Check Engine Light

While sewing last week, the “check engine light” on my sewing machine turned on.  And yes, it’s just as annoying as when it turns on in the car.  Sure, you can keep sewing…or your can bring it into the dealership and expect to hand over your wallet when you want it back.  Well, being that I probably care more about my sewing machine than my car, I sadly dropped it off at my local sewing machine shop.  Back at home, unable to sew and unmotivated to clean, I took a nap most of the afternoon.  :)

To get my sewing fix in, I took care of one last onesie before dropping it off.  I hope my machine’s not gone long!

Monday, Monday

 

Some Mondays live up to their name, and it’s possible that today, I did have “a case of the Mondays.”  To cheer me up, this evening I made sure to take the opportunity to do a little sewing.  I made three onesies this evening, and one of them has a springtime color theme.  I honestly prefer my standard blue/pink/green color scheme; however, I was genuinely happy with the way this one turned out.  Not a bad way to end a Monday.

Happy Labor Day!

 

I just finished up a couple onesies before the holiday weekend!  I hope you have a great weekend!

I especially love this one:

Color My World

I really enjoy making custom embroidered onesies.  Of course there’s a lot of excitement for those with the promise of a “me,” and I love to think that mom and dad’s hearts melt a little when they see their names on baby’s chest. 

A typical onesie is embroidered in what I like to call “neutral baby colors.”  It’s perfect for a boy or girl; I always envision a baby boy in his little jeans and this onesie, and a baby girl wearing this onesies with a little tu-tu.

Though, sometimes I to get a little more creative for specific types of babies…this one is for little Jack.    It’s fun to give other colors a chance! 

Busy Bee

So far, a typical day for me this week has been 10 hours at work, followed by a concert, meeting or rehearsal, then finally retiring home to embroider some custom onesies.  I’m not really complaining…it’s my husband and cats that always seem to think they got the short end of the Jill-stick.  So before anyone notices that I’ve been gone, here’s what I’ve been working on:

The Robots can Stand on their Own

Hurray for Summer Camp!  Tomorrow, MrBeans starts  two weeks of instructing future engineers at Lego Robotics Camp!  He loves robotics and insisted that I make him a custom embroidered polo for his first day of camp.  It’s a lot of fun when you can customize almost anything!  Today, he picked up a plain black polo shirt at Kohl’s,  ($10 Kohl’s cash=free polo) and I spent about 30 minutes making his new favorite polo!

Funny story: One year, MrBeans got a good friend to help him with camp.  After a long day of young children, Legos, and programming, they indulged in all-you-can-eat wings at a local establishment.  After a couple dozen too many hot wings, the friend’s wife had a difficult time waking him up off the couch and into bed later that evening.  He yelled absurdities (in his sleep) at her: “The robots can stand on their own!”  and “Don’t tell me what to do!”  Moral of the story:  Don’t mix robots and hot wings.

 

I like custom embroidering “serious” things too.  Before Lauren moves away to Chicago next week, she asked me to monogram pillow cases for her.  She picked out the set of sheets, then just dropped the pillow cases off at my house.  An hour later, they’re beautifully personalized!

MrBeans says I’m very creative; I tell him it’s not me, it’s the robots.

True Colors

I’m in the midst of a couple of crazy weeks!  I’ve actually closed my Etsy shop, because I knew I couldn’t handle any custom orders.  (My sewing machine went to the beach?!?)  But knowing the magic words got me to squeeze in a couple custom onesies this evening. 

They’re different color combinations then I’ve done before, and I should have balked at the Mets colors…but I made it anyway.  25% off to anyone who reads this and wants a onesie in real colors, Phillies colors!  Just comment on this post!

That’s clutch!

Hooray!  I’m finished sewing 7 custom embroidered Bean’s Clutches!  

Not that they weren’t fun, but I can’t wait to get back to some projects for myself!

And here’s a sneak peak from yesterday’s shopping trip:

Monograms for Clutches

 

My current work in progress consists of monogramming Bean’s Clutches for a bridal party.  I’m creating six clutches, plus one for the bride, with single letter monograms.  It’s been relatively fun so far, and I really like the look of the embroidery on oil cloth.  The only problem is finding time to make them!  I’m off to band practice tonight, but maybe I can do a little more when I get home…after all, I don’t have to wake up early to go to work tomorrow.  ;)

I’m getting a little more savvy with creating blog posts, but not so much with editing video.    Hopefully this works:   I’ve added in a video of my sewing machine doing a little bit of the  embroidery….because it’s so much fun to watch!

Don’t forget to check out these clutches at my shop!

Downpour!

Today we experienced two torrential downpours, and we’re not sure we’ll make it through the night without another one.  I don’t mind the rain…except when I’m nervous about it taking the power out and my sewing/embroidering machine along with it! 

Luckily, the power did not go out, and I finished two custom embroidered onesies.  

One of the onesies I created today had a special request for a little duck on.  I think it’s turned out very sweetly!   I can’t wait to find out what she thinks of it.  I might need to add the little duck to my shop as an option.

When I finished embroidering, and it had stopped pouring, I put my L.L.Bean wellies and splashed outside in the puddles!  I bought them for using in the rain and snow (with the warmers,) and they’ve been awesome!  It’s fun to act like a kid sometimes, especially when you’re not getting wet or muddy!

A Bean’s Clutch for Bean

I just finished making myself a new Bean’s Clutch.  Not because I needed one, but because someone asked me if I could custom embroider monograms on clutches for her bridesmaids.   I hate to say “no” and also don’t like saying “yes” to something I’ve never done, so…I made a trial clutch.

First, I made sure I could embroider on oilcloth.   Turns out, not only can I embroider on it, but it pops up off the fabric and looks very classy!   (Just be careful, you can’t iron oilcloth or get it wet, so I’ve heard.  Just like mogwais…)

The other tricky part was getting that monogram centered.   I felt that I was somewhat lucky with this clutch…but I’m not so sure I will be lucky if I have to do this 7 more times. 
Note the painter’s tape!  Since it was a clutch for myself, I sewed together scraps to make a big enough piece of fabric for a clutch.  The juxtaposed fabrics definitely gives my clutch some character!  This could possibly be a new look for Bean’s Clutches.

I really enjoy how my new clutch turned out, and can’t wait to replace it with the one I have in my purse!  However, monogramming adds some significant cost and time to making Bean’s Clutches; maybe I won’t agree to it next time.

A Niece Gift

I don’t have a new baby to show off, but I do have a cute baby gift basket to share!  I made this little gift basket for my new baby niece who’s 8 days old.  I got this cool Fisher Price Ocean Wonders bath caddy, and filled it with lots of things for a baby girl!  A hooded towel, wash clothes, bath soap, lotion, pink onesies, a cute outfit, little socks, a bib, and of course, SewBean’s custom onesies and burp burp cloths! 

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

I’m so excited that I finally caught up on my orders tonight!  Well, making them, at least.  Tomorrow, I will make the post office very happy when I ship all these packages!

Happy Mother's Day

Long day...A margarita will make it better!

 
I'm a little frustrated and think I've earning my margarita this evening.  MrBeans spent the day at a community event, which left me home alone to sew!  I planned to get some embroidering done in the morning, so I could quilt the afternoon away, but unfortunately, I'm just now (at 7 pm) finishing up the four "quick" and easy pillow cases I needed to embroidering for a friend.  I spent a beautiful Saturday trying to get my computers to communicate with my sewing machine.  What a pain in the pah-toot.  Thank goodness I'm going our to dinner tonight!

At least I think the pillow cases turned out well!  (And I don't have to worry about them tomorrow!!)

Thank Heaven for Little Boys

I had a customer order a custom onesie in "blue."  How do you think it turned out?

Future Miss "Your Town Here"

 I am so excited to post my newest addition to my product line!  If I had  a little girl, she wouldn't be Miss America, but she would be the best thing that ever happened to my town!  Enjoy!

a Notion

A new toy came in the mail over the weekend.  Well, a new notion that is, as we have dubbed them here in the craft world.  My new Sewline AQUAeraser makes it really easy to erase marks on fabric.  The pen gets filled with water, then the tip, a "soft fibre point eraser," easily wipes away water soluable marker marks (and Sewliner lead.)  I can now quickly erase those little blue lines without leaving a large wet spots on my sewing projects.  You can never have too many fun tools!

Along with playing with my new AQUAeraser and helping my mother-in-law break in her brand new Brother sewing machine this weekend, I also managed to get a few more onesies made.  So while the world awaits the promise of new life, I've got more work to do!

Onesies Under Glass

 Earlier this week, one of my customers surprised me with their baby shower story.  She said that her  co-worker, who received a dad+mom=me onesie as part of the gift, loved it so much that they framed it!  Imagine, my work under glass!

The Duck Inside

BEWARE of too much fun!  This blog post contains a video and a duck.

The talented MrBeans plays the drum set in a two-man band called the Duck Inside.  So for the past week, he's steadily improved his airbrushing techniques creating some pretty cool band t-shirts for an upcoming show.  I, overcome with the excitement of my newest version of embroidery software, decided it would be way cooler to sew the duck on a t-shirt.  And cooler still?!  I created a video (with a little help from MrBeans) of me embroidering that duck!

Duck Embroidery 20x the speed of real life:



Quack!  Quack!

Now wasn't that fun!