Tutorial - Embroidery using Sandcastle or other heavy fabric

I've had some questions about the "quilted" fabric I used for my embroidery. If you haven't heard back from me, it's because you are set up as "no reply" and I wasn't able to e-mail you. So, I thought I would do a tutorial showing what I use to do embroidery on this fabric. Dan River used to manufacture the fabric and it was called Sandcastle. They have since gone out of business but, I just found out that a new version, called Sand Hut, is being manufactured by Avlyn. Pat Sloan is selling it on her website. So glad to hear that! (Thanks for the info, Candace).

Here we go. I use a product called Solvy (water soluble stabilizer) made by Sulky. You can get it at most fabric stores, craft stores and quilt shops. I like the lightweight version.

Tape down the pattern you are going to use.

Cut a piece of the Solvy a couple of inches wider and longer than your pattern. Position it and tape it down.

Using a black, permanent market, trace the design onto the Solvy.

Remove the tape and position the Solvy onto your fabric. Baste it down. (I should have used darker thread for you to see, but I'm sure you get the idea). Once it is all basted, start embroidering just like you would for any other fabric, stitching through both the fabric and the Solvy.

When you are finished, cut away the excess Solvy. I usually just cut away the larger pieces because the rest will dissolve in the water.

Rinse in cold water until all the Solvy is dissolved. You can also soak it for a few minutes to make sure it's all dissolved. It's a glue based product and can stiffen your fabric if not completely removed.

Wring out the water and let it dry on a flat surface. Wa-La...you're done!

These are the two that I finished last week on our trip to Seattle.

TIP: This product responds to the humidity in the air. If you live in a dry climate, be sure and store the Solvy in a plastic bag. It can dry out and get kind of stiff. Also, I wouldn't prepare more than one piece at a time.

If you have alot of humidity, you're lucky because it feels soft and pliable and easy to stitch through.

I once took it on an airplane to stitch. When I started the flight, it was very soft and pliable, but by the time I reached my destination, it was so dry and cracked with every stitch due to the dry air in the plane. Hmm, tells us alot about the air in planes. ICK!

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me. Be sure to include your e-mail address.

A Tisket a Tasket block 4

These blocks are just so much fun to make and I look forward each month to see what Anne has come up with. There's still lots of time to join in on this Block of the Month. Just click on the Tisket a Tasket picture on my sidebar and it will take you right to the pattern.

In this picture, you can sure tell where the natural light was coming from. Unfortunately I couldn't fix it in my photo program. Oh well, you get the gist of it! The actual color of the background fabric is on the right side.

Same thing happened here. Maybe I should be using a flash. Anyway, I got another block of Winter Wonderland finished in the car on our trip to and from California. I think I only have 3 more blocks. Wheee!

I also did one more block on "Stars around the Garden". It's the one in the lower right corner. I only have 3 more blocks of this one to finish and can then start on the center section. I'm trying really hard to only work on UFO's and not start anything new. Boy, that's no fun at all!

Hey, where's spring?

We've been having some really nice weather lately but this morning woke up to this!

Maybe we need to take this down!

On the quilty front. Here's block 4 of Wool Garden by Waltzing with Bears.

And all 4 of them so far. I'm liking the way this is looking.

I prepped Block #7 of "Reminiscence" by the Rabbit Factory, so it's all ready to be stitched down when I have some time.

Got another block stitched of "Winter Wonderland" by Crabapple Hill. I decided to do these blocks in order from largest to smallest. I'm glad I did it that way because even though I love it, it's ALOT of redwork. I tend to get bored quickly with this one. I'm plugging along though and at least the largest blocks are finished.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions about what to watch next while I'm on the treadmill. I just started Season 1 of "24", and I think I'll watch "John Adams" when I'm finished with "24". By then the weather should be nice enough to start walking outside again. You all gave me some great ideas and I've written them all down to check out.

Works in progress (WIP's) and a challenge

Last night I was reading Carrie's blog and saw that she had posted some quilts she was working on. One of them is a top that I also started about 2 years ago and never finished. It got me thinking about all the WIP's I have going and so I decided to get them all out, take pictures of them for you, and give myself a deadline for finishing them. In my mind, my deadline was going to be Thanksgiving. Well, after pulling out too many to count, I realized that Thanksgiving isn't a very realistic date. So, I decided that I'm going to give myself until next Sunday (the 23rd) to get as many done as I possibly can. I know Thanksgiving is AFTER that, but I thought if I "power sew", maybe I can get them down to a manageable amount and then set another deadline. So, my challenge to you is...get out all your WIP's, UFO's, PIG's (projects in grocery sacks) or whatever you want to call them and either set a deadline for yourself or "power sew" with me for the next 10 days and let's see how much we can get done.

Here we go with mine.


This is "Birds of a Feather" by Blackbird Designs. It needs the applique for the borders prepped and sewn. I'm doing this one by hand.

Block of the month - Block #1. It's Jan Patek's latest Girl Gang project. Karen and I are doing this and keeping each other on track. We have to post a picture on Dec. 5th of the finished block. Want to join us? Just go to The Quilted Crow's website and order it for yourself.

Block of the Month - Block #1. This just arrived from Farmhouse Woolens and I want to keep up with it. I love working with wool.

This one still has some machine applique to finish and then it needs to be quilted.

All I have to do on this is prepare the backing and then it will be ready to go to the quilter. This is "Jo's Whig Rose" by Jo Morton.

This one has been finished for about 2 years. It needs backing and then quilting.

Even Jack is wondering what's going on with "Quilting the Garden", another Blackbird Designs pattern. It's supposed to have scalloped borders and I just keep putting off doing the marking before it goes to the quilter. The backing on this one is already done. It's just so large that it's cumbersome to work with.

This little one is another Jo Morton design. I can't figure out what design to use for quilting. Any ideas?

"Winter Wonderland" by Crabapple Hill has been in progress for over a year. I usually work on this when we're traveling. We'll be traveling for Thanksgiving, so I'll work on it some more then. I still have lots to do on it.

This one is called "Stars around the Garden". I'm not happy with the fabric I chose in a couple of the blocks, so am planning on re-doing them. Aghhhh!

I don't know why I haven't worked on this one in awhile because I really love it. It is "Reminiscence" by The Rabbit Factory. It's all hand applique.

Another Crabapple Hill design. Ready for quilting.

Emma wants a Minkee pillow. This one shouldn't take too long. It's for Christmas. (THIS year).

And don't forget the Tee Pee I showed you in the last post that's also for Emma for Christmas.

Just need to add the french knot berries and then make it into a little pillow.

While I was working on the little pillow, I started thinking about a project in this book that I've been wanting to make. It would be darling for Christmas... Should I forget it for now?

I just looked over at my machine and look what those little wool pennies have done. Do you think they are trying to tell me to get off the computer and start "power sewing"?

Wow, I'm so overwhelmed, I just might go out and join the wildlife that is in our yard.

So, that's what I have to do. How about you?