I love meeting new people. I especially love learning the stories of quilters and sewists. While waiting for the 2013 QuiltCon exhibition doors to open in Austin, TX, I had a delightful encounter with Sandra Benoit. Our conversation opened while admiring each others eye glasses. Mine are Italian, but Sandra's glasses are not only French, she bought them in person . . . in Paris. Voila! Sandra loves to quilt and as a former math teacher incorporates mathematics into her quilt designs. In fact she designs quilts in Excel spreadsheets!
Sandra's iPad was loaded with pics of her quilts: A soothing, reflective Japanese garden quilt, a biblical quilt with each block telling a bible verse or story and a wedding quilt for her Islamic friend. In this video Sandra explains the thought process in the creation of her Islamic floor tile inspired quilt and develops an eight point star using flying geese. Really!
Thanks Sandra for your inspiring conversation and quilts. Next time I open my Excel spreadsheet to plug in numbers, I will think of you designing beautiful, thoughtful and mathematical quilts.
Sew SCHMETZ!
Rhonda
PS: Sandra's favorite needles are SCHMETZ Microtex/Sharp 70/10 and Universal 70/10.
If you work on a variety of sewing projects, most likely you are stitching with different types of needles. Did you know that five SCHMETZ needle types are color coded for easier identification?
I know I can hear you now... you can't read the needle size on the shank. Sorry to say, you are not alone. Yes, dig out that magnifying glass.
Sew SCHMETZ!
Rhonda www.SCHMETZneedles.com
National Quilting Day has expanded to Worldwide Quilting Day! From the USA to Canada, UK, Australia and beyond. Local quilt shops will celebrate everything quilty!
Here's a great way for you to celebrate. Every day starting February 16th leading up to a big event on March 16th, great prizes of fabrics and sewing notions will be given away - including a fabulous SCHMETZ tote bag filled with a SCHMETZ Quilting Gift Box, Needle Disposal Box and a "I Love SCHMETZ Needles" button. Yes, goodies that every quilter can use. For the online sweepstakes visit http://www.worldwidequiltingday.com and https://www.facebook.com/WorldWideQuiltingDay to find out how to win.
Quilters are invited into their local quilt shops to stitch strip quilts on March 16th in the 7 Summits Strip Quilt Challenge. Shops are challenged to quilt to the top of Mount McKinley with 152 quilts or even 218 quilts to reach Mount Everest. That's a lot of quilts to stitch in a day!
Support your local quilt shop and join the fun!. . . . And don't forget to change your needle!
Sew SCHMETZ!
Rhonda
That's not just a little piece of steel making your machine stitches. German engineering designs, calculates, tests and inspects the SCHMETZ needle. Take for instance the eye, did you know that needles have different eye shapes?
The most popular needle, the Universal, has an eye that is 40% the width of the blade. Really! There are three other needles with larger eyes, the Embroidery and even more pronounced is the elongated eye of the Metallic and Topstitch needles.
Now what does a larger eye mean? There is less friction on the thread as it passes through the eye. Ever sew with a thread that breaks or tends to shred? Guess what, use a needle with a larger eye. If you have old thread or maybe a poor quality thread, use a needle with a larger eye. The thread and needle work hard and fast. Help them out when you can with a larger eye.
I'm really excited to tell you about a couple of our evening classes - that's hands-on machine classes - taking place at the SCHMETZ Sew-cial Bloggers Boot Camp. During the day we will be so intent listening to our digital goddesses - as mentioned in last week's post - that we will need a immediate creative release. Our four classes begin at 6:00PM on February 27th on the Puyallup fairgrounds. That's right! The very same machines used for the Sewing and Stitchery Expo. Boot Camp registration includes your choice of one of these classes:
Embroider On Air - Freestanding Lace
Urban Threads
Tickle your embroidery fancy . . . or create a new fancy. New embroiderers welcome!
Learn how to embroider on air - or nearly air - and make a freestanding lace piece with an embroidery machine. Supplies will be provided for you to make earrings, a choker, or a moustache on a necklace. Learn this fun technique for stitching freestanding lace!
Blackwork Sewing Machine Cover or Wall Quilt
Generation Q Magazine
Quilt... Sew... Live... Breathe... Is it a sewing machine cover or a wall hanging? You decide.
Embroidery is the next big thing in our q-niverse. The GenQ staff has tracked this trend for years and jumped into the fray. Using scraps, strips and a custom-designed embroidery panel, create a sewing machine cover - or wall quilt if you prefer - featuring your hand embroidery. Note: This project will not be completed in class, so you will need a small piece of batting and backing fabric when you get home.
Pintuck Napkins
ARMOMMY
Pintucking is a piece of cake . . . and just in time for a slice of Mom's cake!
Make every meal special with adorable napkins. Yes, even Mom can find time to stitch these napkins from fabulous fabrics. ARMOMMY is the vision of the mother daughter team of Rae
Friis and Jane Kelly. Jane has been a lifelong sewer and
crafter. Rae brings a creative, modern eye to the duo. Her love
of resourcefulness and whimsy make ARMOMMY’s designs a jumping off point to
bring your own brand of fun into motherhood. That’s us in a nutshell:
inspired design and creative mischief for every Mom.
The fourth class is still a secret, but I will "serge ahead" with the description soon.
I hope you join us at the SCHMETZ Sew-cial Bloggers Boot Camp on February 27th which also includes free admittance to opening day at the Sewing and Stitchery Expo and access to the first day of 80 One Needle Classes. Did I mention great goodie bags!
Wow! I'm excited about our daytime line up of diverse, creative and inspirational digital goddesses that will "tell it like it is" at the SCHMETZ Sew-cial Bloggers Boot Camp. Here's a glimpse into their lectures. Hang on to your hats because these gals have moxie to share with you!
+Jake Finch, Co-Founder and Publisher of Generation Q Magazine
Pinterest: Friends with Marketing Benefits and
Kickstarter: Kick Your Way into Non-Fat Funding
Pinterest is the social media craze overflowing with creative people seeking the latest and greatest. Come laugh with us as we find out about the good, the bad and the glory of using Pinterest for your evil creative blogging purposes. Then, we will look at how Kickstarter can be a blogger's answer to those funding prayers for that next business idea you have dreamed of launching. It is a lot of helpful info packed into a fun session, complete with chocolate!
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+Sarai Mitnick, Owner and Designer, Colette Patterns
Know Your Audience: How To Learn From Your Readers
What can good design teach us about growing a blog or small business? Sarai, founder of Colette Patterns and former user experience researcher for Goggle, shows how the universal principles of design can help you to communicate meaningfully, increase your online presence and engage with your audience.
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+Angela Mae Jorgenson, Etsy Extraordinaire
Crack the Google Code!
Angela cracked the Google code. It wasn't easy - it took lots of trial and error - and she sometimes didn't shower or eat for days on on end - but she cracked it! That is how she moved up to #1 in the Google search engine - and sold over $100,000 of handmade wedding merchandise on Etsy in her first 14 months. Angela has been in the Etsy trenches - and has real opinions on what you should name your Etsy store, how you should handle shipping and how to turn every customer into repeat business. . . . your success depends of cracking the code!
Urban Threads: Purveyor of Fine Machine & Hand Embroidery Designs
Niamh talks about her new and innovative approach to both machine and hand embroidery. Hear how social media marketing has played a big role in the website's growth, as well as what it's like to take risks with non-traditional products in a traditional market. When it comes to embroidery and crafting, the only limit is creativity.
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Registration includes a sewist's delight goodie bag - a $200+ retail value, hands-on evening classes 2013 New Product Review and a VIP and One Needle Session passes to opening day at the Sewing and Stitchery Expo.
Just a gentle reminder to have an extra stash of SCHMETZ needles readily available for sewing late into the night.
@Santa says "Share your Stitches!"
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
May your stockings be filled with beautiful fabrics, sewing notions, SCHMETZ needles . . . and a surprise gift to attend the SCHMETZ Sew-cial Bloggers Boot Camp, February 27th & 28th in Puyallup, WA. Check www.SCHMETZneedles.com for details.
