Puget Sound Sewing & Craft

An Amy Butler Connection

Meet my new sewing sister Cindy! We met on the streets of LaConner, WA on Mother's Day while I was browsing the shops with my family. I had seen Cindy across the parking lot as we got out of our car and excitedly said to my husband, "That woman is wearing Amy Butler's Lotus fabric. I have some at home and it's on our web site!" I believe he said something like "that's nice, dear." And wouldn't you know, as I came out of a shop after lunch, there was Cindy in all her Amy Butler glory and I just couldn't help myself. "Did you make that skirt?" "Why yes, I did!" she replied. I knew Cindy was a true sewing sister when I asked if I could take her picture for our blog and she immediately told me all about making her skirt and then unbuttoned her sweater so I could see her belt, too.(Isn't it cute?) She couldn't remember the pattern she had used, but I think Amy Butler's Barcelona Skirt would work well or I can see The Bella Skirt from Serendipity Studio. Cindy has a new self-threading serger that she used to do a rolled edge on her skirt layers and it looked really cool! I wish you could see her shoes. They were embroidered and added just the right touch. Cindy also has an in-home embroidery business, so she spends a lot of time around one machine or another. So, there I was hollering down the street, "HONEY, I NEED the camera!" (He smiled and nodded and came running with the camera without question. Such a great guy!) Thank you new sewing sister Cindy - I'd love to see what you make next. Happy Mother's Day and I'll look for you next year in LaConner!

- Annette

Re-Covering Your Ironing Board

My ironing board is used heavily, as I am a quilter and crafty grrrrl.  It was not new when I got it, and the ugly cover has since been gifted with bits of fused fabric, stains from my ancient rusty iron (I finally upgraded to a lovely Rowenta) as well as some other stains – I iron in my kitchen, so sometimes it will wind up being used as an extra bit of counter space while I cook.  I hated my old sloppy cover – It went from merely dull to approaching disgusting, and in addition, it didn’t seem to want to stay on the board.  So the other day, as I pressed some binding strips, I decided it was time to re-cover it.

This is a delightfully easy project – I read the directions somewhere online a few months ago, and although I don’t remember where I read them, I was able to do the whole project in less than an hour just from what I remembered.  So I’ll just tell you how I did it, and you can try it out!

You’ll need:

Warm & Natural Cotton Batting – a half yard of 120” wide batting was enough for my board, which seems about average-sized.

Cotton Quilting Fabric - I used about 1-3/4  yards.

Cord or Ribbon - It should be between 1/8” and ¼” thick, and it needs to be strong, flexible and hold a knot. You can find this at Pacific Fabrics stores and you will need about 4 yards.

Thread

Marking pen

Scissors

Sewing Machine in good working order (or sewing hands in good working order.)

Directions:

Take the icky, old, or just boring cover off of your board.  This can be burned, or given to the dumpster, or used as an odd Halloween costume.  Just get it off! Lay your batting out on the floor – 120” wide batting usually comes folded in half – leave it folded, so you have two layers.  Lay your ironing board face down and trace around it, adding an extra 2” all the way around.  Cut out this shape from both layers of batting.   (If you like an extra-cushy board, just add another layer or two of batting.) 

Now lay out your fabric.  Place your cut batting on it, and use it as a template, but again, add about 2” all the way around – so your fabric piece should be about 4” larger on all sides than your ironing board.  When you come to the square edges on the wide end of your board, curve the corners, cutting off the square corners.

Take one end of your cording and pin it about 1” in from one of the edges of your fabric (wrong side) – it doesn’t really matter where, but this is where you are going to wind up having a bow when you tie on your cover, so wherever you would like it to be.  Mine is on the side, I checked my mom’s and hers is on the wide end.  Both seem to work fine. Fold the edge of your fabric over the cord and sew at least ½” from the edge of your fabric, taking care not to catch the cord in your stitches.  (In other words, make a simple casing around the edge for your cord.)  When you come to places where the edge curves, you will need to pucker and gather the cut edge of the fabric to make the casing lay flat- this does not need to be particularly beautiful, since you will likely never spend time looking under your ironing board.  Stop and backstitch about 2” from where you started stitching.

Lay your two layers of batting on top of your bare ironing board.  It may slip a bit as you put on the cover – I managed to make it work through persistence and sheer force of will, but I thought it might be an easy solution to use some double-sided tape or even spray adhesive to make it stick better if you don’t feel like dealing with the shifting and don’t mind having a little sticky stuff on your ironing board base.  Then place your fabric cover over it and start to pull on the ends of your cord, pulling the fabric tight over the batting and the ironing board.  You will likely need to help distribute the gathers so they lie flat on top – most of the gathers will end up towards the pointy and wide ends of your board, not along the side.  When you have pulled it tightly enough that is smooth and tight, tie a tight, double knot bow. 

Wow – isn’t your ironing board gorgeous?  I may use mine as a cocktail table, I like it so very much.  And see how nicely it matches my kitchen cabinets?  (Don’t look at those dishes in the sink – who has time to clean when there is so much good stuff to sew?) I'd love to see yours! When it's done, send a picture to me at annabeth@pacificfabrics.com. Have fun!

- Anna-Beth

Don't Miss the Best Embroidery Class of the Year!

You Don't Want to Miss this . . .

2008 Embroidery Party with Steve Wilson from Anita Goodesign!

I wanted to let everyone know about this great 2-day class, in case you haven't heard about it!
Last year everyone had a great time. Here are the details:

 

Learn the Secrets of The Professionals with Steve Wilson from Anita Goodesign Steve is returning to Quality Sewing with All NEW projects for 2008. No matter what your skill level, you will enjoy these two days of fun while learning easy embroidery, sewing and quilting techniques. Every attendee will receive a free CD with designs and tutorials. There will be plenty of specials, door prizes, giveaways and lunch each day. Everything is provided including brand new sewing machines, embroidery designs, fabrics, thread and stabilizers, just bring your enthusiasm!
Don't miss the fun. We only have a few seats left at the Lynnwood class and the Puyallup class is already full! The Lynnwood class is May 31 and June 1 at the Lynnwood Convention Center. This 2 day class includes 12 hours of class-time, 10am-5pm each day and is only $99.00!
For more information and to Sign up online visit www.QualitySewing.com.

Hope to see you there!
Carmen

An International Quilt Market Report - Red Hot!

Greetings from Red Hot Portland, Oregon! 

Temperatures soared this weekend – luckily for us, the Convention Center was air-conditioned.  But we found some heat inside, in the form of some smoking-hot new products, fabrics, and ideas. (Remember, this is a preview – most of these won’t be available to purchase for a month or two – but keep checking our Pacific Fabrics stores and newsletter – we’ll make sure to let you all know when great new stuff arrives.)

We always love Indygo Junction’s funky patterns, and they so lived up to our expectations. They have a great new bag pattern, Grids and Grommets, using the cool and easy-to-use Dritz Home Dec grommets to attach the handles.  Their yo-yo toys have been adorable, and they have welcome additions- a cat and mouse set, a crazy clown, and for Halloween, a great pairing of a jack-o-lantern and a spider.  For stylish clothes, I was drawn to the Day-shift Dress, a flattering pull-over designed to be made with quilting weight cottons. We were unanimously really excited about the

Asian Night PJ pattern, a unique and fun mandarin-jacket styled Pajama set – Our Pajama Party is coming up in June – we will have the pattern available for you to purchase then!  (No doubt a few of us will be modeling it, too.)

Speaking of the Pajama Party, The Favorite Things booth was all about sleepovers- they had patterns for a simply sweet Nightie Night nightdress, a short summer pajama set called Sleep Well, and my “favorite thing,” Lounge Around, a luxurious hooded robe – I have always wanted one, and the only time I see them they are outrageously expensive.  I am really looking forward to making my own custom one from some of Michael Miller’s cuddly organic terrycloth. I know what I’ll be wearing at the Pajama Party!

Sewing With Nancy’s Nancy Zieman and Clover are soon releasing their City Bags, a new line of innovative purse templates.  They are going to make designing and making fashionable purses super-simple. Nancy was there showing us how easy it is to use them (that's me with Nancy in the picture!), and I’m sure she will be showing everyone how they work on her show – they will be coming soon, so keep an eye out!

In other cool template news, we visited the June Tailor booth and saw their great new Simply Circles Templates.  They come in a set of different sized half circles – you just place the straight edge on the fold of a piece of fabric, skim your rotary cutter along the curved edge, and voila!  You have a perfect circle! Perfect for all of the cool patterns we are going to be seeing with appliquéd, fused and pieced circles, like Cherry House Quilt’s I Do, a pattern that uses fat quarters in solids and your favorite prints, mixing rectangles and circles for a spectacular modern effect.  Another favorite was Not Yo-Yo Mama’s Patchwork, a fun table runner and pillow pattern featuring layered circles and yo-yos.

I am really smitten with Margaret J. Miller’s AnglePlay quilts, which use her AnglePlay templates to make spectacular, intricate quilts easily.  She is debuting a new book, Stunning AnglePlay Quilts, which shows how gorgeous and easy these jaw-dropping, colorful quilts can be.  Sarah Nephew, the creator of the Super 60 ruler and the author of Serendipity Quilts, easily my favorite stack-and-whack book ever, is releasing a fantastic book, Not Your Grandmother’s Log Cabin, which rethinks the traditional log cabin in triangles and diamonds to spectacular effect. 

Ooh, and since I mentioned stacking and whacking, there is a sequel to the popular One Block Wonder book, One Block Wonder Encore, which shows you new shapes and techniques – if you haven’t tried this fun technique for kaleidoscopic, dazzling quilts, I strongly suggest you get going!

Many of you have enjoyed the ingenuity of Prairie Sky Quilting’s Batting Buddy templates, as well as all of the great “Fun and Done” patterns that make quick terrific quilt-as-you-go blankets and wall hangings.  At Market they debuted the “Triple ExpressO,”  patterns that give you three simple block components, then show you multiple ways to put them together to make a striking variety of quilts.  One pattern, many projects = Another great idea from Prairie Sky. (Of course, a triple espresso always sounds like a great idea to coffee-addict me.)

If you are an Amy Butler fan, you are going to have a great year!  She was at Quilt Market in a gloriously Midwest Modern booth, bright and welcoming.  I am not a small purse girl – you just can’t fit six lip glosses, a wallet, a book, a crafty project or two, chocolate-dipped Altoids and sundry into a wee clutch  - and  she has a new purse pattern, the Birdie Sling, which is extremely fashionable and wonderfully roomy.  In late summer/early fall, Amy will be releasing Little Stitches for Little Ones, a book of projects for kids, including a fetching ruffly snail stuffed animal that I am already tempted to add to my growing collection of things I meant to give to a friend, but will probably be keeping for myself.  And she’s not just writing patterns and books, she’s working on new fabrics  - but you’ll all have to turn in for my Quilt Market fabric report next time – honestly, we saw so many really amazing new collections, and there is so much to report, that I think we are going to have to have a second installment.  Stay tuned! 

- Anna-Beth

June Classes

Well, if you are like me, June is a month that I have to plan ahead for a little. It must include end-of-year school activities and even a birthday party. So now is also the time to make sure that you get the crafting classes that you want on your calendar. Go ahead, call a friend, hit a class and have lunch. You can’t beat having both time out AND getting a chance to perfect your skills or learn new ones. Be brave, my friend, and you will be glad that you found the time to go. Trust me.

Just to let you know, what I am listing here is only a small fraction of what is being offered so make sure that you check out the full schedules of Pacific classes and Quality classes on their websites. There are even classes for kids and teens!

Create a Corset- Pacific Fabrics & Crafts Northgate Location with Lori Edwards.

Fabric Postcards- Pacific Fabrics & Crafts Bellevue Location with Diane Becka.

Intro to Beading- Pacific Fabrics & Crafts Everett Location with Darlene McCourt.

Sit-n-Knit with Keston- Pacific Fabrics & Crafts Bremerton Location with Keston Davis.

Recover Your Chair- Pacific Fabrics & Crafts Outlet Location with Mary McKinley & Betty Edwards.

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New to Sewing- Quality Sewing & Vacuum Northgate Location.

One-on-One Private Computer Class at all Quality Sewing & Vacuum Locations.

Anita Goodesign Diamond Club at Quality Sewing & Vacuum Multiple Locations.

Audrey Franson: Quilting, the Next Step at Quality Sewing & Vacuum Federal Way Location.

Kelly Thomas of Little Hands Creations: Children’s Sewing (ages 6-14) at Quality Sewing & Vacuum Ballard Location (week-long class).

I hope that you will join us at one of the above OR some of the other classes listed on the websites for the month of June. See you then!