{"id":19716,"date":"2015-08-11T06:00:59","date_gmt":"2015-08-11T11:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/?p=19716"},"modified":"2015-07-27T14:12:17","modified_gmt":"2015-07-27T19:12:17","slug":"my-sewing-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/my-sewing-holiday\/","title":{"rendered":"My sewing holiday"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Designer

Joi got a bunch of the best Craftsy instructors together, along with other leading industry experts and teachers, all in one place at the same time and invited us along to join her and brush up on our sewing and quilting skills. \u00a0How could I resist.<\/p>\n

\"Untitled-1\"

To many Sioux City might not be the center of the universe, it's a ‘small' \u00a0place, but still has a much larger population than the Cayman Islands. \u00a0So put 200 keen sewers and quilters, the instructors and all the support and organisation staff in one place and it was pretty overwhelming for me. \u00a0I'm used to going all week and only seeing my husband so I felt pretty shy and sat quietly just letting it all sink in and listening to what everyone had to say, absorbing all of that knowledge and experience gathered into one place.<\/p>\n

Day 1<\/h2>\n

The hotel was really nice, modern with a strange woodsy\/hunting\/wilderness feel about it, lots of dark furniture. \u00a0I couldn't work out where the talking was coming from in the rest room until I saw the mirror had a TV in it – I've never seen anything like this before. \u00a0We are SO behind the times here in Cayman.<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS

\"OLYMPUS

Then we all got together for the first time to look around the vendor mall, check out all the swanky Babylock machines on display, browse through all of the example garments, and chat about sewing with our new friends. \u00a0Luckily the vendor mall was quite small, because I'd spent all my money just getting there!<\/p>\n

\"Dress

There was a welcome from Joi, dinner, with entertainment from a fun acapella group. \u00a0An interesting guy from Mettler gave us a presentation about how thread is made, and talked us through all the different sorts and what they were best for, and then an early night ready for our classes tomorrow.<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS

Day 2<\/h2>\n

My morning class was with Joi and she took us through the Fast Track Fitting system<\/a> she teaches on Craftsy. \u00a0The morning session was Fitting the Upper Body. \u00a0It was our first class and we were all a bit quiet. \u00a0I hadn't been sure what to expect. \u00a0I've got the Fast Track Fitting<\/a> class from Craftsy and had watched it although not really worked through it in much detail yet, so the extra information from Joi and the much more detailed explanation was really useful.<\/p>\n

\"Fitting

There was a lot of ‘boob talk', and we went through the fitting for the 4 quadrants of the body around the ‘apex'. She showed us examples on real volunteers from the group and it really helped to illustrate the different body types and what fitting adjustments can be carried out right on the pattern before we even start on a muslin, so that it's pretty ‘spot on' and doesn't need a lot of fine tuning. \u00a0Very useful.<\/p>\n

In the afternoon, my hero! \u00a0Angela Wolf gave a class on pattern hacking and showed us examples of dresses, jackets and more all created from a simple shift dress block pattern. \u00a0Not only did she talk us through each of the designs and how they worked, how darts were manipulated etc, but she passed round the actual dresses and we could see the construction, peek inside at how they were finished etc. \u00a0This was a very inspirational class and I've got so many ideas and learned so much about how moving darts around can make so many different shapes and designs.<\/p>\n

\"Pattern

What I like about this in particular, if you start with a block that fits you, then no matter what you do to manipulate and change that pattern, you aren't changing the size, so the resulting new design should fit too – unless of course there are very dramatic or radical style changes which might need some tweaking in a muslin to refine the fit.<\/p>\n

I love Angela Wolf – she is beautiful, multi-talented (you can tell from the wide variety of Craftsy classes she teaches<\/a>), very knowledgeable and such a great presenter too.<\/p>\n

In the evening, there was a presentation from a physical therapist at the local hospital who gave us all tips and exercises to make sure we are all sitting at the machine correctly, to help us feel less achy and tired and keep us sewing longer. \u00a0That was a fun talk and we were all on our feet stretching and bending (and giggling).<\/p>\n

The highlight of the evening was a presentation by Eleanor Burns, quilter extraordinaire and quilting legend. \u00a0She's now published I think I recall about 140 books and she is such a joy to listen to. \u00a0So much fun with a genuine love and interest in all that she does and sharing that with others. \u00a0I shared some of her favorite quilts and the stories behind them, and I started taking pictures of some of my favorites, but then realised I was taking pictures of nearly all of them! \u00a0I love the really bold styles and bright colors. \u00a0I should have had my glasses on though because some of them came out a little blurry. \u00a0Old age doesn't come alone….<\/p>\n

\"Eleanor\"

Eleanor admitted how she likes to design and piece the tops of the quilts, but has no interest in actually quilting them! \u00a0She sends them all out to a long arm quilter – I felt immediately better. \u00a0I feel exactly the same and now I know even the best-known quilters don't always have to quilt it themselves. \u00a0Just do what you love and you'll always love it.<\/p>\n

Day 3<\/h2>\n

A busy breakfast with all of us chatting and getting along like old friends now. \u00a0Sharing a love of needle crafts, whether quilting or other areas of sewing, means we always have something in common to talk about.<\/p>\n

Back to fitting again this morning with Fast Track Fitting, the Lower Body with Joi again. \u00a0This class was far more interactive than the first one, we were all starting to come out of our shell, all asking questions, volunteering to be class examples. \u00a0There were several different body shapes used as examples, young and older, skinny and rounder and all with unique fitting issues. \u00a0It was really useful to see the fitting adjustments being made on a real person and how much a person almost exactly matched a pattern in some areas, or how another needed a whole host of adjustments.<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS

The afternoon I was with Janet Pray<\/a> learning her Islander techniques for sewing without pins and basting, using industry techniques. \u00a0We concentrated on zippers and waistbands, all without pins and basting. \u00a0Er, yes, that was a little challenging. \u00a0I admit, my regular zipper was just a little wavy and the waistband a little lumpy. \u00a0But I learned some new tips and tricks and with a little more practice, I'll do better next time. \u00a0The classrooms were all well set up with plenty of working space, nice shiny new machines to work on and all the supplies we needed.<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS

I didn't get any pictures of Janet teaching because I was too absorbed in what I was sewing and learning! \u00a0I'll be honest too, I thought she was going to be a bit scary and a strict teacher, not sure why, but she's a sweetie too, very fun.<\/p>\n

Then we did a lapped zipper on a curve, as if it were on the side seam of a skirt, and added a ‘low bulk' waistband suitable for use with thicker fabrics. \u00a0It was my first time doing either of these and the lapped zipper came out reasonably well for my first try. \u00a0The low bulk waistband was easy and I can certainly see myself using this in future too.<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS

There were two highlights to the event for me. \u00a0The first one came this afternoon when Janet came to check out my work and said I was a good stitcher. \u00a0I beamed from ear to ear for the rest of the class. \u00a0Praise indeed from such a sewing superstar!<\/p>\n

Then a bonus session before dinner. \u00a0A lovely lady (Rhonda Pierce) from Schmetz came and gave us a talk all about needles. \u00a0Fascinating to learn how they are made, and then about all the different types and when they should be used. \u00a0I learned there was even a needle that has two eyes – no, not a double needle that has two needles, but a single needle that has two eyes so you can double up on the thread in different colors – how cool is that!<\/p>\n

\"needles\"

Dinner that evening we had two presentations. \u00a0One on the history of fashion and how it had been influenced by Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths from Dr Sara Marcketti<\/a> which the geek in me loved.<\/p>\n

Then a really inspiring and honest presentation from Mary Fons about hers and her mothers love of quilting, their books and magazines, and having their own show on TV. \u00a0She told us all about her leaving Quilty and the closing of the magazine and showed us what she's been working on. \u00a0A new range of fabric designs with really small scale prints. \u00a0We saw examples of her World Piece range coming out at Quilt Market later this year.<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS

Then highlight number two from the event for me. Mary had some fabric from her own stash to give away. \u00a0How should she decide? \u00a0“Who came the farthest to be here at Sewing Holiday?” \u00a0Woop woop, that's me, all the way from the Cayman Islands. \u00a0Here's my Mary Fons fabric – now what should I do with this special piece? \u00a0Frame it, stash it forever, or use it for a modern and improv quilt? \u00a0I feel I have to do this piece justice somehow.<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS

Does anyone know the name of this fabric? \u00a0Maybe I should try to track down something in the same range to co-ordinate with it.<\/p>\n

Day 4<\/h2>\n

This was an extra optional day for ‘Master Classes'. \u00a0It was a tough choice. \u00a0I almost<\/em> picked the fashion draping class with Joi, but we had to bring or buy our own mannequin and I just couldn't bring my Penelope with me, so I went with the Shirt Making with Janet Pray. \u00a0I'm a slapdash sewer and the thought of making a balanced collar, or getting cuffs on straight and the same size, or lining up buttons on a placket – these tasks all seem impossible to me.<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS

Strange as it seemed, my sewing clearly isn't quite as bad as I thought. \u00a0I did pretty well. \u00a0We made a boys shirt, which in some ways was more challenging than a man's shirt due to the smaller scale. \u00a0Time in the class was limited so we didn't get to finish everything, but I learned all about front button plackets, collars and collar stands, sleeve plackets and cuffs, and sewing a curved hemline.<\/p>\n

\"shirt\"

My shirt isn't finished, but I'm really pleased with what I did do. \u00a0It turned out much better than I thought, not perfect of course, I've never sewn anything like it before. \u00a0AND we did the whole thing using Janet's industrial sewing techniques which means NO PINS!<\/p>\n

Will I go on to start making hubby some shirts? \u00a0Probably not, he's more of a t-shirt and shorts kinda guy and well, shirts seem to take a long time to sew. \u00a0Nah, I prefer to spend my limited sewing time on me. \u00a0Maybe one day…<\/p>\n

So eventually it was time to leave, fly back to Cayman. \u00a0I had the most wonderful time, and hope I'll be able to attend another sewing event one day. \u00a0Maybe I could persuade her to bring the next one to Cayman? \u00a0Probably not, but it would help with my travel costs.<\/p>\n

Maybe I'll see YOU there at the next one. \u00a0You'll recognise me right away, I'll be the shy one wrapped in a blanket.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve just had the BEST time! \u00a0I don’t get to leave Cayman very often, so it was a double treat for me to go on vacation, and it was a sewing vacation too. \u00a0I went to Sioux City for the first ever Sewing Holiday organised by Joi Mahon of Designer \u2026 Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wds_primary_category":0},"categories":[15,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19716"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/so-sew-easy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}