International Quilt Market 2012 ~ Houston

Now that my October Series has wrapped, I’m ready to get back to sewing, gardening, and all the rest.

I have a couple of new tutorials in the works, another road trip to share, my fall garden, and lots of sewing.

Before I get to all of the above, I want to share the latest from the International Quilt Market in Houston.  Which I attended this past weekend.

 

This year I decided to attend the Friday Schoolhouse Series.  This is where many of the vendors do a 15-20 minute review of what they are offering this year. 

There were 2300 vendors at Quilt Market, so obviously, I didn’t go to 2300 classes.  But, I did attend a few and now have the inside scoop on what’s new in the world of sewing.



One thing I noticed this year that had been absent in previous years is the embracing of digital patterns.

Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom is now offering ePatterns through stores.  This is a huge step in a new direction for sewing world.

Why does this matter?  Well, think of a local sewing and quilting store.

Inventory decisions are made at Quilt Market. Now, these stores only have to carry a poster of Sis Boom patterns rather than shelves of patterns customers may or may not want to buy.  Good for the designer ~ good for the retailer.

That is how your local store will be able to stay financially afloat and still provide you with tons of pattern choices.  Everyone wins.

The other change I noticed was the embracing of garment fabrics.

Keep in mind that this is a Quilt Market, but this year many of the designers were also showing rayon’s, velveteen’s, and voile’s in their fabric collections.

This is HUGE.  I think it signals the resurgence in garment sewing.

Look for garment fabrics from designers like Amy Butler, Valori Wells, and Anna Maria Horner.

At previous Markets, the only type of garment sewing was aimed at quilters and looked like this.

 

I don’t know about you, but I’m NEVER wearing a jacket that could double as a quilt in my guest room.

This is more my style:

These garments are unique AND gorgeous.  Did you happen to notice the silk dupioni in the hoodie on the far right?  That’s what I’m talking about.  Cute, original, elegant, chic.



One of the best things about QM is getting to see the different designer’s booths.  Like the one above from Amy Butler or Anna Maria Horner’s below.

Lots and lots of colorful booths.

David Butler {Parson’s Gray} had a little something for the guys:

And one booth wasn’t a booth at all, it was a campsite!

But, hands down, the best part about QM is getting to be with your tribe.  Everyone speaks sewing.  Everyone loves sewing.

I made new friends like Sarah and Caroline.  Visit them and show some love.  These were the nicest girls and I am happy to call them new friends.

 
I also got to meet and visit with Meg McElwee of Sew Liberated.  Meg couldn’t be nicer.  We connected through both sewing and homeschooling.

Meg is just starting to homeschool; I am a homeschooling pioneer.  Hang in there Meg, it only gets better! 

And, she has some awesome new patterns.  Watch for this great dress pattern and her new Skinny Jeans Pattern.  No zipper jeans!

And then, at the very end of the day, I ran into Dana, who is one of my readers and pattern customers.

Could it get any better?

TUTORIAL: Adorable Acorn Coasters

I’m continuing my Fall Projects theme in hopes that Fall will find us soon in ATX.

Also, I will be focusing on one theme during the entire month of October.

Every day I will be talking about the In’s and Out’s of one subject.

But, today I’m giving you one last tutorial for the road.
 

So, pull out your scraps and let’s get started.  No need to break the bank on this project.

Supplies:

• 1/2 Yard of an Orangey Fall-colored fabric {or fat quarter}
• 1/2 Yard of a Brownish Fall-colored fabric {or fat quarter}
• 1/4 Yard of Quilt Batting
• Thread

Step 1:  Download and print the Adorable Acorn template.  Trim the design.

 

Step 2: Out of the orangey fabric cut out 2 acorn bottoms.

Out of the browish fabric cut 2 acorn tops. 

Out of the batting cut out 1 acorn top and 1 acorn bottom.

Step 3:  Place acorn bottoms right side together.  Then lay the batting against the wrong side of one of the acorn bottoms.

Step 4:  Using a 1/4” seam allowance, stitch sides together and leave the top open for turning.

Turn acorn bottom right side out and press.  Set aside.

Step 5:  In order for the acorn top batting to fit better you will need to trim off the stem at the top and trim away 1/4” from the bottom.

Step 6: Using the same method from Step 3, place acorn tops right sides together. Then lay the batting against one of the wrong sides of the acorn tops.

The batting will be 1/4” shorter.  This is where you will begin the stitching. Stitch the sides and top, but leave the bottom open for turning.

Step 7:  Turn acorn top right side out.  Press under the raw edges on the bottom.

Place the acorn top over the acorn bottom.  Pin to hold.

Step 8:  Now for the fun part!  Look through your sewing machine’s decorative stitches.  Choose one that can swing from side to side, such as a zigzag.

You want to be able to catch both fabrics when attaching.

Stitch the acorn top to acorn bottom.

Wasn’t that fun and easy!  Now repeat until you have whole house full of acorn coasters.

My Little Pin Village

When it comes to sewing pins, I prefer the It Takes a Village approach.

No, I don’t have a weird pin-fixation.  All of these pins have a purpose in sewing.  Use the wrong pin and you could ruin your project.

The thing with pins is they sort of all look alike and if you just throw them in a pin box you are likely to use the incorrect one when you get ready to sew.

So, to better keep up with my pins, I’ve devised an inexpensive system.

When you purchase sewing pins, they usually come in a plastic box and look like this.

A disaster if your pin box gets knocked off your sewing table and falls onto the floor.  I make no confessions, here!

There are 75 ball point pins in this box, each 1.5” long.  These pins have a specific purpose.  They are designed for sewing on knits.
 
If I were to use a Universal pin, it would leave a small hole in my knit fabric.
 
If I use a ball point pin, it doesn’t leave a hole.  You always want to use ball points when sewing with knits.
 
But, these pins look just like my other pins, so I need a way to keep them separate.

To keep my ball points separate, but available for knit sewing, I purchased a purple tomato pin cushion for $1.00 at Joann’s (w/coupon).
 
I labeled it with a fine point Sharpy.  That’s how easy it is.

 

I use this cute little bird pin cushion to hold my round-head universal pins.  These pins are 1.75” long and need something deep to stab them into.

 

I use my Universal pins for most wovens. I keep these pins separate because of the yellow head.  It is plastic and would melt if I ironed over it.

I have another set of Universal pins, but they have a flat, no-melt head.  They also are 1.75” long and need something deep, as well.

I keep these pins in a large tomato pin cushion which costs about $2 at Joann’s (with a coupon).
 

Anytime you sew on sheer fabrics or silks you need to use extra sharp pins.
 
I keep these guys on a magnetic pin cushion.  Since I don’t use them that often, they can stay put in a drawer or on the back of my sewing table.

OK, I wasn't completely honest, here.  These pins are S-H-A-R-P and I always draw blood when I over-handle them.  The magnetic pin cushion is the best choice for a blood-free project.

It would be easier if all of my pins were on magnetic pin cushions, but I’m always a little concerned about having magnets close by my computerized sewing machines.

Since these aren’t used every day, they are fine on the magnetic pin holder.

Let’s not forget sewing machine needles.  If you use a heavy duty needle for something like hemming jeans, you don’t want to just toss it after one use.
 
Here’s my way of keeping up with barely used machine needles.  An inexpensive pin cushion and a fine point Sharpy are all you need.

I really like the tomato pin cushions for keeping all of my pins organized.

For one, the little strawberry has a purpose.  It is filled with emery sand and will sharpen your pins.

The best reason for using them is that they come in a variety of sizes and colors, making it easy to keep your pins separated.
 
This makes pin-a-holics, like myself, very happy.

Useful Tools–The Tailoring Board

With this post I am beginning an ongoing series that introduces you to unusual sewing tools that you might find very useful in your sewing future.

This odd-shaped piece of wood can actually be one of the most valued tools in your sewing room.

It’s called a tailoring board and you use it to iron really hard to reach pointy seams.

Say you want to try one of my super easy pillow cover tutorials here, here, and here.

You will want to press open the seams but, once the pieces are sewn together, you cannot get the pillow cover on your ironing board.

Well, now you can if you have a tailor’s board.
 

Once you’ve conquered pillow-making, you may want to try something more challenging, such as a collared shirt.

That is when the tailor’s board really becomes a life saver.

Below, I’ve stitched up a practice collar to show you how it works.
 

In order to get really nice pointed corners, you will need to press open the seams.

But, there is no way you can open this collar up on an ironing board.

That’s not good; but this is.  See how nicely the collar fits over the tailor’s board.

It is perfectly made for this situation.

I think that this tool is at its best when used on the two collar side seams.

I can’t think of any other way to press open these tricky little beggars.

Check out this perfect little collar.  No magic here, just a simple wooden tool.



If you want to step up your garment sewing a notch, then this is a great tool to add to your sewing supplies.

The flat bottom is actually called {and I’m not kidding, either} a clapper.  I will post about that another day.

So, where do you get a tailoring board?  Ideally, the best ones are passed down from a family member or found at an estate sale. 

Occasionally, you can get a great deal on Ebay.  That would be my first stop.

Periodically, Amazon carries tailoring boards.  I purchased mine through an Amazon seller and paid a decent price.

Nancy’s Notions carries a super deluxe tailoring board with a removable pad, but it’s a little pricey.  I’d put this on my Christmas list.

Or, you can get someone really handy to make you one.  I’m sure there are directions for this somewhere out there on woodworking blogs.

I’m Sew Excited

Hello, my name is Leslie and I’m addicted to sewing machines.

On Saturday, I had the privilege of getting to see Bernina’s latest and greatest sewing machines and accessories.
 
Bad idea for an addict, but we addicts cannot help ourselves.

About two years ago, I was given a sweet deal on this cutie as a companion for this baby.  Along with my serger, I was set.

So, why would I even consider another machine.  Stay with here, because in the world of sewing, this is big news.

Bernina’s latest and greatest is called the 780 and it looks like this with the embroidery unit attached:

Yes, it’s sleek and modern. But the real news is in the bobbin.
 
My Bernina 640 has a rotary hook in the bobbin which allows it to make a stitch up to 9mm wide.  This is huge when you get into decorative stitching.
 
I love me some 9mm stitching!

However, the rotary hook can be a little fussy and occasionally has to be tuned up.  Not a deal-breaker, but not perfect, either.  And don’t get me wrong, this is a sewist’s dream machine!

On the other hand, my 240 has the CB bobbin hook, which is perfection itself,  making lovely stitches every time.  It’s only downfall is it cannot make a 9mm wide stitch.

I always say owning this machine is like winning the sewing machine lottery.  I blow it little kisses occasionally because I love it so much.
 

With such sewing perfection at my fingertips, why would I even consider another machine?

Well, what Bernina did on the 780 was combine the bobbin peanut butter and with the bobbin chocolate to give us a totally new bobbin system.

Taking the best of the rotary bobbin system and combining it with the best of the cb hook bobbin, genius.
 
So, for you non-bobbin techies, what this means is the bobbin thread doesn’t twist and you get a perfect straight stitch every time.
 
Did I mention the bobbin holds 80% MORE THREAD THAN ANY OTHER BOBBIN AROUND!  That feature alone gives me chills.

But wait, sewing fiends, there’s more.  The 700 series (along with the 500 and 800 series) is now compatible with something called DesignWorks.

 

Think of this as a Silhouette on steroids.  It cuts, paints and does crystals all through the embroidery system.
 

   

Check out this jacket done with the Cutworks, Paintworks, and Crystalworks tool.

This is a design that was loaded into the machine.

Now, the design is being painted using the Paintworks tool.  On-the-embroidery-unit.  This IS a whole new world, my friends.

I’m not going to gloss over here; this set up is expensive.  So, why would I go on and on about something that most sewist’s could never afford.

One day, not too far off, a lot of what you are seeing here will be available at lower price points AND you will be able to afford it.

And that, dear friends, is why I am sew excited.