From the Prairie to the Last Frontier to the Crossroads of America, a busy May!

Well it has been a busy few weeks for me and I’m going to need to do a few posts just to get it all in.  In April I went to the 2009 edition of the International Quilt Festival…so I’ll need to do a post on that when I get a chance.  There were some really beautiful quilts that I want to share…and also an interesting little side story that I’ll mention but for now I’m just going to recap where all I’ve been in the last few weeks.

I know I would have posted earlier had it not been for this funny thing called a power source.  I tell ya.  This is the second time its happened where the power to our SBC DSL 2Wire box craps out.  The last time this happened we were down for two weeks and had spent hours on the phone with SBC, even ordered a new box only to find out it wasn’t the box at all but the power supply.  Urgh!  So it did it again just before we left on one of these trips I’m about to mention and my husband decided to bypass all the rig-a-ma-ro and go direct to purchasing a new power supply.  It came in the mail today and viola!  We are up and running again!

So…I mentioned the quilt festival.  Here’s just a couple of photos to wet the appetite.  More will come in another post.  OOOh so much to talk about.

The IQF schedule

Quilt Lovers converge on the Stephens Convention Center in droves!

Then it was off to Peoria, IL to photograph the Ten Outstanding Young Person’s of Illinois.  There really is nothing like trying to take photos of people in a dark dungeon of a room and balance out the light with a spotlight glaring at you!  Urgh!  I know I know…photographer?  Me?  Well yes…I do have a pro camera and equipment that I take out every once in a while and actually do get busy with some work…

The TOYP

The Judge...shhh don't say anything I wouldn't say...

White Sox represented

A really cool volunteer

The above honorees were celebrated over the 1st weekend in May.  I got to play at professional photographer and it was a lot of fun.  But what does this have to do with sewing????  I know…once more I’ve gone off the tangent but actually I did sew the backdrop for the photo shoot a few years ago and used my training in procion dyes to dye the material.  It works in a pinch and other than possibly straightening out a few of the drapes the effect does the job.  So really nothing.  It’s just a little side job I do to earn a little money and keep me out of trouble.  It’s a good hobby…besides sewing.  And someday I’ll actually work out the lighting over the sewing machine to take some good photos.  Who knows.

Then it was off to the Last Frontier!  Whoo Hoo!  Another trip to Alaska! Ah laas SKAH! as Mrs. Palin would say it.  It’s funny.  Every time I said Alaska I would put the emphasis on the SKA…it drives everyone crazy now.  It’s a good political indicator for me as I would come to find out.  I just say ALASKAaaah! and watch the reaction.  Pretty hysterical.

Anyhooosy we were there to celebrate a final sister-in-law graduating from college.  We were up in Fairbanks for three days and then we had to get down to Denali to visit more family and see our newest niece who was born in January.  I decided to bring along a UFO that was my husband’s Grandmother’s before she passed away nearly 8 or so years ago.  Bertha had 9 children, umpteen grandchildren and gargantuanumpteen great grandchildren when she passed away at 92.  She adopted me just like one of her own when I married one of her many grandchildren back in 1992.  For almost a decade she’d send me $5 in a birthday card.  She was pretty amazing.  I didn’t know of her comitment to crochet until she passed away and I was given a box of yarn and miscellaneous old sewing thread and notions.

Inside the box was a broken knitting holder and inside THAT was a half finished baby blanket.  No instructions and the remainder of the yarn was strewn about in a few

Grandma's UFO finished!

other bags and boxes.  I just sorted through the things at the time and thought someday I’ll try and finish this.  Since the occasion arose that a new baby was on the way I pulled out the blanket and figured it all out.  Again…what does this have to do with sewing?  Wellllllllll….about the only thing related is more room for me in my sewing space and crochet actually does use the term ’stitch’…that’s about it.  Sorry.  But here’s a photo of the finished blanket.

If you look really really close you can tell where Bertha ends and I pick up.  My stitches are much bigger and looser.  It worked and for not being a super duper crochet artist it all worked out.

Denali Park Road

Now.  I know you are all wondering about AlaSKAaaah!  If you have never been I highly recommend it.  The vastness of the place will really blow you away.

One way to get away

You can decide if you want to go rustic.  As in cabin and out house.  Here is a living accommodation not for the faint of heart, but a real Alaskan cabin.

Bring your own toilet paper

Complete with all the comforts of your own personal out house.  The luxury is paramount.  You even have your own personalized foam seat and privacy screen.

It would do some good to let you all know that I managed not to drink any fluids while visiting just so I didn’t have to use the facilities.  I might have come away with a bout of IBS…

Don’t worry folks we did not stay the night here.  Alaska does have hotels and while we were in Fairbanks we stayed at a lovely one, with a shower even.

Animals are everywhere in AlasSKAaah!  Here is a moose just lolly gagging about.

Moose in the road. Doesn't he know about the road kill policy?

And the state bird, the Ptarmigan.  Ooh.  Hope I spelled that correctly else we’d just have to call it Chicken (a little inside AlasSKAaah! humor!).

The State Bird

We saw nearly all the top 5 animals.  No bear on this trip but we did spot the specks of a Lynx.  It was pretty exciting.  At least I’m sticking with the story that it was a Lynx.  Clearly it couldn’t have been anything other than a Lynx.  Through the brush, flashes of fur, Carribou running out of the way.  Yup.  It was a Lynx.

Dahl sheep were high up on the peaks, Carribou were down in flatlands, Moose were all over acting like it’s their territory or something and plenty of various other wildlife.  Spring hadn’t quite

gotten there as most of the place was still gray and nothing in bloom.

The only life and color blooming existed at the two quilt shops I managed to visit while in Fairbanks.

Northern Threads in Fairbanks

Inside Northern Threads...do I look like I just rolled out of the woods or what?

I will have to say that I was DE-Light-ED at both The Material Girls and Northern Threads.

Material Girls Fairbanks

Colorful.  Full of Life.  Bright.  Lots of fabrics and just a delight.  I bought a few yards of batiks at both and decided to pick up a Shop Hop Block from each store.

Inside Material Girls. Yup. I really did come out of the woods for this one.

Northern Threads also had a marvelous section of yarn and very beautiful samples on display.  It really was a treat

to be able to v

isit.  I know that if I was ever abandoned in AlasSKAah! I wouldn’t be far from a place that at least I could spend time on a really great hobby.  This was comforting.

Then, if all this travel wasn’t enough the next week we were off to Indianapolis to spend the weekend with a college roomate of mine.  It had been probably 12 years since I’d seen her in person so there was plenty of catching up to do.

Our trip included ‘the race’.  I endured.  I’ve seen better ones.  This year there were too many crashes and not enough strategic driving.  I’m not a huge race fan but at least if you are there to watch the spectacle it is pretty amazing.

I’m back home now and my sewing room extends it’s hands out to me.  Come inside my long lost friend!

How to Prepare a Polo to be Machine Embroidered

This fashion statement is about 30 years old.  I remember in the mid 90’s businesses and civic clubs began transitioning from t-shirts and jackets to polo shirts with embroidered logos.  Back in the early ’80’s my very first embroidered polo was for a trip to the Junior National Swim Championships in Milwaukee Wisconsin.

That year, an a side embroidery comment that I just thought of,  we also had Arena warm-up suits and the jacket had to be embroidered on the back with our team name.  On a weekend my Dad drove us to some far off remote location to drop them off at house where the woman there had a little side embroidery business.  She needed a couple of weeks and then we drove again to pick them up.  I have no idea what system she was using but I do remember it was this huge piece of equipment/machine with one of those pre-IBM looking computers and a monitor as big as a television set.

Back then embroidery was pretty expensive.  The polo and the jacket turned out great.  It was worth it.  My sister and I were then officially part of our team!

Well, back to today and as you all know, word spreads quickly to friends and family when they find out you have an embroidery machine.  When I first purchased my machine it was about two months before I found myself embroidering about 30 polos.  I made so many mistakes, from hooping to digitizing.  They came out okay but I ruined no less than 2 or 3.  This was back in 2000.  (Yes…my machine is now getting dated!  I can’t believe that since it seems it cost so much money.  It still works great, so not looking to trade it in just yet.)  Today, I’m a little bit better at this than I was then!

I also realized that this embroidery was fairly time consuming.  No wonder the pros purchase the multi-head units and the professional machines.  It is well worth the investment if this is something you’ll do for a business.  But for small quantity groups of polos, sweatshirts, t-shirts, bags, etcetera it is a fun way to volunteer some time and talent.  Everyone will appreciate your work and love it!

As the years have gone by I realized that I could purchase polos at wholesale prices.  Duh.  This was a great find and has saved me lots and lots of money and time.  You can try www.blankshirts.com and browse the clearance and discounts section.  Just be careful though.  You really get what you pay for, cheap isn’t always the best.  Look for heavier weight fabrics and 100% cotton.

Step 1: Determine the placement of your design.  Using your hoop template line up the correct position.  I try to align the vertical center over a bust point and the horizontal center over the midway point of the armscye.  Pretty lo-tech science but it seems to work no matter what the size is.  Mark the location using an erasable marking pencil or marker.  I’m using Mark B Gone brand.

Determine the embroidery placement and mark the location with an erasable pencil/chalk/marker.

Step 2: Prepare your backing material. I am using a stiff cut-away backing.  This is just very stiff sew-in interfacing I find next to the cutting counter at various fabric stores.  For me, the thicker/stiffer the better when using this with polos.  Polos are generally lighter weight fabrics so there needs to be some good support behind them in order to achieve a smooth embroidered design.

Cut a piece of backing material about 1-2 inches larger than the hoop.

Here, I am finding the center of the backing.  I fold in half, then fold in half again.  Crease the edges and mark the center.

Step3: Hoop your polo.

Place your Polo shirt over the front end of your ironing board.  Insert the backing and insert a pin into the center marker on the polo and line it up with the center marker on the backing.

Adjust vertical and horizontal and use the pin to hold the backing in place while you insert the outer hoop.

Insert the larger outer hoop under the polo.  On the outside of the polo I hold in place the embroidery placement guide along the markings and wiggle the hoop until it falls into position.

Then I take the inside hoop and insert it into the outer hoop.  Remove the embroidery placement guide and check that the markings match up.  The center can be off, so don’t panic too much if it is.  Once hooped onto the machine, the center can be adjusted using the machine software before starting the embroidery.  Mostly you are checking the vertical and horizontal.  If these line up then you are good to go.

I like to remove a little excess to tighten up the fabric and create a smooth surface.  Don’t stretch it!  Just smooth it.  Check the backing to make sure it is smooth as well.  Finally, check the hoop to make sure it is seated all away around.

Step 4: Attach the hoop to the machine.

Gently insert the hooped garment underneath the pressure foot.  I bring the needle up to the highest point to avoid snagging the material.

Be sure to check around and under the hoop that there is no extra garment fabric underneath.  Nothing like double sewing a perfectly good polo to ruin your afternoon!

Attach the hoop and click it into place along the embroidery machine arm.

Step 5: Align the hoop to center

Select your design and choose layout.

Align the center.  On my machine I press center and the needle advances to the center.

I bring the needle down to verify.  I can move the needle by pressing the position arrows.  Once I am centered then I select OK and the machine advances to the first color.  I am ready to go!

Voila!  The completed design…a little dark (It’s early morning and the sun isn’t up!  I’m working on this project before I go to work!).