I attended the 2019 Applique Getaway in Dallas Texas last weekend.  I took several pictures along my trip and thought I would share some of them so you can see my route and decide if you may want to attend next year.  Dallas is a LONG drive from my home state of Alabama so I divided the trip into several days to break it up. We left early Thursday morning with plans to stop in Texas for an overnight stay. 

I had to include this rest stop in Mississippi.  If you travel much, you might be hesitant to stop at a rest area.  As you can see from the pictures, this one is really beautiful.  I love the brick floors and all of the antique furnishings.  I have been here during the holidays and they decorate it really well. This would be the very first rest stop as you cross over the state line on I-20. They even have free coffee to perk you up.

So back on the road toward Louisiana and this is the rest stop right past the border from Mississippi on I-20.  This is another good place to stop as they have free coffee and it is very busy so I felt safe.  We wound our way across the state and encountered some construction right at the Texas line. I don't have pictures of that stop because it was kind of hairy with a couple of detours. We were getting tired also as we had been driving about 9 hours.

We made our first night stop Thursday in Lindale Texas.  This is a small town right off I-20.  It is close to Tyler and if you are ever going to Canton Trade Days which is held once a month, this is a good place to stay.  The La Quinta hotel is clean and quiet with a free breakfast. There is a WalMart directly across the highway in case you forgot anything. The best reason to stay here is....   POSADOS MEXICAN RESTAURANT. All I can say is I would drive another 9-10 hours today to eat their food.  We literally inhaled our dinner. It is located within walking distance from the hotel.

Now I will tell you that I do not like to worry about getting caught in gridlock. I know you probably don't either and Dallas is kind of a gamble. You never know what construction will be going on or if an accident will totally shut down the roads. The Event was held in Irving Texas which is actually on the Northwest side of Dallas close to the Airport.  Here is a map of my route avoiding driving through Downtown Dallas. We left Lindale Friday morning and scooted north toward McKinney. Then we went south on the toll road and that took us right to the Sheraton DFW hotel.  The tolls are mailed to you by the state from photos of your license plate so you don't even have to worry about exact change. Just get on the road and drive.  You will get a bill later.  On Google maps this route was supposed to add about 20 minutes to our trip, but it was worth it. Nice two lane roads, plenty of places to stop, beautiful scenery and 75 miles per hour. Gotta love Texas!

We drove casually and arrived Friday afternoon. The event was hosted at the Sheraton DFW hotel. It is located adjacent to the airport. Check in time was at three o clock. We tried to get in earlier but it is very busy and our room wasn't ready.  It is a nice hotel but I will tell you that we brought a cooler and snacks.  There is no refrigerator or microwave in the room. We did have a coffee pot but if you don't have access to a car you will have to rely on the hotel restaurant. It was pricey and the food although good was limited. We always travel with drinks on ice and snacks to save money so that worked out well for us. We were able to get our event tickets easily and they had everything posted on large signs so you knew where to go.  I opted for the VIP pass which included extra classes the first evening, a shopping event and 80's party the first night as well as lunches for Saturday and Sunday.The event was well worth the drive for me. I learned some new techniques, got to do some shopping and met some new friends.  If I talked to you at the event, I hope you had fun also.  By the time it was over Sunday afternoon, we were ready to start back home.  So we drove back to Lindale, stayed at the LaQuinta one more night and yes we ate at Posados again. Not sure when I will get back to that part of the country!

We dipped down into Louisiana to Natchitoches on our ride back and ate at Lasyone's.  This is the home of the original Louisiana Meat Pie.  If you have never had one, do yourself a favor and stop in.  We had lunch there on Monday, went visit some friends Monday night and then had breakfast on Tuesday.  We also brought back some meat pies in our cooler. Trust me, just go ahead and stop by the store on your way, get some fresh ice.  We also brought back some Zwolle Tamales which are hard to come by in Alabama.

We drove a lot of miles, saw some beautiful country and ate really well on our trip.  The event was well put together and worth the drive. I had time to see new things and those creative juices have really been flowing since I got back home. I am hard at work in my studio on new embroidery designs like my new Shark Risk in the Hoop Sign.  You can see it in my store here.

I hope you have enjoyed coming along with me, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work! ​

The fourth of July is quickly approaching and in honor of that day, we have digitized a new design that is available in our store. We love all things patriotic and have several designs with that American spirit in mind! Check out all of them here.

This 5 x 7 design features red, white and blue thread, stars, fireworks and beautiful text.  This would be a great design to stitch on a bag. Another craft idea would be to sew it on an outdoor pillow for your front porch. As a Thank you to our customers, we are running a sale on it through the month of July! We want to thank  you for shopping our designs, visiting our blog and watching our You tube videos. Isn't it wonderful to have the freedom to do all of those things? Everyone have a wonderful Fourth of July and visit our store here to get the design.  I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work!

Happy Father's Day!  In honor of all of those wonderful dads out there we have digitized a fast and easy design that you can stitch out. The best part? It is completely free. Just visit our store here, add it to your cart and check out.  If you have never done puffy foam, this is a great design to practice with.  

My dad was the smartest man I knew and the "original nerd". He wore pocket protectors before they were even a thing. My brother's teenage friends used to visit our house and I naively thought they were coming to see me, but they were really coming to see my dad and his Commodore 64 computer because he was the first one among all of our friends that owned a home computer and actually knew how to program it. My dad used slide rulers everyday to do calculations and was forever learning. His field was communications and when our family needed extra money, he would climb towers to change out the light bulbs. They paid him by the foot. I am not talking about little towers. No these were on oil derricks out in the gulf of mexico that swayed. He did this all while hauling the heavy bulbs and equipment. He was a Vietnam Navy veteran that  served two tours. When he came home he served in the Army National Guard also.  There were so many other things he bravely did and sacrificed to take care of us.

Here he is on the right in the blue shirt with my husband. Can you tell they are panning for gold?  He was a great lover of the outdoors, camping and hiking.  Some of my best memories include him.  I think of him often and miss him every day as he passed away last October.  I didn't get to say goodbye and that is one of my biggest regrets.  If you still have your dad in your life, don't waste any time. Visit with him. Talk about the old days or just sit together.     
​ I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work!

When I purchased my multi needle machine I had visions of easily sewing on caps.  The reality of making that happen took me a little time.  I did have a cap hoop and frame that I added to my machine package but it was difficult for me to use it.  Once it was mounted to a stable table top, I had to almost kneel down while using all of my body weight to hold the cap taut.  Since I was below the frame, I couldn't see if it was lined up correctly.  At the same time I was trying to maneuver the frame to a closed position to lock in the cap.  If all of this worked out, I estimate 95% of the time, I had to re hoop because the cap was twisted or did not line up properly in the hoop. Then the tension on the cap usually loosened and my registration was off. This made me leery to even try to sew caps because each time, my stitch outs were a failure and I was wasting money on caps.

If you are like me, you first get frustrated, blame the machine, blame yourself etc...  Once I got over feeling sorry for myself, I spent a lot of time researching and found the Hoop tech brand.  They have some wonderful videos but I was not fully convinced until I went to a sewing convention and stopped by their booth.  I got brave, grabbed about six or seven different caps and went to town testing each one out on the hoop. I can't stress this enough. Don't be shy. There is nothing worse than buying something you don't try and then it becomes a very expensive paperweight because you don't like it or can't remember how to use it. Trust me, if you have tried hooping caps on conventional hoops, you will know immediately if you like this product.

  The price tag of the hoop/frame scared me a little bit. I am not going to post what I paid for it because you can find that information online, but it will give you a momentary pause.  I can say that if you are considering doing cap embroidery, you will definitely say it was a worthy purchase once you have practiced a little bit. The T bar lever arm is what makes this frame different.  It hooks into the back of the cap and uses downward force. Remember pulleys and levers in grade school science class?  It will come back to you once you see this in action. All of this happens with you standing fully upright so you can actually see what is going on with the cap.   I would advise you to buy several different types of caps and play with them because each one will react a little differently in the hoop.  The way the front of the cap angles down to the bill,  the way the sweatband is sewn in, structured or unstructured all determine how easy it will be to place your embroidery design. I have even seen different results in a batch of caps from the same manufacturer because the materials were thicker or thinner.  So some playtime on your machine will help you feel much more confident. A great place to pass on your practice stitches is your local nursing home, homeless shelter or give them to some other local charity. A good cap is always welcome.

I don't keep my frame up all of the time due to space issues, but I do have a temporary mounting system that allows me to set it up and take it down quickly.  Here it is in my studio.

Here is the frame on my 12 needle Happy embroidery machine.  When you purchase a Hoop tech, be sure to tell them the exact model of your machine so they can get you the correct mounting arm.  If you are going to a show, maybe write it down or take a picture of your machine info so they can help you get squared away. Just to let you know, I am not affiliated with Hoop tech in any way. I just really love this product and think it is one of the best investments I have made besides my embroidery machines.  If you want to see how to hoop a cap I have a video you can watch below.  I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work!