Author: Sharon Curtis

Today is the day! Eileen’s fabulous new release is here. It’s actually an old classic making a re-appearance and I’m delighted about that as I missed this when it was first out.

Here’s what Eileen had to say about it, “You asked for it- we did it! The Classic Cantilever Sewing Box, Embroidery Hoop and Needle Book dies have been brought back because you asked These dies all relate to stitching but of course may also be used in other ways. They are all Bigz dies which are so versatile because of the number of materials that may be cut with them.

I have fond memories of my Mom’s wooden sewing box and designed this Cantilever Sewing Box to replicate that. It’s great for storing sewing supplies like needles, thread, buttons, floss and pins- but it also works for hair bands and clips, small storage items, jewelry, desk organization and small treats. Use the drawers separately to organize your desk drawers or create a shadowbox- so many ways to use! Finished size is

3 1/2” x 6 1/4” x 2 1/4”.

The Embroidery Hoop measures 4” and is designed to be cut from thick material such as matboard or chipboard. You can actually tuck thin fabrics in the hoop and stitch on them. Or you can die cut from paper and use the hoop on card fronts. Use the pieces separately or all together.

The Needle Book is also a ScoreBoard die and features a pretty scalloped edge to the book. It measures 3 1/2” x 2 1/4″ x 1/2″ and is perfect for storing your stitching needles and pins- works great when made from felt! But it can also be made from matboard, chipboard, leather or fabric- one of the benefits of the Bigz dies.

Please join us for the It’s All about Stitching Release Party that will be held on Tuesday, January 2nd at noon Eastern time on my YouTube, Facebook and Instagram pages. The team and I will be sharing creative ways to use these dies- we can’t wait to share them with you! There will be giveaways so make sure to tune in and see how to enter to win!”

Even though I really can’t sew at all, I’m really enjoying creating with these dies. The Cantilever box could be used for some many things (and those that like to customise could very easily adapt the design to create all sorts of configurations). 

The Needle book makes a very cute mini notebook too, and it’s very easy to add little notebooks or pages to it if you don’t want to use fabric or felt to make a needle book.

I think the embroidery hoop is my favourite though, because really, an embroidery hoop is just a really nice way to frame all sorts of art. It can be cut from card or mountboard and be used on a card front or as a stand-alone frame. It’s just a nice size to work with, and I know I’ll be using this a lot.

There’s a fabulous release party on Eileen’s FB page and YouTube channel today at 12.00 Eastern (5pm UK). Also, if you pop to Eileen’s blog http://www.eileenhull.com you will find links to all the DT’s blogs (and I’ve got to say, there are some AMAZING projects, and I definitely need to up my sewing game!).

I’m still creating with these sets, so the photos here are just a a small selection of what I’ve been making.  If you are in the UK you can catch me on Hobbymaker TV on 8 January where we will have a great deal on these 3 die sets, and I’ll be showing you exactly how they all work and how to put them together.