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JUMBO applique monogram letters on BIG pillow covers. Shop requests have upped the dimensions to letters that individually fill the embroidery hoop. The machine has reached its limit! So graphic and bold; however, calluses on my scissor-cutting fingers aren't as pretty as the pillow covers.
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The 16" x 20" cover is filled to the brim, and the letters on the standard sham make nearly the same impression.
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These seem to be favorites for decorating boys' bedrooms among my shoppers. The set above is two of three shams that will decorate a room shared by three boys. Nice to have something for the boys, though now it might be time to make a change on the calicodaisy label to something less flowery.
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I'm not Irish and I don't wear green that often, but I am totally willing to celebrate the day with a green sugar dusted Farm Chicks chocolate cake. Yep, I don't change too much. If a cake is needed, this is the one for me.
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Spring Cleaning -- One room completely dusted, walls washed, sorted, and staged. Before company came to ruffle it back up, I snapped a photo of the long lumbar 14 x 28 large monogrammed pillow cover against the matelesse linens. Once a year - or so, everything comes together.
When the company leaves, will I spend at least an hour a day spring cleaning through the house? I can only hope. Meanwhile, there's a piece of chocolate cake calling me ...
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The best moves forward to new products in the shop are generally initiated by client requests, and now the custom bolster with optional design features is in the house! The first set ordered is created to match a set of the Veronique applique pillow covers (as seen here with my own monogrammed version). This bolster cover is photographed on a bolster 2" too large, thus the ends at the seams don't look very crisp here, but the pillow form was the closest I could find to the requested bolster cover size.
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The client chose a ribbon bordered design with drawstring closure, 6" x 18". There are a number of sizes in the bolster world. Here is a mockup, though, of what the bolster might look like with a monogram. Instead of ribbon, one could choose piping at the ends. We could do closed ends and a zippered closure along the bottom seam. Applique. Lots of choices!
The shop is on hiatus right now while I move through a treasure trove of orders and try to mix in spring cleaning and my "day job." With all that on my plate (and all I really want right now is a large piece of fudgy chocolate cake on that plate), it will probably be Friday evening or Saturday before the doors open again if I can get to the scheduled target before the weekend.
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Another client request created but not listed in the shop yet is a monogrammed / appliqued tissue box cover. I love it but am working out the details. What details could there be to consider on a tissue box cover? You'd be surprised ... or maybe I'm just surprised because I get worried over the littlest of choices - oval tissue opening or slit, lined or unlined, worth the effort for the competing price (?); sometimes it takes all my energy.
I'll be thinking and making a list of bolster options to be ready for new ideas that come my way for these. One task I should complete this week is staging the guest room and adding proper lighting so I can take photos of these custom bedroom decor items set up in their proper setting. My personal home decor has sure taken a big backseat to business building these last few years. Renew and refresh this spring should be my mantra.
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Just in time for new spring decor, there's an outdoor fabrics option at the calicodaisy shop both with and without embroidery. The range of outdoor fabrics is nearly as marvelous as inside home decor. Shown here is the classic calicodaisy look in solid shades of outdoor canvas.
Outside of choosing solids for pillow covers, custom orders will require the client to choose fabrics from online shops, send me the link of fabric desired, and then we will go from there. With embroidery, without embroidery, piping, no piping, zippered closure ... etc. There are a number of factors to take into consideration regarding the outdoor decor options.
Regarding embroidery on outdoor fabrics, there is a brand of embroidery thread that touts "colorfast and fade resistant." I can't guarantee the strength and length of that promise, but I imagine those who put the investment into an embroidered item for outdoor decor most likely plan to keep that item in a covered area. I'm looking forward to finding what new ideas come my way by client request!
Due to marvelous sales this early 2013 and the need for a good spring cleaning around the house and studio, the calicodaisy shop is on hiatus this week until Thursday or Friday. I am here working and available through shop convos and through e-mail, so if you have a pressing idea or want to get an order started in the next few days, just contact me either way, and I'll be in touch. Please stop by the calicodaisy FB page to keep up with new happenings around here and to contact me as well.
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My very first, completely finished quilt. In my mind, the start of this quilt seems like it was just a couple years ago or so. However, based on my post dating when I had this quilted on the longarm in November 2009 and then further looking into my older photos, turns out this little gem is four years old! Talk about time flying by. As it turns out, this was promised to my girl at that time, so along with the crocheted chevron afghan, she has the best of me right now ... finished items. Anyway, it is so marvelous to have a finished item. After the photo session, I washed the quilt, and now it is so yummy and scrunchy, as all blogging quilters say. So true! You'll have to check out the backside of the quilt below. Back before piecing the back was popular to local sewers around here, my longarm lady was highly unimpressed with the pieced back. I love it.
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Je suis fini ... my first knitted item following a pattern. So sweet in a blue-gray worsted weight wool. No baby heads around here, so my trusty candlestick with a small ball of yarn underneath will have to do.
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I spotted a small alabaster bust up on a shelf hoping the photo isn't too odd. Link to the pattern here. Very simple to follow - especially after watching a couple YouTube videos to learn a couple of stiches. My favorite is how the three slipped stitches at the end of each row creates the pretty band around the face of the bonnet.
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Though I might get obsessed with this new found skill, I must put the needles away and pay attention to studio orders. Great new ideas are pouring in, which keeps things fresh and busy. My favorite this month is a LONG lumbar monogram pillow cover at 14 x 28 inches. Lucky for me, a local client brought a bench over for me to create a cover, so I had a great prop stand to show off the long lumbar made with my own monogram. This damask was a find at the mill a couple of months ago, and I just love the vintage-y look on the loose weave fabric, and the piping covered in the same fabric creates a pretty frame without taking anything away from the design. This length will look great in front of pillow shams on the bed or, as in this case, to decorate a hall bench.
