Finally! Talk About Sewing Summit - and a giveaway

A couple of weeks ago now, I promised I would talk more about Sewing Summit.  Erin and Amy did an outstanding of organizing!  I can't even imagine all the work that went into putting this event together.  It was hard enough just organizing myself to get there.  I didn't manage to participate in half the things I wanted to, just because life was so busy in the two or three months leading up to Sewing Summit.  I just wasn't adequately prepared.  I would have liked to do the Fabric Shop Hop, and participate in one of the swaps, and to have made a cute name tag or tote bag before the Summit started, or psyched myself up to meet 5 new people every day and become best friends by dinner, or even brought a project to work on while I was there, as a lot of the women did... but frankly, I just didn't have the energy.  And, as my mom used to say, you get out of it just what you put into it.

That said, I think Sewing Summit was worth it, and I would highly recommend it for next year.  I did meet some fantastically talented new people.  And I did get to spend some "girl time" with my daughter.  And I learned some new things, too, or maybe they were new perspectives on old things.  Either way, it was a great time, and I would do it again.

Friday night, we staked out the FQ swap HQ and watched everyone bring in their FQs to swap.  Wow!  I wish I had taken a photo, because there were literally hundreds of FQs in every color and pattern you could imagine.  That must have been the trigger for the dream I had Friday night, because Saturday morning I awakened with an urgent desire to go buy fabric.  Not wanting to miss anything, I took advantage of one of the vendors at the event and bought some FQs of my own.

some of which made it into my free-sew project Saturday evening.  (I think one of the best things about SS was that I came home ready to sit down at the sewing machine and make something.  I think I had been a little burnt out or something, because I just had no desire to sew after the wedding.)  So this was a good thing.

One hour Fat Quarter Tote

Dana, from Old Red Barn Co.  presented a very thought-provoking discussion of blogging and social media, and its place in the creative world.  Perhaps the most frightening, and at the same time, intriguing tidbit was this You Tube video.

The times, as they say, are a-changin'.

It's mind boggling!

So back to something I understand....

My next class was Free Motion Quilting with Alison from Cluck Cluck Sew.  I was certainly inspired by all the lovely quilts she brought as eye candy!

Alison brought a handout of various FMQ designs, and I tried to attempt them all.  My skills certainly need improving, as you can see from my "sampler".  It was fun to try them, though.  Sorry this pic is so dark, when I lightened it, you couldn't see anything!

After lunch, I attended the Outside the Box color class presented by Jeni B of In Color Order. No tangible take-aways from this one, and she's probably a lot more organized than I will ever be, but her class gave me a new perspective on color.  And I loved that she brought hand-crafted samples of each of her points.  True to form, I apparently I took no photos of any of them.  However, one of the highlights was a brand new

for each member of the class.  I had gotten one at Quilt Market, but this one is the most up-to-date.  Even though I am limited by what our local JoAnn's and LQS sells, it is always a great reference.

Would you just look at all that yummy goodness?

The last class on Saturday was on applique, which I have been doing since - oh - about 1970.  I have updated my method a few times since then, but this method was new to me.  I had never used spray starch to stiffen the fabric so that you don't need fusible interfacing, and I had never used glue stick to attach the applique to the background before sewing.  I think I need to add cheap spray starch and glue stick to my sewing equipment list.

Aside from the fact that my machine ran out of thread in the middle of this block, and that there was no more gray thread anywhere in the room apparently, I'm pretty pleased with this effort.  This was a fun and easy method of holding the block together until the stitching came along to save the day.

There's so much more to say, but that will have to be the subject of another post, I'm afraid, because I'm sure if you've read this far, you're about to doze off.  As you could see from the STUFFED tote bag in the top photo, I came home with lots of loot.  So, how about a giveaway?

Here's what's up for grabs -

• One of my One Hour FQ Totes - in some of the fabric from the top FQ bundle in the photo above
• A "Stella" pattern by Izzy and Ivy to help you stitch something wonderful for the little girl in your life
• A spool of black rayon embroidery thread, and
• A KONA Color Card from Quilt Market (I don't think this one is too out-of-date)

To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite thing to make from Fat Quarters.  I'm looking for Christmas gift ideas, and FQs are easy and fun.  If you are a follower, or become one, just leave me another comment for a second entry.

I'll choose a winner via random number generator next Sunday night (or maybe Monday morning).  Be sure I have your email address to let you know if you win.

BTW:  Speaking of Christmas, you have just a few hours left to visit the 12 Gifts of Christmas Tutorial Blog Hop and enter there to win a $250 shopping spree at fabricworm.  Too fun.  Did you notice that BD#1 a/k/a/ A Crafty Fox was yesterday's tutorial writer?  Isn't she creative?  You can enter on her tute to win a $30 gift certificate at her little fabric shop, Westwood Acres.  Not to mention a cute photo of a certain little Oreo eater...

Photo stolen from A Crafty Fox

Now aren't you glad you came to visit?