Puget Sound Sewing & Craft

Project Runway - Who will make the top three?

Project Runway is down to four - who do you think will make the top three? Last week the designers had to make an outfit for another designer that was inspired by a genre of music. It was down to just five designers: Korto, Suede, Jerell, Leanne and Kenley. I was pretty sure even before I saw the show that Suede would be cut. He did a rock n’ roll outfit for Jerell and while it was not horrible it was not great. The pants were pretty bad and Jerell looked like Jerell and wasn’t transformed into a rockstar.

The clear winner was Korto with her version of Punk for Suede. He was really transformed into a punk rocker and the pants were a lot of fun. Korto wore a country outfit designed by Leanne that I really did not like. The color choices really didn’t work for me. However since Leanne is one of my favs - I was really happy she didn’t get cut. Jerell did a great job with Kenley and pop music. She really did look uncannily like Brittany Spears. Kenley did not have such luck with her outfit though, she designed a hip hop outfit for Leanne and it just wasn’t really hip hop. It was sort of urban chic - maybe? But still poorly executed. Kenley seemed to have a hard time creating an outfit that was not a retro inspired dress.

I have been thinking all week about which three designers I would like to see go to Bryant Park and I have to say I am rooting for Korto, Leanne and Jerell. I really think each of these designers will come up with interesting collections. I am pretty convinced that Kenely’s collection would be full of very wearable, adorable and fun retro style dresses but it wouldn’t be very diverse. Jerell strikes me as a designer that could come up with an innovative collection that really pushes the creative envelope. I think Leanne and Korto would both have very nice collections with good execution, style and diversity. I really want to see a collection that is innovative, creative, fun and inspiring like Jay’s collection from Season 1. Which three designers are you rooting for?

- Carmen

Project Runway Meets State 4-H Fashion Revue

2008 Washington State 4-H Fashion Revue State Champion, Senior Division, Johanna Svensson with her new Brother Limited Edition Project Runway sewing machine, donated by Quality Sewing and Vacuum.

This past Sunday was the Washington State 4-H Fashion Revue Championship, at the Puyallup Fair.  25 young men and women from all over Washington came to compete for the title of State Champion, and a new sewing machine.  These young sewing enthusiasts were chosen from 80 preliminary contestants who competed on the preceding Saturdays and Sundays at the Fair for the opportunity to participate in the Finals.  Prior to coming to Puyallup for the preliminaries, each contestant had to first qualify to participate in their home counties.  Just like Project Runway, each stage of competition involves a new set of judges, and new questions and challenges.

In 4-H Fashion Revue, the contestants must make the garments that they are wearing in the contest.  They are evaluated by a team of judges, who not only critique the quality of their garment construction, as the garment appears when worn by the contestant, but also ask the contestants questions about the construction techniques they used and their knowledge of textile science and general sewing.  The contestant's ability to express themselves clearly and accurately, and their poise in presenting themselves also plays an role during the judges' evaluation.  This interview is the most important stage of the Fashion Revue competition.  At the conclusion of interview judging, the contestants then are asked to exhibit their garments in a fashion show, where they may also be judged further on their presentation skills. 

This year's show was an amazing display of talent from these young people.  Everything from historical costumes to tailored wool suits and evening gowns were on display.  This is truly the future of sewing!  I certainly would not be surprised to see any of these gifted young men and women winning Project Runway in the future!  I have been very honored to be the Superintendent of the State 4-H Fashion Revue competition for the past three years, and look forward to seeing more incredible talent next year.

Our 2008 State Champions:
Senior Division: Johanna Svensson, Kitsap County
Intermediate Division:  Sarah Hoenig, Kitsap County

Reserve Champions:
Senior Division: Lacey Coolbaugh, Kitsap County
Intermediate Division:  Andy Lo, Pierce County

Outstanding Interview Skills:
Senior Division: Roxana Acock, Walla Walla County
Intermediate Division: Elsie Lehman, Benton County

Outstanding Construction Skills:
Senior Division: Elizabeth Lenz, Kittitas County
Intermediate Division: Kayla Yearout, Grant County

Outstanding Modeling Skills:
Senior Division: Rosanna Larson, Lewis County
Intermediate Division: Michaela Nordheim, Walla Walla County

Congratulations to these and all of the 80 contestants in this year's Washington State 4-H Fashion Revue competition.
--Katrina

Baa Baa Black Sheep, Have You Any Wool?

4-H Fleeces on Display

The Puyallup Fair is still going strong through this weekend.  I've been busy with various 4-H volunteer duties, and so I have to brag just a little bit - my niece Ciara's yearling Romney ewe (that's a female sheep who is a year old), Esmeralda (also known as 'Ezzie") won her fleece class!  Fleeces are shown according to the type of sheep it comes from (varies by breed) and the typical diameter of the wool from that breed.  Ezzie's wool, being from a natural colored Romney sheep, is considered 'coarse'.  That does not mean scratchy!  Romney wool is wonderfully soft and very desirable to hand spinners.   This was Ezzie's first shearing so we were very excited.  Her wool is likely to improve somewhat with age, so Ciara is looking forward to the fleeces yet to come!

Ezzie was also selected for the top Romney ewe, and she and Ciara did very well overall.  Ezzie was kept company by Ciara's aged Romney ewe (she is truly aged at 9 years old - but looks very youthful for her age), Harriett.  Harriett loves going to the Fair and makes sure that she gets as much attention as possible from fairgoers.  Here is Ciara and Ezzie (Ciara is kneeling) in the show ring.  Ciara and her sheep are now enjoying a well-earned rest at home and planning for next year's fairs.

There are still many fiber and sewing related things to see at the Puyallup Fair! 

--Pavilion Building
- Open Class Quilts, Garments, Knitting, Crochet, Needlework and more upstairs (there are escalators and an elevator in the building)
-4-H clothing and textile exhibits downstairs
- 4-H Fashion Revue - the original Project Runway!  See 4-H'ers model garments that they have made themselves.  Show is Saturday at 3pm on the Education Stage
- Washington State 4-H Fashion Revue Championships.  See the 'best of the best' from around the state as they compete for the state championshp and a new sewing machine! Sunday at 5pm on the Education Stage.

--Under the Grandstands/Expo Hall
- Quality Sewing's Viking booth.  See the new Diamond!
-The Artists in Action store.  I should warn you - there is some absolutely incredible yarn, roving, needlefelting and more in that store. 

--Outside Artists in Action under the Grandstands (South side)
- Sheep to Shawl contest winners.  The teams of entrants in this competition had a limited time and number of team members to spin and weave their entries.  Amazing!

--Showplex
- Quality Sewing's Pfaff and Brother booth.  Lots of amazing new machines, particularly the new Brother Quattro.  If you haven't seen it yet, it is definitely worth a look.

--Livestock Buildings
- FFA Exhibits and Animals of the World.  Various breeds and species of wool/fleece producing animals.

Project Runway's Jillian Lewis at Brother Convention

Earlier this month I was in Las Vegas at the Brother Convention. It was super fun to see the new products and the unveiling of the new top-of-the-line sewing, quilting, embroidery and crafting machine, the Brother Quattro 6000D - creativity times four. The machine is absolutely amazing - with more features than I could have dreamed up. Some of my favorite new features are the InnovEye built in positioning camera, runway lighting, jumbo embroidery frame - 12" x 8", super wide angle HD LCD screen and the new larger workspace is truly magnificent. There are 100 new features on this machine - WOW is all I can say. For a sneak peek of this new machine in person be sure to attend one of Quality Sewing's New Product and Brother 6000D Unveiling Parties later this week.

If the excitement of this new machine was not enough - the keynote speaker was Jillian Lewis from Project Runway Season 4. She was one of the 3 finalists and really one of my favorites. She spoke to us about her love of sewing, designing and Brother sewing machines. She got her first sewing machine, a Brother Pacesetter,  from her local dealer when she was 15. This was the same machine she used all through design school and even to sew her entire collection for the Project Runway final show at Bryant Park. Brother gave her a new Quattro 6000D and she created the dress she is wearing in the photo on the right. The dress is covered with a beautiful floral embroidery designs on fabric that she hand dyed. (And yes, that is me with Jillian - so fun to meet her!)  The thing that really struck me about Jillian was how genuine her love of creating and designing is.

To find out what Jillian is up to now - check out her website at www.jillianlewisny.com.

Last week I was so busy I didn't get a chance to see what happened on Project Runway. I have it recorded and hope to watch it tonight before the show tomorrow! What happened? Who can fill me in? The week before was pretty fun with the Olympics tie in. I felt like most of their designs needed to be a little bit more sporty and less fashion - particularly since what looks good on a rail thin model, probably doesn't flatter an athlete. I did like Korto's design, it seemed to be a nice mix of sporty fashion with the vest and fun pants. I think that I would have liked Terri's design better if I had seen the tube-top. She does get super props for creating so many pieces, making it pretty versatile. Let me know how you feel about season 5 so far - does anyone have a favorite designer yet?

-Carmen
carmen@qualitysewing.com