DIY

May 15, 2013

Pre-Loved Baby Locks Need New Homes!

May 15, 2013 By Mallory Leave a Comment

We’ve gotten a rush of trade-ins lately here at Zede’s, and we’re excited to pass on some awesome savings to you!

In case you didn’t know, we will always take your trade-in machine here at Zede’s, no matter what brand. We’ll try our best to give you the most for your pre-loved machine. If you’re interested in “trading up”, come in the shop any time.

Of course since we take trade-ins, that can create a lot of opportunities for you deal-seekers out there! Here’s what we have available in our “pre-loved” department. Read more about the support we give on used machines below.

All machines are serviced by our certified technician before sale. We cannot list prices online, since we are a Baby Lock dealer. We also cannot sell long-distance. You must walk in our store to purchase the machine, but call or email us for pricing any time!

Baby Lock Ellure Plus

This sewing and Embroidery Machine has a 5×7 embroidery area and comes with a larger multi-positional hoop as well. This machine is very attractively priced for a beginning embroiderer! Read more here.

Baby Lock Enlighten

This particular serger has a Gold Standard that runs out in September of 2014- so time is running out! It includes a 6 presser foot package, clear foot, Inspirational Guide and lifelong support from Zede’s. Call today 573-874-2500 for pricing. Read more about the Enlighten here.

Baby Lock Ellegante3

This machine was Baby Lock’s top-of-the-line before the Ellisimo came on the market. Come take a look at the automatic needle threader and expansive embroidery hoop (7″x11″) today! Read more here.

Used vs. New

What’s the benefit of buying used? Great pricing of course. What’s the benefit of buying new? A warranty, of course. So, what do we do at Zede’s to take the “scary” out of buying a pre-owned machine?

We give Guide Classes free for life with all of our pre-loved machines, just like our new ones! You’ll receive the same support as a customer who purchases a new machine in terms of education and sewing help.

You receive all of the machine’s included accessories. We look through the owner’s manual to see what originally came with the machine, and we make sure it’s all there- if it’s not, we order you a new one.

We give our used machines a 30 day warranty- unless there is an existing Gold Standard that can be transferred.

Owners of our pre-loved machine are very happy- would you like to become one today?

If you know someone looking for a great deal on a Baby Lock, share this post with them. Tell them to mention your name, and you’ll receive a “thank you” gift from Zede’s.

Give us a call 573-874-2500

Filed Under: DIY, Random Thoughts, Sewing Products

Apr 4, 2013

Read. Bag Designs- Plus MORE Free Designs!

April 4, 2013 By Mallory Leave a Comment

Pin It

Woops! I forgot to upload the files for embroidering the “Read.” bags, and we’ve had such an awesome response so far! Don’t know what I’m talking about? Read this post!

Go to the bottom of this blog post to find the files you need to create the “Read.” bags. I have them in .pes file format. If you need any other format and you don’t have software to convert the files- just email us at ZedesSewingStudio@gmail.com

Examples of Jo Connolly’s embroidery designs!

But there’s more good news! If you help out with the Read. bag effort, there are some serious rewards for you! If you donate fabric, make a bag, or come to a sew day at Zede’s, post a picture to the Garden of Daisies Facebook wall and Jo will let you choose one embroidery design pack for free off of her website. See the available designs here.

So, let’s get stitchin’! And if you need help posting a photo to her page, come to the shop, and I’d be happy to help!

For 4×4 Hoops- download this file

Read 4×4.PES

For 5×7 Hoops- download this fule

Read 5×7.PES

Do you plan on making “Read.” bags? How many?

Filed Under: DIY, Random Thoughts

Mar 28, 2013

Where did “Read.” bags Come From?

March 28, 2013 By Mallory Leave a Comment

Pin It

Our store and our online community has been growing by leaps and bounds each year. So, I thought I’d take this opportunity to introduce or re-introduce you to our main community service project at Zede’s and also to one of our good friends- the two go hand-in-hand, so read on!

A few years ago, Linda T made a “Read.” bag for my niece (Zede’s granddaughter) Kathryn for her birthday. It was a hit. Kathryn loves to read and she loves bags. She filled up the bag with her other birthday presents and slept with it.

“A Little Light Reading” from Designs in Machine Embroidery Magazine

Linda got the idea from an article in Designs in Machine Embroidery by Jo Connolly (here’s her site, go there after you finish reading). The article was appropriately called “A Little Light Reading”. Fast forward a few months and I turned the unassuming little read bag into a community service project with a big goal- 250 “Read.” bags for at-risk preschoolers in our area (we’re doing it again this year if you’d like to help out!).

I think it was during our second year of sewing “Read.” bags that Jo Connolly got in contact with us. She was thrilled we were using her design to do some good. Now, keep in mind, she could have acted much differently. We had not up to this point given her any credit for her work- which was due to oversight on my part completely! She could have (justifiably) been very angry with us for our use of her work. But was she? No!

She was and continues to be supportive of our store’s efforts to promote literacy using her original idea.

Volume78_TN

The story really does come full circle.

Jo Connolly and Linda T were both recently published side-by-side in the Nancy Zieman 30th anniversary edition of Designs in Machine Embroidery Magazine. We could not be more proud of both of them.

In the years since we started sewing “Read.” bags, Linda T has welcomed a beautiful granddaughter named Avery into her family. She has been sewing up a storm for her since before she was born. Jo also recently published “Sweet Stitches”, a book and embroidery design collection for little girls. Linda T and Jane are currently teaching a series of classes based on Jo’s book in our store in Columbia, MO.

Students at Zede’s working on a project from “Sweet Stitches”

Thanks Jo! Thanks Linda! And thanks to everyone who has visited our store and our blog. The people in our lives are what makes sewing so much fun!

Who do you sew for?

Filed Under: DIY, Ideas, Random Thoughts, Sewing Books

Mar 26, 2013

“Read.” bags- Will You Help Us Out?

March 26, 2013 By Mallory 3 Comments

Pin It

Last year, hundreds of people from the Zede’s Sewing Studio community both near and far helped us to create 250 “Read.” bags for Jumpstart in Columbia, MO.

Jumpstart helps at-risk pre-schoolers become ready for kindergarten by giving them tools to lead them to literacy. Reading is one of the best tools we have in terms of learning and communication. If you know how to read, chances are you may take it for granted more often than not. Just think of all the things you’d be cut off from if you couldn’t read; this blog, election ballots, history books, instructions on how to make new things, etc. The “Read.” bags give these children a sense of ownership over the books they receive at the end of the year- and those may be some of the only books they have in their home.

Want to help? Here’s what you can do!

-Donate fabric. Our wonderful property managers provide the canvas panels for the “Read.” bags, but we’re asking you to provide us with leftover fabrics that we can use for linings, accent panels and straps. Just drop off the fabric at Zede’s any time we’re open.

-Come to Zede’s for “Read.” bag sew days- we’ll let you know in our newsletter and on Facebook when we’ve got the days scheduled.

-Embroider “Read.” panels. Come by Zede’s and pick up some panels to embroider.

-Sew “Read.” bags at home. We’ve a got a video to show you how!

We need the bags by May 1st! Thanks in advance for your help!

Mallory

Filed Under: DIY, Ideas, Tips, Video Tutorials

Jan 25, 2013

Make You Own Custom Sewing Storage!

January 25, 2013 By Mallory Leave a Comment

Pin It

We’ve got a ton of creative people around here at Zede’s Sewing Studio. We’re reminded of this every month when we have club and we see all the fabulous show-and-tell that our customers bring.

Last month, our software teacher, Joanne, brought in a picture of her husband Paul’s handiwork in her sewing room- Paul also happens to be our marketing guru, no nepotism here!

Joanne says she loves the plastic drawers from places like Target, but when they get too full, they sag and are difficult to work with. Paul’s hobby’s are wood-working and off-roading in his Jeep. I guess Joanne told him to put the keys down and pick up his saw to help out with her problem. Look what he did!

Instead of conquering the very difficult and time consuming task of making custom drawers, Paul made custom shelves to fit Joannes plastic drawers. The project went a lot faster than it would have if Paul would have made wooden drawers, and Joanne gets to see all of her pretty fabrics on display.

What creative steps have you taken to organize your sewing room?

Filed Under: DIY, Home Decor, Ideas, Sewing Products Tagged With: fabric storage, organization, sewing room

Jan 16, 2013

Man Gifts: My Dad’s 60th Birthday

January 16, 2013 By Mallory Leave a Comment

Pin It

Do you have trouble finding the right gift for the men in your life? I do!

Sometimes they make it easy on you by clipping a picture out of a magazine, or whining about how they can’t play the new Mario Brothers game unless they get the new gaming console, et cetera.

I would say my dad is one of the hardest men to shop for, and it’s because he’s such an awesome guy. He always taught me that if you want what you already have, you’ll never be unsatisfied. My best memories with my dad include jumping on the trampoline together for hours, camping, learning to water-ski and doing crossword puzzles together. My dad always gave me excellent quality time- that’s something that’s hard to box up and wrap with ribbon. And, you know, if I didn’t get my dad anything for his birthday or Christmas, he probably wouldn’t care, as long as we still got to spend time together.

But I love giving gifts! It makes me feel special when I get a gift, so I want to do the same with the people I love. Even if it’s something small.

Lately, Jer-Bear (that’s what I call my dad) has been re-organizing our finished attic space to be a gym/lounge. My niece has been trying to claim it for her clubhouse as well- and I’m sure he’ll be generous with her as he was with me when it comes to space and attention. But, bottom line- it’s his gym.

So, I thought I’d make it official and embroider some towels for him. It’s kind of like planting a flag, you know.

The towels are functional and fun. They’re also a little tongue-and-cheek, since my dad would probably just as soon use an old towel with any one of our names on it in his gym- but I’m making these special for him!

If you want to embroider towels, check out this video- we’ll get you started!

Oh, and I finally found a sweet-treat that my dad will eat. He loves this Jack Daniel’s Pecan Pie. I love making everything, including food, decorative- check out the birthday design . Recipe here.

I hope this helps inspire you in your quest to Man-Gift in the New Year. Share your man-gifting ideas in the comments- we could all use them!

Filed Under: DIY, Ideas, Video Tutorials Tagged With: diy, Embroidery, embroidery machine, gifts for men, how to embroider a towel

Sep 11, 2012

Foot Focus 9/15: Birdie Coin Purse

September 11, 2012 By Mallory Leave a Comment

Pin It

Every month here at Zede’s, we choose a presser foot to explore in a class called “Foot Focus”. So far, it’s been a hit!

You come to class with your machine and the foot of choice, or we lend you a foot to try out- this way you can see what all the fuss is about before dropping some cash on a foot you know nothing about.

You don’t want to miss this month’s class- I’m SO excited, and I hope to see you there! It’s Saturday, 9/15 from 10am-12pm.

The foot we’ll be focusing on is the Zipper Foot. That’s the #4 foot for BERNINA users and the Narrow Zipper foot for Baby Lock users.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

-How to insert a zipper on a curve

-Simple raw-edge applique

-How to sew with leather

-How the Accuquilt GO! cutter works

-How a Hot-Fix wand words

I just finished up this sample and I can’t wait to teach the class this coming Saturday.

Filed Under: Classes at Zede's, DIY, Ideas, Random Thoughts, Sewing Products Tagged With: accuquilt, Applique, classes, go!, how to sew, Leather, purse, sewing, Zipper foot

Sep 5, 2012

DIY: Daughter’s of the American Revolution Tote Bag

September 5, 2012 By Mallory 1 Comment

Pin It

Those of you in the Missouri area know that we have some really wonderful people working at Zede’s Sewing Studio. They are helpful, inspiring and energetic women who support the store and our customers in the best way possible.

One of those ladies is Victoria, say hello!

Recently, Victoria and her mother have been filing paperwork to become a part of a new local chapter of D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Revolution). Members of this group can trace their lineage back through the generations to a member of the American Revolutionary Army- neat! You can imagine how difficult this process can be, so Victoria asked for a little help in making a celebratory bag for her mother’s birthday.

After some tweaking in BERNINA V6 software, we created this design together. Then we stitched it onto a tote bag using the Baby Lock Enterprise 10 needle embroidery machine.

The design was the brain child of Victoria and her daughter Colleen- so it was a great present for Victoria’s mother. For those of you who are counting, that’s three generations of D.A.R. women! We used an EmbroideryArts alphabet for the letters called Gothic 13, the star was from the V6 software, and I digitized the stripes.

One more thought before we go. While we were stitching this design out on the machine, a woman walked into the store to check in a machine for service. She too was a part of the new chapter! Small world.

Have you ever created a specialized item for a group or club?

Happy Sewing!

Filed Under: DIY, Ideas, Random Thoughts, Software

Sep 1, 2012

DIY: How to Make a Needle Book from a Real Book

September 1, 2012 By Mallory 1 Comment

Pin It

I’d like to start off this post by saying that I am an avid reader. I love the written word and I love books. When I studied in Paris when I was in college, I took a bookbinding course in Montmartre with Eloise Baille.

I respect books and the wonderful history that goes along with their creation. So, when I butcher one later on in this post- I do so with the greatest love and respect.

I’ve been inspired by a lot of book purses that I’ve seen lately. I think they’re neat. So, I went to the Salvation Army near our shop and found a few hardcover books- 6 to be exact. Then the nice lady told me that they were 10 for $1…so I got 14 more. I had A BALL picking them out. There are books with the title “A Woman of Substance” or “The Life of the Party” and “California Girl”….how fun! I did not find many pieces of fine literature- and that’s ok.

What I find the most entertaining about this process is finding books with funny/ironic titles- which generally are not the great works of our time.

Except for the book that I tore up this time! Marjane Satrapi is the author of, among other books, the graphic novel Persepolis. It is about her childhood in Iran and her experience growing up under a repressive regime. It’s a revolutionary novel and Ms. Satrapi has my greatest respect as a writer and artist.

Little did she know that she would tempt me to modify one of her later works entitled “Embroideries”…what better book to transform into a unique needle book/sewing kit? I could not resist! I also can’t wait to read it- the insides are intact and waiting to be read. Will I make a new cover for it? I don’t know. That seems a little silly.

This is not an in-depth tutorial, that will come later. That’s because I got so excited while making it that I didn’t take detailed pics- so enjoy this abbreviated version of my needle book!

First of all, I cut out the “guts” and started to lay out the things I wanted in my kit. I made a list of helpful sewing tools beforehand, and then adapted my needle book accordingly. This gave me a good idea of what would fit in my book- and it definitely changed as the process went on.

Next, I created a liner for my book. This is the life of the needle book. It is what I will sewpockets/elastic/magnets to in order to keep my stuff in place. After I get it figured out- I’ll just glue it in. I cut two pieces of fabric and serged the edges with YLI Candlelight thread to make it pretty- I like shiny things. Once it was the right size, I could really get down to business. Woohoo!

Now that I’ve got my foundation and all my sewing jazz, I start to space it out. It’s clear that I’ll need to cut down my notebook, because it’s too long. Also, I don’t use a seam ripper, I use a razor blade- so I’m planning on adding in some magnets under that needle flap to secure the razor blade. Also, the needles will affix to the magnet and keep the razor blade covered. I won’t give up my razor blade, and that’s that.

BTW- this is not ok to take on a plane. I’ve also got a thimble and some Metrosene thread- I won’t use ANYTHING ELSE for sewing construction. I also find those stork scissors to be adorable- so there they are! Also, an ink pen, a marking pen and a sewing guage. Would I like more stuff in my sewing kit? Of course. But I’ve got some limitations. If you have a larger book, the sky’s the limit! You can add in pages and zippered pockets and stuff- and then you can send it an email to show us!

Next thing on the list, I add in elastic straps to keep things in place. ”How did you get your elastic to be so beautiful?”, you may ask. I serged it with the Candlelight thread! It retained it’s “stretchiness” and it’s gorgeous as well. I laid out the whole thing on my book cover to make sure everything was still fitting- I have not glued it down yet.

But wait! I did something else really cool that Eloise taught me- I added an elastic strap to keep my book shut. I punched two holes in the back of the book with a buttonhole cutter, threaded the elastic through, and glued it to the inside of the book…BEFORE I glued down my new sewing “guts”.

Oh and here’s a shot of the razor blade magnet-keeper-thingy. I love that I have my razor blade tucked away safely like this!

Now, It’s time to glue it all down. I used 450 Adhesive. That’s important- it is a fast drying glue that does not stain fabric. Believe me, you don’t want to sew all that elastic down and then get glue daubs all over your book….use 450. I glued the sides down and I placed glue on the places where I sewed down the elastic- just to keep them a little more stable. It’s working so far!