Fantastic! Our samples arrived!

Today, the box from Michael Miller arrived with or sample cuts of Patty Young's new knits!!! 

Wow! Yep! ~Wow! 

These are exceptional quality. I am not disappointed.  

I get samples of knits all the time that are almost laughably in their "thinness" and the colors are usually garish. Well, these are not. They are even prettier in real life than the picture shown here. I can hardly wait to sew with them. 

Yeah, I know, how can I want to sew anything else this week! I finished a little skirt this morning, then, when I got home today from the shop (I was getting everything ready for our sidewalk sale tomorrow), I made another outfit. I "discovered" a new technique to give myself more time to sew. . . I stopped and got my husband one of those new Peach Milk Shakes from "the chikin place" (you know which one). Anyway, he didn't get hungry for dinner for quite some time. And so . . . I whipped up another little skirt and a top. I was sewing "Nina" from Mod Kid. This was my first time to use this pattern. Oh, how I love her patterns! The instructions are so clear, there are great pictures and everything matches up - wow, imagine that! Well, its off to bed for me. The sidewalk sale show tomorrow should be fun. And, of course, I just finished putting lots of things on sale on the website as well. I know that not ALL of our customers can make it to the shop!

Only 3 Weeks now!

                This is such an exciting time of the year for me! I go into hyper-mode (if that is even a word!) designing ~  picking out patterns, fabrics, buttons & trims for lots of new kits for summer which I love to debut at Martha's Sewing Market. At the shop new fabrics are being delivered daily. It really is a lot like Christmas! We've taken delivery on in three new collections from Moda, one from Michael Miller and another from Art Gallery. Oh my gosh they are all so pretty . . . who bought all of these??? And, that is only the cotton goods. There are also several big boxes of fashion fabrics: linens, silks, rayons, lawns, knits that have arrived. . . oh, my! With more on their way. So head is spinning with possibilities. I do not sleep much when I am in my super creative mode. Fortunately I have such an incredibly wonderful staff that is helping out by sewing samples at home. I cannot thank them enough. I am so blessed!

               Yesterday, I spent the entire day writing my instruction manual for my Sit 'n Sew class that I am teaching  the day before the market opens. This "handout" is a step by step directional guide that turned out to be 6 pages! Well, I am wanting to be easy enough for a beginner sewer to follow. I am really thrilled to be able to teach a class in which the students will get to make an entire project from beginning to end. Oh my gosh, it is going to be a fun day! Normally I teach several 45 minute seminars that are offered each day for free. This year I do have three seminars. These are listed on Martha's website as well as Sewitup.com If you have not pre-ordered your tickets for the market yet, I encourage everyone to do so as you save a little money. You can also register for any of the Sit 'n Sew classes at the same time if you are interested. You do not have to bring your machines to class as they are provided by Baby Lock and your project comes in the form of a kit, which is part of your class fee.

               I have to get my pattern for the "Sit 'n Sew dress" finished today. It is pictured to the side here on my blog in pinks and yellows. There will also be a navy and lime green version. You get to choose which color way for your project. I thought that would be a nice touch. So, I am at my drafting table with paper, pencils and a stack of different rulers. I love this part! I can't wait till this summer when I plan on drafting some of my own patterns finally. I now am the proud owner of my own digitizer and a plotter. Yippee!

                  By the way, after I finish the pattern drafting today, I will need to finish a skirt (for grown-up ladies! ~the Stella skirt by Lila Tueller) that is destined to be a new kit and then start a blouse (the Funked Out Peasant Blouse, also by Lila). I cut out two new little girl outfits last night while watching/"listening" to American Idol. And, that is only what I am doing.  Janice, Linda & Kayleen all are working on projects for new kits that I have already designed: toys, purses, hats and cute little clothes.   I will keep everyone posted as to the progress each day as it is rather invigorating! I should write  about my "serger" emergency on that I had on Monday (or rather late Sunday night) . . . next blog post!

   It is definitely Spring and I love Azalea time!

My April sewing retreat was this past weekend . . . ah what a wonderfully relaxing time was had by all. I saw these beauties right in the back yard of our retreat house. I was on my way out to take a short walk after dinner. You see the meals at these retreats are scrumptious! So, between the sewing and bonding, the meals and snacks . . .  and the massages . . . well you get the picture! Lots of fun!

          

        

Our projects this time were: The Funked Out Peasant Blouse & The Stella Skirt both by Lila Tueller. We also had a jacket project, The One Button Topper by Indygo Junction, as well as a little travel bag, the Boxie Bag.

I am learning how to post a slideshow of all of our retreats. As soon as it is ready, I will put it on my blog for all to enjoy.

So, what is the next big event that is "just around the corner"? 

Martha's Sewing Market!!!

This year I will be teaching on of the pre-day Sit & Sew classes: BOUTIQUE CHIC!!! 

I am thrilled to be able to have a class that will be ALL DAY! It is always so much fun to teach a project from beginning to end. We are going to be making a precious little peasant style dress which will give us the perfect opportunity to shirr, make beautiful ruffles as well as learn how to combine fabrics and trims to get a "boutique" look! I am also teaching four seminars for the market. So, obviously I have a lot to do to get ready for the convention! Not to mention all of the new summer kits that I am busy designing already. Ah, so today I divided my time between my sewing room ~ straightening it up so it will be ready for intensive sewing ~ and my studio ~ where I have been sketching new kits! I'll keep my camera nearby.

I'm back from a Quilt Show and . . . off to our April Retreat!

               This past weekend Sew It Up exhibited at the Bear Creek Quilt Guild's Show in downtown Ft. Worth. Since all of my helpers are members of the guild (& one even won a beautiful 2nd place ribbon!),  I only attended on Sunday as I was the one left "at home to tend the store." It was actually really nice to run the shop all by myself! I rearranged, straightened and talked to lots of wonderful customers that I don't often get to see. If you have not been in the shop in a while, maybe you should stop in for a look - we have had lots of new fabrics (new cottons from Riley Blake arrived just today!)  as well as all of the newest kits up on display. It really looks nice!

                This week I am busy getting ready for our April Sewing Retreat: sewing up the projects, scheduling the Saturday massages & choosing the menu. Ah, what a job! This retreat is for "Sewing for Yourself".  Our projects will be: The Funked Out Peasant Blouse and The Stella Skirt both by Lila Tueller and the One Button Topper by Indygo Junction. Also, there will be a surprise bag project. So, I have been sewing this week! Yeah! Of course, with all of this sewing, there will be new kits. . .

I'll report after the weekend! . . . with lots of pictures. 

The next retreat isn't until September (Sewing for Children) and it is nearly sold out already!

And, speaking of Sewing for Children, 

have you had a chance to check out my Sit 'n Sew for the Martha Pullen Show

 ~ which is next month!

"Boutique Chic"

A Snowy Sewing Retreat!

    

                    This past weekend was our first sewing retreat for 2010 and who would have guessed that we would have snow in East Texas! All ten of us arrived on Friday around noon-ish. We unloaded all of our machines, suitcases & project goodies with the welcome help of our host, Bill, and his rolling cart. Shortly afterwards, since the day was a picture perfect Spring day, we walked into town for lunch at the East Texas Burger, which has now become a retreat tradition. I did not know that they serve sweet potato fries with those wonderful burgers, which I will definitely try next time!

                 Our first project was to make the Beverly Belle Top by Izzy & Ivy. This is not a difficult pattern, but the directions do leave a lot of room for error! When it comes to the part about sewing the panels of the top together, which involve sewing an inside curve to an outside curve, the instructions simply state to sew them together! This is why I chose this as a first project. At first glance it would seem that the two panels can not possibly fit together. But they do ~ with a little clipping and a firm hold on both panels to stretch the clipped panel to fit the remaining one. My way of sewing this pattern is to clip the inside curve portion about 3/8" in. The seam allowance is 1/2", so this may seem extreme, but it works. Then lay the outside curve panel down without he right side facing up. Now lay the inside curve panel on top and pin the top of the skirt edges, the very bottom of the skirt (which is where the two little "squares" are) and then perhaps one more pin right where the straight part of the panel starts to curve. You will sew these in the same order: clipped one on top. Once you get to the curve, you will need to firmly pull on the top panel (yes, you are stretching it; see the photo on the right below) to get it to match the length of the outside curve.

                 

Everyone's "flippy" top turned out beautiful and took longer than they expected. There are a lot of panels to this top! And, the hem is made up of a bias trim in a coordinating print, which everyone made using the continuous bias method.

             We had a fabulous gourmet dinner served by our hostess, Linda. The menu consisted of Chicken Curry, a salad, two vegetables, garlic bread and then her famous chocolate praline cake. Yum. Yes, we do eat well at our retreats.

      Many of the attendees sewed late into the night while some of us went to bed! There was certainly a lot of laughter ~ even at 3:30am! On Saturday, after breakfast (see one of our beautiful dining rooms to the left!) our project was the Ava pattern by Mod Kid boutique sewing patterns. It was a perfect day to be indoors sewing as it poured all day long!
       It is always fun to see the fabric combinations that everyone brings for their projects as well as the fabric trading that goes on! This pattern requires sewing two sizes of tucks or pleats. We did find an easier way to get the side seams to match up perfectly . . . we simply eliminated the side seam! So, there was only one seam on the skirt (which we centered in the back) and none for the top. The other change that we made to the pattern was to change the method of attaching the straps to the bodice. Contrary to the pattern we slipped them into two small "un-sewn" sections of the bodice after we sewed the front bodice to its lining. We  did mark where the straps go on the fabric, but when we sewed the two pattern pieces together, we just skipped over where the straps needed to be sewn in. Then we turned and pressed the bodice. THEN we just slipped the straps into the "un-sewn" sections and angled them just exactly the way they needed to be to work for a halter top.

   

Here are some action shots!

 Look how hard they are working ~ not to fear, we did take a break for our afternoon snack of Guacamole, Chips & fresh from the oven Chocolate Chip cookies. 

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention Carla, our massage therapist.

She arrived about 3pm to relax and rejuvenate us!

    On Sunday our scheduled project was to make Claire by Portabellopixie. ~ It was another perfect day to sew as it snowed all day!  Naturally we made a few changes to this pattern. Some of us decided that it would be fun do a rolled hem  and to shirr the neck and sleeves, rather than have elastic casings. Some opted to skip the apron; especially for the older girls. 

     Here is a picture of my sample. It is not quite finished in this photo as I just noticed that the ties and "belt" are not attached yet. 

       For those dresses "sans" the apron, we made one more design change. We created an elastic casing for the midriff in a contrasting fabric ~ rather than the belted tie look. But then we sewed it on the outside of the dress! 

          
         Everyone had an optional project to make a little purse (if they wanted) and after our sumptuous Sunday brunch, I demoed how to make the little flower corsage that is pictured on the hat. 

         A great time was had by all. Everyone left around 3pm filled with new ideas and lots of great memories, not to mention several new sewing buddies!

I will post more pictures soon of everyone's completed projects!

PS Our next scheduled retreat is April 16th-18th!
      Check it out on our site under Classes.

Georgia on my mind!

       We are back home resting up after exhibiting at the Atlanta Sewing & Quilting Expo  ~ It was another great show! Janice went with me this time and we had a fun "road trip"!

       We met a lot of wonderful new "sewing friends" in Georgia. The convention center was beautiful as was the area that we were staying in ~ Duluth. I am sure that it would be even prettier if it had not been raining every single day & night that we were there! So, I did not get a chance to take any decent pictures outside. Here are a couple of pictures of our booth though. Hopefully we will not experience the same weather pattern next year! I was informed that last year it snowed. Hmmm . . . which is better?

     Our booth was super busy. Yeah! Each time we exhibit for the first time at a show we find ourselves explaining what we are selling. Most people think that we are selling the clothes or maybe the patterns. When we tell them that everything they see is a kit they are thrilled. I guess that the notion of buying a complete kit for a garment is new. There seem to have always been "quilt kits", but not so many clothing kits. And, when they find out that the kit includes all of the trims, buttons and embellishing ideas, they are even more excited. We love making people happy!

Can you name this river?

          I shot this with my iphone out the window at 65mph so it is a wonder that anything shows up! We drove home on Sunday. We chose to drive straight through rather than take two days as we did on our way to Georgia. I guess that we were anxious to get back home! Of course, the fact that my son was home for Spring Break did not enter into the equation! Ha! He is a sophomore at Texas Tech. I am soooo proud of him and have missed him a ton. 

Did you come up with a guess for the picture? 

Yep, you are right, it is the mighty Mississippi!

          Yesterday I was so tired that all I did was unpack, do the laundry & make a trip to the grocery store! Was that my "rest" day? I think so! This weekend I am hostessing our Spring Sewing Retreat.  I am really looking forward to meeting several new attendees. The retreat is totally sold out and with an awesome group ~ It is going to be so much fun! I've just planned the menu this morning as well as reserve our massage therapist for Saturday afternoon. Oh, yes . . . our retreats are pretty special! 

                The shop will be open tomorrow and I will be there helping with the unpacking. We'll get the store back in order tomorrow and fill lots of new orders! I will also be packing up for the retreat. Ah, so much fun! I am looking forward to actually sewing again though!

Back from Washington & off to Atlanta!

           

                   I haven't even been back from the Sewing & Stitching Expo in Washington a whole week and we (Janice & I) are leaving for Atlanta first thing in the morning to exhibit at The Original Sewing & Quilting Expo! It really is incredible that we were able to pack up for another show in such a short time. Lots of "Gold Stars" to all of my helpers: Janice, Kaylene & Linda!!! Especially since we SOLD OUT of soooo many kits and patterns in Washington. That was a very successful show for us! I taught just one seminar for the Expo, "Sewing for Children: The Hottest New Patterns" which was offered on two days. Both of my seminars were sold out way in advance ~ with 100 people in each! Yeah, wow is right. I was so honored and thrilled to be able to share with so many. 

                       Below you can see some photos of the Expo buildings where the show takes place and, of course, I had to include a picture of the famous Scone Wagon! The day we were leaving I finally got a picture of Mt. Rainer! Maybe not the best, but at least I got one!

  

 

  

Thank you to all of our new friends in the beautiful Northwest!

                 Tomorrow we are off to Atlanta, Georgia! We will probably only drive about 6-7 hours and then another 6 hours on Tuesday. Wednesday is "set-up" day. The show opens on Thursday and runs through Saturday. Then, we'll head back home to Texas on Sunday. I will take lots of pictures and send news from our "road trip" as well as from the convention floor! So, stay tuned!