Fabric Fabric Fabric

I wanted to share a couple of online fabric sites that I love to shop. I don't always have the ability to shop online if I need fabric in a hurry, but I do love the fact that I can take my time in the comfort of my home and browse to my hearts content (well I wish I had all the time in the world anyway). Here are two of my favorites and I hope all my followers will start a discussion and share your favorites.  http://www.hawthornethreads.com/home  www.fatquartershop.com   It is so easy to shop these two particular shops when you can see on the page how well you fabrics coordinate.

Whale of a Story.....

I want to share this story with all my blog readers. It was sent to me by my sister, Debra who lives in California. I hope that everyone who reads this will some day experience something as uplifting as this story by being able to help someone in need.

This is a story for our times, bringing together how we can "right" our relationship with all life and receive one of the greatest gifts in return - gratitude. 

       YOU... and a WHALE

...The Whale... If you read a recent front page story of the San Francisco Chronicle, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to
struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the  Farallon Islands  (outside the Golden Gate ) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.

When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around as she was thanking them.

Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by people who
will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you. And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.

I pass this on to you, my friends, in the same spirit.

It's a good life,

Another Favorite Christmas Cookie Recipe

If you have recipes you love and would like to share, we would love to have you post them.

Raspberry Meringue Bars

 
1/2 pound (2sticks) butter or margarine, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 egg yolks
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 jar (10 ounces) seedless rasberry jam
4 egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups finely chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1 in. jelly roll pan. Cream the butter, 1/2 the sugar, and the egg yolks in a food processor fitted with the metal blade or in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until well blended. Add the flower and mix until incorporated. Pat the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven, but leave the oven at 350 degrees. Cool the pastry for 5 minutes an spread it with jam. Beat the egg whites and salt in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until stiff. but not dry, peaks form. Fold in the remaining cup of sugar and the nuts. Gently spread on top of the jam, making sure to seal the edges and corners. Return to the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. While still warm, cut into 3 x 1 inch bars.

* The cookies may be stored in air tight containers at room temperature up to 1 week, or they may be frozen. Defrost, covered, at room temperature.

Makes 50 bars.

One Favorite Christmas Cookie Recipe

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Squares

I love hazelnuts, but these cookies will be just as fantastic with pecans, walnuts or almonds. These are simple to prepare and truly special. The great thing about these cookies....although I usually make them for Christmas they are great anytime!
21 Oreo sandwich cookies
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1 1/4 cups sweetened condensed milk (from a 14 oz. can, you will use 1/4 cup for the top)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 1/3  cups flaked coconut
1 cup (about 4 oz.) hazelnuts, coarsely chopped and toasted at 350 degrees until lightly browned, about 10 min.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the Oreos in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until ground into crumbs. (no food processor-place in large ziplock bag, seal and crush with rolling pin). You should have 2 cups crumbs. Place the butter in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and melt in the oven (do not burn). Sprinkle the crumbs over the butter, stir together with a spoon and press into the bottom of the pan. Drizzle 1 cup sweetened condensed milk evenly over the crust. Layer chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, coconut, and nuts; press down firmly. Drizzle with the remaining 1/4 sweetened condensed milk. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool to room temperature. Cut into 1 1/2 inch squares.

* The squares may be stored, tightly covered, at room temperature for several days, or they may be frozen. Defrost, covered at room temperature.

Retro Headband

http://www.etsy.com/listing/63536034/retro-headband

Beautiful multi-colored headband will look great with a number of outfits, dress or casual.

Professionally handcrafted.

Colors include: purple, yellow, green, gray & wine. Center of flower has coordinating buttons.

Headband fits:
Pre-teen to Adult
19" to 22"

This headband can be made to order in the following sizes:

6-12 mo.
1-3 yr.
4-7 yr.
8 yr.-adult

Headband should be spot cleaned or hand washed and lay flat to dry only.

Darling Dots Outfit

http://www.ttykes.com

Introducing our new adorable model, Madeline wearing the perfect little girl outfit. Not only will your little one be comfy and warm, but oh so stylish in this darling outfit. The big bonus is the jacket is reversible so it's like two outfits in one! Comes with flower pot hat & very in vogue slouch boots worn high or cuffed.
This outfit is hand crafted by a professional seamstress with heirloom quality. Quantities are limited to 1 each of the 2 following sizes:
12 month w/size 4 boot
2 Toddler w/size 6 boot
More sizes available on special order for a limited time. Please allow 2-3 weeks delivery for special orders.
Materials:
Faux Dotted Fur & Plush Fleece
Boots made with non-slip soles

Lori,

Our daughter looks absolutely adorable in the Darling Dots Outfit. The
reversible coat is especially nice. It works just as well from either
side. One major highlight for us is that the sleeves cuff to fit any
arm length and don't look "rolled-up" or sloppy. We have so many
outfits that fit our little one everywhere but the arms are too long,
and not all of them look so good when we roll the sleeves. With the
Darling Dots Outfit, it's part of the design! We also love the flower
hat that comes with it. Really it doesn't get much cuter than that.
Great outfit!

Brian & Marcella

www.http://ttykes.com

New Items for the Adorable Girl in Your Life

I am sharing these photos of my new items to be added soon to my website. http://www.ttykes.com

These items will be listed soon so please watch for them. I will also be introducing my new my new clothing model Madeline at the time of listing. I am so excited to finally have a real person to model the items. I know she will make each piece look even more adorable! The jacket shown here is reversible. At this time it will be limited to 1 only in each size 12 month and 2 toddler. The headbands can be ordered in infant, toddler and adult sizes. Until then here is a sneak peek at what you can purchase.

Special Occasion Fabric Envelopes

Ok I have been promising this "How To" blog on fabric envelopes on my Facebook & Twitter pages. Since I can't seem to add a caption under each picture on this blog (the type isn't showing up on the page) I will give you this link to my FB page:  http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Trendy-Tykes/114341318608220

Just open the pictures and you will have the directions to making the fabric envelopes. Hopefully I will get the "bug" on my blog worked out and post everything here soon.

I get so many compliments when I give these envelopes on special occasions. They are great for baby showers, newborn congratulations, Anniversaries and Holidays.

To all you experience bloggers out there.....if you've experienced this post problem and know how to fix it, please pass it along. Thanks!

Any New Projects to Share

Ok I know that at least some of you are busy making fun things for the Holidays. I hope you will share them with us here. If your not busy making anything, I'd love to here what you enjoy most about the Holidays.

I am currently working on some digitizing. I am creating a whimsical mouse with artwork created by Christy Beckwith. http://www.cbeckwith.com

I will be posting pictures as soon as I can get it test stitched. Until then, I hope to here from you.

Santa's Placemat

This adorable personalized place mat would be so special for your little one(s). I will selling these on my website: http://www.ttykes.com and at my Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ttykes

To special order for Christmas, once you've purchased the item, you can send me an email with the name(s). Please allow 2 to 4 weeks for delivery so order soon. Colors offered are green w/red trim or red w/green trim. Need another color? Just email me!

Please share your comments about this item. I'd love to hear them! Have a great day.

Lori

Guest Blogging for Handmadeology

I have the honor being a guest blogger for Handmadeology http://www.handmadeology.com/ so I thought my 1st blog would be about how I got here.

Many of us want to spend most of our time doing what we love to do. Some of us are lucky enough to have a full time job doing just that. I was fortunate enough realize my dream and start my online business last June. Of course it really started about 8 months prior to that. I worked furiously to create a number of items that I could sell as soon as my website went live.

I have a passion for machine embroidery & sewing especially for infants and toddlers items. Finding that niche is always a challenge. I try to create items that are in demand, but not being caught up in fads.

I had no idea what to expect. I was very nervous that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the demand. Well I'm sure I'm not the only one who's website goes live then you wait for people to view it, purchase items and receive feedback. I was selling but not at the rate that I had hoped.

I didn't really want to spend the time it takes networking to get connected, but I soon realized that the only way to get sales was to get noticed. That won't happen if you all you do is work on inventory and never connect with the public. People have to know your out there!

I am now networking through Twitter, Facebook and my blog just to name a few. Starting my blog was something I resisted, but once I started it I realized how fun it would be to connect with people on even a more personal level. Again I realized that getting people to my blog was yet another hurdle. So in my search for ways to get those readers here I came across Handmadeology and here I am.

Where are you? Do you have a dream that you were able to make a reality or something your passionate about that could become a career?

Lori Sadowski

Annoucing the Winner!

Congratulations to I Sew Cute for being my 100th follower on Twitter and the winner of a free pair of Piggy Pouches!

Free Patterns

If your like me, I'm always looking for inspiration. I would like to share this link to free patterns. It gave me new inspiration and it's always great to get free patterns! http://www.freeneedle.com/index.php

Recomended Books on Machine Embroidery

Machine Embroidery on Difficult Materials: A Machine Embroiderer'S Guide To Success With Difficult Fabrics (Book & CD Rom)

Dimensional Machine Embroidery: 10+ Specialty Techniques for Amazing Results (Book & DVD)

Digitizing Made Easy: Create Custom Embroidery Designs Like a Pro
 

Digitizing

What are your preferences on digitizing? Hand punch or auto?

Embroidery Hooping Tip

There are several different ways not to hoop your fabric. Here is a link showing how to do hoopless embroidery. http://www.windstarembroidery.com/embroidery-information.cfm?File=Sticky
I very seldom hoop my fabric to prevent stretching. Another way is using 505 spray which enables you to use your choice of stabilizers.

Embroidery machines

I'd love to discuss which embroidery machine you have and what you like/don't about it. I am familiar with the Husqvarna Viking SE and Diamond. http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/us/Designer_Diamond.html

Win a free pair of baby booties

Spread the word because the 50th person to sign onto my blog will win a free pair of baby booties from my website: www.ttykes.com

New Embroidery Machine

I just purchased the new Husqvarna Viking Designer Diamond Embroidery Machine. I am quickly learning all the new additions compared to the Designer SE. I upgraded to the 5D software. I am currently working on digitizing "Groovy 60's" designs for use on clothing items, etc. The gradient tool on the 5D software is great for these designs as I can get a tye dye look. I do find however that you have a bit of editing to do depending on the angle of the stitches. I'd love to hear from embroidery enthusiasts about your work.

New Website

I have a new website: www.ttykes.com I sell embroidered items for infants, toddler and soon to come items for moms. I also sell digitized machine embroidery designs.