Virginia

Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's Home

           I made it to Virginia a couple of days ago, but not quite up to Chantilly! I have stopped in Charlottesville to visit my daughter who is a graduate student here at the University of Virginia. We are having a great visit! Saturday, we drove out to Monticello. As you can see in the picture above the weather was perfect.  It was a little warmer than I had expected. They say that they are having a heat wave right now that is not typical. Gee, I hope that I did not bring this hot air with me from Texas! We toured the home as well as the gardens and the family graveyard. I have always wanted to see this and it did not disappoint me in the least. It is remarkable that every aspect of the house and gardens are so well maintained. The most surprising thing that I learned was that when Jefferson died, he was bankrupt. His family had to sell all of his belongings as well as the family home to pay off the debts he incurred while serving our country. Since then, curators have been working to return the house to its original state by locating and purchasing back the original furniture, art, books, etc. Simply amazing! 

              Above is a shot of the beautiful terraced gardens of Monticello and below are the vineyards. All of the vegetable grown here are what was originally grown in Jefferson's day and they are all labelled. The produce is shared among the staff that run Monticello. Wonderful, isn't it!

       

        Here is a picture of my daughter looking out over the mountain, Monticello, from one of the porticos.  We had a memorable time. Time spent with family is always so special, but when you get "one one one" time with one of your children it is extra special! We have shopped, gone out to eat, stayed up late laughing and crying ~ it's been wonderful. 

      Today, she and I have spent the day studying together. Yes, that is what I said! Of course, she is doing her course work while I am readying for all of my classes that I will teach while at the Original Sewing & Quilting Expo. I will be driving up to Chantilly tomorrow. That is to the Dulles Convention Center near the airport. Janice, from the shop, will be joining me later in the day. My daughter Anna will join us by Friday to help out at the sewing convention on Saturday. Then, she and I will head back to Charlottesville for a little more time together before I drive all the way back home to Texas!

After our visit to Monticello on Saturday, we wandered up the highway a little until we came upon the exit for the Blue Ridge Parkway, a very well known scenic drive. The views were breathtaking. I certainly understand where they got their name ~ see how blue they appear!

So, I will keep you all posted on the Originally Sewing & Quilt Expo that starts this week on Thursday!

Retreat Weekend!

  

        I spent this past weekend in Mineola, Texas hosting our Fall Sewing Retreat at the Southern Comfort Retreat House. It is always a blast and an absolute sewing extravaganza! This retreat's focus was on the  construction of children's clothing; specifically knits. However, our first project for this retreat with a little fall twirly skirt. It was not made out of knits ~ after all, we had to have the evening to prewash the knits for Saturday! The project that I chose for our first garment was "Boo" which is one of our newest kits! It is also pictured in the upper left of this blog.

Hey, Mona . . . looking good!

Mollie & Bettie, "real" sewing sisters!

Are you having fun yet, Denise!

Yes, Tracy, this is Heaven!

Below are some of the "Boos" that the attendees made on Friday night. 

  

   

I love the addition of multi-colored tulle under the lower ruffle!

Nancy's favorite colors!

This ain't no "prairie chicken" look"!

    

Some chose to use different fabrics (same pattern as "Boo"). 

And, then others, chose to test out a new pattern. On the right is the Girly Gore Skirt by Indygo Junction.

Of course, we do eat well at these retreats. Here are the dining rooms (see Linda in the kitchen! ~ she is our hostess extraordinaire ~the chef!) and part of our Friday night feast.

             On Saturday, we sewed with knits! Many of the ladies had never "touched" a knit before. Well, you know what I mean. They had never dared sew with them. We had lots of beautiful garments by the end of the day!

Here is Tracy with her first knit project finished!

         

       I do not know where everyone gets so much energy, but no one went to bed before midnight. For several it was much much later! By Sunday afternoon everyone had sewn up several little outfits and proud of their accomplishments as well as just a little tired. Memories were made, new sewing buddies were found and I think that many of us put a pound or two over the weekend! Ugh, that means back to the daily diet plan ~ eating healthy can be a little boring!

Just a little Hippie Chick!

Great fabric combination!

A new twist on "Maya"!

A cute little "Bubble" skirt.

    

Above  are a just a few more pictures of the incredible little outfits that were sewn at our retreat this past weekend. Wow, what a bunch of creative women! I am so blessed to be able to share with them! 

How I spent my Summer Vacation!

          I first titled this blog entry to be "Is summer really over?" It must be because my "kids" are back in school! But it is still so hot here in Texas ~ I could ask, "When will summer be over?!" Ah, it has been a very busy summer to be sure. I have not blogged in forever!!! And, well, there is a reason . . . or several actually.  So, as I reread this blog, I decided on a more appropriate heading; reminiscent of our first writing assignment upon  returning to  school after an eventful summer vacation!

At my Sit 'n Sew Class
Martha's Sewing Market

               May was devoted to getting ready for and exhibiting at Martha's Sewing Market after which, in June, I made two very important trips. One to visit my dear sweet Mom in Houston for a long weekend (returned home for only one day) and then I flew to London for a week to see my daughter, Anna. She is, or rather was, studying there for a year ~ she is back now  in the U.S.!

Here she is in front of Liberty's of London!

The Montecute House, Somerset, England
where my daughter curated an exhibit of portraits!

The start of an incredible adventure!

              Once back home I helped my 20 year old son pack for the adventure of his life: a 500 mile solo hike through the Colorado Rockies; specifically The Colorado Trail. It is not easy packing everything that you will need for over 7 weeks in one backpack! He even dehydrated his own food! Well, of course, there were 5 mail drops to different cities  ~ mostly food! 

At the Trail Head ~ John & me (not smiling)

Castle Rock, Colorado

              My husband and I go to our cabin in Colorado every summer for about a month, hence ~  more packing! AND, we decided to have our floors refinished in three rooms of our home and have the kitchen painted while we were going to be gone. Not such a brilliant idea in retrospect! SO, I had to pack up my entire kitchen and dining room. Wow, I did not realize that I had so much "stuff"! I let my husband pack up his study. By the time we left for the mountains, I was so worn out that I just stared out the car window for three straight days. I normally knit, read and make my extensive grocery list from all of my great magazines (that I never have time to read!), but not this year! On day 2 of our vacation, we dropped off our son in Castle Rock, Colorado. This is where the Colorado Trail begins. It was so hard to say "Good bye". I knew that we would not be seeing him for at least six weeks. We would be lucky to get to talk to him once every ten days or so. So, it was a tearful farewell. Boy, it is so hard being a Mom!

Engineer's Pass, The San Juan Mountains

           The first half of the month of July was spent playing hostess to friends that we had invited up to the cabin. Boy, we should have had our heads examined! That is not the way to start off a vacation. It would have been better to schedule that towards the end of the vacation! By the middle of the month we were so talked out that we hardly even spoke to each other! Well, not really. By then, I was so blessed to get sick. I had to heal quickly though because my husband had planned a little adventure trip out to Lake Powell in Page, Arizona and then the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Horseshoe Bend - Paige, Arizona

              By the time we returned to the cabin, we only had a few days more days of quiet before our vacation was to be over. It always so sad when we have to return to the Texas heat. This year our return home was quite memorable. A bear attacked our car in the middle of the night before we were to depart and caused considerable damage to the back end of our Jeep and all our things that were packed within. Yes, I did say a bear! There were muddy paw prints all over the truck and trailer. Long brownish fur on the seats & plenty of bear spit - yuck! And, distinctive claw marks evident made through boxes - scary! So, after we cleaned up the awful mess, we did actually hit the road. About an hour and a half down the road, we had two flat tires! Yes, not one, but two. Those bear claws are VERY sharp! So, you might be wondering by now if we just turned back, but no, we resumed the 16 hour journey home. And, . . .  I know this seems trivial now, but we had no internet at our cabin this year - wow, can you even imagine! So, that is the reason my emails and blog entries were so scarce. 

           So, was that enough excitement for one summer! Hardly. Although I would not describe  the events that followed as excitement ~ more like a nightmare. We arrived at our home at about 2am - remember we had several delays! After only 2 hours of sleep, our phone rang with bad news. My daughter had taken quite ill. We presumed that she was getting adequate medical care, but after just a few hours and several more phone calls, it became apparent that this was not the case. My husband decided that one of us needed to go to her, so that would be me. I had 20 minutes to pack a bag and get to  the DFW airport for an overnight flight to London. Believe me when I say this, you do not want to get sick in Great Britain! Free health care? No thank you! After a week, I got our baby back home. And, with our wonderful doctors and medicines here in the U.S., she mended. 

The San Juan Mountains, Colorado

            So, whatever became of our son's adventure? He sent us "I'm OK" via his SPOT daily and he was able to call us about every ten days. He did hike the entire Colorado Trail . . . solo. He left the Denver area on the 26th of June and arrived in Durango on August 14th! Did I mention that he also climbed fourteen Fourteeners? Those are mountains that are over 14,000'  in height ~ So amazing! But I was just happy to lay my eyes on him and my arms around his skinny little body! He lost about thirty pounds! And, for those of you who know him, you are probably asking how he could have lost that much when he is already a "stick". I guess that when you are hiking that far and climbing that many mountains, you simply burn far more calories than you are consuming. That's quite a diet plan! 

The Appalachian Mountains, Virginia

            Last Wednesday, my husband and I drove our daughter out to Charlottesville, Virginia to start her doctoral graduate program at the University of Virginia. She was working on her masters in Bristol, England for a year. She is better now, but I wish that she could have been home a little longer.  Today my son leaves for Lubbock to return to Texas Tech as a junior and resume his studies. I wish that I could have a little more time with him too. We Moms are crazy I think. We can't wait for them to grow up and then we can't wait for them to come home! Boy, it is going to be really quiet around here ~ maybe too quiet! 

So, now it is time to get ready for 
all the fun fall events! 

I have a SOLD-OUT  "Sewing in Southern Comfort" retreat in mid-September  ~ sewing clothing for children. Then, at the end of September, we will be traveling to and  exhibiting at the Original Sewing  & Quilt Expo in Chantilly, VA. I have been invited to teach there as well as emcee two stage presentations.  In November, we have the huge Houston International Quilt Festival where will be once again exhibitors. Lastly, I have one more retreat to lead in mid November ~ Sewing for Yourself. I believe that there are only two spots still open for that one.  After that,  I will be done for the year! BUT, I have so many ideas right now swimming around in my head, so I will mostly be busy creating in my studio for now! I'll keep you posted on new creations!!!

Texture Magic!

           Recently, at Martha's Sewing Market, I taught a class on how to use a new product called "Texture Magic". It is made by Superior Threads and is truly a remarkable new notion that makes fabric three dimensional! Yes, you read that right. So, what is it? Well, it is made of 100% polyester (chemically treated with some form of "magic"!); not an acetate fiber as I thought. It is machine washable and dry able. What does it do? When you sew it to a fabric and steam it, it will shrink 30% in all directions ~ permanently!  Once it "shrinks", it does not continue to do so. And, one last fact, it does not require the use of any other stabilizers. As you can see from the pillow above, the result if quite pretty.

                     So, lets look at some examples of how cool this stuff is and what kind of things you can do with it. Here are a few other examples: first a beautiful quilt above where the Texture Magic has been utilized on certain blocks. See, here is a close up:

                                   

 Here is a picture of a gorgeous table runner.

     

A close up view shows how it changes any fabric to be three dimensional! 

       

                      Using texture magic on a beautiful black moire satin results in a spectacular little evening bag. A wonderful customer of mine presented me with this little bag before the sewing expo to inspire others. I love it! 

Thank you, Diane!

   

                    And, another dear customer, Rachel,  made this awesome jacket out of an embroidered & sequined fine wale corduroy. She wanted to make the garment to really pop with personality. The pattern that she chose had these wonderful inserted panels that just begged for embellishment. So, . . . using a gorgeous silk with texture magic applied, achieved this result. Isn't it incredibly beautiful! 

By the way, she is 82 and sews every single day! She is a very happy lady!

                               So, what king of fabrics can you use? Just about anything! Above you have seen cottons (the pillow, the quilt & the table runner), acetate moire (the little evening bag) and silk (the jacket). I frequently use it for children's fashions. Like our little girl's dress kit, "Blush" (which is now sold out) and two NEW kits, "Dixie Chick" and "Miss Priss" (both are little girl's skirt kits with embellished tee's that are available on our website).

       

  

Okay, you say, so how do you use the stuff?

•             Cut out a piece of fabric & TM the same size. Bear in mind that it will “shrink up” 30% in all directions. (A chart is included with each package)
•             Spray an adhesive such as 505 to baste the fabric to the TM OR pin baste the two together.  

•             Stitch the two together: use a free form stitching, stitch in a grid pattern, plain straight lines (maybe squiggle lines) or use some of your decorative stitches.

  

•             Set your iron at its hottest setting & push to steam.
•             With the TM facing up, steam it all over. DO NOT TOUCH THE IRON TO THE TEXTURE MAGIC as it will stiffen (melt).

•             If you are making a texture section of fabric, then proceed with your project. If you are using this for an applique, now trace the applique pieces to the back (on the TM side).
•             Stitch along this traced line.
•             Cut just outside the traced & stitched line. This will prevent your “texure” from releasng along the shape’s perimeter.

•             Pin your applique pieces to your project (or use fabric glue). Stitch to secure: an open zig zag, a satin stitch . . . maybe some trim like rick rack!

•             If you are using wonder under to attach other compoments to your applique, then use a teflon pressing sheet so that you will not “crush” the area with TM.  

So, go forth and have fun with a little Texture Magic! 

Oh, and by the way, you can order it from Sew It Up.com in our Crafts department!

Next blog, more ideas of what you can do with Texture Magic!

"School's out for the summer!" ~ time to play!

        












 I believe that our little shop is finally back in order! Post Martha's Sewing Market is always like a disaster zone. You could hardly walk with all of the boxes stacked up awaiting the tedious inventory and subsequent unpacking . . . And the 120+ bolts of new fabrics strewn about! But, all of the Sew It Up sisters have worked diligently to get everything back in order and displayed beautifully! Wouldn't you agree? 

                Martha's Sewing Market was once again a fabulous show for Sew It Up! Our booth was "mobbed" on Thursday. All of my classes on Thursday and Friday were "standing room only" as well. It did slow down appreciably on Saturday as did all of us. It takes immeasurable stamina to get ready for a show of this genre and to manage our  four booths. We are always grateful for our wonderful "fabric volunteers" who help out every year. This was the first year that my daughter, Anna, was not here to run the register :( This was our twelfth year to exhibit for Martha. For those of you who have watched her grow up and were wondering where she was this year, well, who am I to brag! Just Mom! She is working on her dissertation for her Master's of Art History at the University of Bristol in Great Britain. She'll be coming home in August, but only briefly. She has been accepted into a Phd program in the fall at the University of Virginia. Ah, another chapter.

        













Getting back to the classes at Martha's Sewing Market, I taught three different classes; Creative Designing with Texture Magic, 20 Tips to Improve your Fashion Sewing and Secrets of Successful Design. I am currently working on a mini lesson on using Texture Magic. I will be posting it here on my blog very soon. The class that I taught for Martha this year that was the most fun was the pre-day Sit 'n Sew: Boutique Chic. I loved being able to share with so many talented seamstresses! After a lesson on how to  use  a variety of fabrics, prints and trims all in one garment, I then I taught shirring ~ how to fill your bobbin, set your tension correctly and shir! The last technique covered was  how to make super easy & fast ruffles. For many this was the first time that they had ever made a beautiful rolled hem. What a rush!

And, lastly, here is a picture of the final product being modeled by Lindsey. Her loving mother made her the dress especially for her Kindergarden graduation! Isn't she beautiful!

          So, now that the show is behind us, what is next?

                                      VACATION! 

I am leaving tomorrow for Houston to visit my Mom for four days. I'll be home for just a couple of days and then its a trip across the pond to see my sweet Anna! I can't wait to hug her!!! When I return, I'll take a few days to catch up at the shop and then its off to Colorado with my husband and son for three weeks! Yippee!!! But, not to fear, I will still be creating. In fact I never quit. I am already designing for the fall/winter kits. And, . . .  I am working on my own pattern line!