www.LaurasSewingStudio.com

November 27, 2006

FREE Collection with Orders

I did a little housekeeping in our production room and found some of our original inventory from back when we were only using jewel cases. So until January 1, 2007 we are giving away the Christmas 4x4 Collection with orders over $50.US while supplies last.

CLOSEOUT SALE Continues
2-4-6-8 Pocket Bag Booklet with  Pattern
By Rebecca Brent Kemp
50% off while supplies last

Christmas Collections -

I received some requests last week to purchase the Christmas 4x4 collection. So I added it to the Closeout page. If you prefer to purchase it, you can.

In my rummaging I also found some of the original inventory on Wingneedle Christmas - although not many. So I added it to the closeout page too.

Both are available at the CLOSEOUT PRICE of only $19.95 each while supplies last.

We will still be sending out the Christmas 4x4 collection FREE with all orders over $50.US

Please don’t ask for the Windneedle Christmas collection for your free collection as we don’t have enough of these to be fair to everyone. Thanks

More Fleece Gift Ideas

Last week I featured fleece pieced ‘quilts’ for gifts. This week we’ll make it even easier with personalized fleece blankets & pillowcases.
These blankets and pillowcasses have fringed ends made the same way as shown on the pieced blanket page. The blankets require 2.5 yards of fleece. Two pillowcases require 1 yard of fleece. The finished pillowcases are 22” x 36”

Click the photos for a closer view

Featured Project

For the next few weeks I will be featuring a NEW project made using the techniques and designs from my TOUCH OF NATURE book.

This is the third week in a series featuring this project

TOUCH OF NATURE: Textured Applique Machine Embroidery Techniques & Designs has been well received and I want to thank all of you who bought the book.  Of course, I could only touch on the potential of this art and still be able to get the book into print.  Therefore, for the next few issues of this newsletter, I would like to show you more versatility of the “Touch of Nature” concept.

All of the projects in TOUCH OF NATURE are embroidered as patches. In fact, all of the applique designs included on the CD in the back of the book can be made as patches. What does this mean?

It means when you hoop fabric to sew the designs you don't worry about design placement.  Just sew the design. Once the patch is made, you audition them onto your project, playing with the arrangement until you are happy with the placement.  Pin them on the project. Sew them on. It doesn't get any easier than that!

Use the applique designs included on the CD or use ones you already own.

In your book, look under “Applique Patches”. These instructions tell you how to make patches with appliques and what type of applique designs are appropriate for the “patch” technique. 

Featured Project

This is a simple purchased cotton knit top from Lands End.
 I made some organza and satin patches with fringe and a few fringe puff patches and stitched them onto the top.

One of the best things about making patches is being able to audition them onto a garment before commiting to their placement. Also if one of them gets damaged or the top get damaged, the patches can be replaced or removed and used on another project.

Rummaging through my fabric stash, I found colors that I like with the brown top - aqua, beige, gold, and brown organza and satin.  Next, I matched up some threads. I picked colors to compliment the fabrics and found some great multi colored threads.

In your copy of Touch of Nature, look in Appendix A at the pictures of the embroidery designs included on the CD. Notice the instructions for each design include what each color stop sews.  Keep your book open to these pages, so you will know what sews next.  In this series we’re going to do some mixing and matching of the designs and their parts.

For this project I made several patches and fringe puffs in various fabric/thread combinations.

After they were all made I auditioned them onto my top to determine how best to place them.

This week’s featured patch

These patches are made using the same design. All are made with an organza.

Follow the directions in Appendix A for sewing this design in the colors of your choice or use my variations

Hoop 2 layers of organza.

Following the directions in Appendix A sew only the background applique without adding any additional applique fabric. Sew with the colors of your choice. I used contrasting colors for the blanket stitch edge.

Follow the directions in last weeks newsletter to make the center 3 D design.Once made add it to the center of the patch along with a free standing fringe puff.

Although I have used these patches on a knit top, they can be used on purses, skirts, jeans, etc - anywhere you want to add a little flair.

Albert’s Cubicle

“The Internet Gets a D Minus in America”

Would you be surprised to know the country that invented the Internet now ranks 20^th in broadband access, as of 2006. That's down from 17^th in 2005. The United States lags behind such economic power houses as South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, Finland, and Slovena. In the United States, for about $50 a month, you can be assured a download speed of about 1.5 Mbps. In Japan, you can get Internet service at speeds of 50 Mbps, for around $15 a month. And we continue to slide. Back in 1997, the telephone companies offered to fix this problem for us, taking $25 billion in tax write-offs over the past 10 years to make it happen. By the way, you know the average maximum download speed available to the home Internet consumer, in 1997? That's right, 1.5 Mbps. If knowledge is power and access to information is integral to knowledge, then how can we call ourselves a super power in this realm?

But wait, there's more. Did you hear the Internet was deregulated in August of last year? A little regulatory slight of hand. What does this mean? In a nutshell, accessibility to the Internet will now be determined not only by how much you're willing to pay to access it, but by how much companies such as Laura's Sewing Studio can afford to pay to make itself accessible to you. In other words, the day may come, in the not too distant future, when you'll stop visiting Laura's website not because there's no new designs or anything interesting, but because it's loads too slowly or is otherwise unavailable, regardless of whether you visit at 2pm or 2am.

Why should we care? In the late 1990's a funny thing happened. People again found individual self-expression. It hasn't always been eloquent, or even tasteful. Take note. The town squares are gone, as are the town papers. Before the Internet, if an individual wanted to discuss a controversial topic, such as, say, this one, she was pretty much confined to grumbling over a drink at the bar. Tried getting an independent article published in a paper lately? How about time on a “local” television or radio program?

The embroidery community, like other parts of the Internet, will undergo homogenization. Websites such as K-Lace, Sew Artfully Yours, and Laura's Sewing Studio will disappear, or at least be hard to find or access, leaving only sites owned and funded by larger organizations such as the sewing machine companies. As the pool of embroidery site owners shrinks, so too will the innovation and creativity that comes from individual expression. Will these companies survive and flourish? Perhaps, but not through the Internet. The Internet will transform into a variation of cable or satellite television, with five million channels of programmed content as defined by the five major program providers.

So what's a body to do? We could write our congressmen about how and when they plan on getting the $25 billion back, with interest. It would make a nice dent in the war effort. But that's an exercise in sand pounding. Alternatively, we could write them to inquire when we're going to retake the number one position in Internet broadband connectivity, and leave Slovena eating our dust. While we're at, we could ask about the restoration of net neutrality. Seven bills were introduced and defeated this past year that would have restore net neutrality. All were defeated. Go figure. We've had an election since then. Why not get it in their faces when they reconvene in February?

Women and minorities only won their civil rights when they stood together in solidarity to government, showing they were serious in their pursuits. Even then, it didn't happen overnight. If you cherish your freedom of expression and seek the free exchange of ideas, then I'm putting you on notice that you must fight for them and you must do it now. There's a new Congress in town. Let's put it through its paces and see if it's really fresh blood or just the same old nag.

If I've peeked your interest and you want to know more, here are a couple of places you can still reach with information on the issues facing the Internet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/moyersonamerica/net/index.html