Sara's Blog: What's New

Hello everyone!

It has been a little hard for me to get back into the swing of writing my blog because I have a little bit of jet lag. I have recently returned from the beautiful island of Maui in Hawaii. Talk about inspiration!

Imagine with me beautiful sunsets, tropical flowers, bright colored fish, warm sand, lapping waves, and all the pineapple you could want. :-) I think that this trip has inspired a few new project ideas. Off to my stash and then a definite visit to my fabric store. A perfect way to capture some of these memories before I get into the swing of things and forget some of it. Plus, I was amazed at finding some of the handmade Hawaiian quilts at some local stores. They were all beautifully done, some even by hand. If only I had brought another suitcase, but now I can create my own.

I know not everyone gets a chance like this, but I bet your vacations, trips, or even your own hometown inpire you in some way. Feel free to share your inspiration and stories. I love to hear it. Plus, don't forget to post your projects here on NowSewing so we all can enjoy them. Inspiration comes from every corner.

Til Next Time.

Aloha!

Happy Friday!

I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to the weekend!  Can't wait to relax a little, I hope!

Our latest webisode is live now!  The team came together to work with Sonja Moen of WillowBerry Lane and her latest creation BerriAngles!  Sonja is one half of WillowBerry Lane.  They have a quilt shop in Devils Lake, ND, an online store, and several fabric collections with Maywood Studio.

If you are looking for a trick to make sewing triangles easier (how many of you aren't?), try the BerriAngles.  They give you nice, straight cutting and sewing lines as they hold your fabrics in place, pretty cool!  You have got to check out her website www.willowberry-lane.com.  I know you will love her fabrics, patterns and the BerriAngles!

About her patterns, she has a very clever way of packaging them.  All of the instructions are on the two sided packaging!  Her cutting dimensions are laid out in a pretty clever way, too.  The fabrics used on the show are from WillowBerry Lane fabric collections and show off her new "Sweet 16's."

Sonja is a clever lady with great design ideas!  Even better, she and Vicki Lynn (the other half of WillowBerry Lane) have a heart.  After teaching a group of guys to sew (imagine that!) one of the gentlemen suffered a heart attack.  She auctioned off the quilt they made and donated the proceeds to the American Heart Association.  Now, a portion of the proceeds from the pattern the guys made, "Gentlemen Prefer Blocks," are also donated.

As if it was meant to be, I met Sonja on one of the first days of Houston Quilt Market last fall.  Quite unexpectedly, I had to leave early.  My Dad called me and said, "Sara, are you sitting down?"  "Yes..." I said....  I certainly wasn't expecting to hear my 52 year old strapping, energetic, macho, can-do-anything Dad to say, "I'm having quadruple bypass surgery tomorrow."  What a shock!  Pops is doing great now, but an event so sudden really makes you think about what you can do to prevent and help.

I'm sure you have all been affected in some way by heart disease and know that it can strike anyone at any time.  My dad had never even had heart problems!  I felt so touched by what Sonja and WillowBerry Lane are doing to help the cause, I knew I had to have her on the show.  Even better - I love her products!

I hope that you enjoy this webisode and that you fall in love with the BerriAngles just like I did!

To learn more about the American Heart Association, how to keep yourself healthy, and how you can help, visit: www.americanheart.org.

I hope that you all have a happy, and healthy, weekend!!

Sara

Hello NowSewers!!

I am so excited about our new 2008 season of Behind the Seams and how our website and community are growing!  With the launch of our new season, we have some new upgrades for you, too.

In the past, only a condensed version of Behind the Seams has been available for you to watch on the site.  In order to see the full lesson and get project instructions, you had to visit a listed dealer.  We received a lot of feedback from the community that you don't have enough dealers in your areas to see the show.  We listened, and now we are delivering the show directly to you!  There are 4 subscription options available for you to be able to view the show and soon we will also have DVD's of season 1!  With a Platinum Memebership, you even receive the project instructions and bonus projects for the webisodes in season 1 as well as what's coming in season 2!  That's enough projects to keep you sewing for months!

Speaking of season 2, we are kicking it off with one of my very favorite Sewlebrities - Valori Wells!!!  If you watch closely, you'll see that I have a hard time sitting still through the segment.  I was so star-struck!  Sitting next to Valori, just chatting it up, I had a hard time concentrating!  For those of you who are new to Valori, she is a noted author and fabric designer who has created some of my favorite fabulous large scale florals as well as all of the coordinates to go with them.  In her webisode, Valori shows of some of the gorgeous quilts from "Simple Start, Stunning Finish" and how she uses her floral prints as the main focus of the quilt and inspiration for her quilting.  Even better, all of the quilts are quick to put together with an astonishing finished product!  It was a special treat to sit with Valori as she demonstrated how she outlined her quilting design and her favorite methods for really making it stand out. 

One cute story from the set...  I got a quilt kit of the pattern she designed for her "Sole" fabric collection and quickly sewed it together to have ready for the Fab-U-Motion infomercial we filmed with the segment.  In my hurry, I stitched in the ditch to keep all 3 layers of my quilt together.  Valori took one look at that quilt and asked me when I was planning to actually quilt the quilt.  That stitching in the ditch just wasn't enough!  Well Community Members, I think it is time for us all to step up our quilting!  Get over the fear and let Valori guide you!  As her mom, Jean, told her, "Just drop the feed dogs and go!"

Here we are on set in front of her "Red Tree" quilt from "Simple Start, Stunning Finish."

Valori sent some great pictures from her new book and a sneak peak of what she is working on with her next fabric line "Olive Rose."  Be sure to stop by the inspiration gallery to see them.  To learn more about Valori and her artful sewing, check out www.valoriwells.com.  She also has a blog: www.valoriwells.typepad.com.  AND as if she isn't busy enough designing, sewing, writing and raising two adorable little girls, Valori is co-owner of the Stitchin' Post in Sisters, Oregon with her mom Jean Wells, who you may have also heard of.  Check out the store at www.stitchinpost.com.

Coming later this week on Behind the Seams we have a great segment with Sonja Moen of Willowberry Lane.  Sonja is going to show us a few quilts using "BerriAngles," a great new notion for easily piecing various types of triangles.  They are a clever little tool that really make sewing triangles fast and easy.  You'll see three quilts; beginner, intermediate and expert all using the "BerriAngles" and all made from her "Full Sun" fabric collection for Maywood Studio.  For a sneak peak of what is coming, check out www.willowberry-lane.com.  We'll also talk more about how she is helping to fight heart disease with one of her BerriAngles patterns, a great cause!

I hope that you all enjoy season 2, we had a blast filming in the new studio with this great line up of Sewlebrities.  As always, if you have any additional questions or suggestions, be sure to drop me a line!

Talk to you soon!
Sara

I am finally home from Puyallup and boy am I exhausted!  Fabrics and Quilts and Notions, oh my!  Every time I go to a show like that, I feel like I need 3 weeks to do nothing but sew... ok, maybe 4!

It was really exciting to run into NowSewing community members from around the country!  I am so glad that I got to meet some of you, check back later this week for a picture of one of the gals I met.

Also, I got to catch up with several of our Sewlebrities: Michelle Griffith, Maddie Rhodes, Nannette Holmberg, Lorene Bonewitz, Hope Yoder, Cindy Losekamp and a few others.   Several of the ladies had exciting new patterns, threads, fabrics, etc.  Be sure to check the "What's New" page of the site for product spotlights I will be featuring some of these new products in.

Well, I have my work cut out for me.  I have to get to work trying out some of the new patterns and fabrics I got!  Hopefully, my next posting will have a few pictures for you to see.

Sara

Hey there NowSewers!

Well, my bags are packed and I'm on the move again. This week I'm travelling to Puyallop, WA for the Sewing and Stitchery Expo. I am so excited about it because it is another chance to see what is totally NOW in sewing and to see many of my sewlebrity friends. Plus, I get to talk to people like you and share what we are working on and all of the great ideas that are out there.

If you're going to be there, make sure you say hi!

I'll be bringing back all kinds of new ideas and lots of cool new stuff that I know I'll see so don't miss my next blog.