Hello Fellow Embroidery Lovers!
I am so excited to be writing my first blog entry at an Institution among us long-time embroiderers – annthegran.

I have known Ann for many years and I can tell you that she is the real deal – what a treasure she has been to all of us who love embroidery as a hobby. For some, it has even blossomed into more. Having grown up in an embroidery household, it’s hard for me to imagine life without embroidery. My father was a western tailor and he made fancy western suits for western musicians like Sonny James (Young Love) and TV stars like Ken Curtis a.k.a.Festus (remember Festus from Gunsmoke?). I remember lying on the floor of my Dad’s Tailor shop tracing embroidery patterns.
But enough of ancient history. The question is “What did I do in embroidery this week? This week I made what I think is the Ultimate baby Basket for my friend’s daughter’s shower. I have made many of these, and here is a photo of me with one of my basket creations.

I usually begin with a big, low-cost  basket from Big Lots. I put a bit of confetti or tissue in the bottom. The first item that I embroidered for the basket was a great EB Lion from Creature Comforts Toys. This impressive fellow is 16” tall and can be embroidered on home machines. Here's how.

You see, the lion has a self-contained stuffing pod in his belly that makes it easy to hoop and embroider him. Better still, he has a removable stuffing pod in his head that lets him lie really flat so you can get him under a home embroidery machine easily. Here is a similar white teddy bear with the pods removed, ready for embroidery.

The animals with the removable stuffing pods can be purchased from this sites:
https://www.allstitch.net/product/embroider-buddies-16-eb-lion-4363.cfm
There are traditional teddy bears  and lambs plus dogs, lions and more. Here I am showing the process here using a variety of animals that I have created.
I use a water soluble topping to keep the lettering above the soft pile fabric and a crisp tearaway beneath, next to the machine table. I don’t hoop in the tear-away when embroidering these animals because it isn’t necessary. I just slide it under the hoop. It’s better to focus on getting the animal straight in the hoop rather than trying to get the stabilizer in the hoop too.
To make sure that the embroidery is applied straight, I apply a piece of painter’s tape across the belly while the stuffing pod is still in the animal. Painter's tape isn't as sticky as masking tape, so it won't pull the fur when removed.

Then, I remove the pod and hoop the animal, making sure to keep the tape straight in the hoop.

When the hoop is in the machine, I remove the painter’s tape and apply a piece of water-soluble topping to hold down the nap.

One of the most fun items that I included was an infant T-shirt with "Prince Jacob". Because the grandfather’s last name is King, below Prince Jacob, I added (My GrandDad is a King). This made the whole basket so personal!

The last embroidered item was a burp cloth with a baby bottle and the lettering “I’ll have a bottle of the House White”. I stitched blue ribbon over the seams of the pre-folded diaper to make it more finished-looking.

Get the free design at www.myembroiderymentor.ning.com in the Free Stuff - under Designs.

I wrapped the whole basket in 9” wide white tulle and tied the tulle into a big fussy bow. I’ll just bet the Ultimate baby basket will be the hit of the shower – ya think? Well, in any case, I know GrandDad will be proud to give it.

I hope you’ll check back here in a couple of weeks to see what I have been up to by then – and who knows what it might be!