Since 1984 Ron and Barbara Goldkorn have kept Austin, TX in stitches with their store Sew Much More. Recently I made not only my first trip to Austin, but had the pleasure of meeting many Sew Much More customers in my SCHMETZ: Get To The Point classes. We had a ball in class!
Sew Much More is an outstanding store winning many industry awards for machine sales and customer service. For sure customers are in very good hands with the knowledgable and jovial staff. I was surrounded by creative sewing experts that not only love to sew, but love to share their passion of sewing -beginning to expert levels.
Enjoy a few pics from Sew Much More!
By the way BBQ is mighty fine in Austin! I will be back for stitchin' and BBQ.
Yesterday with comfortable sandals, I grabbed my husband and walked through the sunny street of quilts... hundreds of quilts. The sun was shining and good riddance to that nasty wind. It's summer quilt season! Right on Main Street of my local community, Village of Oswego and Prairie Stitches Quilt Shoppe set up the first of many - I hope - Celebration of Quilts Festival. Block off the traffic, offer food, fabrics and a special guest and watch quilters laugh and plan their next quilt projects.
100's of Quilts on Main Street
Modern quilts, traditional quilts and every kind of quilt in between. Viewers were surrounded by colors and patterns.
Edyta Sitar Captures the Attention of Quilters
Around the corner on a patch of grass, a tent and 200 to 300 quilters gathered to marvel at over 50 quilts by Edyta Sitar, quilting star, author and designer from Marshall, MI. Edyta owns and designs for Laundry Basket Quilts. Edyta loves flowers and nature and uses both as inspiration for her quilt patterns, books and Moda fabric lines.
Edyta and Me
I had just seen Edyta in Kansas City at International Quilt Market where she was promoting her newest book Scrappy Firework Quilts and Moda fabric lines. I'm pretty certain she found it hard to recognize me in that goofy hat - but the sun was shining!
Triple Stripes, My Favorite Quilt of the Day
My favorite quilt of the day was this Triple Stripes, pieced by Anita Marsh and quilted by Dan Kolbe. I could feel this quilt humming a rhythm while lime green ginkgo leaves tickled the colorful batik fabrics.
Prairie Stitches Quilt Shoppe Better Homes and Gardens Quilt Sampler Featured Shop 2011
Let the celebration of summer begin! Get out and support your local quilt shops. They work hard at bringing you the best fabrics, the best classes and the very best ideas to color your world with quilts. . . . .
Support Your Local Shops
and when you start sewing again, between all the quilt festivals and gardening projects, remember to change your needle!
Sew SCHMETZ!
Rhonda
www.prairiestitchesquiltshop.com
www.laundrybasketquilts.com
Spring International Quilt Market was more energetic and visually exciting than ever. Seems that around every corner I found beautiful fabrics, new patterns and friends of SCHMETZ. Quilt Market is a wholesale show, but I took about a 1,000 pics to share with you. So until I get all these pics organized, here are a few favorites to hold you till a photo gallery is in place.
Jim Suzio designed an exquisite dress from Ty Pennington's Impressions quilt fabric by Westminster Fabrics. That dress was a knock-out! Look for Ty's fabrics and more beautiful voiles from Westminster. Bravo to Jim for a breathtaking dress!
Jim Suzio's Dress using Ty Pennington Fabrics
Our friend Linda McGehee has been busy designing Queen of the Night for Hoffman California Fabrics. Linda's sense of color and movement is sure to inspire not only quilters, but garment sewers too. Linda's husband Jack models a shirt not only made by Linda, but using her fabrics.
Quilt Market is international for a reason. Retail buyers and designers from around the world trade here. Listen to Wenche from Norway talk about her designs called Northern Quilts.
Saw more modern quilts, embellishments and children clothing than ever - and sometimes a combination of all. Loved, loved, loved the adorable dress patterns by Bananafana. Below really look at the combination of fabrics, colors, trims and unmatched buttons. Delightful!
Bananafana Girls Dress Pattern
Finally I have to include a picture of me with the fabulous Mary Engelbreit! I have always loved Mary's whimsical, colorful and cheery designs. What an unexpected treat to meet her... and not only that, but she signed a wonderful ME print, a young girl concentrating on her sewing machine project. My first challenge was getting the print home without wrinkling or tearing, now I am on the hunt for the perfect frame. Mary has a beautiful fabric line called Flutterby by Andover Fabrics.
Mary Engelbreit and Me
If you have time, move on over to You Tube to view several short SCHMETZneedles videos I made from the Quilt Market floor. I interview Tula Pink, Jackie Robinson, Denise Schmidt with more videos on the way. I was surrounded not only by visual bliss, but by friends who also love to sew and quilt. All the fabrics, patterns and books I saw, you too can see soon in your local quilt, fabric and machine dealer shops.
Sew SCHMETZ!
Rhonda
Fabrics, designers, authors, editors . . . over the next three days I will be gloriously surrounded and energized by the creative ingenuity of International Quilt Market. This is a wholesale market melding the quilt industry with quilt retailers. Everyone is looking for the next best "must have" item. I will be viewing new patterns...
Betsy and Margaret MorninGlory Designs
talking to writers...
Karin Hellaby UK Quilt Shop Owner and Author showing her new title Pineapple Express
finding creative uses of ribbons and embellishments...
Ribbons, Ribbons and More Ribbons River Silks . . . Ribbons of course!
wishing I took more time to sew . . .
Love the chair and rug Sorry I don't remember the fabric vendor
and visiting with friends along the way . . .
My friend Zsuzsanna (right) is a Bernina dealer from Switzerland. Zsuzsanna always wears spectacular suits that she made. Check out the embroidery on her sleeve. Kathy Davis is signing her book.
International Quilt Market with all its creative talent and new products is a visual bliss that you will soon see in your local quilt shops. I'm off now for Kansas City, MO, The City of Fountains!
Meet Joi Mahon or as she likes to be called Designer Joi. You may have already seen Joi and her designs featured in Sew It All, Sew News, Wedding Essentials, Threads, Designs in Machine Embroidery to name just a few. She is a Baby Lock Love of Fashion National Spokes-Designer. Our paths first crossed in 2009 when she won the Passion for Fashion Live Fashion Design Challenge at the American Sewing Expo in Novi, MI. Really loved her undercover dress (The "secret agent" design challenge was to integrate a concealed recording device into the dress.) with its playful mix of stripes, polka dots and stripes.
Joi and I most recently met again in March at the Sewing with the Stars Love of Fashion Retreat, organized by Pam Cortese, owner of My Sewing and Vacuum Place in Santa Rosa. Joi designed a wonderful black lace top that was both sassy and stylish. Her students were so very pleased to finish their projects in less than half a day. Part of Joi's class instruction includes SCHMETZ needle education - especially the importance of changing the needle. Here is a a little clip of Joi talking about the importance of changing the needle.........
You will be seeing more of Joi. Look for her at sewing shows and for her appearance in an episode of Sew It All TV later this fall on PBS. Check out Joi's website.......... and remember to change your needle!
Sew SCHMETZ!
Rhonda
Last month I was Sewing With The Stars! Pam and Luigi Cortese, The Sewing Place in Santa Rosa, CA planned a delightful hands-on sewing retreat at the Double Tree Hotel in Rohnert Park. SCHMETZ: Get To The Point was my post lunch talk. Really, there is always someone giggling in the audience who learns that changing a needle really does make a positive difference in quality sewing.
Wish I could have stayed to sew some of the fantastic projects - Joi Mahon's fun lace top, Diane Aholt's travel suit bag.and more. Take a look at a few pics from just one day. Everyone loves stitching on their Baby Lock machines!
Last year when Pam planned this event, I thought visiting sunny California would be a terrific time to vacate cloudy, dreary winter weather in Chicago. Mother Nature sure has a few tricks up her sleeve. While I was in CA, Chicago was enjoying sunny 80 degree weather! Who can figure? Thanks Pam and Luigi for a delightful event! Your staff and customers, just cannot be beat! More pics and video to come!
Recently on a slow Sunday afternoon I humored myself with a quick and easy sewing project - a laundry bag. What could go wrong? From my stash a medium weight large print was lurking - a one yard cut. Perfect. I serged the raw edges, stitched the seams ...
Folded over the top edge and used a twin needle to stitch 2 rows of double stitching above and below the casing to secure the top of the bag.
For a nice clean finish, the bottom corners were squared and excess trimmed.
The laundry bag turned out terrific.
Sturdy fabric with all that twin stitching at the top is sure to endure heavy use.
The bag is ready for the drawstring.
Well, not all sewing projects turn out as planned. . . . .
After only one washing, this bag is all washed up! Fray city! The seams did not hold up . . . . although the double needle stitching held up fine. Such a simple project, what could go wrong? I should have used a wider seam allowance or better yet French or felled seams. Trying to resuscitate the bag with a larger seam allowance makes the bag too small, so will now have to recycle the usable fabric into another project.
It's time to return to my fabric stash!
