Sara's Blog: What's New

Hello Again!

I love it when I get to bring Lori and Karla in to Westlake to meet me for our pre-taping BTS Sewing Boot Camp (sometimes called our Sweat Shop!!).

The three of us got together to work on projects for the upcoming taping.  We find that we come up with much more creative ideas when all 3 of us put our heads together - I'm sure you come up with your best ideas with a little help from your friends!  We had a blast - it's always long hours with lots of sewing, but never feels like work because the three of us really are great friends.  We each have a slightly different role... Lori is our analyzer.  We joke that she is slightly compulsive because no detail goes without being attended to when you are working with Lori!  Karla is our problem solver.  When Lori and I get wrapped up in a project not working quite as planned, Karla always comes up with a quick solution.  My role??  What ever they tell me to do!!  Really, I'm busy coordinating ideas with the girls and our guests, developing and organizing content for the show.  Then, I just let Karla and Lori bounce ideas off of me and do what ever they ask!! 

Here is a sneak preview of a couple of projects in the works...

Again, just the beginning of a few projects, but I think you'll have a lot of fun with all of them!

Ok, so a picture of us worn out toward the end of the week...

Yes, I know, not quite as fabulous looking as we are on set.  This is us with out enough sleep or the help of Kylee, our fabulous BTS makeup artist!!  What do you think of my new glasses??

Back to work now, hope you have had a chance to sew with your girlfriends lately!  Time spent together certainly does wonders for the creative soul!

Sara

Hello NowSewer!!

So you've heard the expression, DIY - how about EIY!  "Embroider It Yourself" is the theme of Eileen Roche of Designs in Machine Embroidery's new series of DVD's.  In our latest webisode of BTS, Eileen is showing us how she creates one of her "Boatload of Bags" almost completely in an embroidery hoop!  It's a very clever process and, of course, no ensemble is complete without matching shoes and even a belt buckle!  She shows us a quick, easy way to create a matching belt buckle.  For the shoes, you'll have to check out her website www.dzgns.com.

Eileen is the editor of Designs in Machine Embroidery magazine - the genius behind creating and compiling their helpful tips and beautiful projects!  The magazine is full of tips and projects to help you make the very most of your embroidery machine.  She also has several clever embroidery notions, that make quick work of hooping and aligning your projects and designs.  On top of everything else, she has written several books that all inspire confidence and creativity in embroidery!

Designs in Machine Embroidery is celebrating their 50th issue, what a milestone!  To celebrate with all of you, they are offering a free online edition complete with free instructions for 50 of Eileen's favorite projects!  What better way to celebrate than by rewarding all of you who have surely helped make the magazine so successful!

I hope that you all enjoy this latest episode of Behind the Seams, and don't forget to visit Eileen's site for tips, designs and lots of projects!  It was a joy to have Eileen in the studio, the depth of her creativity is bottomless and you are sure to learn something new each time you read Designs or check out the site!

Talk to you all soon!!

Sara

Hello NowSewers! 

I hope you are all having a great week.  My head is spinning from the week in Paducah!  Fabrics and notions and QUILTS, oh my!  Luckily, I was invited to attend the awards ceremony, what an experience!  To see the award winning quilts and feel the enthusiasm in the room was the perfect way to kick off the show.  If you weren't able to attend the show, check out this site and see all of the award winning quilts: http://www.americanquilter.com/shows_contests/paducah/2008/quilt_contest/

You are sure to find inspiration for you next project here!  Congratulations to all of the contestants!

Once again, I was able to meet some of you at the show!  What a pleasure.  That reminded me that I have a picture from Seattle of one of our community members:


What a lovely woman, originally from Europe, now living in the Seattle area. 

While at the show, I was on the prowl for the latest and greatest and booked a couple of very exciting guests for the show.  We'll be heading back to the studio in July to tape 12 more webisodes.  We always try to find what you, the community, are looking for.  If you have any great suggestions, let me know!

I had a few extra minutes one night before dinner so I stopped by Caryl Bryer Fallert's srudio.  If you aren't familiar with Caryl, she is an award winning artist.  She has won the AQS Best in Show 3 times, but what I didn't know is that she has also won many awards for her garments.  I heard one person in the studio comment that she didn't know Caryl made garments and Caryl responded, "Funny, in the 80's, people didn't know I made quilts!"  Oh how I wish I would have gotten a picture with her and had her sign one of the kits I bought!  What was I thinking!  Here are a couple of examples of her work, the quilt is "Birds of a Different Color":


Check out her site for more: www.bryerpatch.com

Caryl is a master of color, using bold colors in such a fascinating and dynamic manner.  She is also an incredible machine quilter.  Not your traditional stippling and feather quilting, some of that with an artful adaptation but incredible free forms that mirror each individual piece.  I got a few kits to learn and practice her techniques.  Oh, and the fabrics!!  She has incredible bold collections where the fabric starts one color and blends into several others, with coordinates to match, of course!  I had no idea where to begin - I loved all of the colors and could have easily spent thousands!  Alas, I bought a couple of instructional kits and promised myself I would return once I complete them.  Oh my, did I just give myself a quilting rule??  Must amend immediately...

Enough rambling for now... Check back again soon, I have an idea for a contest, of sorts, rolling around in my head.

Sara

It has been quite a week around here!  This weekend I decided to begin redecorating my sewing room, which I'm sure many of you know can be quite the task.  I am so excited, it will all be worth it in the end.  I will be sharing pictures as soon as it is lookin' good!!

All this decorating comes at a perfect time, really. This week, Donna Babylon's webisode will be uploading where she'll share decorating tips with more splash than cash. It should inspire us all for a little spring touch up.

Also, this week I am on my way to Paducah, KY for the AQS Quilt Show. I hope to see some of you there and to bring back a report of anything exciting that I find.

Sara

Hello Again!

I'm getting back into the swing of things and have some photos to share from my recent vacation in Hawaii!  What an amazing island, filled with energy, color, love and inspiration.  First, a picture of my husband (a serious Red Sox fan) and I, windblown and enjoying a whale watching dinner cruise on a Catamaran.



We were there at the tail end of whale season on Maui, but were still able to spot 10-15 whales enjoying the warm Maui waters.  It is amazing to me how such a large mammal can fly out of the water, breech and dive back in with such grace!  How free that must feel!

Next, a little inspiration...  My husband loves to take photos of flowers and other pieces of nature and then oil paint them.  His eye for color and texture is second to none, so he is always my #1 quilt fabric consultant!  I am fortunate to share my life with someone so creative who understands (most of the time ;) ) my need to buy be surrounded by gorgeous fabrics!!



I would love to find the perfect fabrics and create a wall hanging using this Bird of Paradise as my inspiration.  I'll have to dig out my Tsukinko Inks for this project to add dimension and texture to the fabrics.  After this trip, I can see how where Linda Visnaw's inspiration came for her "Hawaiian Surprise" quilt art projects!  She is a fabulous at combining free - motion sewing and Tsukineko Inks to create beautiful quilts, this quilt features many of the luscious flowers and colors of Hawaii!  I can't seem to get on her website, so I found her pattern at Golden Threads, check out this link:  http://www.goldenthreads.com/c-138-quilt-art.aspx 

Finally, a room with a view!  We stayed at the Sheraton on Ka'anapali beach and were able to listen to the birds singing and waves crashing and relax each day with a view like this:


We also spent a little time snorkeling, seeing the vibrant colored fish that live around the giant crater Molokini.  We also saw an eel and even a shark!  Maybe i'll post a picture or two once we get some of our under water pictures back....

If you've never been to Hawaii, I sincerely hope that you will be able to go one day.  It was such a long flight, but as soon as we could see the island, I realized how worth it the trip would be.  If you have been, I'd love to hear some of your favorite Hawaii memories and see how your photos and inspiration translated into other mediums and creative outlets!

Most importantly "Mahalo!" from the entire Behind the Seams team for being a part of the community and sharing your passion for sewing with us!

Aloha!
Sara