Transfer Pens

I have experimented a lot with transfer pens of all sorts. The one that I think work best are the Red Transfer Pencils. These will print to a fabric surface just by using a hot iron. The thing you need to know about these is to keep the tip of your pencil sharp for a nice thin line, if it is too wide, it will be hard to cover the linw with your embroidery floss.  

The Sulky Iron On Transfer Pens work very well. I like to use a Heavy Duty Tracing Paper  to trace my design to, and then flip it over and then with a hot iron transfer it to my choice of fabric. The thing you need to know about these is, you can not press real hard because the line will get too thick, you need to REMEMBER with these a light touch is best. The great thing about these pens is that you can also use them to apply some color to your design, it is best to practice a bit before you do this, but it works very well. The set pictured has 8 different colors in it, Black, Brown, Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Green and Purple. Althought a little more spendy, they last a long time and work excellent if you follow the manufacturers guidelines.
All of these products are available on our website on the Hand Embroidery Notion page. We also carry two different types of Transfer Paper, a lighter one for use with the Red Transfer Pencils and a Heavy Duty one for use with the Sulky pens.
One thing you need to remember also is, DO NOT use your ironing board to transfer designs. It works best if you use a couple layers of fabric on a hard surface. Smooth out the fabric on the hard surface. Iron it so there are no wrinkles and make sure it is smooth before you lay your fabric and design down to trace, Hold your iron and press down on your design rather than moving back and forth, this can move your design enough so the lines show wider. Again practice so you have a good idea of how it all works before you work on your final design.
All of these items are available at http://www.chickadeehollowdesigns.com/
Happy Stitching! Carol

Meet Glamourellda!

I have never been big on decorating for Halloween, but I decided to do a Halloween line of ornaments, and

today I finshed this wonderful gal. Her name is "Glamourellda." I actually had a lot of fun with her. You all know I love to draw so I tried really hard to make her look ugly like all witches are suppose to be. I am thinking I maybe should make a witch doll now too. My grandson saw me working on it and he said, "her ugly, Grandma!" I just had to laugh, l;eave it to the little ones to just let out their opinions, I love it!  Don't you just love the wart on her nose? By the way, this is her glamour shot that she took before Halloween. I think she will make a good witch! Hmmm, on to the next one, wonder what that will be??
Happy Stitching! Carol

Happy Mothers Day

As I prepare for Mothers Day, I think about my own Mom and wish that she could be here with us yet to celebrate the day. My Mom was very special in many ways, and many times I think about all of our modern conveniences, and how difficult it must have been for her to raise eight of us kids on a farm without  much of anything. She always made this huge garden and spent the summer canning jars full of fruits and vegetables for us to get through the winters. There were hundreds of jars, and many times she would send one of us kids to the basement to count how many jars of this or that she had, so she would know to can more. I know one of my favorite was her garlic dill pickles, I remember the recipe by heart today. There would always be at least a hundred jars of dill pickles. And of course beets, corn, tomatoes, green beans and peas. Do you know how many peas it takes to fill a quart jar? A lot! Do you know how many pea plants it takes to fill a dish pan with shelled peas??A lot! I remember helping with all that. I have done my share of that too, but not to the numbers that she did. I don't know why I am talking about this, I guess it just came to mind as I was reflecting on my Mom tonight and thinking about how much work it must have been to keep all of us kids fed and "in line." God Bless you Mom, I know your life was not easy, but in my heart I know you wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Mothers deserved to be recognized, but those who do the recognizing have no idea what it takes to be a Mom unless they have "walked a mile in her shoes."

I am sharing a picture tonight of one of the designs that I have been working on for my Vintage Autumn line of ornaments. We will start releasing them, a couple a week for the next eight weeks, so stay tuned if they interest you!
Happy Stitching! Carol