several other projects. One, that I will post a picture later, is a set of Coffee Bean towels with a wonderful coffee themed border. I think that adding a lovely fabric border that matches the theme of the embroidery designs is a great way to finish off a set of towels. The other project is to finish up this lovely FSL Christmas bowl. I actually have several to do, so I'd better get my "thread" on!

Hope you are having a creative day.

New Christmas Towel Set

Oh yes, the holidays are fast approaching! Decorated kitchen towels are a very popular gift item. Kitchens filled with the scent of baking cookies, pies, and breads are in need of a constant supply of clean towels. Decorated towels are perfect as they add to the festive activities.

Here's our newest set that will be added to the web site today. The set of 3 towels features North Pole "helpers" such as the Cookie Taster, Snowman Construction Worker and the Executive Elf. We have additional designs, but chose these three adorable designs to kick off our new towel set additions.

The towels are 100% cotton, measure 26 1/2" long by 18" wide, have a wonderful green check border on the bottom and feature a hanging tab on the upper corner of the backside (clever option for those who don't have a towel bar). We laundered the towels so that all the shrink has been removed, so you can launder them as you normally do for towels.

We think these are so cheerful and we're sure you will too. Not only will these help make your holiday kitchen festive, they would make the perfect gift for anyone you know who loves to spend time baking up a storm for the holidays!

Keep watching as I'll be adding more goodies to the web site in the coming days.

Funny Coffee Beans Newest Design

Just thought I'd post a quick note to let you know that the next design (FCB07) of the Funny Coffee Beans collection has been completed. I've posted a picture of the stitch out on the site, but am including it here in case you don't have time to visit the web site right now.

This one took a little longer to perfect, but I think he's a cutie. Perfect for decorating napkins or kitchen towels, especially for that bachelor you know who loves coffee!

Have started the next design, so please stay tuned. As soon as it's ready, I'll post it here.

In the meantime, the placemats that I posted about last month have become a hit, even before they've been added to the web site. As soon as the new set is completed (first set has been sold), I'll upload a photo to the site on the Kitchen Decor page - http://www.sharianndesigns.com/kitchen-decor.html .

With the holidays arriving in less than 7 weeks, now is the time to plan those gifts. If you have something special in mind, give us a call so we can make you a hero for gift giving! Why not choose something that can't be found in the stores that everyone else will buy.

In the meantime, enjoy the beauty of the Fall season!

Holiday Project

Late last week, I realized that it was October and my new Christmas projects were not completed for the web site. In my defense, my excuse is I've been busy working on my new design set, working around the garden getting rid of weeds that seem to flourish, researching a new hobby (being mom to orchids) and also getting some carving done on a gourd I'm eager to finish. Does that work for a good excuse? It will have to do for now!

So, I gleefully sorted through my stash of holiday fabrics and realized I was lacking in some contrasting fabrics...sure, any excuse to buy more fabrics, right? This is spoken like a true fabricholic :)

Before heading out with my debit card polished and ready, I put some finishing touches on the pattern I created in EQ6. When I originally created this project in my mind in the spring, I hadn't completely decided on the embroidery designs I was going to use. Yes, I know, the time to complete this project should have happened in July, but with the move and setting up the new house, there were too many distractions.

After printing out one of the images of the project, along with the yardage I needed, it was time to head out to audition all the possible candidates for this fun project. It didn't take much effort to find the right selections, which seemed to eagerly jump into my cart. Although I may still need to hit another store or two "just in case", I think I made some jolly selections.

With fabrics happily in hand, I headed home and began the process of laundering everything so I can begin cutting these festive fabrics into strips, squares, rectangles and hst's. Soon I'll be busy embroidering the designs, which I purchased from Embroidery Library - http://www.emblibrary.com/EL/new.aspx?date=071311 - check out the stackable designs. They are so cute!

Here's a sample of 8 placemats I finalized in EQ6, complete with the embroidery designs I selected.

On another note, the next design in the Coffee Bean collection is ready. For a coffee bean, she's rather stylish, don't you think?

The next design is in the works, so it looks like I'll have to bring out the extra embroidery machine so I can multi-task between both projects!

Hopefully you are having an equally creative time, and if not, remember, the holidays are less than 11 weeks away!

Shari

Coffee Bean designs

After having some difficulties with my digital camera, I was finally able to upload the newest design in the Coffee Bean collection. I feel that it resembles many of us coffee lovers checking our email!

While I was back in Illinois during August, I worked on design #6, and it should be ready sometime this week. So please stay tuned :) And I have some cute plaid trimmed towels that I plan to embroider these designs on for the web site. Those will be posted on the site on the Kitchen Decor page - http://www.sharianndesigns.com/kitchen-decor.html .

I've also been gearing up for Christmas, my favorite holiday of the year. I have a new machine embroidered lace ornament that will be uploaded to the Holidays page - http://www.sharianndesigns.com/kitchen-decor.html.

I hope you'll check back often to see all the new things that are being added to the site! In the meantime, have a terrific week.

Changes To The Web Site

Time just seems to move by much too quickly these days! It's now September, we are moving closer to the end of summer and the beginning of my favorite season, autumn. Although we are now Floridians, and won't see the glorious colors of the season in the Midwest, we'll be able to enjoy less humid air, slightly cooler temperatures during the day and a crispness in the air in the evening.

I'm moving away from some of the embroidered gifts I've offered and will be concentrating more on my baskets and carved gourds. I will still digitize new embroidery designs as well. I won't be offering aprons or embroidered frame inserts any longer, so those items will be removed from the web pages. Since the response to our variety of embroidered towels is wonderful, I will continue these, as well as adding new sets in the coming weeks. The lace ornaments will also remain as lots of customers have not only ordered them for their own holiday decorating, but also as gifts.

My new set of embroidery designs that is in the works, Funny Coffee Beans, is such a fun group of designs for those who love anything coffee! These designs can be used on towels, aprons, covers for small kitchen appliances, napkins, a quilted wall hanging or anything else that suits your fancy! Below is one of the latest designs that I've completed so far.

There will be 30 designs to this set when completed, 10 small (4"x4") filled designs and then 10 designs in redwork in two sizes (4"x4" and 5"x 5").

Finally, our fax option for ordering will be available as of September 13, which will make ordering either designs or one of our other products easier. Of course, you can still reach us by phone to place your order!

Have a terrific week and I hope you'll check our site often for new gift ideas.

Shari

New Location

We have moved to a new home in a new state!  It will take a little while to get unpacked and completely organized, but it’s an exciting new adventure.

Over the next couple of days, I’ll be making some necessary changes to the web site, such as address and phone.    In the meantime, we’re enjoying the sunshine and warmth of Florida!

We’ll chat again very soon,

Shari

New Year and New Changes

Can it really be true I haven't posted to my blog since last September? I've been extremely busy, but I had no idea it has been that long.

I have added a new basket to the web site and thought I'd give you followers a peak at it here. This basket has a hardwood base and is woven with flat oval and round reed, in a combination of natural and smoked reed, in a pretty double arrow pattern. It's perfect for fruit or other things you need to store in a decorative basket.

I like this pattern by Dianne Gleixner so much that I need to make a basket for my own kitchen in blue and natural.

And for those that emailed me about the embroidered picture frame inserts, the page is back on the site! As soon as I have some free time, I'll be adding a few more designs.

Free time is going to be very limited in the next couple of months due to our buying a new home in Florida. We'll be busy packing and moving down there in the coming weeks, so I'll post here when that takes place. All my quilting projects and gourds have already been moved into the new house. We aren't sure who will be moving down first, my DH or myself. My DH has applied for a transfer position to Orlando, but hiring is notoriously slow with the government agencies, so I may be down there first while he continues working here in Illinois and trying to sell our current home. There's so much involved that it sometimes seems overwhelming!

Well, I hope to be back in a week or so with more news. Until then, I pray the snow stops falling and that I'll have time in between packing to create some new baskets or embroidered treasures to share with you.

Stay warm :)