Out of Pocket

I've been a little out of pocket for the past few days. Oh, I haven't gone anywhere - well, except for one night, when I visited my son and his family. I just have sort of been out of pocket. 

I was learning with my new sewing machine. Here are some projects I completed. Wreath Sashes. Kitchen towels. Placemats. Bag Tags.

Evidently bag tags are a big thing and I have been blissfully ignorant of them. Bag tags can be key chains, luggage tags, athletic bag decor, purse decor, backpack decor, and more. They seem to be very popular with the grands. So, I got a couple of patterns and embroidery designs and launched into trying to make a custom one or two for them. 

They are not as easy as YouTube makes them look! But, then, is anything really as easy as You Tube makes it look? They are really cute and I am going to keep trying to make them simple. 

Here is what I learned with the first few that I stitched up:

1. The embroidery/decor work needs to be done first.
2. Hoop the stabilizer and add the decorated piece of fabric after the applique stitch step has been outlined. 
3. The design needs to be pretty small to fit on the pattern well. 
4. Sometimes you have to stitch that outside 'boundary' a second time.
5. Maybe I need a heat gun like I saw on some of the YouTube tutorials to make the edges not have whiskers.
6. These little jewels are really labor intensive.
7. The youngest granddaughters really like them!