Blog

Hello everyone!
It has been a busy few months.  We are still have patches of late summer, but I think we are turning the corner to fall – finally!

A shout out to all of my Texas Tote class students!  We finished out last class yesterday, and I am seeing pictures of finished totes – yeah!  Thank you for joining me and I hope to see you again soon.  I love to see not only your finished project but the personal design choices that make the bag your own.

I have had a few inquiries about the best way to accurately measure children when they are not near? 

Read more: Measuring for the Non-Sewers, and a Madeira Embroidery Lecture!  »

Hello Everyone!

Happy October!  I just turned over my Children’s Corner calendar – another cute little picture!  This week has been busy, but I am not at a sharing point for most of my projects.  They more than likely will all be done at the same time – yeah!!!

I had several inquiries for scissor sharpening.  I used to send them to DOVO in Germany, but they no longer do that.  I have a wonderful place down in the garment district that I use.  If anyone is interested, you can send your scissors to me, I will take them down and get them sharpened,

Read more: A Great Post on Sheaths to Share, a Few Videos, and Scissor Sharpening  »

Hello Everyone!
October is just a few days away and we are into a high 90s heat wave here.  I don’t know about you, but I am ready for fall.  I grew up with 4 seasons, and that is something that I miss, living here in Southern California. We have Spring, Summer, Just Past Summer, and about 3 days of Winter.  Many of you have contacted me about the fires – thank you for thinking of me!  So far this year, we are far away from them – we really only had a couple of days of smoke, so we have been lucky. 

Read more: Scissors…. and What’s Up With DOVO?  »

I have opened registration for the Texas Tote with Liberty of London Accents!  This will be a 6 hour class that takes place over 3 sessions of 2 hours each.  You can read all about it HERE
I will be opening a Private Facebook group for the members of the class – you can ask questions, show your progress, and I will also have the recordings of each class, in case you want to watch it again, or had to miss part of the class.  The FB group will be open during the class and for 3 weeks following the class. 

Read more: November is The Texas Tote with Liberty Accents – Registration is open ….. and a Bernina Foot Sale!  »

 

A quick and easy way to cut bias strips.  Don’t forget to subscribe!

Click HERE for the Cutting Bias Strips Tutorial

Read more: Cutting Bias  »

Hello everyone, I hope you had a safe and cool Labor Day weekend.  It was a whopping 111 degrees here on Sunday, so we are welcoming the ‘cooler’ 90 degree temps this week!

 

 

 

I have  a new video on my youtube channel on cutting bias – you can click here to view!  Working out the editing kinks, so please bear with me.

 

 

I also (finally) got my fabric shipment in that I have been waiting for since May! 

Read more: New Tutorial and Fabric is IN!  »

Hello to everyone,
Welcome to September!  School is back in session (virtually), so I am working my way back to a schedule!

I have finally finished my Long Stitch Tutorial.  It is posted to my YouTube channel, so you can view it at your convenience.  As I mention in the tutorial, I am sewing on my Bernina, which is the only machine that I know has the Long Stitch.  The Long Stitch really is a stitch that skips a stitch or stitches every other stitch.  You can play around with this using some of the decorative stitches to come up with some new designs.

Read more: Long Stitch Tutorial and another Museum Exhibit  »

I hope you all had a wonderful week.  We are still sweltering (90 -98 ) but at least we do not have the fires near us.  The last several posts on Pressing Matters has left me with some bits and pieces that I thought might interest you.

 

 

 

First up is a blog post from The Fold Line.  While they mostly focus on patterns, their blog post today is all about ‘sewing related TV and films“.

 

 

Read more: Bits and Pieces…. Class News…. and a Question for You!  »

I hope this finds you healthy and COOL!  We have finally gotten to the time of summer when our heat really heats up (August and September).  High 90s for the next week or so is predicted, so staying cool is the goal.  I have my fan at my sewing machine to help, as rolling blackouts are predicted, so I can’t count on the air conditioning 🙁

In this week’s post, I am going to share about the puff iron and some alternatives (both good and bad).

In case you have never heard of a puff iron,

Read more: Ode to the Puff Iron  »

This will only be available until 23:59 EDT ON SUNDAY, 9 AUGUST

 

Hello everyone!
This is an extra post, as it is time sensitive!  Charles Worth (1825 – 1895) is often called the “father of haute couture”.  His garments were made from luxurious fabrics, and he started The House of Worth.  Many of his garments are still in existence and are owned and displayed by museums around the world.

There is a video on youtube for a lecture called How to Make a Worth Gown, featuring Cathy Hay. 

Read more: Fashion History – House of Worth – Time Sensitive  »