Weekend Sewing Part 1

The Love is out camping with his buddies this weekend and I am so psyched about being able to sew & create all weekend. Here is what I accomplished last night.

Austin Pajama Pants

I started these 2 pair of pajama pants for the youngest grandson, Austin, last month. Sometimes the simplest of projects get put off because I think, "Oh they are so simple. I'll whip them up later." And later never gets here. Since we will be visiting Austin and the rest of his family for Thanksgiving, I finished these to take with us. 

Riley knit top 

2+2 Skirt from Oliver + S 

Next up is this cute little purple top for The Princess. Again, I started it last month and just kept putting off the finishing details, like weaving in all the serged ends. This top goes with the skirt I made her in September. The Princess likes "bling" to adorn her clothing but I'm not really a "bling" person so I used lots of buttons on the top. Hopefully, she'll like it. 

Two projects slated for completion this morning, both are for The Coach.

•  Finish cross stitching the Thanksgiving bread cloth which is part of last year's birthday gift. I only have a little outlining to do. 
• sew in the lining of the purse I knit The Coach for this year's birthday. I will give it to her over Thanksgiving weekend because her birthday is in early December. 

But first I'm off for a morning run!

Wool Pumpkins

At the recent Original Sewing & Quilt Expo in Kansas City MO I saw some really cute fabric pumpkins in a booth called Sew Cherished. The owner of Sew Cherished, Dawn, hand dyes wool and sells it along with other needlework and quilting items. I walked away without purchasing anything, but those pumpkins just planted themselves in my head and would not go away. As you can tell, I ended up buying the wool to make these 3 pumpkins as well as the pattern & kit to make this beautiful hand embroidered pumpkin. I won't even attempt to work on the embroidered pumpkin until after the holidays are all over. It will be my embroidery project for 2011. 

Stuffed pumpkins made from hand-dyed wool

Embroidered pumpkin pattern

Here is the link to Sew Cherished and Crab-Apple Hill. Both are interesting websites. 

Original Sewing & Quilting Expo-Kansas City MO

I just returned from working at the Original Sewing & Quilting Expo in KCMO with my friend, Londa. I feel so privileged to be able to work in her booth. It is hard work, no doubt about it. But I really enjoy my time selling her beautiful Creative Sweatshirt Jacket patterns & DVDs along with other sewing items and I love talking to all the women (and men) who come in to look and buy. I also get to see new & exciting trends in the sewing & quilting cultures. 


I don't claim to be on the cutting edge of what's hot but here are some things I have noticed as I attend these expos. 


Quilting—Yes, women are still quilting but there seems to be a definite trend away from traditional large quilts made for beds or wall hanging. I see the patchwork principle (seaming small pieces of fabric together to create an object) being applied in different ways. Decorative pillows, place mats, and other small items were every where. 


There were also several booths teaching ink jet printing on cloth. There were machines for laminating fabric and machines for cutting all manner of shapes. I guess the biggest application would be applique. 


Embroidery-There are still booths selling embroidery designs but the number is shrinking. 


Garment sewing-Dare I say I see a trend back to garment sewing? There are lots of small pattern designers showing up at these expos. 


I don't work with Londa again till March. It will be interesting to see what 2011 brings. 

I Really Have Been Sewing

In spite of the drought in blog posts I have been sewing. Here's a three items I have completed recently.


Amy Butler Frenchie Bag

I made this bag for DGD1 for Christmas 2009 and really like the style. On a recent trip to Dearborn MI I stopped in at quilt store and fell in love with the dogwood print. I would never "wear" the fabric so I decided to make me a Frenchie Bag. I've received a ton of compliments on it. 

Laptop Bag

  

Again, I fell in love with the sateen cotton print at a sewing show I worked at in Cincinnati.  I bought the fabric and then found a laptop bag pattern in the booth next to me. I had some trouble with the pattern directions not making sense, but the bag turned out o.k. Someone I know loves the bag and may receive it as a present come Christmas. 

Clothes for The Princess

My youngest DGD has earned the nickname Princess. I say it lovingly but some members of her immediate family are a little more sarcastic. Be that as it may, I love sewing for The Princess. Here's a summer dress I whipped up for her. 

She didn't really like the drawstring tie in the front so when I made her a short top with capri pants from the same pattern, I moved the tie(s) to the shoulders. I don't have a picture but it was made from a silky polyester fabric, very light pink background with rosebuds all over. Her mom (The Coach) told me when The Princess opened the package she immediately declared them pyjamas and wore them every night for the first week or so. I'm so happy she liked them. 

I have a couple of other garments which are deserving of their own post. 

ASG National Convention

I was lucky enough to attend the ASG national convention in Atlanta recently. I worked for my friend, Londa, in her booth so I wasn't able to take any classes but I did participate in the fashion show and I attended the "gala" Saturday night to honor Shirley Adams. 


I'm going to be brutally honest here. I was really disappointed overall. Maybe taking classes vs. being a vendor would change my mind, but for the cost of attending this convention…well, let's just say it's pretty pricey. 


The best part of the convention is that is held entirely in a hotel. (In this case, the Atlanta Hilton.) So the accommodations, both convention facilities and hotel rooms, were really nice. It also helped me personally that the snack bar in the lobby served Starbucks. Another good thing was the food, mostly. Friday's breakfast and lunch were not so good, but after that the food was great, especially the desserts. The Chef would have been pleased with the presentation of the desserts. 


Vendors: I don't have an exact count, but there were only about 40-50 vendors at the expo portion. And, they weren't big national companies or people. In my opinion the 2 biggest people there were Louise Cutting and Linda Lee. Oh yes, Peggy Sagers was there also. Mostly it was mom-and-pop businesses, which is absolutely great. But I thought that the sewing machine companies would have big booths. Also, I thought the Big 4 pattern companies would be there. What a great place to promote your stuff. Hardly any fabric for sale. Louise Cutting and SewKeyse had fabric, along with some smaller local shops. 


Overall, the expo is much smaller than Puyallup. I've never been to the Novi show but I've heard that it is as big as Puyallup so this ASG would be smaller than it also. 


Evening activities: On Friday night was the big fashion show. It was fun. Some of the clothes were amazing. Amazing not so much from the technical construction side, but the beading, the hand weaving, the putting together of different fabrics--that was amazing. I modeled the Genesis Too jacket I made with Londa for her new DVD, Creative Jacket Journey. Londa modeled the Worthy jacket from the DVD. Somehow, the ladies lining us up for the show switched Londa and me in line and the commentator read the wrong description for my jacket. What do you do when you're on the runway, under the spotlight and the description doesn't match the article of clothing? Just keep smiling and walking and smiling. My only other complaint about the fashion show was the lady doing the commentary. It seemed to me that she hadn't even read the script. She stumbled through almost all the garment descriptions. I heard this complaint from some other fashion show participants as well. 


On Saturday night was the big "Gala" honoring Shirley Adams of The Sewing Connection. I hardly think "gala" describes the night. It was dinner and then Shirley talked about her company. (I found that interesting because had never heard her story.) There was a slide show but it wasn't accompanied with any talking or even any background music. Kinda weird. Then the night was over. That was it. I was expecting a big hoopla. 


The show was pretty good sales-wise for Londa. But if I was just a plain attendee, I would hope that the classes were fabulous. I have to admit that if I have the opportunity to attend this convention as an attendee, I will go. I think the caliber of teachers is pretty good and I would be very selective about the classes I signed up for, but I believe it is possible to get some great training there. 


I also want to put a plug in for Gail K Fabrics in Atlanta. Oh my gosh! A garment sewers heaven. The fabric is stacked floor to ceiling, literally! They had all price ranges from less than $10 to $100+ for bridal fabrics and great suit woolens. We spent about 2 hours there. Londa bought this absolutely fabulous red stretch velvet with a burnout design. It will be her New Year's Eve ballroom dancing gown. And she also bought this weird furry stuff to tickle her creative side. I was pretty restrained. I bought only 1 piece of tapestry-grey & pink-to make a jacket. 

Houston Quilt Festival

I leave today to travel to Houston for the Quilt Festival. I'll be working with my friend Londa at her booth, #650. If you are there, drop by and see us!