To Market, To Market, To Market I Go!

I’m sew excited to be headed to Quilt Market this weekend! Last time I went to Market was the Spring after I opened Sewtropolis and it was, conveniently, being held at the Convention Center in Minneapolis.

Back then I had no idea what to expect or what to do!  I asked my friend Jennifer to go with me – back then she was my moral support and I brought her everywhere with me.  When we walked into the Hall both of us just stood there not knowing where to begin!  There was SO MUCH to see!!  There were rows and rows and rows of fabric and patterns, books and notions!   There was so much to see that I could spent two days walking up and down the isles – just trying to take it all in.  Little did I know that the ‘show’ is just part of what Quilt Market is all about!  They actually have CLASSES!!!

So this weekend I’m spending 3 whole days at Market and I’ve signed up for all the classes time will allow me to take!  I will also be on the hunt for the coolest stuff to bring back!  I wish I could take everyone, but unfortunately some of you have to work.  So, I will be doing the next best thing: updating Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pintrest and the Blog.  I encourage  you to follow along and let me know what you want to see at Sewtropolis!  Have a favorite designer?  Let me know who it is and I’ll do my best to see what they have at Market after all this is where most will be ‘revealing’ their newest lines!

Personally I’m on a mission to meet Tula Pink the master mind behind the “Prince Charming” line of fabric!  She has a new line coming out at Market:  Birds & Bees.  I’ll bet it has Birds and Bees…. hidden in Flowers and Trees.

See you at Market!

This year I am planning on staying the whole weekend so that I can attend the Schoolhouse Series.  I’m hoping to learn the latest and greatest so that I can bring them back to you!   I’m considering this a interactive trip – my plan is to tweet, blog and update Facebook and Pintrest with all that is going on at Market.  Want to join in?  Then be sure to follow me and let me know what you want me to see!  I’m not shy when it comes to taking pictures!

 

More Prince Charming in the Bathroom

I have been on a roll with this Prince Charming line of fabric from Tula Pink!  I just love it.  I made the Crepe Dress from it this past summer, a shower curtain a couple of weeks ago and now I have a bathmat to match!

I was on Pinterest and saw some unique ways to finish the edges of quilts, including tying knots into strips of fabric and then sewing them into the edges.

You can see that some of the strips of fabric were sewn before tying and then I realized sewing the strips was just an extra step, so I just folded them and tied.  The hardest part was pinning them in place so that they would stay put while I sewed over them.   I love the effect of the knots and though I might not use the technique in a quilt, I’ll definitely be using it in a another (smaller) project.

 My bathroom is really coming together, but wait till you see what else I made with this line…..

Making a Crepe out of Prince Charming!

Last year Patty suggested that I bring in the Colette line of patterns and said that the “Crepe” dress was the “buzz” of the sewing blogs.  She was not lying!  Every time I order this pattern it sells out before I can get around to making it.  Well, not this time.  Pattty just finished up the Perfect Wrap dress using this pattern and so there were plenty patterns on hand for me to grab one before they were all gone.

You know from this post that I’ve had my eye on that Prince Charming fabric by Tula Pink and I couldn’t resist using the off-white and turquoise for my Crepe.

 

Here is the front.  I was almost hesitant to use the off white for this dress because I didn’t want it to look like a ‘seasoned’ brides dress.  And then I was afraid maybe it looked like a bridesmaids dress with the turquoise, but frankly I think it turned out so darn pretty that I just don’t care anymore.   I love this dress.  The kids always ask me what is the best thing you made – and now I have an answer!  This DRESS!!

 

I decided to do the Sweetheart neckline instead of the scoop neck because I thought it would look better on me.

 

 

Here is the view from the back.  It’s hard to tell from these pictures, but this dress is a wrap dress that wraps in the back instead of the front – which I LOVE!!  I’ve made a few wrap dresses and I love them, but not on a windy day.  This dress pattern was very generous with the fabric in the back.   And really if the wind is going to take it, I guess I’d rather have people seeing my backside then my front side.  (eh hem)

 

I chose to sew down my facings, using a ‘daisy-chain’ decorative stitch on my Janome.  I often tell people that you will use the decorative stitches on your machine about 2% of the time, this is one of them.  I used a tourquoise thread on the top and a off white thread in the bobbin so that there was a nice contrast on both sides.  You can also see that I used the same stitch to sew along the edge, the wrap panel (which is harder to see) and the back facings.

I’ll admit this pattern is a fabric hog, but if you can get over that it was a great pattern for an advanced beginner.  If you decide to make it be sure to come in and ask Patty and I how we handled sewing in the facings.

Now that the dress is made will the REAL Prince Charming please step forward.   Happy Sewing!

 

 

My Voile Maxi Dress

One of the things on my list of things to make as soon as we got the voile in was a Maxi Dress.  During the month of July we will be focusing on dresses and this dress is in the line-up for Tuesday, July 26.

I cut it out on Thursday and was AMAZED at how fast it went together this morning.  I even finished my seams, and I still managed to finish it in about 2 hours.

Next up:  Another Maxi Dress using  this voile:

Also, as promised here are some more pictures from the Minnesota Quilt Show.