The good folks at Treadle want you to know that the Ponte Roma knit shrinks a good bit when it is washed (about 20%). This may not matter if you bought extra but if you are tall and need the whole of your cut you will be in trouble. If you bring your piece in during November (bring in your sales slip if you have it), they will take your old piece and cut a new one that accommodates the shrinkage. You will have to pay the difference but you will get a whole piece of cloth instead of two pieces. We hope this helps. It’s still beautiful fabric and well worth the trouble.
All Updated and Ready to Go
I’ve just completed updating all the class lists and schedules. I’m my own proofreader so please let me know of any errors you find. Speaking of errors, in scheduling new classes we realized we’re not being consistent with the fees. It’s something we strive to do so from now on you should see one or two hour classes for $10 per hour of instruction. For three or more hours the fee per hour goes down and probably not equally but we try. To make it up to those of you who paid before the change that means that anyone that paid $30 for the Button Pleated Cardigan Class or the Yoga Pant Class has a $5 credit with us. You may use it for Club fees or your next class or we will give you a refund check.
Give the new classes a look-see. We’re offering classes on Club days for those of you who want to make a day of it and we’re giving you a choice between two garments. The Oilcloth Shopping Bag would make a great gift for many. The fee is only $10 and then you’ll pay for each kit you make. We do some of the work for you. I’ll get a picture up soon.
Just to put closure on the October Fashion Sewing Clubs we saw some great Show and Tell or maybe “Sew and Tell”. Some of the information to be passed on:
-the Silhouette Trench Coat sleeves tend to run narrow
-chenillemagic.com is a local wholesale house (you can order online) that carries great minky
-keep your Stretch & Sew patterns-they don’t make them anymore
-hooter hiders (nursing coverups) make the greatest nursing mom gifts-see instructions at tadacreations.blogspot.com
And now on to the great sewing projects we’ve got in our heads after wandering through (and yes, buying some of) Treadle‘s great new fabrics. I must admit I felt guilty buying fabrics online when I saw all of the new bolts. Make the trip and support your local fabric supplier. It appears they’ve made an investment in making us happy-let’s do our part.
Sew On!
Zippered Bag Serger Project
Finally we have a picture for the zippered bag. It’s a great size for an iPod and accessories and it’s quilted to protect the contents. Apply the zipper, roll a hem and gather a ruffle, all with your serger. Click here to go to the class listing.

More Pictures

Kristin's jacket 
- Laurel’s dress
I realize how funny this looks now because the earlier post will show underneath this one. I was having technical difficulties with the size of the picture download but didn’t want to miss any of the garments so here are the rest and go to the previous post for more info.

October Club Pictures


We had a request for pictures from a snowbird that has already escaped the snow so we’ll give it a whirl. Let us know if you want us to continue. Of course, all the garments look better on our bodies… but the pictures may help if you are trying to duplicate what we’ve done. And if you didn’t make it to Club and would like to get more information on the garments, we can send the Club sheets to you. The cost for nonsubscribers is $3-subscribers will be sent Club sheets free for the asking. Unfortunately, I cannot send you all the laughs, show and tell and good stories that you missed by not being there personally. We missed that from you, too.



Hope to see you in November.
Pictures are continued in next post.
Keeping up
It’s amazing how quickly we get hooked on technology-my internet has been sketchy of late. But I’ve got a window here so a few things on which to follow up-I did make it to the Envision Style Show that kicked off the MN Fashion Week events. I got a friend to go with me and then ran into a Club member there! See Doreen’s comment. It was fun to be in a different crowd and I didn’t even use the earplugs that I had stashed in my purse at the advice of one of my kids. I only stayed for the first show and was surprised at all the fur-not that I object-there was just an abundance of it. My favorite designer was Peloria who had about five dresses all playing with the same theme of collars and asymmetry. I would certainly go again.
And my online fabric arrived this week! It’s Gorgeous and I can’t wait to get at the sewing of it.
We had four people make the Silhouette Yoga Pant at a class this week. Hands down approval of the Treadle (they are having a sale this week) Ponte Roma knit and the fit of the pattern. One student had her pants sewn in an hour. We hope to see them at Show and Tell this month.
Are you working on your list of classes to take at the Original Sewing and Quilting Expo? The first section of classes is even named “Fashion Sewing”. Lots of great things to learn and do.
Speaking of…I stopped at Creative Sewing in Apple Valley and since many of you may be Babylock serger owners or wannabees-they are having a Babylock educator in town next week, Oct. 9 & 10. Great time to see the new serger or maybe get a deal on feet. I will be there.
Hope you are staying warm and finding comfort in your sewing endeavors. See some of you next week at Club.
Knits on Sale!
I’m taking the plunge and trying out buying fabric online. I’ve been looking for just the right geometric knit to complete my outfit and when I opened the email from Gorgeous Fabrics, there it was-and on sale. So I just sent the order off. We’ll see how long it takes and all but it’s very exciting to find what you’re looking for. There are many knits to choose from-solids, patterns, wools, silks and, of course, poly’s.
Just in case you should be tempted-try filling in Material Girls when the form asks you how you heard about Gorgeous Fabrics. See what happens??
And Then There Were Pictures
New to the site and ready to enhance your class selection-it’s photos!

A picture doesn’t do justice but Treadle just got in these great colors of Ponte Roma knit. Great for a pair of “Not Just for Yoga” Pants (check it out in Class listings.
Or maybe you’d rather make them in something a bit more casual like the French terry with stretch.

Either one would be nice in the Button Pleated Cardigan.

Just a few of the new classes to investigate. Pictures just opened up a whole new way of communicating.
October Schedule and Classes
We’ve got dates for October Fashion Sewing Club meetings and now you can even pay online through PayPal. So if you didn’t get a subscription paid for last month you can do it here. We swapped the Saturday Treadle meeting for a weekday morning as suggested and rearranged just a bit at Associated:
October Club meetings are:
Associated Sewing/Lyndale
Wednesday, October 7 at 6:30
Thursday, October 8 at 10:30
Saturday, October 10 at 10:30
Treadle Yard Goods/St. Paul
Tuesday, October 13 at 10:30 and 6:30
We’ve also got some fun classes which we hope will appeal to many of you. Each month we’ll offer just a few classes and see how it goes. At this point only one class will be offered at Treadle during the afternoon on the Treadle Fashion Sewing Club meeting day. Let us know if you want more.
The rest of the classes will be offered at Associated Sewing in Bloomington.
All classes will be paid for through Material Girls and listed only on our website. We hope this will avoid confusion.
We need a minimum of 5 attendees so ask a friend!
PayPal Option Added
We’re approaching cruising altitude as we’ve incorporated PayPal as an option for paying for classes and Fashion Sewing Club online. We hope this takes the place of handling (and paying for) a credit card merchant account. Who will be the brave first soul to try it out? Maybe there’s even a reward for the first person to use PayPal. You read it here!
Oh, there will probably be some rough air yet but getting this piece of the business put in place is a big step towards convenience for our customers (you) and hopefully great record keeping for us. We hope it works for you. If not, there’s still the option to pay in person or send a check. You’ll find your options spelled out wherever there’s an option to register/pay. If you find problems, let us know.