Tutorial-Embroidery Tools–The Sulky Hot Iron Transfer Pen–Creating Iron On Transfers-Tarot Card Purse Panel

Here is another tutorial about creating Iron On Transfers. This is how I have created hot iron transfers with the Sulky Hot Iron Transfer Pen.

1. Have a pattern image. Copy the image onto plain printing paper. You can even enlarge or reduce the image size!

For this project, I want to create an embroidery panel for a purse using a  card that my husband created. He made a deck for me a few years back and this card is one of my favorites. It shows both of us and our little Jack Russell Terrier, Mr. MacKenzie.

I copied the card image with my computer printer. For this one, I even ENLARGED the original image to get the size that I want for the purse panel.

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2. Get a hot iron transfer pen…and an iron.

This is a brown Sulky hot iron transfer pen. I used to buy mine at Joggles.com, but they no longer carry them. If you know of a good place to buy this pen online, please share your source with me.

The iron will come into play later. 😉

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3. Trace your design on the reverse side with your hot iron transfer pen.

I flip the printed paper over and use my cutting mat as a solid surface since light can travel through the plastic. You can see here that the design is visible and easily traceable when I hold the mat and the reversed sheet up to the door.

After you have the entire design traced out…go on to #4.

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4. Place the pattern image, hot iron PEN SIDE DOWN onto your fabric. Just decide where you want it to be…and get ready!

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5. Press with hot iron. Set your iron to the cotton setting. (That is the setting that I usually use…unless the fabric is some type that will not survive the heat.)

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6. Leave iron placed on the transfer. Peek under a corner to see if the transfer is done.

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7. The transfer is done.

You’ve created a Hot Iron Transfer for embroidery…or for just about anything!

Let the embroidery begin!

Your life needs fun. Go ahead, have some fun! –
smiles,
alicia in Hawaii

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Stitched Blessings, Squares 1 and 2

The beginnings of my blessings…

Me and my hubby, John, are the best of buddies…and we love to snorkel. Living here in Hawaii , we are blessed with (just about) 365 days a year in which we CAN and are ABLE to snorkel. Go warm weather and sunshine!

Can you see the resemblance?

The bottom edging is a Stem Stitch-Portuguese Knot, the sides are Feather Stitch, the top is a Running Stitch with an interspersed Double Cross Stitch. I think of it as corals below, greens and seaweeds for the sides and sunning skies above.  All the edges are stitched with a multi-color dyed Caron Watercolor thread.

What’s snorkeling without some water and waves.  Here is some embroidery with a ‘twist’ for the wave action! Stitched with Blanket Stitch-Detached Twisted Bar and some good ‘ole DMC thread.

Did I mention that these are 1 inch squares?

Very tiny faces. Very tiny squares.

This has been a great start! I’ve already had some fun!

Your life needs fun. Go ahead, have some fun! –
smiles,
alicia in Hawaii

Stitching 100 Blessings

This morning, simply by ‘chance’, I opened an email from a cross stitch/embroidery group and learned about a stitch-a-long that involves 100, 1in. blocks, each depicting a ‘blessings’.

Now, blessings have been keeping me afloat lately. Not exactly the blessings…but the RECOGNITION of those blessings.  And that journey started when a fellow plurker asked for people to join her with “Simple Abundance” journey. I have been reading through that book and trying to keep up with that here… Simple Abundance ~ Curiosities808. Well…I couldn’t help but wonder if the message of the Universe was to PAY ATTENTION  to the coinciding messages here…and get to stitching!

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My thoughts? Well…this is what went through my head…

“100 blocks! OMG!”

“1in. blocks! OMG!”

“Blessings…Simple Abundance…wow…”

“Hey, this could be a lot of fun”

“Another large project…it will never get finished…”

“But, wow…that could be a lot of fun…”

FUN WON!

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I looked at the link provided in the email. (here it is, …don’t forget to come back here after you take a peek…)  Counting My Blessings and after looking…and thinking…and wondering…and dreaming…

I started digging. Digging DEEP into the supply bucket of fabrics. The whole while I was wondering how much detail I could pack into a teeny tiny itty bitty 1″x1″ fabric area.

And then I found it.

40 ct. fabric.

Yes.

40 ct.

Only problem…I only had a 5″x5″ square of it…and I will need at LEAST a 10″x10″ to stitch in 100 squares of wonderfully thoughtful blessings.

So, needless to say, my wonderful hubby, who

a. knows how much I love to start projects

b. knows how important it is for us to ‘count our blessings’

c. is always and ever supportive of any creative project

volunteered right away with ideas and solutions! Off we went to the Local Needlework Shop, Fiddlesticks!  Where I was able to get a piece of 40ct. large enough to start my layout of 100, 1″x1″ squares to stitch 100 blessings!

(See the 40ct. fabric…sooooo tiny)

Now you’ve seen the stash…I am off to card up the threads, mark in the squares, and get set to GO!

I’m posting this also in a separate “100 blessings only” project blog:

http://curiosities808countingmyblessings.wordpress.com/

Your life needs fun. Go ahead, have some fun! –
smiles,
alicia in Hawaii

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If you’d like to sign up to join the stitching fun, follow the links and info on Amy’s Counting My Blessings blog.

I’ll be happy to add you to my links as well, so send me an email

curiosities808@gmail.com

or leave a comment here if you are planning to stitch along with the 100 blessings blocks!

Embroidery Project with Cross Stitch- Papillon 2009 SAL, Castles in the Air, Part 1

Delicate, Light, and rather Elegant!

I’ve never been one for samplers, but lately, the email groups that I’m part of have chatted about Papillon Creations’ 2009 Stitch Along Mystery Sampler, Castles in the Air.  You are supposed to use the 10 charted colors and choose 11 colors on your own to finish off the color chart. I took to the challenge and sought out  fabric, thread and beads that I had on hand and decided to join in.

This is my Mystery Sampler after completing Part 1. I purchased both the cross stitch version and the specialty version of the SAL. I decided to stitch the specialty version simply because I LOVE EMBROIDERY! Surface embroidery is still my all time favorite needle and thread creation, and this SAL has been surprisingly enjoyable.

The photos don’t show all the ‘bling’  and glitter that really is on this canvas. I used a ‘Vintage Gold’ metallic thread as my one specialty thread. It’s a black with a gold twist wound around it. All in all it gives this part, the Formal Garden, a look of wrought iron. I just love it!

I love this pinkish color. I think these flowers look like hibiscus.

I didn’t keep the original 10 colors assigned. Yes, I know… I cheated. I changed the blues to match the other colors that were free choice. My new ‘peacock blues’ match the hues of my other choices now.

This is the photo that I sent in to be uploaded on Papillon Creations website. Hopefully, my Part 1 will show up here soon.

Your life needs fun. Go ahead, have some fun!
smiles,
alicia in Hawaii
http://www.curiosities808.wordpress.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/islandgirla_woodworks/sets/
http://www.islandgirla.blogspot.com

Cross Stitch Project- Update 1, Seasonal Dragons “Summer”, Patricia Allison Chart

Hot Summer Action!

This is the progress of the Summer Dragon after 1 month of stitching! (off and on stitching, not 24/7 stitching…) I feel really good about the progress and I don’t think it will take much more time to finish it up, (less than the 1 year I originally thought it would take). Most of the stitching is in this first page, the other pages are mostly borders of flames…not that the flames are easy, but they certainly aren’t large, monster bodies of teeny tiny quarter stitches all of the same hues! LOL

In person, the black crystal is shiny and shimmery. It’s all stitched with filament added to black and other dark colors. The dragon is very intricately shaded. Bravo to Patricia Allison! This is a fantastic chart! I love every detail of it!

To stitch up this Bad Boy, I’ve had to take to some creative aids. I’m colorblind and simply CANNOT tell where I’ve left off if I just use a simple pencil to scratch off the chart. I also HAD to enlarge this chart. There is NO WAY I can see the itty bitty marks for the zillion quarter stitches in this chart. NO WAY! I’ve employed the needle holder, all threaded, Mag Eyes…with a 7.0 magnifier…yes, it’s the one I use for micro mini stuff, a TON of different colored pencils, mega charts and two scissors…one I use as a ‘pointer’.

I’ve found out a secret though…and I will be using every bit of it to tame the next page of this moster Summer pattern… I WILL WIN and tame the Summer Dragon! Muwahaha!!!

Your life needs fun. Go ahead, have some fun!

smiles,

alicia in Hawaii