Blog

Cindy Foose and I are continuing our Traditions and Transitions School in August, in Columbia, IL.  Due to popular demand and our increasing number of ‘alums’, we are having 2 sessions this year and we hope you can make it.  The retreat center is very peaceful, and it is wonderful to be able to spend time with old and new friends, sewing and chatting.  The class room is open late for night owls and early for early birds, so you can sew at your leisure.  The class, kit, room and board are all included in the Class Fee.

For more information and a registration form,

Read more: Registration for our August School is Open  »

Hello everyone!  I hope you are all safe and cozy (if you have been in the path of the winter storms) or safe and cool (if you are in the middle of a heat wave)!

I have been doing a lot of ironing lately.  Most of my fabric gets washed before I wrap and store it.  I usually let the fabric collect until I have a big pile (most of this is ‘collection’ fabric and not something that I need to use right away) and then iron them all at once.  I have a couple of handy helpful notions that I use when I am doing major ironing and it makes that job a lot easier.

Read more: Ironing Surfaces  »

Hello everyone!
I hope you are all saying safe and warm – I know many of you have been in the midst of some snow and icy weather!  A perfect time to do some stitching, as long as the power holds up!

I know some of you have signed up for my Clara Dress class that SAGA (Smocking Arts Guild of America) is offering in March.  I am so excited to see you there!  Once the registration closes in the next week or 2, I will be contacting you all for your dress color choice (blue, pink,

Read more: Simply Perfect Smocking – Virtual Class, and a Little Gucci Gucci!  »

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are full of fun expectations for 2022.  I am working on my calendar for my virtual classes – as I was looking at my calendar, I did not realize how full my schedule is for this spring!

To start off, I will be teaching a virtual class that is available for SAGA members!  It is Clara, a Sleeveless Dress with Liberty of London Accents.

 

 

Constructed with 100% cotton pique’, it has pintucks on the front bodice,

Read more: Registration is open for Clara – A Virtual Class – Sleeveless Dress with Liberty of London Accents  »

Hello Everyone!

It has been a busy couple of months!  Cindy Foose and I held our annual Traditions and Transitions Retreat in August.  Our original facility has closed, so we were at a new facility in Columbia, Missouri, and it was lovely.  Everyone had a wonderful time and we are looking forward to next year!

I have just returned from the Smocking Arts Guild of America (SAGA) 2021 Convention in Oak Brook, IL.  What a lovely time – it was wonderful to see and to teach on person!  I won a great raffle basket filled with goodies from Maryland. 

Read more: SAGA Announces their Next Virtual Class  »

We are so happy to announce that we will be hosting our school August 20-22, with our optional pre-day Pressing Pretties class on Thursday, 8/19, and our Stay and Sew Day on Monday, 8/23. We have a few spots left, and hope you can join us for a nice relaxing weekend of sewing fun.  It will be held in Columbia, IL, which is right outside of St. Louis, MO.  The school fee includes the class, kit, lodging, and meals.  You have the option of a single or double room.  Our dress and jacket is designed specifically to debut at our school (on hold from 2020).

Read more: The Cindy and Vaune School is coming this August!  »

The Sewing and Stitchery Expo, usually held in Puyallup, WA, (about 30 minutes from Tacoma) is a wonderful sewing and stitching event that has something for everyone!  It is one of my favorite shows – so much to do, see and learn!  This was THE original sewing event, starting in 1984 (yes that is 37 years).  Run by Washington State University, it has numerous classes, both lectures and hands on.  The Clothing & Textile Advisors area the volunteer force that helps keep everything going!

The class format is:

1 Needle (45 minutes) – $6
2 Needle (1 hr 15 min) *** Not offered this year.

Read more: (Virtual) Sewing and Stitchery Expo Registration Starts Today!  »

Hello everyone and Happy new Year!
I have been going over my slides for my Embroidery of Madeira lecture on Sunday, to make sure they were in order.  I love going through these pictures – they bring back so many wonderful memories!

 

I am including a link here, in case you want to take a virtual ride on the Monte Toboggan (they called it a sled ride, when we were there).  The link is NOT of me!  When I went, it was way before the time of cell phones with cameras! 

Read more: A Peek At Madeira – Riding the Monte Toboggan  »

Happy New Year, everyone!  I hope you had a wonderful January 1st, and here is to a safe, healthy, and happy 2021.

Pantone has announced their color(s) of the year for 2021. Pantone is a standardization system for color.  Each color has a name and a number.  There are about 1000+ colors, with another 3000+ variations.  They are referenced through CMYK numbers, so manufacturers can get the same color without having to actually see a product.  You can buy chip books,

 

but these are a bit expensive for the home sewer.  They are meant for businesses to be able to hone in on the perfect color. 

Read more: 2021 Pantone Color(s) of the Year  »

Hello everyone!  I want to sneak this in, in case you have a chance to read this in the morning.  12/31 is the last day of the Bernina Feet and Accessories sale, and one of my sewing buddies emailed and asked for a list of feet.  I thought I would pass this along, in case you are interested.  Seems like we all have been delving into sewing over the past 9 months, and maybe you are going to expand your sewing machine feet collection!

 

I am going to start with my 5 Must Have feet!

Read more: (Sewing Machine) Feet Feature… Bernina Accessory Sale Ends on 12/31  »