I hope you are in the sunshine somewhere-it’s beautiful!! Speaking of beautiful-here are the remaining sew and tell pics. Another great month of sewing!
Happy sewing for February!!
Last of January Photos
Tag: Marcy Tilton
Last chance for October inspiration!!
Wednesday, 10/12, Ginny’s in Rochester will be our host-she has great new fabric and extra discounts on wool to boot! That’s Wednesday, October 12 at 10:30 am. Ginny’s address is 211 Broadway Av. S., Rochester. Bring a folding chair if sitting is important to you :)) Hope to see you!
And to keep you till tomorrow, here are some pics from our Saturday meeting last week-great quilt backdrop, huh?
Back in Portland after the second day at Puyallup 2014 and still no snow!!!
From Roving Reporter Kay Dole
My second day at the Puyallup Sewing Expo was as busy as the first! Although I didn’t spend as much money at the Marcy Tilton booth today as I did yesterday!
The four classes I attended today included one on monograms to use with my embroidery machine, a bag the jacket class with Connie Crawford, an industry insider class with Louise Cutting and an embellishing class by Barbara Crawford ( no relation to Connie). Lots of good ideas and practical information. I had a personal fitting with Connie Crawford which was a great experience as I have been focusing on fit with the last few things I have made. Very helpful.
But the highlight of the day for me was the fashion show by Linda Lee (right, above) of The Sewing Workshop and Louise Cutting (left, above) of Cutting Line Designs. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Their designs are so beautifully created with the home sewer in mind who wants to look great at any age and of any shape or size. (Patterns are listed at end of post in case you want to see how well you know the pattern lines-or you don’t know them well and would like to).
Louise has several new patterns and I don’t know about you, but I find that I don’t always visualize her designs well from the pattern pictures so seeing them made up is especially helpful. One of the other members of our group said the same thing so I don’t think it is just me. Her clothes were a mix of casual and more professional pieces using the same pattern but with changes in fabrics and colors. I am anxious to try “Snap to It” and “A New Angle“!
Linda’s newest pattern “Helix Tee” looks interesting to sew with only two main pieces. The pants in this pattern had a nice narrow leg which looked very flattering while not being too tight. She revisited several older patterns while updating her approach to them. Especially interesting was the Origami Skirt which I would not have considered until today. Take a look at these pictures and see what you think.
So all in all if you get a chance to come to Puyallup next year, do consider it. I am heading to the airport now to take the red eye flight home, tired and loaded down with 11 new pieces of fabric, 10 new patterns and a lot of sewing to do!!
(If you haven’t seen enough pictures yet-check out Marcy Tilton’s special Expo edition newsletter.)
Patterns shown above:
1-3-Louise Cutting, Dimension Jacket
4-Linda Lee, Alex Top
5-Linda Lee,Eureka Top, Plaza Pant
6-Louise, Anything but Ordinary Jacket, Artist in Motion Top, One seam Pant-Narrow
7-Linda, Sienna Shirt, Mix It Tank, E-dress Skirt
8-Linda,Opal Jacket, Mimosa Top, Plaza Pant
9-Louise, Fun With Fabric Top, One Seam Pant
10-Linda,Balboa Topper, Mix It Tank, Ikina Pants
11-Linda, Helix Tee and Pant
12-Linda, Trio Top Adaptation, Eureka Skirt
13-Linda, Helix Tee and Pant
(How did you do, Cheri and Kathy? :))
The fashions are great at the Puyallup Sewing Expo 2014 and best of all, there isn’t any snow!!
From Roving Reporter Kay Dole-
Joining a “Sew Many Options Tour” with Marsha McClintock for the sewing expo has turned out to be a good decision. Lee, from the Saturday Fashion Sewing Club, did this last year and recommended it. My day started with a two hour bus trip from Portland and a winning ticket for one of the door prizes on the way. Now if only my luck would hold out for one of those new sewing machines being given out at the expo…….
Classes, fashion shows and shopping filled the day. A leather sewing class by Peggy Sagers was filled with new information including that you can wash leather in the washing machine. Who knew?
The first fashion show I attended was narrated by Patti Palmer of Palmer/Pletsch fame and featured patterns from McCalls, Butterick and Vogue. Lots of dresses which seemed to fall into two major categories: form fitting sheaths or twirly full skirted dresses. Most were sleeveless which is not always the most flattering for those of us of a certain age. Trends were described as including either brightly colored solids or water colored or splashy prints. Dresses with interesting details were also featured. Check out these pictures and see what you think.
Also, the fashion show by Marcy and Katherine Tilton was delightful. Their choices are always interesting and include styles we can all wear while still including some edgy items only for the brave. See a few pictures from their show.
I did find a few pieces of fabric while shopping at their booth. Also, if any of you follow the blog “Communing with Fabric”, its author, Shams, was shopping while I was there and we picked two of the same fabrics. She has good taste!
I found some things at Linda Lee’s booth as well as a new pattern from Louise Cutting. Diane Erickson has some beautiful new upcycled items that are fun to see. She is so creative and is using Tee Juice markers to draw and embellish items. I had to buy some to try.
All for now as I have to rest up for tomorrow. They are predicting some snow, just can’t seem to get away from it.
June and July Club Photos Are Finally Online
Whew! Apologies for taking sooooo long to get these posted but hopefully they are worth the wait. Without further ado, here are some photos from Show and Tell.
As always, click on “Garment Photos and Club Sheets above and see what you’ve missed or remember what you forgot!
August photos will be up very soon!
Reporting from Down Under
Lucia (some of you may know her from Treadle and others as the serger teacher at Make It Sew) nabbed a great gig for house sitting in New Zealand and misses Fashion Sewing Club so here’s her Show and Tell and a bit more…
Hi,Kristin, Debbie, Laurel and all of the Treadle Material Girls group!
The first week of every month since I arrived I’ve been determined to write. Yeah; well, finally I’m getting to it. Miss my garden terribly (hope there is some shred of life left after the inferno), and, the Material Girls meetings – other than that I’d be happy to stay here. I’m 10 minutes walk from the ferry into downtown Auckland. Lots of walking opportunities – up very steep hills – the only kind of hills they have in N.Z. Just saw the tax value for the apt. I’m in and it’s unbelievably $1 Million. It’s nice but not that nice! Property here is very expensive. Greater Auckland has about 2 million people – a big place. $500,000 buys you a very, very small, 40-50 yr. old place.
Here are some pictures off my balcony –
I’ve been sewing up a storm with a Brother machine – no Serger – boo-boo. Tackled the chevron striped pattern from the cover of Threads – July issue. Made the sleeveless top below to test out the pattern and my stripe matching ability. Yikes, what a job. I am going to try the dress this week. Made a couple Quincy tops (Sewing Workshop). I like the window pane knit fabric – probably not the best pattern for a check but it turned out okay. Am disappointed with the wool selections here – lots of mixes like 40% wool and 60% acrylic. Found a discount fabric store where I paid $3/ meter for the dotted knit top fabric but it’s hard to get to. I’ll have to wrangle a ride back there some weekend.
The knit top is a Marcy Titon t-shirt with a Katherine Tilton double collar. Loved making the collar – so much fun.
Just joined a website from U.K. – Wardrobe unlock’d – ever heard of it?
Summer sounds like it’s been so much fun in Minnesota. I just got up to turn the heat on! When the sun is out it warms up nicely by 1 or 2 p.m. to around 58. Otherwise it’s pretty much heavy sweater weather – but I am not complaining at all. If I get too cold I just throw on my Eddie Bauer “can-take-anything” raincoat and go splash around in the rain.
Lucia
P.S. Am open to any introductions you may want to make on my behalf to single, millionaires who are interested in spending 1/2 of each year in New Zealand, the land of Frodo, Peter Jackson and the occasional earthquake.
Great to hear from you, Lucia. Thanks for sharing!
Coffee Break Perusing
Guest Post from Kenzie Carlson
Dear Sewists,
Here are a few examples of how I use Pattern Review (patternreview.com).
I’m having a great time experimenting with making knit tee’s in a non-bias fashion using the bias Burda pattern 7509. I wondered if there’s a simple men’s tee pattern…not that I want to switch gears to make something for my husband at this time. So, I looked at Pattern Review during my coffee break from sewing.
I found this posting that has directions on how to make a design on freezer paper, iron it to the shirt, and spray paint. Now, how cool is that!
I noticed that this sewer has 85 reviews, so I took a look to see what other creative things she has:
Then, THIS Amy Butler bag took my eye because MOST Amy Butler bags are made with colorful quilting material. This had wording and looked different! Turns out, it’s made with rice bags, plus there’s an inside insulated pocket for refrigerated items when using for market purchases. (This is a very creative sewer!!)
Weeks ago, killing time looking at Accessories on Pattern Review, I came across this Obi Bag from Sewing Workshop. Turns out the pattern is OOP, but by reading the reviews, I think I can duplicate it. I found material and it’s in the hopper, waiting to be made.
This sewer has 60 reviews and here’s more inspiration to tack onto my “to do” sewing list:
As I’ve mentioned before, daily (usually!), I scan the Review Gallery (under Sewing Reviews on the home page, 1/2 way down the left side) for inspiration. Pattern Review has a variety of garments and you never know what will be posted.
I look at other websites/facebook, too, such as Tilton and Sagers, which are wonderful for ideas especially on different looks for one pattern; how to change things up to get the most out of one pattern. To me, this is extremely important because the pattern work of fitting is the most time consuming. Once something fits (darts in right place, shorten/lengthen lines adjusted, etc), then the fun can begin!
Coffee break done – back to sewing!
October Fashion Sewing Club
Thanks to everyone who attended! Another wonderful month of sew inspiring show and tell! I’m going to show you those pictures first. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.
The children’s jumper and doll can also be seen at TaDa Creations on etsy. Amy is cranking out dolls and clothes now that the kids are in school. She was a wealth of information-the quilt store knits (Michael Miller and maybe Moda) shrink. I confirmed that with Tracy at The Sampler. She said 5-6″ per yard. Amy recommended Chez Ami as a source for great kids’ knits. The site has clothing for sale but also sells the fabric used in her garments.
And now for the Material Girls’ garments:
Kristin played around with two versions of a brown ponte roma (at Hancock) skirt, a long vest and was also inspired by Katherine Tilton to make the most of a “design opportunity” while modifying one of Marcy Tilton’s tee patterns.
Debbie was inspired by the August/September Threads’ blouse variations and an idea in Quick and Easy Sewing With Your Serger.
Laurel flashed us with a bit of red-I wish I could have had a video of it. We all agreed she should wear more of the color.
Well, that’s it for October. Bernina is now carrying Swedish Monster paper for tracing patterns. The calendar is full of classes-check them out if you are interested. Let me know if there are glitches in the website as you are my proofreaders 😛
Enjoy the leaves and happy sewing.
September Fashion Sewing Club Photos
It was so good to see all of you again. I think we all missed getting together in August! We started out at The Sampler and had a fun group with a few newbies. The group that came to Hancock/Southtown seemed happy to be around fabric and notions and the Treadle morning group had no chairs to spare! There was so much creative energy we had to turn on the air conditioning.
Show and Tell was wonderful. Maybe the extra month gave everyone more time but I’m hoping we keep seeing all of your good work. There are a few pictures below and you can always send us a photo of your creation and we’ll post it.
A good source for outdoor fabric is Rockywoods-supplex, ripstop, etc. We also have a good place to donate fabric. Bring it to any classes and we’ll get it delivered.
Debbie wanted to show the versatility of the Yoga Pant by Peggy Sagers. They’re perfect for dressing up or down. We’ve changed the class to 2 hours and $20.
Laurel and I were reminded how important a muslin (or toile) can be. I was fooled into thinking I knew how a Marcy Tilton would fit me and Laurel figured Cynthia Guffey’s pattern would be error proof. We’ll both be stocking up on muslin 😛
So here they are with a bit more info than usual. The Club sheets are now included here on the website. Click on Club sheets in the top bar and September 2010 should show-click on that and you’ll find this month’s printout or find it in the far right column under Pages. We still think personally attending Club is the most inspiring and fun but it doesn’t always work into the schedule. This also makes it easy to find information you need when you can’t find your sheets. Is this helpful? Do you like the inclusion of pattern numbers?
The fall colors are coming out and the weather is cooling (but the sun is so beautiful today). Hope you are inspired to make yourself or someone else a warm garment.
Procrastination as an art form
If you subscribe to that belief then I am an artist-just kidding! Procrastination is one of my strong suits and this being very close to the end of the year, I have a few ends I really must tie up.
First off, Material Girls is on Marcy Tilton’s list of websites to check out (click here to see her December newsletter). Thank you, Marcy! Her newsletter is great and includes more Paris info and some great things that I missed.
Second, the new Threads magazine features our favorite ponytail holder technique and alot of other very cool ideas.
And third is the first installment of the December Club garments. Debbie’s pictures have been in my possession for longer than I care to admit so here they are. If weather or Christmas chaos kept you from getting to Club, you can get the sheets by email for free if were are a subscriber–$3 if you not. Click here to email.
Laurel and Kristin’s garments will be added before 2010 🙂
Material Girl Sewing 