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.

Thread Treasures - Quilt Motif Blocks

Thread Treasures is very excited to bring you another set of exclusive funky embroidery designs suitable for quilt blocks or home decor.



To purchase this set, please click Here.

Thread Treasures - Quilt Motif Blocks

Thread Treasures is very excited to bring you another set of exclusive funky embroidery designs suitable for quilt blocks or home decor.



To purchase these designs, simply clickHERE.

Thread Treasures - Celtic Inspirations 5 Embroidery Designs

Thread Treasures is very pleased to provide another exclusive set inspired by Celtic knot work.


Thread Treasures is very pleased to provide another exclusive set inspired by Celtic knot work.

To purchase this design set, simply click HERE.

Thread Treasures - Ribbon Quilt Blocks

Thread Treasures is pleased to present to you another exclusive design set called Ribbon Quilt Blocks. The inspiration behind this set was some ribbon that had spilled onto the floor.



To purchase this set simply click HERE.

Thread Treasures - Funky Quilt Blocks

Thread Treasures is excited to bring to you a set of quilt blocks that is out of the ordinary and quite funky. These designs are bright and bold.



You can purchase this funky design set HERE.

Thread Treasures - One Color Peacock Frame

I love Peacocks and if I could own them where I currently live, I would probably have a few. So, I digitized a Peacock Frame which could have a monogram inserted in the frame.

The frame comes in 3 sizes.



You can purchase this design HERE.

Thread Treasures - Victorian Papercut Ornaments

Thread Treasures is excited to bring you an exclusive set of Victorian Papercut Ornament embroidery designs.



If you would like to purchase the set or get a free 4x4" trial design, you can go Here.

Thread Treasures - One Color Ladies

Thread Treasures is excited to bring you 5 wonderful designs called One Color Ladies. Just because these designs have one color does not mean that they do not have that WOW factor. POP would be more like it.


Thread Treasures is excited to bring you 5 wonderful designs called One Color Ladies. Just because these designs have one color does not mean that they do not have that WOW factor. POP would be more like it.

You can purchase the designs from HERE.

Thread Treasures - Redwork Filigree

Thread Treasures is pleased to present a very intricate set of Filigree machine embroidery designs.



The designs can be purchased from HERE.

Thread Treasures - Celtic Inspirations 2 Embroidery Designs

Thread Treasures is excited to bring you another exclusive set of Celtic inspired embroidery designs.



If you would like to purchase these designs, you can from HERE.

Thread Treasures - Celtic Inspirations Embroidery Designs

Thread Treasures is excited to bring another exclusive set of Celtic machine embroidery designs to you. This is the initial set in the Celtic design line.



The bottom right design in the image is a freebie to download and test. If you would like to get the freebie or to purchase this set you can do it HERE.

Thread Treasures - Celtic Inspirations 4 Embroidery Designs

This collection is another exclusive to Thread Treasures set of Celtic inspired machine embroidery designs.



If you would like to purchase this set, you can go HERE.

Thread Treasures - Celtic Inspirations 3 Embroidery Designs

I love Celtic designs. The Celtic knot work is so delicate yet strong. I have always been inspired with Celtic designs, and thus have created some Celtic inspired embroidery sets. One set is pictured below.



If you would like to purchase this Celtic inspired embroidery design set, you can make the purchase HERE.

Thread Treasures - Purple Passion

When I was growing up, purple was always my favorite color in the world. It wasn't just purple to me but PURPLE. You know the in your face blind you type of purple.

Anyway, I created a Purple Passion design collection for my love of purple. While I am not so in your face with it nowdays, I do still love the color.

Enjoy a preview of these designs.







If you would like to purchase this set you can go to
HERE to make the transaction.

Thread Treasures: Designs are submitted

Well, on Friday afternoon, I submitted 11 different designs and associated jpeg files of actual stitchouts. I am excited, but the waiting is a nail biter.

Below see 4 of the 11 pictures that I sent to be considered.

Thread Treasures: Where will the wind blow

I am currently considering trying to get my designs accepted for sale at one of the large embroidery malls. I have been in contact with them and will be assembling everything required to submit for consideration.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Thread Treasures: The quest for test stitchers

Who would ever have thought that finding people to test stitch designs would be a piece of cake. I mean, what home embroider does not search the forums and online sites looking for freebies?

I suppose some sites are really worried about the competition if they do not want you to ask their people if they want free designs. I have been contributing to this specific place for a few years. Oh well...

To the sites that allow me to ask for test stitchers, THANK YOU. The people that frequent your stores are all the better.

Thread Treasures: It's Official

Thread Treasures Embroidery LLC was formed on Feb 9, 2010.

After waiting for some time to pass, I made the determination to file all of the paperwork. It feels fantastic in a way, and in other ways.... it scares me.

The coming days will be devoted to finding a web hosting site and building the site out. Additionally, I will be establishing wholesale accounts at some of the wonderful suppliers that I have come to know over the past couple of years.

I spent most of the day yesterday digitizing designs, and even put a set up for free on two of the embroidery forums that I frequent. I now will need to make sure that I continue to digitize designs and must make it a top priority on my daily To-Do list.

Tons and Tons of things

Well, I have been keeping myself rather busy trying to get ready for a show that is coming up in April. I have been busy making towels for the kitchen, and believe that one of my favorites is a rooster design (purchased from Embroidery Library) and have made a few in different color combinations.



In some strange way, I believe that pillows will be a great item as well and I have started making pillow covers. Here is one of my own designs that was stitched out on a cream colored silk dupioni. I hope I have enough of the dupioni on hand to make a match for this pillow.



I also love very ornate almost Victorian embroideries. I find myself both digitizing and stitching Victorian designs over and over. However, there is one person that makes wonderful designs, Jenny Haskins. I have utilized a couple of her designs to stitch this stunning piece out...



A good portion of the day yesterday was spent tearing up my studio to rearrange and put the pieces back together. I believe that the functional space has been increased now, and I do like the layout. I just need to spend most of the day completing the catalog of inventory and supplies and finish determining how I want that all set up.

More pictures at a later date.