“Baltimore Rose” Inspirations in Machine Embroidery

As I am neck deep in getting ready for the Original Sewing and Quilt expo, I had sent over some of the upcoming releases to Carolyn (http://www.creativeneedlecraft.com) Both  Carolyn and I will be showcasing together at the show and we have a great rapport where we feed off each other in our individual presentations. Last night Carolyn sent me a picture of her latest purse pattern: http://creativeneedlecraft.com/patterns.htm  (Carol’s Purse). She had used the upcoming “Baltimore Rose” designs on a satin fabric. I have to say the purse literally took my breath away. Now, I am partial to the color “red” LOL, but still the purse screams of high end boutique.  The designs in “Baltimore Rose” are reminiscent of the Baltimore Album designs yet with a definite twist. Moreover, the designs use a multitude of user created stitches which not only lends a hand look to the designs but also a definite faster stitching time.  The twist allows them to be used on not just home decor items but also wearables and accessories.

As the designs were created with the idea of creating large designs, the purse uses two of the designs on the front with a small one on the tab. Metallics and Madeira super twists were  used for the embroidery which further enhanced the satin and gives the bag a very luscious and rich look. Thank you Carolyn…the bag is all mine when you are not looking, hehehe.

Working with the designs, I had created a mock up of a wall quilt using EQ and just recently finished quilting it.  Again the idea was to use several designs to create a larger design. I do wish now that instead of yellow I had used mauves and pinks for the surrounding borders.

As the collection will be released just before the holidays, I did want to experiment the designs with the holidays in mind. So, what better way to experiment than to create a Victorian type topiary design as a bell pull.  I used three designs, one with the vase and duplicated the ribbon with roses designs twice to give height and then used the plain rose trio design on top to give it a tapering off effect. I chose black Dupioni silk as I am thinking of presents (my list is still not completely finished).

Ofcourse, nothing attracts more than tone on tone designs as it can lend a casual or a formal look to just about anything. Experimenting some more I decided to take one design, duplicate it and use just three colors , light, medium and dark blues to stitch out the designs on the legs of my jeans. The effect was subtle yet quite pleasing.