Thread Treasures - FSL Star Earrings

FSL Star Earrings are just the right size so everyone will know that you are a star.  Limited by your own color combinations.

Sized for the 4x4 hoop.

To view these, either click on the image above, or click HERE.

Thread Treasures - FSL Breast Cancer Awareness Earrings

FSL Breast Cancer Awareness earrings - inspired by friends who that currently have or are free of this cancer.

Can be stitched in various colors for the different cancer awareness.

Show your support.

The set can be seen by clicking on the image above, or by clicking HERE.

Thread Treasures: Wild Side now available

Wild Side is now available from Golden Gryphon Gallery.

Sized for 4x4 Hoops.

To view the Wild Side collection, simply click on the image above or click HERE.

Project Runway

I am so very glad that Project Runway is on again.  I do find inspiration from the show.  Many many years ago, I had dreams of being a fashion designer.  Well... maybe nightmares... but still.

I wish I had the talent to even attempt to submit my works to be on the show.  Maybe I should spend some of my limited spare time in that direction.

Hey, you only go around this planet with one lifetime, so why not make the most of it and do what you want to do?  I'm one that realizes that you have to do what you have to do... but you have to also follow the dream as well.  

Following the dream is what took me to starting Thread Treasures in the first place.

Stitch on...

A teaspoon of rain

Yippie!!! :)

We received a teaspoon of rain overnight. Cooler temps, by about 10 or so degrees for the next day before the oven returns again.

Under the Sea

I posted the link to the new set Life Is The Bubbles so I thought I might as well post the Under the Sea set as well.

This set is sized for 4x4 (100x100mm) and 5x7 (130x180mm) hoops.

A free sample design is available to download.

The illustrations were purchased from Trina Clark.

To view the set and collect the free sample, either click the picture above, or click HERE.

Life is the Bubbles - new set with sample

Life is the Bubbles - the newest set is up and available.  Sized for the 4x4 (100x100mm) or 5x7 (130x180) hoops.

Perfect for a child's quilt.  Can be used with the Under the Sea set to expand the selection of designs.  Imagine a bedroom filled with these friendly little guys and gals.

Swing on by to pick up a free sample design.

The Life is Bubbles set can be found by clicking on the image above, or by clicking HERE.

Coming soon to Thread Treasures

An adorable set of undersea designs.

Watch for them soon, as they might swim away.

Quilt Motifs from Golden Gryphon Gallery

Thread Treasures is the only site that you can purchase the designs from Golden Gryphon Gallery.

This set is Quilt Motifs and are sized for the 4x4 (100x100mm) hoop.

You can click on the image above to go see the Golden Gryphon Gallery set of quilt motifs, or you can click HERE to be directed to the exact page at Thread Treasures.

Cosmic Quilt Lines at Thread Treasures

Sized for either 4x4, 5x5 or 6x6 hoops (100x100, 125x125, 150x150mm)

The Cosmic Quilt Lines can be found by clicking on the image above, or by clicking HERE to take you to the correct page at Thread Treasures.

Tree Frog Lines

Thread Treasures is happy to bring you a cute set of tree frogs in line work.  Sized for the 4x4 hoop.

This darling set of 10 designs can be found by clicking on the picture above or by clicking HERE.

Christmas in July

Slacks are done

Yeah!  I finished the slacks.  :)

Not really a watermelon not really a stawberry, but somewhere inbetween.  Found THE perfect top today as well, so will have a new outfit to wear tomorrow.

I love being able to whip up something new in short order.

Dog Days of Summer

It isn't even the part of the Dog Days of Summer yet, but dang...this heat is sucking the life out of me and everything around me.  If I do have to venture outside during the day, I feel like I need a couple hour nap to recharge my batteries.

It is so dry as well.  The deer came up and ate a bunch of the landscaping that I had done this spring.  My Zinnia's were just about to bloom, and the deer stripped everything to the stem.  I have tons of naked stems sticking up out of the ground.

Oh well... hopefully the weather will turn soon. 

Walmart used to sell these micro fiber waffle weave hand towels that were perfect for embroidery.

It seems like they do not sell these towels anymore, and I am on the search to find a replacement as I loved to do embroidery on these.

Let me know if you know where to find them.

I'm actually getting a bit of time to sew for myself today.

Trying to get a pair of slacks made.   I have them cut out and the ends surged.  I wonder if I will be able to finish them today or not?

Also got a cute set of redwork frogs test stitched.  They are adorable.

Expanding the business.

In the month of June, I started to sell the designs from Golden Gryphon Gallery at Thread Treasures after the digitizer had left Oregon Patch Works.

In July, the entire designs offerings, along with the first couple of new sets, are available at ThreadTreasures.com. 

I would like to welcome Golden Gryphon Gallery and hope that our relationship continues to grow over the years.

Coffee Break

Let everyone know what time it is.

                                   

The Coffee Break design can be found HERE

Owls are so Hot now...

Come explore these darling spring owls.

 

These spring owls can be found HERE.     

This set is digitized from the illustrations from Trina Clark.

Sweet Tooth -

Let these designs help cool down your kitchen on those hot summer days.  Made from licensed illustrations from Trina Clark.

The Sweet Tooth set can be found HERE.             

So, I realize that it is been a while since I have made a posting.  That is bad on me.. :(

Anyway, I have TONS of new designs to check out if you are interested.

For you Free Standing Lace (FSL) lovers, I have some earrings that I put up.

There are 2 versions of this design in the file - one with shading and one without.

You can find these designs HERE

Spring Owl Applique Machine Embroidery Design

A darling owl applique - sized for 5x7 (130x180mm) hoops.

Thread Treasures - Corset Designs

Imagine these beautiful Corset Designs on a spa wrap.  Indulge yourself, you know that you want to...

Applique Christmas Ornaments

I have a some single Applique Christmas Designs that are available in either 5x7 or 4x4 size.  The only difference between the two is that the 4x4 size does not contain the 'string' that looks like the ornament hanger.  Be sure to check out all of the Applique Designs

Donna's Miche Bag Cover

So, I am playing around making some new covers for my Miche bag.  This is the first one that actually contains magnets.  I like the look of the fabric as it looks like embossed leather.

Asian Beauties

I love these little Asian Girls.  I think that they are beauties indeed.

Thread Treasures is very pleased to offer these designs up on special sale until May 21, 2011.  You can go to ThreadTreasures.com and navigate to the Special Sales page to see other fantastic sales that are currently underway.

Thread Treasures - Love Sentiments

Love Sentiments - Just words to express love.  Your partner will never doubt your feelings when the words are everywhere.

Sample design at the bottom of the set for your enjoyment.

Thread Treasures - Celebration Teddy

Swing on by to check out Teddy and see what all events he is celebrating.  Celebration Teddy is sized for 4x4 and 5x7 hoops.

Thread Treasures - Cherry Blossom Quick Stitch

Cherry Blossom Quick Stitch - 5 cute as a bug designs in with 2 different sizes included.  All will fit a 4x4 (100x100mm) Hoop.

Thread Treasures - Coffee Time

Coffee Time is a set of designs in redwork and words.  Quick to stitch and available in either 4x4 or 5x7 sizes.  A sample design is available to download at the bottom of the page.

Thread Treasures - Red Lines I

The first set in a new BOLD  line of designs.  Red Lines I is available in multiple sizes from 4x4 up to 7x7 for your stitching needs.

The set has a sample design at the bottom of the page.

Thread Treasures - Star Flakes

Are they snowflakes or are they stars?  They will change depending on how you look at them.  Starflakes are dainty and beautiful and look as if they will float away.

Swing on by and check out the Starflakes for yourself and collect a sample design at the bottom of the set.

Thread Treasures - Adonais Applique Font

I had digitized Adonais Font to be applique.  I thought the font was cute and could see it used more as applique than a filled font.  I asked a customer if she would mind testing the font for me and I think she did a FANTASTIC job.  Deb W. of Wisconsin whipped up this towel in no time and sent me some fantastic pictures.

Deb also used the Cupid dollar design that I have.

Way to go Deb!

Thread Treasures - Sunflower

I am thinking about spring, and wanting to plant my garden.  I am dreaming of what I will plant and trying to determine the layout this year.

I digitized this little sunflower as I was thinking about spring and eating sunflower seeds.  I hope that you enjoy this little design. 

Thread Treasures - Snowstorm for Connie

Living where I have for the past 16 years has gotten me past being a giddy child when the mention of snow is mentioned.  I now dread clearing the walkways and driveway.  While the first moments of a fresh snow are beautiful to behold, the black frozen mess that always is around the corner due to cars driving makes me shudder.

My sister, Connie, still lives in the south, so snow is not the norm during the winter.  As another snow was falling, I was digitizing snowflakes.  I called my sister on the phone to let her have all the excitement of the next 7 inches that I was about to receive.  I could tell in her voice that she was so very excited and I could imagine her out in my front yard doing snow angels.

When it came time to name my set, I thought I would name it for my sister.  I present to you "Snowstorm for Connie" and hope that you like it as much as I and my sister do.

Thread Treasures - Celtic Inspirations IX

I have released my latest set of Celtic inspired designs.  10 Fun and Funky designs that are exclusive to Thread Treasures.  You will not find these designs offered by any other digitizer.  A complimentary sample is at the bottom of the page, so please enjoy.

Thread Treasures - Cupid Time

Well, Valentines Day will be here before you know it.  I realize it is just the first week of 2011, but time seems to fly by.  Heck, I remember this time LAST year.

I created a little Cupid that is perfect for decorating items for Valentines Day.   Can you imagine a husbands face were he to pull out a pair of boxers with this design on the leg?

Thread Treasures - One Color Butterflies

Winter is in full swing, yet my thoughts drift to spring and the return of flowers.  With the return of flowers, Butterflies will soon be fluttering in the air again.  I can spend hours watching them dance in the invisible wind.  I created the One Color Butterfly set from artwork from Clipartopolis to remind me of their beauty as they land and drink from the nectar.  Hopefully we all will be blessed with their sight before long.

Thread Treasures - Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

I have always been in love with archaeology, and dreamed of being an archaeologist when I was a young girl.  I just knew I would discover the largest unknown tomb and go down in history as the best archaeologist of all times.  Hey, if a girl is going to dream, why not have a big one.

Life did not take me on that venture, but I never fell out of love with ancient Egypt.  I love the myths/facts of that time, as well as some of the beautiful artifacts that we have today thanks to the ancients.  I have always been taken with the Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, and even named a ton of computer systems after them once.  I found some open source clip art of them, along with their hieroglyphs, so I digitized them.  Now I'm on the hunt for the perfect fabric to make a lap quilt.  I saw some that would be fantastic years ago - to bad I didn't buy it then.

Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

Thread Treasures - Has Your Johnny Jumped?

When the winter sets in, I often find myself dreaming of spring.  With those dreams, my thoughts turn to beautiful flowers, turning the soil, and planting seeds.

I created the Has Your Johnny Jumped set to remind me of the little Johnny Jump Up flowers that I see growing.  I love them, as well as pansy and violets.  Heck I love all flowers.

Maybe these designs will warm your heart and get you to think about your spring planting.  Imagine a small lap quilt draped across your legs as you turn the pages to find the next beautiful wonder in your seed catalogs.

Thread Treasures - Cocoa Teddy

I purchased clip art from JDS Clipart on a Black Friday sale.  One set that I purchased was a limited edition set of Christmas Teddy Bears.  I have called my digitized designs Cocoa Teddy, and he is having adventures getting ready for Christmas.

You can see all of the Cocoa Teddy designs that I have digitized by looking at my Single Designs.

Thread Treasures - Is It Holly Berry?

I created my Is It Holly Berry set to be a funky take on a season favorite of Holly.  I wish I could get scratch and sniff thread to bring the scent of holly into the projects stitched with these unique designs.

Thread Treasures - Vintage Christmas Redwork

I created the Vintage Christmas Redwork set as I reflected back on much simpler times. 

I remember watching shows like Frost the Snowman, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and Charlie Brown Christmas while I was growing up.  If I find when they are on TV, I try to arrange my schedule to catch a few of them over the Christmas season. 

The Vintage Christmas Redwork has a free sample design to download, so head on over and pick it up with my compliments.

Thread Treasures - Victorian Snowflake Redwork

I took an exclusive set that I had, Victorian Papercut Ornaments, and created the Victorian Snowflake Redwork set as dainty snowflakes.  If I am going to be stuck with them coming down from the sky, I might as well digitize a few.

A sample from this set is available HERE with my compliments.

Thread Treasures - Celtic Ribbon Snowflakes

I simply love designs that are inspired by Celtic knot work.  I believe that is why I design and digitize so many sets around that theme.

I thought some snowflakes with a Celtic influence would be different, thus I created my Celtic Ribbon Snowflake set.

Thread Treasures - Tropical Beauty

The longing for warmth and the beauty of flowers continues with my Tropical Beauty set of embroidery designs.

These designs are perfect to chase away the winter blues.  Think hot vibrant pinks to adorn the tropical quilt that you have always wanted to make.

Thread Treasures - Anticipating Spring

Winter hasn't officially began, but I find myself yearning for spring.  I am tired of the cold already, and the frozen precipitation has yet to even begin for the season.  Today was cold and rainy.

My mood was pointing me to flowers, so I digitized a set that I call Anticipating Spring today. Just a sneak peek.

The full set can be seen Here

Thread Treasures

Wow, it is already into November.  Christmas will be here before you know it.  I've had my first show of the season, and while I did just okay, others didn't even make their entry fee back.  It appears that the venue did not advertise at all.  I had put something out on Craig's list, but that is no guarantee of foot traffic coming in the door.  I will need to weigh my options next year before I commit to doing that show again.

All is not lost, because the Oak Park High School will be having their craft fair on Nov 20th.  I am stitching again to fill orders that I did get at the other show, as well as replace the items that I sold.

I am having an issue finding a specific placemat that I embroidered on and sold a set.  I will need to keep looking.  I have to keep my purchase price low enough so that when I embroider on them that I still make a profit.

I did manage to get a set completed that I had been working on for a while  Florid Ornaments.

Thread Treasures - Shows are almost here

Wow - I simply cannot believe how long it has been since I updated my blog.  A LOT LOT LOT has happened since I updated it last.

Thread Treasures seems to be doing well, at least as well as I had hoped during the first year.

The season is starting for Christmas shows, and I have been very busy getting ready.  I have a smaller show on Nov 6th, and then a larger show on Nov. 20th.  I am excited.  The show on the 20th will be my second year doing that show.  It was the very first show I ever participated in, and I was so green.

I will not say that I am a seasoned pro now, but I have participated in a few shows since that time.  I have been stitching and embroidering like mad.  I will have a larger selection of products this time around, as well as some of my old faithfuls.

I have been trying to digitize, but realize that I haven't made as many design packs as I have in the past.  Hopefully in about a month, I will be cranking them out again.  I do have a few that I will be posting in the next week, and I did post a new set this week as well.

Oh well, I am going to close this out for now.  I need to start making my shopping list as the Sewing and Quilting Expo is headed to town next week.  Thread Guy.... Here I come.  LOL

ThreadTreasures.com - Christmas in July/August

It is HOT and I mean HOT.  We have had heat advisories for the past couple of weeks.  It is hard to think about Christmas when it is so HOT outside.

None the less,  I have started production of Christmas items for some of the fairs later on this fall.  I have been so busy that I haven't had much chance to digitize much.  I will need to get some done for the coming week.  I have been working on some Christmas designs that are so cute, but they are not a full set and not fully tested as of this moment.

ThreadTreasures.com - SEO Submission

Well, I know that some of the big web crawlers are now hitting my site on a regular basis.  Only time will tell if everything has been done correctly and the site starts to rise in the rankings.  Of course, people searching for it helps as well.

I have just completed two new sets that have been made available.  One is an adorable little set called Ghastly Ghosts that are cute little redwork designs for Halloween.

The other set is 10 adorable Little Baby Boys which would look beautiful on a baby blanket.

ThreadTreasures.com - Sample Downloads

Just when you think that everything is going along great at the shop, I get up in the morning to find frantic emails saying that the Sample Designs were not working and that they couldn't be downloaded.

I almost had a heart attack I tell you.  I had worked so hard, and had seen them being downloaded by so many people.  What happened?  I mean, I go to get a couple hours sleep, only to wish that I had the coffee hooked up to an IV drip going straight into the blood stream.

So, I start the process of tech support to see if I can determine the issue.  I verify the files still exist, and that the permissions are correct on them.  I test, and BAM...403 error.  I am FORBIDDEN from getting my own samples.  What's a girl to do?

Of course I try the interactive technical support chat and get someone that can 'type' English, although I am sure that if I had been on the phone with him I would not have been able to understand a single word.  After an hour or so trying to get the support person to TRY to download the samples, he tries.  Lordie Lordie Lordie...  Can I please have my wisdom teeth removed while my contractions are coming 30 seconds apart please?

I had to finally open a email ticket, which usually means file 13... if you know what I mean.  I wasn't about to  let my business suffer at the hands of someone that still can't wipe their nose.    After another hour, I had pinpointed the issue and was putting into steps the resolution to the problem.  Needless to say, not 15 minutes AFTER I fixed my own issue, I receive the email saying that they do not experience the problem.  I replied that I had fixed the issue myself and proceeded to let them know what it was should another client of theirs experience the same issue.  I'm sure my return email probably ended up in someone's automatic wastebasket.  Oh well...

ThreadTreasures.com - Venitian Mask and Virtual Advertising

Yeah!!! I have my Venitian Mask set of embroidery designs complete and tested.  I think that they turned out pretty good.  They look better in real life than a simulated view.

The virtual advertising seems to be paying off, as I have had a steady stream of people in the store today.  Some are looking around while others are enjoying the Sample Designs that I have offered up.  Some have purchased designs.  Quite a few have signed up for the Newsletter that I will start sending out soon.

Overall, I'm happy with the progress thus far.

ThreadTreasures.com - Virtual Advertising

I have now switch part of my focus for Thread Treasures into advertising as the store front seems to be set up and working. I have joined various Yahoo groups in order to spread the word about my designs.

I guess I found one good group to advertise on, as I ran an intro ad that came out at 2:30 in the morning, and found 8 different clients on the store looking around.

Most have created accounts or used the test account to download the free sample designs that I have made available for people to get to see my embroidery.

I will need to spend some time reading some of the different types of ads that other digitizers use, or the services of an individual that writes ads for tons of places, and come up with a method that will hopefully produce successful copy for me.

Anyone know a marketing major that works for free?

ThreadTreasures.com - Blog overhaul

I thought that I would be a good person and come look at the blog before I started my day doing some digitizing and modification of some Venetian Mask designs that I am currently working on.

Low and behold, up pops a little message that the background that I had been using was going the way of the dodo on Friday. What a pain to try to get it removed and go back to some of the Blogger supplied backgrounds. But after 30 minutes or so, it is gone and I can continue with my day.

I'm feeling good as I have already walked over 2 miles this morning. Hopefully I will get the Venetian Masks completed and tested before the next round of storms hit. We lost power for a couple hours last evening, so I feel that I am a little behind.

I've started a new exclusive set for quilt blocks as well. At the moment, I'm not exactly sure how many designs I will include in the set, but it could be around 40 or so. I won't know until I'm finished with the entire thing.

ThreadTreasures.com - Facebook

Oh the joys of Facebook and everything else going on right now. I hear that a ton of the digitizers are using Facebook to show their designs at their stores, so I created a Facebook for ThreadTreasures that will show the designs at the .com. It is a learning curve for sure, and I am not faithful in writing on my blog or posting on Facebook.... yet anyways. I will need to try to take time each day to do a little bit of something I suppose.

I will say that I am really getting into the setting up of a store. I need to take the time to learn more of the CSS language and stylesheets so that I can make a ton of customizations that will give my site a bunch of bells and whistles that no other place has, but that will be a while. I still need to concentrate on making designs.

ThreadTreasures.com - SEO Submission

The past day was spent attempting to get the Sitemap for Thread Treasures to upload to search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Ask and the like.

Being a techie, I would have never thought that getting the module installed and configured would be so time consuming, since other modules were a matter of a few moments.

In the end, the site can now feed into the googlebot so that the rankings will improve when phrases are entered into the search engines.

I will be putting more and more designs on this page to reference.

ThreadTreasures.com - Online store learning curves

In trying to get Thread Treasures off the ground, I have learned a few things.

Trying to create a web presence for my product is almost a full time job. Since I started getting the store up, I have not had time to actually digitize designs.

Hopefully, now that everything is up, I'll have the time to create more new products. At the moment, I am not aware of anything that is pressing with the storefront so I can get back to digitizing.

I still have to learn more about SEO, but that will come in time. I'm just happy to have my items being sold at three different places now.

ThreadTreasures.com - Launch of the new site

Well, I finally started my own spot on the web. Thread Treasures is now official.

So, besides selling my designs at OPW and StitchNet.Org, I now have my own Place.

It is kind of nice, because I can offer things there and nowhere else. I plan on doing that with certain designs. In fact I have already got a Christmas Poinsettia that will be exclusive to my store.

I digitized the Poinsettia in 2009 and used it for napkins for my sister to go with a tablecloth that I embroidered for her.

Needless to say, I am very excited as my business continues to grow.

Northmen to the State Championship ... Again

Regional bowling action was held this past weekend, and the Northmen took first place and advance to the State Championships again this year.

Will the Northmen repeat? This mom hopes so. The tournament will be the last weekend in May.

Keep your fingers crossed that the Northmen will remain the State Champs!

Way to go Guys.

Thread Treasures - Purple Passion II

The exclusive Purple Passion line continues with the release later this week of Purple Passion II. Please enjoy a preview of the designs which will soon follow.



The Purple Passion II set became available for purchase on April 21st. If you would like to purchase these designs, simply click Here.

Thread Treasures - Quilt Blocks and Jimmy Buffett

Well, while I was working on getting this particular set all resized and the documents ready, I was listening to Jimmy Buffett. A state of mind not a music... but I digress.

What should have taken me an hour took 4. Jimmy distracts me. LOL



These unique quilt blocks are available Here.

Thread Treasures - Forgotten Gems

I simply love looking at some of my older designs, as I am never quite sure what I will find. This morning, while looking at some of the designs, I stumbled upon these long forgotten gems. One never knows what I might uncover as I dig deeper into my treasure chest.



This Kaleidoscope design set is available to be purchased simply by clicking Here.

Thread Treasures - Having a blast

I have been having a blast looking at what seems like zillions of designs that for lack of better classification I call quilt blocks. I see tons of uses for them, but I am just one person.

These designs are in the process of having final color selections placed on them. When I digitize, I usually select a color scheme that I want to work with for the day, but that doesn't mean that the designs will be grouped together. I pick what catches my eye for groupings with mostly no reason.

Thread Treasures - X Marks The Spot

Please enjoy a preview of my new set titled X Marks The Spot. The set became available on April 21st.



If you would like to purchase this design set, simply click Here.