Introducing Allieoops Designs; Fall Apples Towel

via allie-oopssweethappylife.blogspot.com

One of my fellow Michigan bloggers, Allie, is starting her own pattern business! Way to go, Allie! I am so excited for her!  She does great hand embroidery. Check out her first design. It's super cute!

Click here to read more about her business, Allie Oops Designs, and to learn how to get a copy of her new pattern. I know she'd love the support if you're so inclined to purchase one!

I was thinking this might make a nice gift for my brother for his lake home. Or do you think it is too "sea like" to go for a lake home? I was even thinking that just doing the bottom embroidery would be kind of neat.

Speaking of embroidery:

A couple of weeks ago, I made this new towel for my kitchen.  It seems apropos to post a photo of it at the end of the first week of school.  (School=apples)

Here's a closer shot.  I thought it turned out really cute.  I used my embroidery machine, which my mom gave me.  It was a class at my sewing machine shop.  It was a fun class.  We also learned to do some heirloom stutiching as well.  You probably can't see it in the photo, but there is a pretty hemstitch along the bottom of the towel.  I did it with a wing needle.  That was pretty fun.  I think this project could have stood another row of it, to be honest, so that it would stand out a little more.

The class is fun.  Once a month, the girls at the shop make a towel and teach you something new (in this case, the heirloom stitching).  They also bring in four or five other ideas (finished projects) of what you could do with the designs on the embroidery CD.  I'm looking forward to the Halloween one we'll do next.  It will be cute.

If you look closely, it didn't turn out perfectly.  I had some puckering under the hanle of the basket, and the words got shifted up to high on the sign.  I'm sure that's due to the puckering and pulling.  I did not stabilize it well enough.  If I did it again, I'd put two layers of stabilizer underneath instead of one, and I'd add another layer on the top.  When there is so much stitching in the design, it tends to pull the fabric in.  The design called for a brownish red to form the checkerboard towel in the basket.  I changed it up to be black so it would match my kitchen better.  I think it turned out cute.

I was almost glad it didn't turn out perfect.  That way, I'm not afraid to actually USE the towel!  Do you ever do that?  Make something and then don't use it because you don't want it to get ruined?  I do it all the time.  Years later, I'll think to myself, "Why didn't I just use it and enjoy it?  It sits in a drawer all the time and never got used?!"  So, we're using the towel.

And after one day of use, it already had two big black marks on it from hamburger grease (and the grill).  Sigh.

But they came out in the wash, thankfully!  ;-)

Well, I made it through the first week of school.  Sigh.  What a relief!

Today is Papa Pea's and my 12th wedding anniversary.  We're taking a little motorcycle trip tomorrow to celebrate.  I am really looking forward to it!  (Sweet Pea can't figure out how it's our 12th anniversary, but she's only 7 and a half years old.  We try to explain that we waited a while to have her, but it seems to confuse her!  haha)

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Until next time,

Comments

[Amy]

Happy anniversary! Our kids think that it is really strange that we were married for about 5 years before Timothy was born. I guess it is supposed to be immediate in their minds!

[Brooke]

Happy Anniversary!!

[Allie]

Oh sweetie thank you for blogging my new business!! And I do think it would be fine for a lake home - if we make it up to Harrisville this year to my cousin's home on Lake Huron, I'm taking mine to her for her home. She loves anything lake or sea related.

Your towel turned out great! I usually use two layers, especially on dense designs, and criss-cross them. The tear-away has a slight weave and that seems to make it more stable. So very glad you're using the towel, my mom keeps everything I've given her in a drawer, lol!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY - enjoy your motorcycle ride, that'll be fun!

[Deb]

Cute towel! I'm a big fan of embroidered kitchen towels but, like you, I hate to use them. My Grandmother gave me a set of "Days of the Week" kitchen towels many years ago that she hand embroidered and they are sitting in a drawer - I'm thinking of doing a quilt with them because I don't want to ruin them in the kitchen :-). Happy Anniversary - be careful out there on those motorcycles (sorry, that's the Mom coming out in me).

[Linda in Calif.]

Happy Anniversary! A motorcycle ride? That's my kind of celebrating! The towel is really cute. I'm the same way; can't use them when they are so cute.

[Maureen]

Happy Anniversary! Maybe Sweet Pea can talk to my daughter because we too celebrated 12 years this year.

Cute towel! I do the same as you and not use certain things but then I try to display it.

I like the lighthouse. The 5 great lakes all have big lighthouses so it would be very nice for a lake house.

Enjoy your motorcycle trip! Sweet Pea going with? or are you able to go alone? :)

[Donna]

Happy Anniversary! Ours was last week and it was our 35th.
I love the embroidery design and think it would be perfect for your brother.
Your towel is perfect and I would never have noticed the "boo boo". Cute design with the apples.
Enjoy the day tomorrow.
Hugs,
Donna

[jenclair]

Happy Anniversary and enjoy your trip!

[Maggie Szafranski]

Happy Anniversary! Hope you had a great day! Love the towel. And glad you are learning and doing more with the embroidery machine! It is fun, and addictive!

[Jackie]

Happy Anniversary! Love the towel, I would totally get it dirty by accident in 2 hours, have a great day tomorrow!!

[Cindy]

Well Happy Anniversary!! And the towel is SO cute!!!