Sewing to Make Us Smile!

The girls were here for “Kid’s Club” on Saturday, and their project was a “go green” shopping bag.  We used the Timber fabrics (Windham) by Jessica Levitt, to keep our ecology theme intact.  This simple tote was improved upon with the use of a tab that hooks onto the bag dispenser of your local grocery–great idea, Janet!  To give their bags a professional finish, all of our seams were edged with a Baby Lock serger!  Everybody’s bag was great, and the topstitching is really improving, girls!  Super job!

Brenda got her Anita Goodesign Baby Giraffes quilt back from the quilter, and wow, didn’t Betty do a great job enhancing the pattern on the background fabric (Eden by Lila Tueller for Moda Fabrics)?  These giraffes always make me smile and the purple girly giraffes are especially sweet!

I’ve had my eye on the roses from Philip Jacobs (Westminster) since they first came in, and when the great new cantaloupe colored print arrived last week, I knew I had met the match!  The new bag pattern, Vicki’s Bag from Quilts Illustrated, shows off the fabrics beautifully, and what’s best–I finished it in one afternoon!  What a simple and good looking bag!

I don’t want you to miss the sneak peek of the upcoming Stella handbag pattern from Modkid and be sure to check out the topstitching done on the exclusive Baby Lock Sashiko machine!

Is it Spring Yet?

We got tricked into thinking that Spring had sprung last week, and the weekend snapped us back into a cold reality.  But, the sun is shining today and I’m hopeful that we actually hit the 60 degree mark later this week as the weather people have promised.

Our Kid’s Club meets this weekend; last Saturday we had a Bag-tastic class and the bags were stunning.  Marcia brought hers by for some help on “snap-ology” so she could get her great black tote finished up and I promise to post photos when I see them.  Diane toted her blue damask off to Florida, so no pics of that either until her return.  But, Janet came by with her “to-die-for” diaper bag with the ever-popular Anita Goodesign Baby Giraffes and the Nicey Jane fabrics from Heather Bailey for Free Spirit.  This fabric has gone home to many sewing rooms for use in Easter dresses and baby items.  With its fresh colors, you can see why it’s so popular!

The new Mini-Modkid pattern, Mini-Nina, will be arriving in May, along with a terrific new handbag, the Stella Handbag.  I am testing the pattern now, and you will love the style and shape.  I’m doing the topstitching with the Sashiko machine and the look is fantastic!

Our big Spring Sale is in full force and lots of customers are adding great Baby Lock sergers and embroidery machines to their sewing rooms.  We’ll also be making room for the new Crown Jewel later this spring.  Be sure to stop in to check out the new products and we’ll be posting a new class schedule featuring our popular “Bag-Tastic” series and a new series called, “Urge to Serge”.  Techniques, including embroidery machine applique and quilting, are our focus this spring and summer, and you won’t want to miss a thing!

Heavenly Peace by Verna Mosquera (Free Spirit)

Make Life…by Sweetwater (Moda)

Modern Meadow by Joel Dewberry (Free Spirit)

Modern Meadow by Joel Dewberry (Free Spirit)

Andrea Victoria by My Mind’s Eye for Riley Blake designs

Amy Butler’s Love fabrics with a Texture Magic tab!

An Everyday Bag featuring Laura Gunn’s Poppy (Michael Miller Fabrics)

This Scottsdale Satchel (Purse Strings) is terrific made from the Oz fabric by Sanae for Moda.

Sweetwater’s Little Details Bag from “Make Life…” (Moda)

An Easter Bucket and the pattern (Sweetwater) even includes the labels.

Grommet hipster made from “Make Life…” fabrics (Moda) and featuring great new plastic grommets!

Anita Goodesign’s Baby Giraffes embroidery on a diaper bag in Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey (Free Spirit)

That cute giraffe again!

March On

Can you believe it’s already March?   February just flew by and we’ve been so busy at the store, I haven’t even had time to fill you in on the happenings.  New fabrics keep arriving.  We’re running out of room again.  We’ve had to reorder all of the new Modkid patterns, too.  Everybody is having a great time sewing for their dollies!

What else is new?  Kid’s Club met this past Saturday and the girls get better every month.  They put together a lined wristlet, including a zipper.  I was totally impressed and the girls were pleased with their completed projects.  Later this month, they’ll be making a “go green” grocery/tote bag.  Call the store for more details!

Betty’s “Bag-Tastic” class series has been a hit.  The Serenity Handbag has been a favorite, and everybody has been inspired by the Texture Magic.  The “secret ingredient” headliner foam has also been a stand-out feature of this bag.  Adding a big button (or two) is something everybody has done.  Vianne even picked her buttons before she picked her fabrics!  Diane used Patty Young’s Flora & Fauna collection for her Serenity bag and you should have seen the impressive texturizing.  She outdid herself!  I love it!

The group in the Beginning Quilting series class, session 2, made a great pieced laptop carrier.  For beginners, they learned piecing, quilting and binding in just one complete project!  The Baby Giraffe embroidery design CD from Anita Goodesign is so sweet.  I just love the happy giraffes, and the Mezzanine fabric pairs beautifully with the turquoise ta-dot fabric!  Did you know that turquoise is the color of the year for 2010?

We’re having a big sale on machines in mid-March.  You won’t want to miss it.  Our floor models are specially priced, too, with some of the lowest prices of the year!  If there is a machine you’ve been longing for, be sure to come in during our sale, March 11-20.