I decided to sign up for the online class and the first thing Carol suggests you do is make a stitch bible. It really is a good idea because it is surprising how different the stitches actually look compared to their little drawings on the machine.
I stitched all of the stitches for my Husqvarna Lily 555 using purple variegated thread. As I stitched, I labelled each with the corresponding number on the machine for easy reference later. I used a fine point Sharpie and just hand wrote them.
Once I finished all of the stitches, I put two pages back to back and did a simple zig zag stitch around the outside to secure the pages (and hide the bobbin stitches).
For the cover, I decided to use some fun lettering from my Letter Love class back in February (look familiar Joanne?). Here's one link to a post with similar lettering if you're interested. I love how well these lend themselves to machine applique and stitch!
To be able to quickly find the stitches for each machine, I put ribbon tabs on the first page of each section, using the same colour as the stitching.
While I was over at the sewing machine doing all of this, our cat was enjoying her new favourite spot on my new desk. She's loving that spot in front of the window as much as I do!
I still need to get some grommets so I can 'bind' the pages with a couple of binder rings and then it'll be finished and ready to use.
That is a great idea. I've never thought of them looking different than the pictures! Maybe I should give my "weird ones" a try.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. You can also play with the stitch length and width to see what variations you might like of a particular stitch. Have fun Amanda!
DeleteI've been using some of my fancy stitches on my fabric postcards. I once took all the fonts in Photoshop and made pages where I typed out every font. I would type the name of the font, using that particular font, so I could see them all at a glance. Sort of like your stitch bible!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to use those fancy stitches. There really are some nice ones and we so seldom use them. Have you hear of Word Mark? It's a web page that allows you to type in a sample of text (ie. your name) and then it loads all of the fonts you have on your computer so that you can see what your text looks like in each of the different fonts. You can even select the ones you're considering and narrow down your choices to help you choose the best font for a particular project. Just type in wordmark.it in the address line on your computer. Have fun!
DeleteLinda, I took that class awhile back and loved the idea of the stitch bible. I made mine but since I have an old Elna with very few cams, my "bible" only had 6 pages! However, I refer to it all the time. Such a simple great idea.
ReplyDeleteI can see how useful it will be. I'm sure I'll refer to mine often too.
DeleteThat's a wonderful idea. I have thought about taking her class. Now I really want to take it.
ReplyDeleteCaren, if you click on the link above (for Stupendous Stitching) it takes you to Carol Ann Waugh's site. From there, follow her link for 50% off the regular price of the class on the Craftsy website. Have fun!
DeleteThank you so much for this inspiration. God willing I am going to make a stitch bible tomorrow. I have been searching all day on Google after seeing Carol Ann Waugh's stitch bible on a show I just happened to see on Qnntv trying to decide if I wanted to subscribe and fell in love with hers. Again my sincere thanks to you.
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome! Have fun with it and thanks for your visit!
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