Puget Sound Sewing & Craft

Mess Busters for Your Workspace

Apparently, I should have been watching Oprah earlier this week.  She had a team of 'mess busters' who would enter a messy home and organize it for the occupants.

Now I have to admit that I'd really rather not have a team of people rampaging through my studio workspace.   But I think it's a great reminder to take a good hard look at how we arrange our workspaces.

First of all - we all need a well organized place for our machines.  Of course we can (and have) make do with a dining room table or anything else that will hold up our machine.  In one apartment, my sewing space was a closet with the doors removed and a desk put into the space.  A 'cubicle' style overhead light was bolted onto the closet shelf.  It worked.  But now that I have the luxury of more space (and more machines) I have to approach the challenge a little differently.

Furniture matters.  Now is a great time to check out those Koala cabinets featured by Quality Sewing at the Northwest Quilt, Craft and Sewing Festival going on right now at the Puyallup Fairgrounds (Gold Gate).  In order to be able to sew comfortably for long periods, you need a workspace that is ergonomically suited to you and what you are doing.  That includes a chair that fits you.  This applies to cutting and other tasks as well.  Is your table the correct height?  Even a folding table can be height adjusted by slipping pieces of PVC pipes over the legs.  Working at the wrong table height gives you a terrible backache!

Secondly, where are your tools and basic supplies, such as threads and stabilizers?  Are the items you need most close at hand?  There are many solutions to this challenge.  Personally, I am a huge fan of pegboard.  I'd rather have it hanging on the wall in front of me than almost anywhere else.  Sewing cabinets generally have a nice range of drawers, shelves and other cubbies to hold your necessary items.

Then we have fabric storage.  I like to use large clear tote bins.  It's important to have some sort of system, unless you really like digging through your stash.  Some people keep their fabric sorted by color.  This makes a lot of sense to me, especially if you are a quilter.  In my case, I sort my fabric bins by fiber content.  So I have bins of silks, woolens, cottons, lining fabrics, interfacings, etc.

Pacific Fabrics carries a large selection of various organizational tools as well - everything from bobbin keepers to thread racks.  Did I mention thread racks?  Another life saver - in my case, they're hung on the wall to save precious work counter space.  Lately I've found that paper management is becoming a problem in my workspace.  I found a great vertical paper organizer with drawers underneath.  It has a small footprint but has multiple openings for storing receipts and some very basic filing.

So - how do you keep your sewing space organized?  I'd love to hear any good solutions you have to share. 

--Katrina

Create a New Look With Simply Beautiful Seams

I love to use a variety of seams.  Not only for adapting to a particular construction challenge, but especially for decorative purposes.  When you have a pattern style that is flattering and you've perfected the fit, it's nice to be able to create multiple versions without simply duplicating your work.  Using decorative seams can give a whole new look to a project.

One of my favorites for visual impact and ease of sewing is the bundled fagoted seam.  A traditional fagotted seam has threads bridging a gap between two fabric pieces.  In the bundled fagoted seam, the threads are stitched down the middle with a triple straight stitch, creating a look of little tied 'bundles'. 

The secret star of this technique is: the fringe foot!  We're all familiar with using the fringe foot for fun textural effects.  But it also makes sewing a perfectly spaced fagoted seam a piece of cake.

Here's how it's done:

Step 1:  Using the fringe foot and decreased needle tension, stitch at least a 5/8” seam, right sides together, using a zig-zag that just clears the fringe bar.

Step 2:  Pull seam gently apart and press the seam allowances away from the seam on the wrong side.

Step 3:  Use the triple straight stitch (regular tension) to sew up the center of the fagoted seam, pulling fabric taut to the sides to keep seam open as much as possible.

Step 4:  Use decorative stitches (Angie Spong 9mm stitch shown here - available at this month's Sew Fun presentation) up the sides of the seam to hold seam allowances to the side and give additional decoration.

That's it!  If you'd like to see more of this fun technique, come to a Sew Fun club presentation.  You'll be amazed at the many ways you can add a little more oomph! to your next project.

The Silk Experience at the Houston International Quilt Festival

Last week I was in Houston for the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas.  It was my second year at the show, and my first year as a teacher.  Needless to say I was very excited to be there and looking forward to meeting all the amazing people who attend.

I was teaching as part of The Silk Experience staff in our dedicated classroom at the show.  Maggie Backman has organized a group of classes every year to feature silk oriented projects and lectures.  There were many different types of silk related classes offered this year.  Basic silk dyeing, garment recycling, silkscreening, ink jet printing, ribbon flowers, shibori dyeing, and needle felting were just a few of the classes available.  Japanese quilting star Noriko Endo was a special addition to this year's staff and her students made the most amazing art landscapes using dyed scraps, threads and netting with thread painting.  Those classes will be offered next year, so if you missed out this year start planning now!

One of the most amazing things about the people who attend the classes is the incredible range of backgrounds and interests they have.  In our Tuesday "Sleeping Beauty: A Silk Pillowcase Extraordinare" class, we had a NASA engineer, journalist, mathematician, artists, nurses, teachers and many more occupations.  Obviously all had an interest in quilting, but their choice of expression through quilting art also varied a great deal, from traditional patchwork to wearable art.

The number of classes offered on any given day at the Festival is quite staggering; they take up an entire floor and in this location, that's a lot!  If you have never attended the show, my first piece of advice is to wear very comfortable shoes and to start 'training' for the show by taking walks around your neighborhood.  The George C. Brown Convention Center is easily one of the biggest buildings I've ever been inside and just covering the sales floor, let alone the quilt exhibits, classrooms, food court, etc. is quite a hike.

Another fun offering that I had the chance to participate in were the Samplers.  One was a traditional "Sampler" and the other was a "Mixed Media Miscellany".  In either case, teachers of various disciplines are stationed around the room giving more or less informal demonstrations of various skills, techniques and/or projects.  This is a great opportunity to check out new teachers and get an idea of what classes you might want to take the following year.  As a teacher, it's a great way to see what levels of interest there may be in something you're interested in teaching.

My specialty at this show was teaching needle felting using non-woolen materials to create designer  'fabrics'.  In this case, my students were using silk roving and fabrics and needle felting them into a silk noil base to create a freeform design.  They also used silk batting behind to give their piece extra dimension and texture.  It was so much fun, and every project was so different!  I really look forward to sharing this process again.  One of the students commented on her evaluation sheet that she was planning to use the techniques she learned for her art quilts.  I hope I get to see the results!  I was so busy with my students that I forgot to take photos - I did manage to take photos of a few in progress during a break...
Another work in progress.  The photos really can't do them justice. 

--Katrina

Top 10 from Houston Quilt Market (in no particular order)

Since my reports and posts tend to run on and on, I've decided to try to limit myself by sticking to a brief list format. Here, in no particular order, are the things that excited me the most at the Houston Quilt Market last week!

1. Michael Miller has an amazing new line of Flower Fairy fabric coming - these are the classic Victorian illustrations by Cicely Barker, and MM really did it right - large panels, beautiful blocks and go-withs - it's going to be the prettiest little fairy land EVER. I know I will be stashing some. Expected at Pacific Fabrics stores in January!

2. Heather Bailey has patterns coming very soon - they are spectacularly sunny, playful and clever - look for pincushions, kids toys and a great reversible purse (two in one!).

3. Queen of fusible applique McKenna Ryan has both new patterns and new fabric coming in the next few months - there is a beautiful Christmas-themed Arctic animals quilt, a gorgeous line of fabric from Hoffman called Willow (we loved it so much, we ordered every piece) and she's working on a new owl themed quilt - and y'all may have picked up that I love owls. The picture at right shows McKenna and me. She's really nice in person, and ridiculously pretty.

4. While wandering around, I noticed a woman's nametag read Cherri House. "Omigosh! You are the woman who designed the I Do Quilt I'm working on right now!" She is an amazing designer and a really sweet person - I can't wait to show her my finished quilt! I'll be sure to post a picture on here for y'all, too - you can start your own - we have the pattern in our stores right now and there's a picture shown here on the left.

5. Quilting Treasures has plans to release both the next Wizard of Oz series (we've got the first three collections now), as well as an "I Love Lucy" fabric collection!

6. Hoffman has the most gorgeous ever Indonesian Batiks - new colors, new styles. Exquisite! Our head buyer, Sharon, already has a gorgeous jacket planned.

7. I bought my own set of AnglePlay templates (Set 1 and Set 2) - if you don't know what these are, they are these really cool templates that go with really cool patterns - we carry all the templates, as well as her wonderful book, Stunning AnglePlay Quilts. I can't wait to try my own! 

8. I met Jay McCarroll, the winner of the first season of Project Runway! I am a huge fan of the show, and he has a wacky new line of fabric coming out soon - it's filled with trippy little bunnies and deer. I also got to watch Jay and Amy Butler have a mutual admiration fest - two great (and really nice) designers trading autographs and kudos. Here's a picture of the moment!

9. Anna Maria Horner signed her spectacular new book, "Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing" for me - I went back to my lonely hotel room, ran a bath, and read it cover to cover - she is a lively and exciting writer, and her book is perfect for beginners, since it spells out sewing tools and techniques in an engaging way, while her projects are challenging and creative enough to entice a more experienced crafty girl.

10. Moda Fabrics, creators of Jelly Rolls and Layercakes, have added an awesome new cut to their goody shop - Sweet Rolls! THese charming mini-jellies are only 1 1/2" wide, and are showing up in patterns already. There's just something so enticing about getting a whole fabric collection to make fun projects with that can fit in the palm of your hand. We are expecting to have them early in 2009, so start your creative engines!

Finally, my favorite moment of QM - I got two blissful hours of walking around the Exhibition, where I saw AMAZING quilts from international quilting geniuses. It was amazing, inspiring, fascinating, etc. So while I'm wandering, I notice one of the security guards, a young African-American man, who is walking around and staring at all of the quilts with an expression that mirrored my own. "Enjoying the quilt show?" I asked. He looked at me with this stunned look, and said in a tone of awe, "I had no idea. I thought a quilt was just a thing you put on your bed. This is amazing - I kind of want to try it." IT WAS SO COOL! So not your typical quilting demographic, and there he was, just as into it as me! The power of art and craft is amazing!

- Anna-Beth

Girls' Night Crafty Goodness!

For me and my group of friends, as for many women, Girls' Night is a tradition that we all cherish. We aim for once a week, although life’s daily duties like family, work, band practice, campaign work, travel and illness have interfered too often. We need each other’s wisdom and humor, and nothing seems to bring it out like an all-female environment with snacks and laughter. We’ve been meeting on Wednesday nights for about 5 years now, but we noticed an insidious invader was slowly taking over our evening – the TV.

It all began with America’s Next Top Model, then we extended the fashion hour to two and watched Project Runway. After that we were sucked into the shows that followed – first Top Chef, then Shear Genius. All these shows are fun, but we realized that we were reserving our conversations for ad breaks, and “shhh”-ing when anyone talked during the show – eliminating the entire point of having a girls' night!

So we changed the night we meet to Mondays, and decided that the TV will now remain off - we will bring music, potluck food, and sometimes plan an activity. To kick this off right, I proposed that we all make Memory Frame necklaces.

If you are not familiar, Memory Frames are these little frames that come in packs of 3 for $4.99. They have loops for hanging on chains as jewelery, and you purchase little glass slides that fit inside. Between two layers of glass, you can put pictures, photos, pressed flowers, bits of cards, leather, fabric, glitter - whatever is flat enough to fit. I saw a really cool one a co-worker made with a square of Amy Butler fabric and a ribbon - it took less than 2 minutes to put it together, and she said she got compliments on it wherever she went.

I asked the girls to bring images or ideas that were special to them, as well as any beads or even old jewelery they were ready to recycle. I brought my ridiculously large bead collection, tools, and a few packs of 1.5" frames and glass, as well as a copper foil tape that you can use on your frame if you want it to be copper (and lately, I want EVERYTHING to be copper.) Only Elise and I have jewelry-making experience, so we helped everyone else with using crimp tubes and measuring their necklaces.

Everyone's project came out so unique and expressive of them! I hope you like pictures, because I have a lot! Get ready!

This is my beautiful and wonderful friend Elise (please note her Lacy Beanie hat - she joined our Knitalong with me, and that's her first project.) She recently completed a "Ride Green, Build Green" bike ride from San Francisco to Seattle, raising funds and awareness of eco-friendly building materials for Habitat For Humanity.Her necklace, featuring a map, symbolizes her trip.

Kathryn, Elise's awesome roommate and a PhD student in Bio-Molecular Structure and Design at the UW, thought she would be studying instead of jewelry making, but the easy creativity of the Memory Frames sucked her in, and she went on a pendant making spree! She took images from an old Alexander Henry fabric I brought, as well as postcards from my trip to England, and made this pretty quartet.

Liz, who is planning to be a Devil in a Blue Dress for Halloween, made herself a costume piece - a little devil sits in her pendant - but since they have glass on both sides, they are totally reversible, so she also put a little image of a mermaid on the other side. Both images are from Lotteria cards, a game she fondly remembers playing in her Mexican-American childhood. Liz is a mother and a nursing student, and was glad to have a break from her hectic life to do something creative and rejuvenating.

Angie, our hostess with the mostest, put a lot of forethought into her image - she took a heart from a friend's wedding invitation, along with of tiny sketch of a girl, and combined them to symbolize "a girl following her heart." Angie is an incredibly sensitive and compassionate person, who has followed her heart out of the Midwest and into a career of helping the homeless and the developmentally disabled. Her necklace came out just gorgeous - it's artistic and expressive, and looked beautiful on her.

My BFF Lissa, who is a talented painter and henna artist, was surprisingly anxious about her jewelry making abilities. She agonized over her design, and asked us all for advice and guidance. I don't know what on earth could have prompted this nervousness - her project was amazingly creative and came out really cool. She is a bass player (She and Liz are in a great band called Farro's Sparrows) and brought years of bass ball ends that she had collected to use as beads.
Her pendant was really creative - she brought a ceramic mask she owned and, after using a fabric image of the sun to act as a background, glued the mask on top of the glassed frame. She made a three-strand necklace, with two strands of ball ends, and one strand of red and iridescent black glass beads. Despite her initial nervousness, she was deservedly proud of her necklace, and marveled at how fun this project was.

And me? I made a necklace that symbolizes for me a most memorable day in my trip to England with my mother last year. If you've read my other blog posts, you will know that I love William Morris. Last summer, my mother and I were in England, and spent a day in the tiny town of Kelmscott, where William Morris, along with his family and sometimes Morris's friend, sometimes Mrs. Morris's lover, Dante Gabriel Rosetti, lived till Morris died, and where he and his family are buried. After enjoying a gorgeous moring there, we walked along a footpath, through several farms, and along a country road, till we arrived at the massive grand estate of Buscot Park, where Lord Farringdon, collector of Pre-Raphaelite art, lived. Morris's friend Edward Burne-Jones completed a quartet of gorgeous paintings that tell the story of the Briar Rose (known to us as Sleeping Beauty) and Lord Farringdon built a room to house them - when Burne-Jones came to see how his paintings were displayed, he painted small panels of rose briars to fit between them - the room is so beautiful, I got weepy.
I featured a tiny portion of the Briar Rose paintings on one side of my pendant, and a tiny snip of William Morris's Honeysuckle fabric on the other. For me this necklace is about the memory of that wonderful day with my mother in England, plus it connects in a larger way to my love for my mom - she grows honeysuckle on her fence, and all summer long, the smell of honeysuckle sweetens the air around my mother's house. My boyfriend and I had our first kiss in the heady clouds of it, and I associate it with all things sweet, inviting and comforting.

If anyone is still reading (sorry to go on so long - there's just so much to say!) this Girls' Night was declared by all to be one of our best ever.
Everyone left with jewelry they were glowing with pride over, and we had a great time - with no TV! If you have a girl's night, think about making crafts a part of it. Sharing a skill that you have with a friend is a wonderful gift - for you and for them. And be sure to check out those memory frames - they make fabulous presents, and you can get so creative with them - at a recent friend's wedding, a memory frame holding a picture of her hospitalized grandfather was tied to the bride's bouquet - so he went down the aisle with her. Thery're super easy to use - I can't recommend them enough. Get creative, have fun!