Kids Sewing Camp - Summer 2013

Last week was our first Kids Sewing Camp for 2013! 

Even though there are only 4 new "sewists" pictured, there were actually five girls as you will surmise from the pictures of their completed projects. The classroom was filled with joy for 5 days from 10am until 2pm each day. They were learning, sharing, designing, forging new friendships & laughing. It was such a pleasure to be able to hear how much fun they were having! And, boy were they productive.

They began with pillowcases as that is our proverbial "first project" - look at the wonderful prints and colors that they chose! I love them all! Their second project I believe was a tote bag, but unfortunately our picture turned out a bit blurry. 

They also made the cutest ever headbands which they all embellished with beads and sequins thus practicing some hand stitching!

Some of the girls made more than one; some for friends, some for relatives ~ so sweet!

To the left here are their little zip up bags that are perfect for anything small: pens & pencils, hair accessories, trinkets  etc. 

I am not sure if I have left out any of their projects, but their final one was a skirt which they all finished and modeled as you can see in the first photograph above. Don't they look confident and proud!

I do hope that they will continue to learn to sew over the summer and that they will all attend the intermediate session which will be in August.  See y'all soon! 

TAKING A BREAK . . . I'm sewing!!!

What do you mean "sewing"? Don't I sew all the time? Well, sort of . . . I do sew many of the samples and kits for the shop, but occasionally, I just want to sew something that is just for me ~ not for the shop! Wow, can you imagine that?

In my collection, I have some wonderful really old pattens from the '40s and '50s. I made one a couple of weeks ago (see above!) with success (most of these do not have directions! and occasionally there is a piece missing). I love the styles of that time period and the fit. They are very feminine in my opinion, but what is the deal with the sizes! Gosh have we all gotten so much bigger than back in the 40's-50's???  I know that women wore girdles back then and they did not have drive thru fast food places as we do today! But honestly, has sizing for women's clothing changed that radically? Evidently so. A 30" bust was a size 12! I don't think that I was ever that tiny! I have had to cut out an 18-20 to get a bust of 36"-37"! Thank goodness we do not have to wear the size on the outside of a garment!

Towards the end of last week I tried another one. It is a maternity top, but I thought that it might just work for todays fashions. I made it up in a wonderful rayon batik so that it would flow nicely and not "stick out" ~ like a maternity top. BUT, well, it did. So, I decided that it would make a great bathing suit coverup.

That was last week. after studying it for several days, I decided to chance a few design alterations! I removed two of the side bows, edge stitched the side panels (to keep them from "poking out") and then added some inverted pleats to the front and back to create some shaping. I think that I have done it! - I believe that with some skinny khaki capris and flat sandals it can be worn out in public ~ that is the litmus test after all!

Just last night, I tried another dress pattern from the 50's and I love it! (See below.)
I might just have to draft this one for everyone to enjoy. I will post a picture of mine in a couple of days when it is finished.

Martha's Sewing Market

          This past weekend was the annual Martha's Sewing Market at the Arlington Convention Center. This was their 16th year I do believe and our 15th year to exhibit for the Pullen Company. It has always been the hightlight of our entire summer, but sadly this year, it appears to be the last one. F & W Media bought the magazine, Sew Beautiful and Martha's Sewing market about a year ago. They chose to combine the venue with their annual Scrapbooking convention; however they segregated us to a separate exhibit hall and reduced our classrooms from twelve to one!

        As you can see, their signage for us was kind of an afterthought - not a professional looking sign, just a hand drawn one! And, this only appeared on Saturday after numerous complaints that no one could find the sewing market!!!

         It was sad to see how small the show was reduced to and how few free seminars were offered ~ only one per hour. In years past we had as many as twelve per time slot. It is heartbreaking to realize that the show must surely "die" after this pathetic attempt. I am extreemly disappointed in how little F & W Media seemed to care about the show, the customers or the vendors. I suppose all good things come to an end eventually.

         For those of you who attended the show, I sincerely thank you for your support! If you wish to send your comments, in the form of an email, the show director's is Dana Groves:  dgroves@interweave.com

         AND, for those of you who attended my seminar on Thursday, 

ONE SEAM WONDERS ~ 

here is where you will find the pattern instructions for 

The Essential Shrug ~ Tuesday, July 12, 2011 and

My Diagonal Skirt ~ Monday, November 12, 2012

As always, I wish everyone Happy Sewing adventures!

. . . .   & please stay tuned as I do have a few ideas for next summer!

I welcome any of your comments as well!

SEW IT UP

will be in Booths #114 & #116

June 6th-8th

Arlington Convention Center

Stop by and say Hello!

Our Free Seminars:

One Seam Wonders     - Noon/Thursday
Quiltilng - The Next Generation     - 4pm/Thursday
Hexagons: More Than You Ever Imagined     - 9am/Friday
Slow Down! - Curves Ahead!      - Noon/Friday
From Paper to Fabric: A Refreshing Transition      - Noon/Saturday

         

I am amazed that our very own "Martha's Sewing Market" is just around the corner! I have been working on my seminars, new kits and other goodies. We, that is, Sew It Up have been a vendor for Martha for 15 years now ~ yes, that is hard to believe! Every year has been so much fun! We get soooo excited getting ready for the show. It is always great to see those customers who travel far and wide just for this event. Our own local customers attend in great numbers and we meet lots of wonderful new sewists!

Last year was a bit of a disappointment in the number of vendors. Granted there was another big sewing venue premiering on the very same weekend on the east coast. Many vendors live in that part of the country so it just made sense that they not travel all the way to Texas. Still, we missed them and the show seemed so much smaller. Another reason that the show lacked its usual luster was that Martha's company had just been bought by another. Yes, Hoffman Media had purchased them about two years prior. Now, it is F & W Media who owns the magazine and company. They had not owned it long enough to orient themselves to the personality of the show. They did not know the vendors and were a little clueless as to what exactly Martha's Sewing Market had become over the years. I know that many attendees were disappointed in the show.

This year will be different! What is this about combining Sewing with Scrapbooking? Frankly it is a matter of simple economics. The show has evidently not done very well in the money department for quite some time. A big company like F & W Media is not going to support an event that generates little or  no profit. They have been producing this very same scrapbooking event for a number of years. So, we are actually quite lucky that they did not cancel OUR SEWING SHOW! So, they have combined the two. It just makes sense. There are fewer vendors interested in being a part of a small sewing show. So, here is the deal: if we do not support this show, it will likely be our very last one. Yes, we do have the Houston International Quilt Festival in the fall, but, for most of us, it isn't enough. We like having a sewing convention right here in our backyard! 

So, I am asking everyone a big favor. Please spread the word and attend the market this year. If we can make it work, we will not loose the show! I am confident that this show CAN be built back up to what it used to be! I know that the tickets are $15/day at the door, so, here is what I am offering to everyone: 

Shop with Sew It Up anytime between now and the event and I will give you a coupon worth $5 off of any purchase - made in our booths - at the show. This really means that Sew It Up is paying for one third of your ticket price! How about it? That sounds pretty good right? Well, here is one more "gift". If you come to the show and shop in our booths, you will receive a coupon worth $5 to spend anytime either in the shop or on-line! Now your ticket to get into the show is $5!

I am committed to making the show a success this year so that we can have it again next year! I hope that everyone else feels the same way that I do:)

A real SEW-IN!

       This past weekend was Sew It Up's annual Spring "Sewing in Southern Comfort Retreat" in Mineola, Texas and, as always, I was totally in awe of the creativity, productivity and expertise in attendance!  I love to see the way that fabrics are combined as well as the wonderful attention to detail in embellishing stage of the project. Look at this precious little pants set using two different strips, in three ways: vertical, horizontal and diagonal! This is actually the "All Set" pattern by Anna Marie Horner and if you are familiar with this pattern, you will note the variation in the bodice! Lets just say, that sometimes, an oversight in the cutting out stage can lend itself beautifully to a "design opportunity"!!!

         Here is a baby ensemble that began with the gifted monogrammed diaper cover which begged for a coordinate. Hence the baseball fabric; however upon completion, the gray chevron fabric side (originally intended as the lining) was voted the "cutest" side!

Below are just A FEW of the more crafty side of the projects that were coming off the assembly line! The center purse is The Madison Bag by Kay Whitt. Several attendees had this on their list to make and two people totally finished theirs. I made one too to bring to the retreat. I must admit, that after watching two people use Soft & Stable rather than the recommended Deco Fuse, the first is definitely the easier to work with and the end result is perfect!

     
There were several sewists making ladies garments, but the kids clothing is always the cutest! So, I am including a few more pictures (and believe me I did pare these down substantially!) From left to right, the patterns used were: Claudia by Mod Kid, The Sophie Shorts Set by Kati Cupcake Patterns, The Ruby Ruffle Dress by Cottage Mama and the last is my own ruffled Skort from my new Sewing with Ruffles book! ALL PRECIOUS!

Now to wait for the next retreat! 

I have decided that we definitely need more room for our retreat so that more of our wonderful customers can be a part of all of the fun, so that is what is one of my next big projects! 

In the meanwhile, our BRAND NEW WEBSITE will be opening very very soon!

Origami Christmas Ornaments

  We have been having a lot of fun here at Sew It Up Studio.  Last Saturday we had an ornament workshop and we thought it would be fun to share the directions with all of you. 
We still have a few kits left which include everything you need to make your very own ornament!

Origami Ornaments 

In your kit:

    A box of straight pins - at least 300
    120 two inch squares – at least 60 of each color
    3” Styrofoam ball
You might also like to use a thimble for pushing the pins and a small glass or the base of the pin box to hold the ball steady while you work. 
General Instructions 

After the base unit all of the squares will be folded the same throughout.  When pinning each row you will just pin the 2 outer corners.

 
Instructions for the Straight Row Ornament

First fold the light color in half and then half again to form a 1” square, finger press and unfold and lay it on the ball and pin each corner.
 You will used the pressed lines as placement lines for the next round.

Round 1
With the same color fold the square in half to form a rectangle then bring the corners to the center to form a triangle, finger press.  Lay this piece with the folded tip at the center of the base square with the edges along the previously pressed lines – pin at all three corners without pushing the center pins in completely. Repeat 3 more times until the base square is covered and all tips meet at the center.

Round 2
Using the other color fold as before and line up the tip about 1/8” lower and centered in the space between the previous row, repeat this 3 more times around.  Remove the center pins after round 2 is complete.
Round 3 to the end
Repeat round 2 changing colors for each round until you have covered the ball with about 13 - 14 rounds of each color.

To Finish
Take a square of the last color used and fold under 1/8” on all sides and pin over the raw edges at the top.  Pin a hanging loop and bow to the top.









Instructions for the Spiral Ornament

Fold the light color in half and then half again to form a 1” square, finger press and unfold and lay it on the ball and pin each corner.

Round 1
With the same color fold the square in half diagonally to form a triangle then fold again to form a smaller triangle, finger press. Lay this piece with the folded tip at the center of the base square with the edges along the previously pressed lines – pin at all three corners without pushing the center pins in completely.  Repeat 3 more times until the base square is covered and all tips meet at the center. 

Round 2
Using the other color, fold as before and line up the tip about 1/16” down from the center and centered in the space between the previous row, repeat this 3 more times around.  You will want to keep the folded edge on the same side for the whole ornament.
Round 3 to the end
With color 1 folded the same come down about 1/8” from the tip of the previous color , line up the edge with the round 1 piece and pin in place.  Repeat all the way around this row and then repeat row 3 alternating colors until you reach the other end about 13 – 14 rows of each color.

To Finish
Take a square of the last color used and fold under 1/8” on all sides and pin over the raw edges at the top.  Pin a hanging loop and bow to the top.

These ornaments will take about 2 hours to complete but it is a project that can be done with a group of friends or while watching a good Christmas movie!  Enjoy and as always

Happy Sewing and Merry Christmas,
Linda