Christmas prayer for all

My Christmas prayer for all of you is for the most blessed Christmas ever.

May you truly find that giving is better the receiving... may you touch someones life in a warm and wonderful way, bringing peace, joy and love to those in need.

Christmas is about the greatest Love of all.... let's share some love with others and be so grateful for the love we receive.

Merry Christmas...

And... I almost forgot...

My Master-Hooper sale is supposed to be over on Jan 2, 2012... With Free Shipping and my very low prices, I am only making a profit by the volume of sales, definitely not on individual sales like the sewing machine distributors do. So if you are looking for a Master-Hooper now is the time to buy! 

Ooakdolly's Etsy Shop Link

I have been very blessed to have made quite a few Master-Hooper sales this month so far.... Helps to pay for the computer repairs! It feels good to help other machine embroiders find a tool that really helps them out and they will enjoy using. 

Please remember that I will need to verify the delivery date, so if you are looking for a pre-Christmas delivery in the USA, I will need to confirm that with the factory and UPS... so don't delay.

Sheeesh....

My computer internal disc drive died and so I have been offline now for entirely tooooo long. Almost two weeks!! I was lucky and extremely thankful my computer guy could fit me into his extremely busy schedule.

My friends & neighbors Kathy & Del very graciously allowed me to use their PC to check my Etsy shop and pay our bills, so I wasn't totally lost. Downside is that now that I have my PC back I miss seeing them everyday!

Now I just need to find a decent size external drive for back-up at an extremely reasonable price... this was too scary. Do not want to be in that position again!

I have so much software to download and re-install that I know I'll be busy for quite awhile.

So... if I don't get back on here before the holidays, please all of you enjoy a safe, peaceful and blessed Christmas, Hanukkah, Boxing Day and New Years Eve.

I'm baaack....

I've been so busy lately & I haven't been keeping up on my blog!


So today I decided I had to get busy on it and I changed my background even added some goodies and a Google Translator Menu ... of course... someone needs to be able to read what it is and know what to do with it. LOL! I think people are intelligent enough to figure it out. If you have any ideas or suggestions to help me improve this blog please let me know.


I also finally gave in and became a tweeter... it's kinda fun too!

I also have added a couple of new things to my Etsy shop!

This cute little Thanksgiving bib...

And... I finally decided to part with my Classic 'Winnie-the-Pooh' decorator pillow cover. I added some embroidered buttons for closure and there you go.

I am going to make some toddler bibs that are machine embroidered ITH (in the hoop) and will post those them when I put them on Etsy too.


Well I suppose I'd better get to the machine and get some things taken care of today...So... bye for now and God bless your day! 

Tuesday was a big day!

 

My brother-in-law John got out of the hospital (after being there for a couple of days, being treated for blood clots.) Pretty scary weekend. He has a blood clot in his lung and in his legs and of course he is now on blood thinners. One of the occupational hazards of a computer guy they say. It is still kinda scary because you know he still has the clots and of course are concerned about another breaking free. My sister Jo must be going crazy, she's a little mother-hen where he's concerned anyway. Let say a prayer for them both. Thanks.

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I also had my friends over for lunch on Tuesday. That was so great. I am doing several projects for my friend Marie and got to meet Marie's Mom Linda for the first time - I feel like I've known her forever. My dear friend and neighbor Kathy joined us too... I wanted her to meet Marie & her Mom. Both Marie and her Mom are cancer survivors and both have had mastectomies... the same operation Kathy will be having on the 22nd. Marie and Linda were so gracious and answered questions and explained to Kathy about what she could expect. Kathy was already very informed from doing her own research and Marie also brought Kathy tons of books and we all had a nice time and a pretty darn good lunch too...

chicken salad wraps and fruit & pastries.... yum.

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Yesterday I digitized a graphic for Marie from her wedding invitation (1986.) 

They went to the coast to celebrate their 25th anniversary on August 30th and picked up a momento, a beautiful quilt. It's white and has trapunto type shells around the outside. It's just lovely. She asked me to machine embroider a graphic from their wedding invitation along with a personal comment in the center of the quilt. The digitizing took me longer than I expected, but it came out so neat. Here is a picture of the finished quilt.

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Today... I am working on Kathy's Bible cover, altering some camisoles for Marie, making a pattern for a portion of a jacket I am 'rebuilding' and now... six quilts, that I am doing repair work on. Then I have some digitizing to do for Pastor John Cahill's Bible so I can get his cover completed... 

And the big one... Two Doggies that need to be groomed again!

Plus we have Bible Study this evening...

So... I can't complain about being bored.

Hope everyone has as good a day as mine is shaping up to be... in other words...

God bless your day!

To give is a blessing...

A couple of weeks ago I decided to make some gifts for my Bible Study group.  We are a small group, so I felt I could do so and not get overwhelmed... I'm not sure whether my assessment was correct or not, but I have certainly enjoyed doing them and that's a good thing 'cuz I'm still in the process!

I've completed a cover for a Kindle (which I didn't get a picture of...) for my friend Jack.  I do have a picture of the embroidery design I put on it. It was lined in a navy blue flannel with paw prints and the case was made of a khaki colored decorator canvas with this design from The Embroidery Library on it....

Under this I wrote an appropriate book title - "The Call of the Wild" - then I put a wide tab on the top that closes over the top and closes with velcro and wrote his name on it. I think he liked it... (grin)

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And... I also have completed the next two Bible covers.

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The next one I made was for my Mom it is out of a lighter buff colored decorator canvas and the design is significantly more feminine and beings the cover was 'book specific'...

it had a Bible verse (1 John 4:19) on the front

(The pictures have a glare on them but I think you can read the verse.)

 I lined it in a light blue & white stripe suiting with room to add her notebook, pens and highlighter.

and an a Angel on the back with her name.... cuz she's my little Angel

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Next came Jack's wife Ann....I refined my design a bit...

I think I will be making my Mom another one here soon from this new design... I really like it.

Ann's cover is made from the same durable (but really nice hand) decorator canvas as the others.

Ann gave me her color choices, Bible dimensions and Bible Verse and I took it from there. I lined it in a soft pastel colored plaid cotton and added pockets to this one.

There is an extra pocket on the front cover side for a note pad and grosgrain ribbon loops for her pens. The back side has a small upper pocket for whatever fits it and a pocket for her offering envelope.

It has a double tab with velcro closure.

The back cover has a saying that just reminds me of Annie....

and of course her name.

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The next one on the drawing board is for my dear friend and neighbor Kathy. When it's completed then I will post pictures. Then I have one that I will need to digitize for Pastor John Cahill. He has a special design that is dear to his heart that he wants, so that may take some time... Then something for Del (Kathy's husband) that is still in the imagination stages, and that should wrap this project up.

My study group will be covered... excuse the pun - (chuckle chuckle...)

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Making Bible covers is really rewarding. Not only are you focused on and/or can be praying for the individual you are making it for, but it also can provide a Bible verse study at the same time.

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Well... I think it's time to get things ready to close up shop for tonight.

My next personal project is a lap quilt for my bouncing baby boy Scott... okay so he's a 44 year old... He will ALWAYS be my baby boy. I may give you access to my design process on that one, however I would like to complete the project in the forseeable future and when I started this blog the one thing I've learned is that it can really be time consuming, that's probably why you will see time lapses between my entries...

God bless your day!

New additions to Etsy Shop

I had a pretty productive day... I added some new things to my shop this evening.

My sweet little model came this morning and we got some pictures... she is soooo cute and just as beautiful in the inside as on the out. Mommy & Daddy have done a wonderful job with all their children, they are pretty special kids 

So without further ado...

 For more information and some additional pictures please visit this item in my Etsy shop

You can find out more about this one and see more pictures at this listing also

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Yesterday afternoon after church, I decided that I needed to pull out my Janome 725 embelishing machine and play.... I had so much fun. I know something is great when I loose track of time.... I lost track of time... I really like the fact that it has single needle or 1-5 needles options. That really allows for precise work.

I made a couple of pair of felted booties and put them on Etsy tonight too.

I called the first one "Puck" because it reminded me of something a little woodland sprite might have on.

The second pair I made I pulled out the wool roving and some of my favorite colored yarn and made a pair I call them "Ariel" 

I have the patterns for small - medium - large, so if anyone is interested in having some made let me know.

Marie's Doggie Diapers

Thought I'd better add the pictures of Marie's (Chihuahuas) Doggie Diapers before I forgot and got involved with another project - Their names are "Snickers" & "Todd" - I decided to personalize them for her.



Morning musing and the project for today.... Doggie Diapers!

I'm going to have to wait until next week to get pictures and then to put the two little outfits into Etsy.

Our little 'Super Model' can't make it until then.

We are addressing some concerns (and rightfully so) that her Mommy & Daddy have about having her pictures going on the internet, and we think we can get creative without disappointing our little model.

It does my heart good to see there are still parents out there that take their 'job' seriously!

While I was on my photographic adventure yesterday with my Herbie & Snickers, I snapped a picture of our roses... you are saying "So... and that is significant why???" - Well when we moved here to these beautiful mountains I spent a lot of money buying plants to beautify our landscape.... It took at least a couple thousand dollars over a period of at least three growing seasons... but I finally learned there are certain plants that just do not perform as well here, as in the valley, one of those plant types are roses. We just didn't have the heart to pull them out, so each year we watch them hoping they will prove us wrong.. well it has taken 12 years to see this beautiful display... I am capturing them for posterity!

Thank you Lord! Our little pump house has never looked better.

Now on to today's project!

This morning I've chosen the fabric...  I have my pattern and I'm going to make my friend Marie some 'doggie diapers' for her little four legged boy babies.

Here are the fabrics I collected from my stash...

One side is the cotton quilting fabric and the other has this really cute flannel

My pattern has several different sizes and a male and a female version... I'm going for the male belly band version today.

I'll post some pictures a little later.

God bless your day!

Faerie Fog Morning

While taking my doggies out this morning the fog inticed me to bring along my camera...

What a beautiful faerie fog morning it was...

Please contact me for permission to copy or use photographs.
Thank you and God bless your day!

A Sugar 'n Spice kinda day!

Well... yesterday was a good day, besides speaking with my wonderful kidz in Seattle... I also posted a little girl's (18-24mos) outfit, that I made, to my Etsy Shop, and today I'm going to track down my favorite 'super model' (I hope) so I can get pictures of her in the other two outfits I completed over that past couple of weeks. Here are the pictures of the toddler outfit I put in the Sugar n' Spice Section of my Etsy shop yesterday:

"J'Adore Paris" outfit in Etsy shop

Fabrics: 100% cottons

Dress: "Paris... Now" by Jackii Jones

for Marcus Brothers Textiles, Inc.

and

Pants & collar: "White Dot on Black" by Mary Engelbreit 

Lining of Bodice & Collar:

"Raspberry" Swiss Batiste with Black Cotton Cluny Lace Trim

If she bends over... a little message for those who look at her cute little tush!

Bodice has a button back closure

My Embroidery Designs have been gathered over the course of years. I must thank all of my generous fellow digitizers and embroiderers for their wonderful contributions to the embroidery design community and for their many God given talents provided both for free and for purchase!

Been a buzy girl!

I haven't forgotten you... I've just been a busy girl. This morning was my sweet nephew Jason's 43rd birthday. As per tradition, Mom and I called him bright an early to sing him "Happy Birthday", he was right in the middle of fixing a sink fawcet, but oh well, ya gotta sing when ya gotta sing. Love that kid...

Well...I have been embroidering up a storm and have added a couple new items to my Etsy Shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Ooakdolly

Also posted them on my facebook page:

facebook.com - OOAKdolly-Embroidery-Sewing-Dolls-Master-Hooper-Gifts-Supplies

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The first thing was my redwork quilt block set. There are 20 blocks in the set. They are from Martha Pullen's 2009 redwork "New Testament Quilt" design set.

These are the first few of the 20 block set

I have an EQ7 (Electric Quilt7) software package that I love. And so then I designed a queen sized quilt to go with these designs.

My color choices for this quilt design are the ancient royalty colors of a dark red, royal purple and coin gold. I think it would also look great in an all white with a red sashing & border, and then quilted in a feather design on the sashes and borders. Maybe someday in my "free time" I'll try it out. LOL

I am offering it as a "Freebie" with the order of this particular set. It has the rotary cutting guides for each piece and also for the "Star of Bethlehem" blocks in each corner. I also included templates for those blocks. I also am including a Fabric Key that has the yardage for each color, the number of pieces for each color PLUS a one time fabric substitution key that will included the purchasers color choices and yardage, should they decide mine aren't their cup of tea.  Go figure...

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Then I made a little gift for my previous pastor's new grandchild. His church is so far away, in these economic times we just can't afford to attend that church, and have been blessed enough to have found a new church home in our own town. After I made it, I took pictures of it and then put them on Etsy as an example of my custom embroidery skills. So I now have another listing for a custom made set in my shop

The design comes in either monochromatic colors or a mix. In the hat I used the mono and in bonnet crown and booties I used the mixed colors. It was fun to make and very satisfying. This too is a Martha Pullen Embroidery Design called "Cross and Bows".

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I've also been doing some sewing of little girls outfits. I've completed a little jumpsuit and hat in Mary Englebreit fabrics and a cute little pillowcase dress of my own design. I'm waiting for my little model to get here so I can take pictures and post them in my shop also. As soon as I have pictures of those I will post them also.

Well I had better get going and start dinner and take my little doggies out for a walk. So I will be back soon.
God Bless Your Day!