Hello Everyone!
This summer has flown by! I taught at the Long Beach Quilt Show, had grandkids visit for 2 weeks, taught the amazing women in the Huntsville SAGA Chapter, taught our school with Cindy Foose, visited grandkids on the Cape, and capped it off with my nephew’s wedding last weekend. I need a rest from my vacation!!!
I am getting ready to visit the Palmetto Pleaters in Greenville, SC. I am teaching there right before heading to Charleston for the SAGA Convention. I am so excited – I have not yet been to Charleston, which I know is lovely. Our pre-day tour is taking us to the location where The Notebook was filmed!
Once I get back from convention, I am going to be clearing out a lot of my fabric, so stay tuned in late November/early December, as I will post everything here before I put it on my website. I have had a chance to order some wonderful fabric over the last couple of years, and have not been home long enough to have time to put it on my website, and it is piling up!
I will have a booth at Market at the SAGA convention and am getting things ready for that as well. In this post, I will have a couple of things that don’t usually carry, as they are too bulky to ship, but I can have them delivered to me at the hotel for pick up. They will be listed below. I always have 10% off at Market, so that will apply to these items as well.
I also have a wonderful gift for the little (and big) sewists in your life – a Sewing Advent Calendar! I would have loved this when I was little.
It has 24 sewing gifts, everything from pins and needles to clips and a pompom maker! They are $33, and then 10% off (so $29.70). I will be taking pre-orders until October 1, so place your order now for pickup at convention! Once my distributor runs out of these, they will not be restocking before Christmas. If you would like to pre-order and pick up at convention, please EMAIL me by Oct 1, vaune@vaune.com
Ann Lowe is an incredible fashion designer, whose body of work includes Jackie Kennedy’s wedding gown. The New Yorker magazine has an excellent article on her life, which you can read here: Ann Lowe’s Barrier-Breaking Mid-Century Couture from The New Yorker
The Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, in Delaware, is hosting an en exhibit of some of her garments. It runs from September 9 through January 7, 2024. If you are fortunate enough to be in that area, you can find out more about the exhibit here:
The Ann Lowe Exhibit at the Winterthur Musem
The Costume Society of America is also hosting a 3 part lecture on the exhibit and creations of Ann Lowe. Part 1 talks about the recreation of Jackie Kennedy’s wedding gown.
CSA Ann Lowe Exhibit Lecture – Part 1
Part 2 covers the selection of the gowns on exhibit, which were then sent to a conservation team and then stabilized and mounted.
CSA Ann Lowe Exhibit Lecture – Part 2
In Part 3, you actually walk through the exhibit with the curators and listen as they discuss different aspects of the exhibit. This Lecture was just held today and is not posted yet, so check back on YouTube.
The Saturday Morning show also did a segment on the exhibit – you can see that here as well: Anne Lowe on Saturday Morning
Also, here is a link to a lecture from the National First Ladies Library on the life of Anne Lowe: Legacy Lecture: The Life and Times of Fashion Designer Ann Lowe
Next up are the larger items for pre-order and delivery at the SAGA Convention!
This is a wool covered pressing pressing bar. It is almost 18″ long, with the top part a half circle (think a dowel rod cut in half) that is covered with wool. The bottom is wood that has been finished to be nice and smooth. I have a couple of different variations of this, but I prefer this one, as the base does not extend wider past the the wool part, so it is easier to stick into places that you want to press.They are $17, and with the SAGA convention discount, it will be $15.30 – a wonderful edition to your Pressing Tools!
This is a GIANT wool pressing mat about 22″ x 58″ – large enough to lay a full width of fabric across when pressing, so you don’t have to keep moving the fabric back and forth. It is a time saver, especially if you are pressing fabric that you have pre-washed. During your sewing process, it is also really nice to be able to press a whole skirt front or back. Being wool, you get all of the advantages of pressing on a wool mat, and the convenience of having a large pressing space! This is usually $145, and then take 10% off, $130.50.
The Better Board goes along with the giant wool pressing mat. It is 59″ x 22″ and folds in half (with a convenient handle) for easy storage. It is a laminate, and comes with a cover. There are railings on the bottom of the board that enable it to fit over most standard size ironing boards. If you use this over an ironing board, it makes it really easy to adjust the height lower, so that you can sit and press (which I do if I have a pile of pre-washed fabric to press). It retails for $180, so sale price will be $162.
Next up are the quilt size acid free storage boxes. They come with 24 sheets of acid free tissue paper. This dimensions of this box are 40″ x 18″x6″. They are $44, and at 10% off, it will be $39.60.
Finally, there are a few different sizes of Martelli Cutting Mats. I love these mats! They are marked on both sides (yellow on 1 and purple on the other). They are also thicker than most mats – about 1/8″ thick. They have the 45 and 60 degree lines, as well as the 1 inch and half inch grids and 1/8 inch marks on the outside ruler marks. There are several different sizes, and they now have a press and cut mat with a wool mat on one side the a cutting mat on the other.
First up is a 12″ x 18″ Press and Cut Mat. On one side is the 12″x 18″ cutting mat and a wool mat on the opposite side of the mat, to make it easy to press and cut, especially when you are taking a class! $120, on sale for $108.
This is the 12″ x 18″ cutting mat (purple on the back side) with no wool mat. $64, on sale for $57.
This is a medium size mat – 18″ x 24″ – $89 and on sale for $80.
This is the next size up – 24″ x 36″. $165 and on sale for $148.50.
Finally, the extra large mat, which is 30″ x 60″. I have one of these on on my cutting table, and love it :). This mat is $276 and on sale for $250.
If you want any of these items, please email me with what you want (I will not have the sale prices on my website). Once I get your order, I will invoice you via email with a square invoice and you can pick these up from me at the SAGA convention hotel. Please note: I will not have extras of these at market. These are items are large, bulky, and/or heavy and I don’t want to be sending any of these back home.
Coming Soon! I am working on a collection of 100% cotton, 1/16″ gingham fat quarters. I have been recieving bolts of all of the colors and there are now over 50! The first run of these collections will also include several colors that have been retired. I will be posting this in November for pre-order for December delivery. I am also waiting on a shipment of a collection of 80wt cotton thread that is wonderful for applique’.
I look forward to seeing some of you in Charleston!
Happy Stitching,
Vaune