Sewing Summit: Shopping, Swag, and Sightseeing

Sewing Summit was amazing. In addition to preparing to travel handmade and all the amazing classes, I was able to shop for fabric, was gifted so many goodies, and saw a bit of Salt Lake City with my new friends.

I managed to snag a spot on the Shop Hop bus. We spent all day Thursday travelling around to three local shops . I received a gift certificate to one of the stores, and that in combination with the generous 25% discount helped me keep my spending to a mere $40. I'm pretty sure Jes appreciated that.

I also won and was given a huge amount of swag and fabric: a jelly roll, thread, charm packs, scissors, a sampler pack of batting...plus so much more that I couldn't fit into the picture, like a new book (Ruby Star wrapping by Melody Miller--OMG!!!,) several magazines, and many patterns. It was all so incredibly overwhelming!

Before our trip, my three roommates and I decided to have a little swap of our own. We each made four of the same item, and then we swapped as soon as we were all there. It was super fun, and I ended up with some pretty great little pieces! I also swapped with my new bestest British friend (who taught me all the naughty English words!) Thank you all so much!!!

Sunday morning, after many people had already headed home, I spent some time wandering Salt Lake City with Leigh Walter. We attended the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's weekly broadcast, then explored the beautiful campus a bit.

I had such an amazing time at this year's sewing summit. I hope--cross your fingers for me--we can find the money for me to go again next year! What a wonderful tradition to look forward to. But even if it doesn't work out to go again, I will always treasure this amazing trip that I took, the amazing things that I learned, and the amazing people I met.

Sewing Summit: Classes

I was super fortunate to get into almost every class I originally wanted! I know a lot of people had problems registering, but honestly, after about 20 minutes of hurried back and forth and entering my credit card a gazillion times (I was only charged for the classes I finally got) I managed to have a crazy-cool schedule!

Friday, I started with the Metal Frame Pouch with Kelly Bowser of Kelby Sews. Unfortunately, her printer had an error so the first one I made was a tiny bit too small for the frame.  Which was a good thing, because even after the third try I couldn't quite get the corners perfect.  But, I ended up with a pouch that I absolutely love, and can't wait to use!  Plus, a few more frames to maybe make some Christmas presents...

My next class was Foundation Paper Piecing with Elizabeth Dackson from Don't Call me Betsy and Lee Heinrich of Freshly Pieced.  I totally botched my first block!  It was AWFUL!  I hate wasting fabric, and since you already waste a ton of fabric in foundation piecing, I wasted A LOT! But, I'm bound and determined to get this down so I can make cute little blocks like the cool kids do!  I also made one quarter of a string block, which went much better.  I think I want to finish the entire block and make a cute little pillow.

Speaking of the cool kids, I spent my afternoon learning English Paper Piecing from Katy Jones of I'm a Ginger Monkey.  OMG I LOVE her!  I was so shy that I could barely speak to her, but I'm still so excited that I got to refine my english paper piecing skills from one of the best!

I finished out the afternoon in the Mini Quilt with Curves Class, taught by Christina Lane from The Sometimes Crafter.  This might have been my most (sewing) life changing class of all time.  I finally learned how to sew curves WITHOUT PINS!  OMG the revelation!  (Just kidding.  Kind of.) 

Saturday, I spent my first three sessions in lectures, which afforded me the time to finish two of my English Paper Piecing wheels.  I learned all about website design from Melissa Esplin from I Still Love You, successful blogging from Tauni Everett from SNAP! Creativity, and Finishing Details from Anna Graham of Noodlehead.

I finished out my day in the Make 'n' Take a Knit Top with Sunni Standing from A Fashionable Stitch.  She was so sweet to spend some time the night before teaching me how to adjust the pattern to make room for my larger bustline and empty baby house.  My shirt wasn't perfect, but now I'm much more confident sewing knits on a regular machine, and I feel like I can make basic adjustments to simple patterns.

I'm so happy with the classes I took!  I'm excited about all the skills I learned and built upon, and all the super-talented people I met.  I can't wait to finish up projects and re-make others and start making my own!

Sewing Summit: Travel Handmade

Last year, I found out about Sewing Summit much too late to buy a ticket, plus I had a just past one year-old needy baby, so I couldn't go. I was so bummed! This year, I stalked the registration page, and was one of the first fifty people to sign up. I was so excited to go!

Now that it's come and gone, I'd like to share some of my thoughts about the experience over my next few posts, starting with my personal Travel Handmade experience.

As much as I would have liked to travel completely handmade, it was just not possible. I had quite a few little zippy pouches that I had previously made, so I only made a few other items which I could carry on the plane and in my luggage.

Of course, I needed a new purse to carry all my crap on the plane, right? I've wanted to make Anna's Go Anywhere Bag pattern for awhile, so I sacrificed some precious Heather Ross fabrics to make it happen. I absolutely love my new bag--Anna's patterns are very well written and easy to follow.

Since I wanted to bring a few favorite tools, I needed a place to safely stow them in my luggage. I was inspired by Christina's Travel Sewing Kit, but didn't have time to order the pattern she used. So, I decided to draft my own pattern. It's pretty much the same as hers, but without the (which in retrospect would have been totally awesome) place for needles/pins.

At the very last minute I made a zipper pouch for my English Paper Piecing supplies. I used Anna's Open Wide Zipper Pouch tutorial. I used some cute washi tape fabric with a natural linen on the bottom, and a favorite Chicopee print as the lining. I love this little pouch, but don't look too closely--I sewed it in 20 minutes, with Fini on my lap. The zipper may be a tiny bit crooked...

I'm sad that I didn't have time to make a few more things, but everything I brought made travelling a little more fun and colorful. Plus, it was always nice to have a complete stranger ask where I bought something, only to answer, "oh this little thing? I made it the other day!"