Book Review - Elegant Embroidery

Another beautiful embroidery book from Reiko Mori.

Image courtesy of Martingale

Elegant Embroidery is full of elegant embroidery designs, as the name implies. These designs use simple embroidery stitches and include projects such as totes, boxes and more. While complete instructions are included for all of the projects in the book, I could certainly see other possibilities for these designs.

The embroidery designs in this book are exquisite, detailed, and oh so appealing!

Image courtesy of Martingale

The book is divided into different sections, grouping similar designs in each section, such as Black Collection, Marine, and Flower. Some of the designs in the book include ballet slippers, a gorgeous evening gown, and even a vintage sewing machine!

Image courtesy of Martingale

 Elegant Embroidery also includes a comprehensive section on embroidery stitches with tips for doing hand embroidery. Full instructions on how to make each of the projects in the book, with diagrams, are also included.

For a closer look at Elegant Embroidery, click on the image below.

 Get your own copy of Elegant Embroidery here.

Creatively,

P.S. I am an Amazon affiliate and, if you purchase items by clicking through the links in this post ,I will receive a small amount of commission. This helps me to continue creating free content for you. Thanks!

Automatic Presser Foot Lifter Feature on the Janome MC9400

One of the very helpful features on the Janome MC9400 is the automatic presser foot lifter. You can set the machine so that every time you stop stitching, the needle goes down into the fabric and the presser foot automatically lifts up by pressing this button on the display screen. The presser foot will automatically go down again when you start to stitch.

I love these presser foot options on the Janome MC9400, but one thing that I didn’t love was that I often wanted the presser foot to lift higher and it took me a while to figure out how to do this as it isn’t in the machine’s manual. 

You can set the height of the presser foot to its highest point in the Settings area, but I want to be able to have the presser foot be set at a regular height and then just be able to push a button to have it raise to the highest height – yes, I’m fussy like that! 

Click on the image below to see how you can have the presser foot lift to its highest height on the Janome MC9400, without adjusting the height in the Settings area.

Creatively,

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Quilting Books for Every Season

Do you change your home decorations with the season? I admit that I don't do this very often but I do like to change out my wall hangings and sometimes even table runners for different times of the year. I certainly do this in December where the whole house looks like a Christmas bomb exploded in our house! 

I've gone through my personal library of quilt books to pick out some of the ones I have that have seasonal projects in them. Whether you like pieced projects or prefer appliqué (this is my niche!), cotton or wool, you're sure to find a suitable seasonal project in one of these books. They are (in no particular order):

Kim Schaefer's Calendar Quilts

Quilt the Seasons by Pat Sloan

Quilt the Season Book 2 by Pat Sloan (because one book is never enough from Pat)

A Year in the Life of Sunbonnet Sue by Christine Porter and Darra Williamson

Seasonal Silhouettes by Edyta Sitar

Simple Seasons by Kim Diehl

A Change of Seasons by Bonnie Sullivan

More Free-Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3 by Lori Kennedy

I've included links to each book so you can take a closer look at them or even add a few to your quilting library.

Click on the image below to see a little of each of these books.

Do you like to put out seasonal quilts in your home? I'd love to see your quilt projects, so just pop a photo in the Comment section below. If you have a favourite quilt book that has seasonal projects in it, let me know that too.

Creatively,

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P.P.S. I am an Amazon affiliate and will receive a small amount of compensation if you purchase a product by clicking through links in this blogpost. This allows me to continue to provide you with FREE content each week. Thank you.

Book Review - Floral Motifs to Embroider

If you love floral embroidery designs, you will love this book by Reiko Mori. There are dozens of beautiful designs in this book that look complex – and will take a bit of time to complete – but they all use standard embroidery stitches.

Image courtesy of Martingale

The appeal of these designs is that they are created with a combination of small floral motifs, which, when all stitched close together, create the final, larger designs.

There are unusual designs in this book that I haven’t seen in other embroidery books, some that would be perfect for a bride and her attendants. Complete instructions and information about hand embroidery are included in Floral Motifs to Embroider.

Although I haven’t heard of heirloom embroidery (like heirloom quilts), I could certainly see how these designs could be used to create heirloom projects. In addition to the designs, complete instructions on projects using these embroidery motifs are included in Floral Motifs to Embroider.

Image courtesy of Martingale

 I found these designs appealing as they are more intricate than I’m used to seeing in embroidery books and I loved how various small floral motifs were used to create the larger designs. In addition, the designs in the book are ones that you don’t usually see, such as the Japanese traditions designs, the alphabet birds and the tea cups – my favourites!

Image courtesy of Martingale

 To get a closer look at Floral Motifs to Embroider, click on the image below to watch the video.

If you want to create unusual, intricate embroidery designs, you’ll need to check out those in Floral Motifs to Embroider.

Get your copy of Floral Motifs to Embroider here.

Creatively,

P.S. I am an Amazon affiliate and, if you purchase items by clicking through the links in this post, will receive a small commission. This helps me to continue providing free content for you. Thanks!