Created By Doris

Doris had so much fun decorating for her Route 66 garage party! She has a Bernina Artista 200 machine. And, she recycled and upcycled nearly everything to save cost.

She writes, "The tablecloths were turned into highways, and vintage cars were embroidered on the silverware pockets. It was FUN and everyone loved the embroidery works. The amazing thing about this project is I only had to spend money for a 1 1/2 yard fabric for the borders on tablecloths. My sister in Portland goes to the dry cleaners and picks up old tablecloths that restaurants don't use anymore because of smoke holes, etc. The fabric is perfect and easy to launder and doesn't need much ironing. They are still clean and white."

That's great to know, Doris. Thanks for sharing that tip!

She continues, "I have lots of embroidery thread. The 2000 Olympics in Utah were over and my sister-in-law just happened to be going down the street at the right time. A vendor who did machine embroidery was closing his shop and was throwing all his thread into the dumpster. She went diving, and salvaged it and there is enough to last for years to come still. It was my first embroidery experience and was a lot of fun. The pockets have an additional layer of white flannel on the lining which was stitched in 3 sections so that the knife, fork, and spoon did not slide, worked great!"

This was your first embroidery project? Very ambitious, Doris - and beautifully done! Thank you for sending the photos, and for "revving" up our creativity!