Quilting is one of those things which will never go out of style. There’s something about a quilt that tugs at you to touch and feel. It is a magic of 
converting plain fabric into something artistic and unique. The Island sampler collection is finally completed. Ofcourse, I’m holding my breath and keeping fingers crossed. The collection was almost ready in December 2010, to be released early in January 2011, when my desk top crashed….and I hadn’t backed these files. Then, end of January, I had again re-created all the files and it was ready to go, when my external hard drive crashed and I hadn’t saved anything from it onto my new computer. Oh well, they do say that third time’s the charm, let’s see.
The sampler has twelve applique quilt blocks, resembling the Hawaiian style of quilt making. Special closed cross stitch outlines were created to closely resemble the original Hawaiian 
method of applique. Instead of using the quilt block design outline as the template for quilting, I decided to use stipple quilting. The blocks are in two sizes: 4.98″ and 7.25″, allowing friends to use their 8×8 hoop. The quilt above was created using the smaller size. Joining the blocks was another method that I long anguished over. My attempt in everything is as close to the real thing and having free-standing blocks just didn’t appeal. The method I used is a variation of the strip method, easy and fool-proof. Using various fabrics yeild different looks to the blocks. The table runner uses the larger block size designs, along with the quilting blocks. There are two quilting design blocks which can be used by themselves or as borders. The beauty of the collection is in the versatile ways to use the designs. The designs can be used as applique, shadow work and as trapunto. I have a few fine tuning to do and hope to release the collection this month.
Tid-bits:
For years now, I have been trying to attend Martha Pullen’s shows and classes. Every time I register, I have to back out as something or the other comes along. 
It was a joyful day when I found that MP would be coming near Baltimore! Alas, I couldn’t attend the classes, but did manage to attend her heirloom trunk show. Words cannot describe the most beautiful antique clothes that Martha owns. Each and every one is a masterpiece. Attending the trunk show, I was able to finally meet Martha, who is a hilarious and down to earth person. The whole evening was top notch entertainment, with Martha sharing stories that left everyone laughing.
On a personal note, I’m super happy to let friends know that my husband, John, is finally in remission. It is not everyone who can beat Glioblastoma IV and I know there is still a long road ahead of us, but for the time being, I’m grateful. Thanks to so many of you who constantly email. Hugs to all. Sadia
April 3rd,2011
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No, I am not looking for my brother! Actually, I don’t even have a brother. There were all girls in my parent’s house! The Brother I’m referring to is Brother International, as in sewing/embroidery Brother, counter-part to Bernina, Pfaff and Husquavarna!
The newest gadget to be introduced in the machine embroidery world, actually the home machine embroidery world, is the cutwork needles. These needles have been introduced by all three counter-parts….but not Brother. Some weeks ago, I had the opportunity to see the needles in action and I have to say, they are definitely a new invention. Mind you, the commercial industry already 
has the boring needles which are used for circular cutwork designs, mainly eyelets. Having received several inquiries regarding these needles, I decided to impart what I know of them. I will state up front that my knowledge in this regard is limited and if someone knows more about the needles, please feel free to share with us.
A dear friend brought over her Pfaff machine and the needles to test sew especially created designs for the needles by Pfaff. As you can see from the image (courtesy of Pfaff), there are four needles in the kit. Each needle has a slightly different slanted edge, which is extremely sharp. Designs have to be digitized especially for the needles, which are a bit shorter than regular needles and are used without any thread. That is one of the requisites for the needle, turn off the automatic thread sensers. I believe Pfaff has a special upgrade for the machine to run the needles. Please correct me if I’m wrong. The needles are color coded to be used according to the direction of the slant/cut. Designs cannot be mirror imaged to stitch out with these needles.
The short session that I had in using the needles was, in my opinion, tedious. The design stitched out to the point of trimming and prompted for the special needle. One needle was used for punching the holes in the fabric, then another for fine trimming, followed by the regular needle to finish the satin edge of the cutwork. We used linen as our test fabric and although the trimming was nice, I could see where the existing methods of digitizing 
cutwork designs wouldn’t work. From the designs that came in the kit, I could see that the trimming area needs to be defined a bit differently as well as the underlay for the finishing. I’m not sure if Bernina and Husquavarna use the same technique (needles), so can’t say. I did try the needle in my Brother machine, raising the needle bar a bit (didn’t want to damage anything) and it didn’t do so bad.
In my opinion, this is a fantastic gadget and technique, but needs a bit tweeking, which I’m sure will happen. Cost wise….expensive….$50 for the kit. So, where is Brother? I’m waiting and creating my cutwork the old fashioned way….LOL. No, not by hand, but cutting out the fabric by hand.
As the count down begins, I am packing up a gorgeous wedding duvet cover to be delivered to the bride tomorrow morning, before I don my pjs to watch the ball drop. Earlier this evening, I had a good day with my almost dying desk top, and was able to look through the many many photographs I had taken this year…sort of looking at the year at a glance. My desk top has been trying to die for the past four years…no kidding! It has been a good computer, lasted exactly twelve years. My newer version should arrive sometime later next week and I’m babying this puppy till then.
Meanwhile, my last project for 2010 is completed. It started sometime in 2009…I know, that is way too long. My dear friend’s daughter married in late 2008. I asked her what she wanted as a wedding gift and she chose a duvet cover. As duvets go, they are the next best thing to a comforter and if one has a variety of covers, one can easily change the decor of the bedroom. After finishing this project, I am in the 
mind to make several for myself. Many times, I make the quilt tops but they generally end up in the bottom of a drawer, with the thought that I will quilt them some day. Well….hmmm…I don’t think that day is arriving any time soon, so a duvet cover may be the best way to use the quilt tops that I have created. The duvet cover is king size using bridal satin layered on top with chiffon. There are 49 embroidered quilt blocks, from the Vintage Linen II collection. Vintage Linen II is a cutwork collection, but comes with embroidery blocks as well. For somewhile, I had been thinking of making a quilt with the designs, and this turned out to be the opportunity. When I showed the sample block to the bride, she was sold and thus began the journey in creating this wedding present!
When I started the embroidery, I had never imagined the amount of time that it would take to make the cover. The bridal satin has the tendency to ravel and fray like crazy. That in itself was my biggest challenge, but, I decided to leave it till the end, while I happily embroidered away. Since the fabric had a lot of movement, and there was a lot of embroidery involved, I decided to use medium weight cutaway stabilizer behind each block. Initially, I had calculated 8 yards of satin and chiffon. Half way through embroidering the blocks, I realised that it would not be enough. How many shades of ecru are there? Believe me, there are more than I can count on my two hands. For the life of me, I couldn’t find the same color ecru anywhere. Not only that but I had to also find the same chiffon! After weeks of trying to find the satin and chiffon….in several states, I might add, it was apparent that I would have to come up with another plan, or start my embroidery again. As each block took over three and a half hours to stitch out, there was no way that I was going to start over.
I finally decided upon a satin and chiffon, which came as close to the original colors as possible, 
with the thought that I can stagger the new blocks with the old, making it look natural. Actually, that is a trick I learned a long while back and the whole effect looked very natural. Came time to put the blocks together, I had to make a decision about the fraying of the fabric. Light bulb went off and I decided to line each block with muslin. Instead of joining the blocks on the sewing machine, I decided to use the serger. By the time all the blocks were joined, it became apparent that this cover was going to be extremely heavy.
The border demanded another decision…stipple quilt it or leave it plain. Placing a sample piece of stipple quilted block next to the finished center, I decided to go for a linear faux quilted look. Since the blocks had stabilizer and muslin added to the back, the border needed to have the same weight. A light weight batting solved that problem. Every time I would take the cover to the sewing table, I 
groaned under its weight. Finally, I decided, it would be much easier to place my serger on the carpet and save my shoulders and the cover. Once the borders were attached, I laid it out on the carpeted floor to add the back side. For the back, I decided to use two layers of natural muslin, with an embroidered continuous border between the button holes. Not only would that match up with the designs on the front, but it would also add a bit of a twist to the plain button holes. I was lucky to find buttons that almost matched the flowers in the designs. Not only did that, but the buttons were in ecru as well! 
The label was stitched directly onto the muslin as well.
Once the back was placed right sides matching to the top, I realised that I was in major trouble! To square up the cover, I would have to get it up to my cutting table and as heavy as it was already, there was no way that I was going to be able to keep the layers together. It was the slowest of marking and trimming that I have ever done….with my cutting mat on the carpet and my quilting tape measuring across the width and lenght…every other 
inch of the 100 inches! John kept saying that he has never seen any one square up anything in this manner. Well, as I told him…he has not met any quilters. Quilters in general have a way of tackling any problem that may come along. Once squared up, I started to pin up the corded trim around the cover, only to find that the multi-colored beige trim didn’t look right with the cover, or should I say the cover didn’t look right with the trim. Whichever way, it was apparent that the trim was not going to work. Another decision to make! After trying several different samples, I placed the satin without the chiffon overlay next to the cover. The cover popped up and my decision was made.The cover is beautiful and I love it. Hopefully it will enhance the bed of the bride and groom (2 years old) and make memories for their future generations. Lessons learned myself from this….never start a quilt 
project without calculating the yardage. Moreover, always buy more than what will be needed!
Here are a couple of my favorite photographs of 2010. The picture of yours truly with 
two of my best friends, Carolyn and Evanlee taken at the Sewing and Quilt Expo, Atlanta, GA, is one of my favorites. The show will remain memorable as that is when I lost most of my samples from the back of my truck! The picture on the left is of my favorite actress, whom I was able to meet this year. Shabana Azmi, an Indian actress, is a world class artist, and it was my greatest joy to meet and see her one person show this year. The picture
on the right is my baby! I’m not sure how this is possible but Miss Clara stuck out her tongue when I asked if I could take her last picture for 2010. I wonder if there was a message there!
To all my friends and readers, I wish you a Happy New Year! May 2011 bring you joy, happiness and good times. May you have good health, good friends and lots of laughter. For the machine embroiderers, may all your embroideries stitch out beautifully, your bobbin thread never run out when the design is almost completed and the needles never break. For the sewers, may your machines always stitch a perfect straight stitch, may your quilts/garments/and any other item that you are sewing always be perfect.
I would also like to thank everyone for their lovely emails and notes regarding the gift 2010. I appreciate all of them and the kind inquiries about John. John and I both thank everyone.
Goodbye 2010, hello 2011! Hugs, Sadia
Wish upon a star….
I once wished upon a star, that my wishes would come true,
I was humbled when I realized that they had come through.
With that thought in my heart, I pass that star to you,
Hoping that all your wishes will also come true.
As 2010 comes to end, I reflect upon this year and all that I have learned from it and life. Above all, I’ve learned to be grateful with what life throws at me, whatever it may be. I’ve learned to let go of any short comings and move on without holding any grudges. Sometimes, it is best to enjoy the little pleasures of life rather than to wish for grandiose scheme of things. I learned that I have everything I ever needed, and my heart is full.
For this year’s gift to my friends all over the w
orld, I created a set of designs, which would be useful not just during the holiday season but at other times throughout the year.
There are three gift designs for 2010. Each is a freestanding lace motif, which can be combined with the other designs or used by itself to create lace edgings, motifs, etc. When combined with each other, the designs create a large star, 6 
1/2″ in diameter. Two star variations can be created.
This will be my last presentation for 2010 and I hope it will bring you joy, happiness and good fortune in the coming year. May we all learn to better our world with love, understanding and goodwill for all.
A very joyous holiday season and a happy New Year. Love and hugs to all, Sadia
December 22nd,2010
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Hmmmm, I am sure you must be wondering, what 
is a faux cutwork edge!!! Well, it is an edge made to look like cutwork, but really is not cutwork. The reason it is not cutwork is because there wasn’t any cutting involved!! The concept is really simple and requires more clean cut edges rather than fancy edges. Any curve in the edge must be prolonged and subtle, otherwise it will end up being a disaster. The holiday tree skirt was created from the Vintage Stocking collection designs. My choice of fabric was a bit heavy, plus I had to use batting, which didn’t help much. Nevertheless, the concept worked rather well.
I almost wish I had started on the Vintage Stocking collection a while ago, as time just didn’t allow me the luxury of playing much with the designs. Whatever time I did spend on creating samples was a complete joy and left me with ideas for future projects.
The silk stocking on the left uses the same concept in the cuff and I’m excited to use the designs for other purposes, especially garments. There is a third idea that did hit me when I was working on the concept….but I decided to wait a while on that, hopefully I can use it in future collections.
Vintage Stocking will be the last collection for 2010 and like all the alpha and omega collections in a year, I wanted it to have something special. The idea of the 
border panel used in two-fold methods stuck to me and most definitely will become a specialty. On the other hand, the heirloom stocking takes almost no time to stitch out and has four variations.
The collection is finally complete and I hope to release it in the next day or so. Meanwhile, my holiday sewing is nowhere complete, and the gifts are in various stages, although the decoration is almost complete. As far as the youngest in the household is concerned….she is content to lay under the tree, in anticipation of her gifts! Hopefully, my friends are in a better situation than I am. Happy holidays to everyone.
It is exactly a month before Christmas and my list of things “to do” is still a mile long! 
Christmas always has been one of my favorite times of the year and this year, it is very special. First of all, this will be my first Christmas away from home in a long while and secondly, I am grateful that my dh will be able to celebrate it with me. Time has become precious to both of us and we relish in enjoying every moment of it.
For some while, I have been toying with the idea of creating special designs for a Christmas stocking. Every year, when our children were young and at home, I created a special stocking for them. The tradition sort of disappeared when the kids flew the coop, but the joy of creating a special stocking has always been my favorite part of Christmas. Last year, after teaching a class on creating a Christmas stocking using the Victorian Patchwork designs, I had started to dream of creating a stocking on the embroidery machine, which would qualify as an heirloom.
The Vintage Stocking collection, which is almost at the edge of release, creates a 18″ long (finished) stocking. The stocking consists of seven sections, embroidered on 
the embroidery machine, which are joined together by the sewing machine. The construction is super easy, as is the joining of the sections.
Not only does the collection comes with designs to create the real size stocking, but also has a section of motifs and cuff designs, which can be used on other items of home decor or wearable items. The cuff designs have an interesting scalloped cutwork edge, which is achieved without cutting away the fabric, or using the cutwork technique. The stocking can be created using traditional holiday colors, or in shades of a color of your choice, with or without the cuff. The cuff design can also be used as a continuous border design.
I am rather pleased at the end results of something that I have been working on for a long while, and hope that many friends will also enjoy it. Fingers crossed, I hope to release it very soon.
On a personal note: Many friends have written to me about my dh’s update. I want to thank all of you for your kind thoughts and letters of inquiry. Dh’s last MRI shows no cancer activity. We continue to stay positive and enjoy life. Again, my sincere thanks to everyone. Hugs to all, Sadia
Embroidery magazines are some of the most sought after ones in the market. Not only do they offer great
inspiration to its readers, but are a means to learning innovative ideas for not only embroidery, but also digitizing. One of my sought after embroidery magazines is “Stitches”. The articles in it are not just for the advanced embroiderer/digitizer, but also lend good advice for the beginner. Each year, Stitches hosts a competition in all areas of machine embroidery. I’ve often thought about entering, but alas, time eludes me!
Receiving my copy of the latest Stitches magazine, I was pleased to see that one of the winners of this year’s competition is Eve Kovacs. Eve has an innovative and fresh approach to using machine embroidery designs in wearables, and I’m one of her biggest fans. She has a knack for taking the 
designs completely out of the box and presenting them in a manner that is stunning and innovative. Her entry definitely shows that aspect.
Reading the article, I was a bit surprised that Eve used one of my designs from Heirloom Lace II collection, along with several other digitizers’ designs. What an honor! Thank you so much Eve, I am impressed! (My designs are stitched out on the red fabric)
This would the third time that my designs have been used by the winning embroiderers in the Stitches competition. Does that say something to me….am I just being lazy in not participating myself? Will have to think on that one. In the meantime, I’m grateful to those who used my designs and super proud of their work, kudos to you.
Two weeks ago, my world turned upside down, when John had to undergo brain surgery again within a span of six months. Knowing not what else to do, I reached out to my friends for prayer. Thanks to all of you, the surgery was successful and he has a chance again at life. The outpour of your love and care in your emails to me was phenomenal and in no way can I reciprocate it. Thank you all so very very much. I don’t have the words to express my gratitude. HUGS to all.
Sewing and Quilt Expo Chantilly, VA:
Carolyn and I attended the Sewing and Quilt Expo at Chantilly, VA this year. It was good to see her again and to be able to showcase both our talents together. Our dear friend Jean helped us out at the booth, for which both of us are eternally grateful. It was during the course of the Expo that I found out about John’s illness and although my heart was not in being at the show, I carried on until John’s arrival on the last day. Thanks to Jean’s husband for keeping John company until I could get home that night. I still shudder when I think of that night, but it is in the past now and we can look forward with a positive frame of mind.
I had the chance of meeting so many friends at the show, some whom I had not seen for a long while. It felt good to meet them and to reconnect, as well as make new friends. The show was a great success and ofcourse I had a new collection which I released at the show.
Looking at the pictures of Carolyn, Jean and myself, I saw how tense and drawn out I looked, just horrifying! But, all in all, I am looking ahead.
Arabesque:
Arabesque has returned home to me after completion of contract. The original collection was created with Swarovski crystals in mind and I re-created the portions to make it a bit different from the original as well as added several more designs to it. The designs are all embroidery, with specialty markings for continuous hooping to stitch out the designs as borders. I hope to upload the collection to my website this weekend.
Arabesque has always been a favorite collection, simply because it’s designs have a middle-eastern touch to them with a modern day twist. The designs are all embroidery and extremely light weight. The border design on the sleeves and the front of the jacket on the left are stitched out on crinkled double georgette! Can you see any pulling or waviness in the fabric? There isn’t any stabilizer behind the embroidery, as it was all stitched out using water s
oluble vilene.
As light weight designs, I had to test sew them on a purchase woolen Ruana. A Ruana is a shawl, split down the center on one side to the middle of the shawl…let me show a picture, as I don’t know how else to explain it. It is worn with the intact part of the shawl as the back, with the two split sections towards the front to create an illusion that one is wearing a shawl. As Ruanas are quite popular these days, especially to wear during the cool fall evenings, I decided to stitch out the designs on it. The purchased Ruana is of a light weight wool and the designs looked great on it, as a border down the front and as a medallion on the back. The designs are not only great for wearables but also for home decor items. Hopefully, this weekend will see them on the website.
In the end, I would again like to say thanks to dear dear friends, around the world for their kind outpour of love and prayers. Both John and I greatly appreciate your kindness. Hugs and love to all.
converting plain fabric into something artistic and unique. The Island sampler collection is finally completed. Ofcourse, I’m holding my breath and keeping fingers crossed. The collection was almost ready in December 2010, to be released early in January 2011, when my desk top crashed….and I hadn’t backed these files. Then, end of January, I had again re-created all the files and it was ready to go, when my external hard drive crashed and I hadn’t saved anything from it onto my new computer. Oh well, they do say that third time’s the charm, let’s see.
method of applique. Instead of using the quilt block design outline as the template for quilting, I decided to use stipple quilting. The blocks are in two sizes: 4.98″ and 7.25″, allowing friends to use their 8×8 hoop. The quilt above was created using the smaller size. Joining the blocks was another method that I long anguished over. My attempt in everything is as close to the real thing and having free-standing blocks just didn’t appeal. The method I used is a variation of the strip method, easy and fool-proof. Using various fabrics yeild different looks to the blocks. The table runner uses the larger block size designs, along with the quilting blocks. There are two quilting design blocks which can be used by themselves or as borders. The beauty of the collection is in the versatile ways to use the designs. The designs can be used as applique, shadow work and as trapunto. I have a few fine tuning to do and hope to release the collection this month.
It was a joyful day when I found that MP would be coming near Baltimore! Alas, I couldn’t attend the classes, but did manage to attend her heirloom trunk show. Words cannot describe the most beautiful antique clothes that Martha owns. Each and every one is a masterpiece. Attending the trunk show, I was able to finally meet Martha, who is a hilarious and down to earth person. The whole evening was top notch entertainment, with Martha sharing stories that left everyone laughing.
