Collared Shirt Class coming up in Austin

For anyone interested in stepping up their shirt-making skills, I'll be teaching a class at Sew Much More in Austin. This is a 2-day class, November 27 and December 4. We'll cover tools and techniques to sew a better collar, attach the collar/stand, add decorative stitching and  make better seams.

Please visit Sew Much More or call them at 512-452-3166 for more details and to register.

2010 ASDP Conference is just around the corner...

Less than two weeks away, in fact. I'll be headed to New Jersey this year on Oct 14. I always have a wonderful time at conference, but this time I am teaching a class (Take the Mystery Out of SEO) and I am a finalist in this year's Threads Challenge, "Suit Your Style". I'd love to give specifics, but it is a blind judging, so mum's the word for now. I will share details as soon as I can. I can say that I really enjoyed working on this project and took the "challenge" concept very much to heart. I have a long list of things I could have done better/different, but I am still very proud and please with what I made.
For more information and the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals (ASDP), visit the website: http://www.sewingprofessionals.org

I'll post updates from conference and when I return.

All My Feet....

So, here's a photo of my current Bernina foot collection. Not shown are the walking foot and BSR.
I am a foot whore, I'll admit it, but the amazing foot selection is one of the reasons I made the switch to Bernina. My latest favorites: 70/71 Flat fell (AKA lap seam) I use the narrow one for shirt seams. I've only tested out the wide one, but it be perfect for pants and jeans.

My BFF is back!

My dear Madeline(my new Bernina) has been in the shop for a cleaning for almost 3 weeks now, but she's home now. I've missed her so!
I was in California a couple of weeks ago for a family wedding and hit my favorite fabric store, Stone Mountain & Daughter, in Berkeley. For the fabric junkies, you'll understand my pain--arriving home with a fresh, delicious stack of fabric while my machine is in the shop. SOOO, I pulled my Elna from the dark corner where she's been pouting. I've had a guilty thought in the back of mind ever since I brought the new Bernina home. Maybe my Elna isn't such a bad machine. I never did have time to take the dealer's classes, so maybe I've just never learned how to make the most out of her.
Well, I was wrong. It's not that the Elna is a bad machine, but the Bernina is just so far superior. I know I sound like an ad, but it's the truth. And to be completely fair, the different in price is thousands of dollars. I'm sure for lots of sewing folks out there, it isn't worth the investment, but it is for me. Even my husband has noticed how much better my work is.
Off to my shop for now--I'll post photos of my fabric finds and latest projects in my next post.

Fancy Feet

Yes, my foot obsession continues. I broke my rule of not buying any new feet until I had become intimately familiar with the ones I already had, but for good reason.
I recently received a copy of Shirtmaking by David Page Coffin and was considering buying a flat felled foot and a roll hem foot. This past Friday, I found out the deadline for a sample for the shirtmaking class I plan to teach at my Bernina dealer was needed by Aug 1st. So I bought the feet, picked out fabric and made the shirt this weekend. I was unable to get a good hem with the rolled hem foot (too many sharp curves), but the felled seam foot looked like a charm. I also used a completely different technique to attach the collar and stand which makes it much easier to get the stand lined up with the front placket.

Oh, Baby!

I attending a baby shower this weekend. Much to my delight, my friends are expecting a girl. Baby girl dresses are the most fun to make. They're small quick and you can do sweet, cute details you can't do on anything else. I made a dress and 3 coordinating bibs.
The applique designs are from Urban Threads (http://www.urbanthreads.com).
The stitching on the dress bodice is stitch-stacking--a technique using multiple decorative stitches to create a lace effect.

My on-going foot fetish...

I've already accumulated quite a few presser feet for my lovely new machine, and am proud to say I used quite a few of them this weekend:

1C Reverse pattern (of course--this is the all-purpose that you can do most basic stitches
3C automatic buttonhole with slider--for a little dress I made for a friend's baby due in August
7 Tailor tack--for (drumroll, please) tailor tacks on a suit I'm making for ASDP/Threads challenge
10C Edge stitch--a few people have named this as their favorite foot, and it is def one of my faves
16 Wide Gathering--also for the baby dress. Loving this foot after getting the hang of it.
18 button sew on--have one for my Elna, but never used it since it seems easier to sew buttons by hand. No more--this foot works great, as does the button sewing program
35 Invisible zipper--SOOOO much better than the foot for my Elna which required me to sew twice to get it just right. The Bernina foot is perfect the first time, so it now takes me half the time to put in an invisible zipper

I still covet a few feet I don't have yet: Binding foot, Ruffler, piping. I am trying to get myself to master all the feet I've already bought before buying more. Will post again when I've tackles a few more...