Sneak Preview of Grace III

Since the release of Grace II, both Carolyn and I have been inundated with requests about the future collections of the series. At the moment, neither one of us can even predict the actual number of series but each one is another journey in creating heirlooms in machine embroidery.  To satisfy queries, I have a few sneak previews of Grace III. Each of the Grace collections has special designs which can be combined with previous or future collections, yet can be used individually as well. The designs in Grace III are quite unusual and innovative, yet to be seen anywhere in the machine embroidery world. Furthermore the designs can be used as insertion laces as well as freestanding laces.

One of the christening gowns shown above showcases the insertion and edge laces. The cross and the diamond are insertion laces, with the edge lace on the hemline and the sleeves. The same diamond can be seen as an edge freestanding lace on a hand towel as seen below, with the centers mimicking the Grace II heart with fabric applique in the center.

Several friends have emailed me inquiring about the type of threads to use with the Grace designs. All the laces have been stitched out using a variety of threads. As the designs are digitized with a width of barely 4mm, there is really no need to have a matching thread in the bobbin, unless one is using black or red as a top thread. In such a case, it wouldn’t do well to use white pre-wound bobbin thread. I love the feel of the laces using a pre-wound bobbin with a regular 40 wt embroidery thread in the top, however, the feel of the 40 wt thread in the top and in the bobbin also creates quite an interesting textured lace.  Carolyn has used serger thread extensively in several samples and the texture is again quite different. As much as I love the feel of rayon thread for laces, I don’t think I was able to impress Carolyn with it, LOL. But, that is the beauty of these designs, any thread (40/50 wt only please) will work well for stitching out the laces.

A dear friend has been blessed with a grand-daughter, the first girl in the family after a long while. Trying to come up with a special gift, I came up with the idea of a birth cushion. The cushion on the side has the name of the name of the baby and the date of birth on the back side. The front of the cushion is adorned with the insertion Cross design from Grace III and trimmed with the edge laces.

It will be a while before Grace III is released but I wanted to give a sneak preview of it. I am rather excited and pleased with all the Grace collections and with the release of each, I find achievement of my goal, creating heirlooms via machine embroidery.