Tidbits August 15, 2008

Free Purse Project by CreativeNeedleCraft using Grace Designs:

I have often talked about the wonderful patterns that Carolyn creates. Well, it came as no surprise to me when she sent pictures of a lovely purse made with designs from The Grace Collection. And the pattern is free! One can stitch the purse out completely using the lace panels or one can use fabric and stitch out the lace designs directly on fabric (as Carolyn did). Both ways the purse is beautiful and can be either a clutch purse or a shoulder strap purse.

When Carolyn had mentioned that she was making a purse last month, I had not realised that she had cleverly used the patterns from the Grace Collection-part 1 to create the purse. Only two designs are used from the collection to create the purse and this weekend I will certainly be using her directions to make a few for a few upcoming birthdays. Carolyn had sent me one of the prototypes but it had never dawned upon me the clever manner in how she put it together. Depending upon the occasion, one could make it with silk, cotton, faux suede or any other fabric of choice….not stretch fabric. Thanks Carolyn, that is awesome! The pattern can be found here: http://creativeneedlecraft.com/gracebag.htm

East Coast Fling:

Ever since the ASG conference in Virginia some years ago, I have been asked by many friends to have some show or classes on the East coast. Time just has not allowed me to do any planning but now…..friends on the East coast will be happy to know that I will be at the Attic Treasures in Occoquan, VA for a three day event from September 12 till September 14. The details of the show and the classes can be found on my schedule page and at the Attic Treasures website: http://www.seweasysewing.com/ . I will be teaching three different classes. The first is a 14″ square lace edged handkerchief. The laces are from the Needle Lace I collection. I love this handkerchief and have made so many that I have literally lost count. Not only is it a wonderful gift but also teaches one how to multi-hoop without the stress of having special hoops, special tools etc. I definitely must create a project page for the handkerchief which I hope to do later this fall.

The next class involves another favourite technique of mine…cutwork edge. The 10″ doily uses a 5×7 hoop four times to create this lovely doily. Ever since I created the cutwork edge technique I have been trying to make something that would be a light weight cutwork rather than the heavy satin stitch which is normally used. The design is from my newly introduced Vintage Borders I collection: http://sadiasews.com/vintageborders1.html  With holiday season right around the corner I wanted to be able to make somethings special which looked antique yet did not take that much time. The black velvet runner was made using the same design as the doily above but with gold thread…..what a difference!

The third class is an all time favourite of mine….applique but applique with a twist and ofcourse embroidery that can be used on something that every embroiderer wants to embellish…towels…and the thicker towels the better. Actually I had created this class quite a while back when I first introduced the Jacobean Symphony. My biggest concern in embroidering on towels is that I do not like the backside of the towel to show anything and when creating the Jacobean symphony designs I had the perfect idea….make a patch! This method has been used by me in so many ways to embellish items and is so fast and simple.

Not only do I have three days of hands on classes but I will also have three trunk shows. Now friends who attend my trunk shows know that my trunk show is not just a show and tell infomercial…it is actually a learning experience. I do hope to see many friends and from what I understand space is limited in hands on classes and the trunk shows at the store but on Saturday I have an evening trunk show with lots of interesting items and techniques to show and sh