Loving my new machine!

It's almost New Year's Eve!!!  

How will I celebrate? By spending all day at my machine. For the last two weeks I haven't been very productive. I only turned out 1 simple mug rug today :(

I am wanting to learn to digitize and make my own designs to sell in my Etsy shop, but I need to purchase software first. I think I have made up my mind and will go with Sew What Pro. Although I have Embrilliance Essentials for editing, Embrilliance Enthusiast is needed for digitizing and it's rather expensive. I will try SWP for now, and if I do well with digitizing, I will purchase Enthusiast later.

Of course, I will post my first design here, maybe even for free. 

Happy New Year,

Happy stitichin'

Kimmi

www.sewsweetbykimmi.etsy.com  SHOP, Browse, LOVE

Christmas is over already???

I just really can't believe that the holiday season is almost coming to a close and that it's almost 2014! It doesn't feel like Christmas should be over already but sadly, it is :(

I kept myself super-busy right up until Christmas morning finishing gifts and orders for others. Now that it's over, I find myself sitting here with a million different projects I want to do, but can't figure out which to do first...

These are a few, very few of the gifts I made and gave (not pictured are the guys Saints knit caps and gals monogrammed sweatshirts)

There are lots of great things coming to Sew Sweet Crafts blogs and Sew Sweet By Kimmi etsy shop in the next few weeks. I have a brand new larger machine, tons of new fabric, and thousands of new designs and projects! Be sure to stop by often and see what's new.

Many blessings to you for a Happy New Year,

Happy Stitchin',

Kimmi

Oh so busy

I have been Oh So Busy lately. Orders are finally start to roll in! I'm so excited! I have purchased quite a bit more embroidery designs, new editing software, design software, and lots of supplies. I am READY to get new items in the shop.

In the midst of trying to grow my shop and business, I am also in the middle of my own personal embroidery/sewing projects for some of my family's gifts and for my daughter's kindergarten students.

It may be a few days before I post again, but be on the lookout for posts with a preview of the new items I will have coming up in the shop just in time for last minute shopping.

Happy Holidays and happy stitching,
Kimmi

Uh Oh!!! I may need therapy...

Hi, my name is Kimmi and I'm an addict... in-the-hoop embroidery addict! LOL I have started with ITH embroidery and I can't stop!!!

I bought my embroidery machine about 8 months ago and had only used it 3 or 4 times to do very menial projects. The fact is, I was afraid to mess up a project, to mess up my machine, afraid to try out all the features on my machine. I stuck to just a couple very simple patterns so I got bored with it very quickly. I used the excuse, it's too much trouble to get everything out to do one project, I don't have the right fabric I want to use, I don't have time... What a dummy!

I have one simple rule I have lived by my whole adult life: If we don't use something for 6 months it gets donated to Goodwill, a church, or someone else who can put it to good use, no matter the cost, or where it came from. * this rule stems from my mother being a hoarder all my life, which I hated, and still do.

So with this rule in mind, I thought if I got rid of a brand new embroidery machine, I would be wasting A LOT of money. I decided to get it out and put it to good use. I pushed myself through the fear of breaking it, of messing up and have tried so many different projects only to find SUCCESS!

I've done tee shirts, a pants suit for my grand daughter, a dress, dish towels, bath towels, coasters, and all the cute novelty items I have been posting. By far, my favorite type of project is the In-the-hoop ones! They are cute, fun, and so easy to stitch up. Just follow the patterns and you'll have a cute completed project in no time.

Here's some of the new shop items I made today:

Anyone who is afraid to try ITH embroidery, should really just GO FOR IT! and give it a try. I promise, you'll find at least one pattern you love.

Two of my favorite places to get ITH patterns is:
Embroidery Garden and Smart Needle Be sure to check these out.

Well, it's time for me to get some sleep so I can get up early and get some stitching in before Turkey Time!

Happy crafting and Happy Thanksgiving,
Kimmi

Snowman chapstick holder keychains

Aren't these just adorable?! 

They are chapstick/flash drive holders, which can also hold a bic lighter. I just have to wait for the glue to dry so I can punch the hole and add the keyring.

I made a bunch of these to add to my shop, and will be making others as well : Santa, Nurse, Cat, Penguin & Cupcake. I think they will go over well. I am also giving some of these for stocking stuffers this Christmas.

Tomorrow will be spent getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner.

Happy Crafting & Happy Thanksgiving,
Kimmi

Owl key chain credit card holders.

These little things are just so darn cute! They are not 100% finished (need to iron and add keyrings) but I just couldn't wait to share a sneak peek! 

I made a BIG dent in my scrap stash working on lots of these. Once I get them all ironed and the keyrings added I will post them in my Etsy shop for sale.  

Now for the fun stuff! I am trying to get my blog up and running with lots of followers, so I will be giving 1 of these away once I reach 50 followers. Please share this will all of your blogging friends.*I will also follow your blog in return.

Happy Crafting and Happy Thanksgiving
Kimmi

Scrap Bustin!

I feel like I'm stuck in a bad movie every time I try to find some fabric to use! My fabric stash is small, yet there are so many scraps from quilting. When I try to find a small piece of fabric it turns into a huge ordeal that lasts too long. It's costing me valuable crafting time!!! What should take 5 minutes tops takes me a hour or more!

To remedy this nightmare of a fabric bin, I have decided to make a whole line of items for my Etsy shop using only scraps! I started on this project today and have put a small dent into the pile, but there's still a lot of work to do so I'm off to craft.

Happy crafting & Happy Holidays,
Kimmi