Friday, December 25, 2020

Merry Christmas!

 

Just wanted to stop in and wish all a merry Christmas!

The day's quiet here, just the DH and me, oh and the dogs and cat. They got plenty of gifts to keep them busy till the new year. This is Micah and Dillon. Micah has grown so much since we got him in Oct. He's bigger than the cat now.


 

My print head gave up last week and nothing Canon suggested is working so either I get a new one or replace the print head.  Nice thing about Canon printers is that the print head just pops out! I've found a new lap top I'm mulling over. It's a 17" !!!! Love the big screen!!! Just have to decide whether to go with an 8GB or 16 GB memory. The price jumps quite a bit for the larger amount. Want to wait until next week in hope that the huge amount of packages to be delivered will have shrunk some. I ordered some embroidery floss from the Farmers Attic at etsy. Even though the package was coming from one side of PA to the other it took almost 3 weeks to come here. Would hate to have a computer sit around and possibly get lost or damaged.

 Hope your day has been a happy and healthy one!


 

Monday, December 21, 2020

Two more free embroidery patterns!

 

I've made 2 more freebies to share. These a larger than the size I've been using for my hearts this year. If you want them smaller just set your printer to print at a smaller size.

The one on the right has pine chenille stems for the hanger. Perfect for large trees or hanging from a door knob. I curled the ends and sewed them to the sides of the stuffed heart, adding bows over the stitches. I stitched the text in green and red. The snowflakes are back stitched lines with silvery beads sewn where the dots are on the pattern. I also sewed beads on the stars in the fabric print. I bought this at Walmart last year. I love snowflake and candy cane prints!

The design on the left is for those who are happy this year is coming to an end. I had this candy print fabric that I used for the bowl (because haven't we all been eating too much of the stuff 😄 ), I then cut out some of the candy and using iron on facing I attached them. I didn't bother to sew them down since I'm not sure what I'll do with this yet.


Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Hope you all stay healthy!



 

Right click the pattern to save it to your hard drive. You'll need to print a pattern for tracing then you'll need to cut it out for the fabric pattern. You may want 2 patterns printed.

 
©Billie Jo Heisler 2020
All rights reserved

 Disclaimer:
I drew this design by hand then used a software program to edit it.
Please consider the drawing copyrighted. You have my permission to print copies of the drawing in any size for your own use but not to share or sell. If you want to share the pattern please link to the blog pages.
The embroidery design is my own. I have not knowingly copied anyone else's work.

Sunday, December 13, 2020

December Embroidery Freebie!

 Ok, here's a new freebie for you. It's a remake of one of the ones I did for VOTE.

I also printed a smaller version to put on my tree skirt. I've been making something for it every year I've been married. The text seemed perfect for this year.

Of course you can draw your own text since you may prefer Merry Christmas, Peace on Earth, LOVE, or even names. Have fun and enjoy the holidays.


 

 

Right click the pattern to save it to your hard drive. You'll need to print a pattern for tracing then you'll need to cut it out for the fabric pattern. You may want 2 patterns printed.



 
©Billie Jo Heisler 2020
All rights reserved

 Disclaimer:
I drew this design by hand then used a software program to edit it.
Please consider the drawing copyrighted. You have my permission to print copies of the drawing in any size for your own use but not to share or sell. If you want to share the pattern please link to the blog pages.
The embroidery design is my own. I have not knowingly copied anyone else's work.


Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Just checking in to say hi :)

 Life's been busy and I haven't had time to post or even to make time for Facebook. Honestly, I've gotten really tired of FB. Too many ads and not enough info I want in my feed. I lost interest in Pinterest for the same reason. I was finding I was spending way too much time scrolling through junk so now I seldom go to either.


Here's another reason I'm too busy for the computer. Dillon has decided he finally likes Micah and now they play almost all day. The cat is still not happy with him. Maybe when he gets older and stops trying to play rough with him like he does with Dillon, Jingles will change his mind. Micah takes a lot of my time since to avoid pee accidents he has to be watched all the time.


Here's a photo of the bunnies that were born back in Oct. when Jack was away. Now we have 4 more buns and these need to go. I want him to sell them on Craig's List. They'll grey up as they get older like the mom and dad. Petal in off to the left of the babies. Funny how the start off black.


Back in June I wrote about making fig walnut beer bread. Jack bought a growler of
Yuengling Hershey’s Chocolate Porter. Since there was quite a bit of it I made a chocolate cake and this chocolate chip bread using the same recipe as I used for the fig bread. I switched out the honey for sugar, the figs for Godiva bittersweet chips for the figs, and ground the walnuts. Again Jack liked it so much he wouldn't let me give any away. Oh, the blue bowl has some of the cake with icing in it.

These are pics of 2 of the 5 versions of this poem I made for my brother and his family. I was going thru some magazines and came across this. I found the designer's blog but she had no info on where she found the poem. Now I can't find the magazine so I can tell you her name. I thought it was perfect for my brother and sister-in-law since they are still morning the loss of their son, Bill. If I come across the magazine (I have a lot) I'll updated this post.

 






Thursday, November 12, 2020

A free embroidery pattern for November

 

So here we are getting closer and closer to the holidays. I do have some holiday designs in the works but I decided to post this one in my series of keep calm hearts. I made it last summer before I went a bit overboard with the VOTE designs. If you don't like the text you can change it to your own handwritten saying by not tracing my text and writing in your own. This would be cute done as a wedding or anniversary gift with names and dates. I chose to embroider bluebirds but make them in your color. If you want white for doves you should change the fabric to a color where the white floss will show unless you plan on using light grey for the stitching.

The swing, the lines below alone & together, and text are backstitched with 2 strands of floss.

The purple and green flowers are long lazy daisy with green straight stitches between them. I used all 6 strands for the daisys and 3 strands for the straight stitches and the french knot in the centers.

The pink flowers are lazy daisy with french knots for centers using 2 strands. The leaves/fern are feather stitch but fly would work, too. These are not drawn on the pattern so you can fill in the space with as many or few as you like. I also find drawing the stitches the ink tends to show.

The birds are done with 2 strands of floss. The body and hearts are back stitched. At the top of the head are short straight stitches. The tails long straight stitches with french knots on the tips. There are lazy daisies in the hearts and on the tail. 

NOTE that this drawing shows a simple heart border of couched thread with beads, knots or just a small stitch. As I worked on the embroidery I kept adding more and more. Here's what the photo shows. The heart is couched with 3 strands of green floss held in place with pink. Next is 2 strands for back stitch. Third is stem stitch using 2 strands. Fourth is a running stitch again using 2 strands. Last is wrapping the running stitches with 2 strands of floss.

I know this is a lot of stitching so maybe leave off the flowers and use decorative buttons or beads if you want to make if quick. 

Look for another next month and remember the patterns are only up for 1 month. This one will be removed on December 12. Eventually all the keep calm patterns will be sold at my Etsy store

©Billie Jo Heisler 2020
All rights reserved

 Disclaimer:
I drew this design by hand then used a software program to edit it.
Please consider the drawing copyrighted. You have my permission to print copies of the drawing in any size for your own use but not to share or sell. If you want to share the pattern please link to the blog pages.
The embroidery design is my own. I have not knowingly copied anyone else's work.
 

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

I voted early so what am I doing today?

I've been making covers for the spiral tablets I like to use when I need to make notes and draw out designs. I've had this bee print for a few years and planed on using it to make a dress for a bear but since I seldom make bears any more it never got used. Till now. I got these two cover plus still have enough if I want to make something else.



 This picture shows the pearl buttons I wanted to sew on taped in place. I have a nice collection of vintage pearl buttons I seldom use so I decided this was the project to use them on. I used the flower ribbon down the fold and on the inside flaps. These are fun to make and it's nice to cover up the boring cardboard covers. I found some directions on elefantz 

Jenny has the directions for the small ones and for larger book covers. Google fabric book or tablet cover to find more.

 

 
Here they are all done and ready for my next ideas :)


Friday, October 30, 2020

The last 2 free VOTE embroidery patterns


  

This is the last of the free vote patterns I've stitched. Lower in the post you will find a pattern I designed but don't have time to stitch. I hope you've enjoyed all these free patterns. I'll be getting back to my #bewell #stitchon free embroideries. I'm also planning on some holiday designs.

This freebie is a mostly patchwork design. All the pieces came from the same striped fabric. The applique is done with blanket stitch. In between the appliqued sections I did chain stitch. The heart outline is stem stitch as is the section with text. The text is back stitched. Lastly I did a running stitch outside the heart.


Have fun and make the sections smaller if you like!

Here's another design I'm sharing but not stitching. There's a lot of small back stitching to do all the text.

 
Right click the patterns to save them to your hard drive. You'll need to print a pattern for tracing then you'll need to cut it out for the fabric pattern to make the patchwork design. You may want 2 patterns printed.

 
©Billie Jo Heisler 2020
All rights reserved

 Disclaimer:
I drew this design by hand then used a software program to edit it.
Please consider the drawing copyrighted. You have my permission to print copies of the drawing in any size for your own use but not to share or sell. If you want to share the pattern please link to the blog pages.

The embroidery design is my own. I have not knowingly copied anyone else's work.
 
 
Here are some photos of the tote I've been stitching all the VOTE embroideries to. I've added pins to the multi colored side and I still have to add them to the side with all the red, white, & blue designs.



Starting at the top left that vote has a silver star charm, the purple/green below has a dragonfly pin, and the pink rose vote has a ribbon rose with an Avon breast cancer pin. The brown/turquoise vote in the bottom row has a dragon that was an ear cuff. I bought it for about 50 cents at walmart last year. I removed the cuff and added the pin finding. The tea cup vote has a very old butterfly pin from Avon. I'm a collector of old jewelry and lucked out when I found I had a pin that matched the butterfly on the fabric. The rainbow vote has a butterfly stick pin that I stitched to the inside of the tote to keep it in place.

Hope you are going to vote, wear your mask, and please be kind to others.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Coming up to the last free VOTE pattern

 

 
I've been designing some embroidery pieces with birds so I thought it would be fun to do a VOTE with them, too. It's a fairly quick piece to embroider even if you decide to just embroider the birds instead of applique. I'm running out of room on the tote bag I've been stitching all the finished hearts to so I only have one more I'm making. I will post a design I just don't have time to embroider later this week.
 
The applique is stitched with blanket stitch, the text is back stitch, the tails are stem stitch with long french knot stitches, the beaks are just straight stitch, the eyes are french knots, and the heart outline is chain and stem stitches.
 

 Right click the pattern to save it to your hard drive. You'll need to print a pattern for tracing then you'll need to cut it out for the fabric pattern. You may want 2 patterns printed.

 
©Billie Jo Heisler 2020
All rights reserved

 Disclaimer:
I drew this design by hand then used a software program to edit it.
Please consider the drawing copyrighted. You have my permission to print copies of the drawing in any size for your own use but not to share or sell. If you want to share the pattern please link to the blog pages.
The embroidery design is my own. I have not knowingly copied anyone else's work.

Monday, October 26, 2020

Don't forget to Vote next Tuesday or sooner, another free embroidery

This is number 9 and I'm finishing up 2 more this week so you'll have time to decorate a tote, jacket, hat, or whatever you like. I'll also list a few I designed but since the puppy haven't the time to embroider. 

You need to do tiny back stitches for the swirl motif. I used 2 strands of floss but if you can do the tracing very thin just 1 strand would be prefect. The text is part back stitch and part chain. The applique is blanket with stem stitch on the inside and chain on the out. I used 4 strands for the chain on the outside of the heart. Next to that stem stitch is a chain stitch using all 6 strands of floss.


 Right click the pattern to save it to your hard drive. You'll need to print a pattern for tracing then you'll need to cut it out for the fabric pattern. You may want 2 patterns printed.


 ©Billie Jo Heisler 2020
All rights reserved

 Disclaimer:
I drew this design by hand then used a software program to edit it.
Please consider the drawing copyrighted. You have my permission to print copies of the drawing in any size for your own use but not to share or sell. If you want to share the pattern please link to the blog pages.
The embroidery design is my own. I have not knowingly copied anyone else's work.

Don't forget to vote, wear a mask, and be kind to others! Just because a person has a different opinion than you doesn't mean you should treat them badly. Pass on niceness:)

Sunday, October 25, 2020

Number 8 Free VOTE Embroidery

 

 
Ok, hope you like this one. Got the idea while having a cup of tea while working on designs. So whether you drink tea or coffee this is a fun one to make. I added a few glass beads but they could be embroidery instead. I also decided that applique on the saucer was enough but the rest of the cup could be done, too.
 
As for the stitches I used blanket for the applique, back stitch for the text and steam, everything else is chain stitch with stem stitch around it. 

Right click the pattern to save it to you hard drive. You'll need to print a pattern for tracing then you'll need to cut it out for the fabric pattern. You may want 2 patterns printed.

 
©Billie Jo Heisler 2020
All rights reserved

 Disclaimer:
I drew this design by hand then used a software program to edit it.
Please consider the drawing copyrighted. You have my permission to print copies of the drawing in any size for your own use but not to share or sell. If you want to share the pattern please link to the blog pages.
The embroidery design is my own. I have not knowingly copied anyone else's work.

Saturday, October 24, 2020

New puppy, hexies, and tea

 

I was thinking about joining in on the hexie craze. You can see I have a basket full of fabric sample squares that would be perfect to use. I keep coming across so many designs I'd like to make but can't seem to find the time with all the VOTE embroideries I've been making. Well, that and the new Puppy.

Here's Micah, an English cocker spaniel. He's 10 weeks old today and wearing me out since my allergies are acting up really bad. I just want to lay around and watch movies but the DH is out so I've got the tuff stuff tyke.

Once this is posted I'm off the computer and getting him out to pee yet again. Then I'll get back to the 2 new VOTE patterns I've designed. That and that huge mug of rose tea. It's my new fav.



 Remember to vote, wear a mask, and be kind :)

Yeah, I'm still posting VOTE embroideries

 

 

It really is time to vote NOW, don't wait if your state has early voting because who knows what kind of craziness may happen at voting poles. I voted by mail but now worry "will it get counted?". This is a crazy year full of shocking things happening, so maybe keep calm and keep stitching.

This one only uses 2 colors of thread, black and yellow. The stitches are chain to outline the heart with a running stitch outside of that. The clock is also chain stitch. The text is back stitch including the numbers. The clock hands are chain with an outline of stem stitch. For the long lines I did a straight stitch but for the short lines I used seed beads. I set the clock at 8 but you can trace the hands wherever you like. I need to remake this with hands at 12 and 2021 as the text. Nice design for New Years, too.

Right click the pattern to save it to you hard drive. You'll need to print a pattern for tracing at 100%.

 
©Billie Jo Heisler 2020
All rights reserved

 Disclaimer:
I drew this design by hand then used a software program to edit it.
Please consider the drawing copyrighted. You have my permission to print copies of the drawing in any size for your own use but not to share or sell. If you want to share the pattern please link to the blog pages.
The embroidery design is my own. I have not knowingly copied anyone else's work.
 

Sunday, October 18, 2020

Here's-------VOTE # 6

 

WOW, I'm up to 6 now. I have another almost done but the DH is finally getting home from his trip with a 9 week old puppy. I have a strong feeling that I won't have much time for any sewing or computer.

I've never done a lattice before but after seeing them on needle n threadI knew I wanted to try it. I suggest marking where the lines go at each spot on the heart. Don't draw the entire line. I used all 6 strands of floss for the lattice lines and couched them in place with 3 strands. The line down the center is stem stitch. I repeated it for the first outline stitch on the heart. Then I did a chain stitch followed by another row of stem stitch. The text is backstitched with small lazy daisy flowers that have french knot centers. Not too hard once I got over my hesitation of using the lattice.


Right click the pattern to save it to you hard drive. Print at 100%.
 
©Billie Jo Heisler 2020
All rights reserved

 Disclaimer:
I drew this design by hand then used a software program to edit it.
Please consider the drawing copyrighted. You have my permission to print copies of the drawing in any size for your own use but not to share or sell. If you want to share the pattern please link to the blog pages.
The embroidery design is my own. I have not knowingly copied anyone else's work.

I'm late joining in on cleaning out closets

 Last spring when we were all home and people were cleaning out stuff. So much that the garbage company send out a letter asking that customers to contact them if they were going to put out more than the max of 3 large bags. Well, I didn't join in, I tidied up closets and shelves but didn't get rid of much. Did you know here in western PA the term is redding up? Pittsburgh-ese is often weird.

 So with the DH away (he's due back tonight) I've decided to get some cleaning out done. First was my clothes closet that had clothing in sizes 6 - Plus sizes. The plus ones were my Mom's sweaters that I love to wear even though I have to roll up the sleeves like 3 times and I could fit another person in. When I wear them it's like a hug from my Mom. The smaller sizes were from when I was that small. I'm a 10 - 12 now and have been for a while so it was time for all the 6 and 8 to go. 

I found I had 10, yes 10! white shirts and not one of them fit. I belong to a facebook group on upcycling clothing so I posted a pic and asked for suggestions. I'll probably just cut them apart and use the good cotton for more embroidery. I can never have enough :)


Ok, this is SO stupid but I have to confess it. In various boxes and suitcase where I stored all these clothes I found I had 4 almost identical  v-neck black sweaters. Worse, I don't remember really wearing them much. Well, they're in one of the bags to go to the local humane society resale shop when I can get an appointment to drop them off. So far there are 5 bags but the DH still needs to go through his stuff. I know he has t-shirts that he no longer likes and jeans that no longer fit.


 The 6th bag in the photo has craft stuff I'm getting rid of.This is not easy for me to do. I'm a pack rat when it comes to anything I just might use for crafting. There's more to go. I have to get rid of some of my magazines and books. I'm going to wait until covid gets under control because I don't want to deal with shipping stuff.


Here's what I cleaned out. This is a big closet but I had it stuffed to the point that I didn't want to open it to look for supplies. Once emptied here's just some of what I found. Oh, the shelves in the background of the first photo were also tidied up. I sorted all my lace, trim, and ribbon and put them in jars. It's so nice to see what I have instead of sorting thru bins.



 







You know you are a craft supply hoarder when you really deep down know that at least 70% of this stuff you'll never use. The dolls were from an article I did ages ago for a magazine no longer in print on dressing tiny dolls and trolls. I still didn't get to the 2 shelves in the top of the closet. There's lots of old clothing patterns, dolls a lady dropped off to be fixed and I never heard from her again, and more stuff I know I don't need. Like bags of bird feathers.


 So here it is all tidy with stuff sorted and put in boxes. The flowers are in large vases so that I can see what I have. There's even some empty spaces, well, at least for now. The shoe caddy on the door is holding some things I've been making for a book I've now been working on for 2 years. If I can ever decide on how I want the photos to look like I can get it done.

I'm off to do some cleaning before the DH gets home with the new puppy. I know some stuff will have to out of his reach. So be kind, have compassion, and wear a mask.

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Oh, why not? Here's another free Vote Pattern :)

 


This one is very easy to do since it's mostly about the fabric applique. I love this fabric and really wanted to design something that allowed it to shine. I even had a ball of rainbow crochet cotton I bought at the local Humane Society's resale shop. I used white thread for the blanket stitch and the crochet cotton for stem stitch around the heart, inside and out. The text is backstitched. I probably would have used gold floss for the blanket stitch if I had it.

I found an old stick pin with a butterfly that I liked at the top. I also had some gold star charms I had planned on using till I found the butterfly.

 

Right click the pattern to save it to you hard drive. You'll need to print a pattern for tracing then you'll need to cut it out for the fabric patterns. You may want 2 patterns printed.

 
©Billie Jo Heisler 2020
All rights reserved

 Disclaimer:
I drew this design by hand then used a software program to edit it.
Please consider the drawing copyrighted. You have my permission to print copies of the drawing in any size for your own use but not to share or sell. If you want to share the pattern please link to the blog pages.
The embroidery design is my own. I have not knowingly copied anyone else's work.