Just In

I love getting my newest sewing magazines and always lay them aside until I have time alone to peruse them. I like to first take a quick run through the magazine and then after seeing the newest projects, I take the time to read through the magazine reading the editors comments, the letters to the editor (taking time of course to mentally agree or disagree with comments about the content), and then read the feature articles. After that I go back through and read the instructions for many of the projects. Even if they don’t apply to any current project, you never know when a gem of information will come in handy to know.

The latest Designs in Machine Embroidery(May/June 2006) just landed in my mail box today. The big feature article was on decorating denim blue jeans. And not just decorating them, having a get together of teen aged girls to machine embroider, bleach, glue rhinestones and anything else they could think of to make each pair of jeans unique. Not only did the girls have a fun time, but they were learning that ‘sewing’ wasn’t just for old grannies. However we can encourage the younger generation to take up needlecraft arts the better. Needlecrafts whether machine or hand embroidery, sewing, knitting, crochet, needlepoint, etc. help to reduce stress and gives us a calm relaxing activity that produces something lovely and unique when finished.

I have been a fan of Creative Expressions with Jenny Haskins since I stumbled upon the first issue at my local Barnes & Noble. Since then, it has been a constant struggle to find the latest issues. If I wasn’t at the store at the right time, I missed out. I finally solved that problem with getting on a subscription list to be able to sell them through my store. Now I get my copy every quarter and a batch to sell. Currently I have only three copies of issue #10 (the latest issue) left in the store where you can purchase an issue if you like Click here to purchase.

Creative Expressions is an Australian magazine, filled with wonderful colors, photos, and machine embroidery and quilting projects. Most projects are frilly and ultra feminine in nature with an abundance of flower motifs. I love all the wonderful ideas in this magazine and most especially I like the parts of projects which show stitch building. Taking decorative machine stitches and sewing them closely together to create an even bigger pattern. Even if you don’t own an embroidery machine, as long as you own a sewing machine with 20-30 decorative stitches, you can build on the ideas in these magazines. Appliqué ‘fussy cut’ flowers onto your fabric, follow the stitch building guides (substituting your own stitches as needed) and you too can have delightful results.

I have found that as newer and bigger embroidery machines come out, that those who only have an older model or no embroidery capacity at all, get left out when it comes to projects and ideas. When I got my latest sewing machine it had a couple of decorative stitches that for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what I would ever use them for. Well those same stitches (or ones very much like them) were used in stitch building in two separate articles in this issue. Now I know what I can use them for!

That is what I love reading my magazines for—Knowledge! By writing this blog and through selling needlecraft books in My Store I too hope to help impart knowledge about my love of sewing in all its forms.