Throwing in the Towel-or All Wiped Up.

There are many 'rules' for sewing monograms on towels- 3 inches up, 4 whiskers to the side & his before hers & don't forget to hold your tongue in the right position while you sew it!

For me- rules are meant to be broken-push the envelope I say & experiment- who says they have to be in a certain place anyway?

Gone are the days when to buy a mongramed towel the name was sewn diagonally across the corner-please- no more of that!, there are many more creative ways of embroidering on a towel.
Towels are the perfect gift for all ages. One size will work for anybody- it doesn't have to 'fit'-white or cream & it will go in any bathroom & lets face it-unless you live on the street - everyone uses them- from a newborn to a 100 year old. It's the perfect gift when you don't know the recipient all that well & perfect if you do.



I'm always putting names on towels-mostly for gifts & I think I've come up with some novel ways of doing just that, without it being all boring & definitely no names on the diagonal in the corner.

Most people opt for centering the name on the towel above the header. Consider if the towel will be hung up open, or folded- not everyone has the room to have the towels at their full width on a rail.

What about putting the names on the side-just above the header in a nice clean font (like the art deco one shown)- or below the header if the lower part of the towel is wide enough-this is perfect for the males in your life- they don't want all flourishes & flowers, well mine don't, that's for sure!

The fashion for towels at present is a wider towel end before the header- this lends itself to being embroidered quite easily & is a nice change from above the header. (the header is the fancy band on a towel, that on cheaper towels always shrinks & makes the towel go all out of shape, after the first wash!)
Can you incorporate something in the name -mice, flowers, small animals poking out of 'A's, Os's or Y's', all work well-or a small lion's head as with the Rory towel?

One request I had was just for the first initial of each family member in the corner-they didn't like the idea of anyone being able to see the children's names (or theirs) on the line-but wanted to make sure everyone used their own towels.
I've put frogs on baby's towels for a frog themed nursery, a monkey for jungle themes & everything else in between- a favourite of mine is Amazing Designs Bathtime alphabet-takes a bit of editing to do a whole name in it, but looks great when its finished.

For those pre-teens & young girls- you can't go past a curlz font- use a large single, applique letter behind & the full name in front of it- don't forget to change your settings in your software so it doesn't take out the overlap.
Boys towels can have a sport or an interest incorporated into their name-soccer balls, foot balls, sail boats, baseball bats-they will all go through a letter, at the end or beginning of a name, or sit behind the name.

For couples I use classic fonts- a large first letter & a more simple font for the rest of their names, I repeat the first initial on the hand towels & face washers.
One of my favourite towels is using a fairy & then sew out the design in variegated threads- the one shown is a licensed design so can only be given as a gift- Amazing Designs has a fairy that will work just as well & you can then use it on items that you wish to sell.
There's been names on musical scores for the musical ones, Chinese symbols for my Chinese friends, names that twist & turn-I've only shown a small sample of all the names I've done over the years & no one has not liked what I've come up with-they all get used.

Sew, have some fun, put the names in different spots- & sometimes it's fun to incorporate a little surprise, like the single bee at the other end of a towel for a friend who wanted bees, please!



HappyCrafting,
Oz-Tralien

New year,new projects, new ideas

Visitors have gone, the house is back to its Darby & Joan status, the tree & trimmings away & Christmas is done & dusted for another year.

DH prior to Xmas kept on commenting on the itouch every time it came on as an ad on TV- I thought he was dropping a huge hint as he had extolled its virtues after seeing a mate use it one day. So, from a lack of knowing what else to buy him I purchased him one & stuck it under the tree.

Christmas day arrives & DH is handing out all the parcels & he hands me one & says "if you don't like it, I'll have it". Moments before this DS no2 had mentioned reading an article that a lot of couples buy the other the gift that they really want......I thought I hardly want some electronic gadget & pack of 5 undies.......

I opened his gift & you can imagine my surprise when I found......an itouch....hmmmm....right, this is, um, just what I wanted.....no, I don't think so. DH is already saying how wonderful it is & how I can use it. Truth be told I'm flat out using the laptop most of the time.....but he was excited.....& I'm thinking this is going to be hilarious when he finds wrapped up in his undies the exact same present for him!

I must say he showed much more excitement than I did when he found his & mine has been returned as I knew I wouldn't use it...bit like all the gadgetry on this laptop that he said "I couldn't be without!"- we won't even go back there!

Now after using his itouch for the past few weeks it has just rekindled his total dislike for anything apple & my guess is it won't get used that much either- but thankfully we only have one in the house!

I am still waiting for something for Xmas.

I did get 2 really neat gifts...one from the kids who bought me a set of DPN from knitpicks- their harmony ones- I had bought the interchangeables last year & love them, so now I have all the DPN's as well!

Also a surprise gift- I won a competition. I never win an argument, let alone a competition! Its a hank of yarn a month for 12 months from the yarn cafe -this is much more useful than an itouch any day! Now why couldn't DH buy a gift certificate for something like this!? I was much more excited about this than the itouch as well! DH just didn't get my excitement, but then no one who doesn't knit, would either.

I was also given a bottle of Baileys- I love a Baileys every once in a while & had none so this will go down very nicely!

It was wonderful having a little one in the house for Christmas- they had so much more to it all by their sheer delight in it all & the excitement over a pack of pencils & the fact that half the carrot & cookie was missing. 4 year olds are a delight- especially when they aren't calling you Mum!LOL

Have been knitting the past few weeks-started a scarf in alpaca & have progressed quite nicely but I seem to rip more than I knit most of the time. AND I'm not sure why. It's a super easy 9 stitch repeat pattern- done over 4 rows & both pattern rows are essentially the same only one start knit3 & the other knit 2, but I keep messing it up & have to keep pulling it out....my friend who was staying at the time I started it said she's have tossed it the second time I made a mistake-one thing I do do is persevere.

last night I started a bow tie scarf- a one ball project & thought it would be perfect for the gorgeous jelly dyed yarn I got in the Xmas stocking swap-but there wasn't quite enough yarn- so much for one ball.....I have ripped this back to the beginning & will try again on larger needles-its such a quick little project & I love the idea of making something from 1 ball of yarn.

On the sewing front- all the towels I made for Xmas for gifts & for others to give as gifts were received very well & it has given me an order to do 8 towels for someone else. I've done 2 of them already but am waiting for final approval on the designs of the other 6.

Also did a gorgeous towel for a workmates new grandson who arrived through the week-Charlie-this may well be my new baby towel for 2009.

This weekend I've been test sewing designs for a friend- can't wait to share with you, but I have to wait until the set of designs go up for sale......not even a sneak peak at this stage!

This year when I return to the USA have been asked to demonstrate a class at a local sewing store. I taught a handbag class last year- it can't have been all bad if they have asked me back again!

While looking in the post Xmas sales I came across the most stunning bath towels with the most jaw dropping price- $69 for a guest towel & $89 for the bath mat- $139 for a bath towel! After a (very) close inspection I came home & had a go at my own idea on this theme & have decided if the store thinks this will be well attended then this will be my class (no, not how to rip off designer labels for a fraction of the cost!).....more on this later as it progresses into something you can follow. How do they justify these prices & more to the point who pays them?Someone must as they wouldn't stock them otherwise.

After 2 days relief from the stinking,hot weather we now look like we are back to stinking ,hot again- at least I managed 2 decent nights sleep in the week- this is how summer is! Hopefully it won't be too bad tonight & maybe my cough may give up so I don't bark all night either!

More next time....happy crafting

Oz-tralien