I recently was working on a project that involved embroidering on leather. I used designs from OESD's Flourishing Appliques Embroidery Collection #12205. It was necessary to alter the stitch properties of the design, as leather might perforate with dense designs or too small stitches, You must be careful when you sew on leather as stitches can't be ripped out as the needle penetrations will show. This was a fun project because it was a quick project to stitch out!

Be sure and save all your leather scraps since you can always use the small scraps to make small purses or accessory totes. I think that I might make a patchwork tote and use some of my decorative stitches to piece the patches together. Do you have other ideas for projects with leather scraps?

Ed: For even more tips on sewing leather, see Debbi's article - "Embroidered Leather Vest" in issue #33 of BERNINA of America's Through the Needle magazine.

A note about stitching velvet from Linda Lee, The Sewing Workshop and Project Sewing Workshop:

One of my favorite fabrics to wear is velvet, not just for dressy occasions, but for casual tops and blouses, too. Sewing with velvet used to intimidate me because it was so slippery and would creep and crawl, and it just plain drove me crazy. So after many futile attempts, I researched all the methods of basting velvet and even wrote an article for Threads magazine which described five methods of basting. And then I discovered OESD's 505 Temporary Spray Adhesive and it changed my life! I no longer baste velvets, in fact I don't even pin them together. I spray a light mist of adhesive on the seam allowance, put the two pieces together, and stitch away. By the time I take the fabric to my pressing surface to steam the seam, the adhesive has dissapated. It's a miracle!

"Assignments" - the word we all look forward to, and the word we all dread at some point or another! I was recently given an "assignment" of creating four table runners using an Embroidery Take-Out Collection for BERNINA's 2010 T-n-T program. I loved the design collection already (Reeds & Grasses #12233), so I was looking forward to stitching the designs. But I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed the stitching process itself!

I used a stabilizer relatively new to OESD's lineup - AquaTear. This product is a biodegradable tear-away stabilizer, so it gives lots of support to the stitches during the embroidery process. But when you get through, drop it in the washer and all the little bits and pieces rinse away!

I used a product from Designs in Machine Embroidery called MagnaQuilts and Borders, and boy, was I amazed at how easy "endless" embroidery is with this hoop! I had used the hoop before, but I was using it to hold the quilt layers as I stitched the embroidery designs to quilt the three layers together.

I used the BERNINA 830 to create the Endless Embroidery design. The last color change stitches two "X" marks. All I had to do was lift up the top part of the hoop, slide the fabric up, and place the upper portion of the hoop in place. The first color change of the next set of designs sews the first two "X" marks. The machine prompts you to adjust the needle position as necessary to align this set of "X" marks with those previously stitched. With this hoop, you can adjust the fabric instead of moving the design itself. It is soooo easy!

Ed - This project - Nancy Bednar's Reeds & Grasses Tablerunner - first appeared in our blog on June 16, 2009. Kay's assignment was to create four copies that will travel with our T-n-T programs throughout 2010. We all loved Nancy's project so much that we decided to take it on the road! For complete instructions for making your own Reeds & Grasses Tablerunner visit www.berninausa.com.

Congratulations to Linda St. Andre, winner of our 2009 Holiday Blog Contest! We'll be sending her a boxful of holiday goodies to give her a head start on her 2010 holiday stitching. Thank you to everyone that participated - what a grand collection of wonderful holiday ideas! I'm ready to start stitching!

Check out all of the entries (comments) at our Holiday Contest 2009 blog, and see photos of many of the great projects at our flickr site - Blog Holiday Contest 2009 Group. Below is a photo from EllieKiwi, showing her beautiful Santa Bags. Wouldn't you like to find one of these waiting for you on Christmas morning?

A big THANK YOU to our contest sponsors: BERNINA of America, Inc., OESD/embroideryonline.com, Brewer Sewing & Quilting Supplies, and Benartex fabrics.

SHOES - I have to admit that I am a shoe-holic! Even my 9-year-old grand-daughter recognizes my addiction and tried to steer me away from the shoe department when she shops with me. (Do you think that will change when she becomes a teenager?) So when OESD released the new licensed Crafter's Collection #885 - Head Over Heels by Barbara Music, I couldn't wait to stitch some shoes!

There are so many cute shoes in this collection that it was hard to decide which shoe to use! But I was making an armchair caddy for my sewing accessories and there just happened to be the PERFECT shoe - a SEWING SHOE! This shoe design is adorned with lots of sewing-related items - pins, pin cushion, rickrack, and a zipper in the heel. I took apart an old zipper and stitched the zipper pull at the top of the zipper teeth on the heel to add an extra detail. The body of the shoe uses yellow fabric for the applique portion, and the details are stitched over the fabric to make it look like a ruler.

Take a look at the shoes in the collection - there are shoes for just about all the holidays. The Halloween shoe is adorable! There are also shoes for birthdays and weddings. It would be fun to stitch up a shoe bag for a gift and add one of the shoes from this collection!

Head Over Heels is available from your local BERNINA store and www.embroideryonline.com.

Editor: Instructions for Kay's "Tabletop Sewing Caddy" are available in BERNINA of America's Through the Needle magazine, Issue 32.