All the rage here at Laura’s Sewing School, we are having such fun and interest in making Amy Butler’s gumdrop pillows that I have scheduled a one day workshop for us to go wild and make them together.  I will order the stuffing and patterns and you will purchase the fabric of your choice.  You can see the details (dimensions, materials list) about the pattern on Amy Butler’s website.
These cushions are made of drapery weight fabric.  You can find that weight of fabric here in Arlington, at Fabric Corner, at Freddy Farkel’s in Watertown (also known as Fabric Showplace) and online.  Fabric Corner just ordered a large selection of Amy Butler home dec fabrics and they have received 12 of them! They will go fast, especially because they will be posting them for online sale, too. So, you may want to get there as soon as you can to pick up the fabric.  If the weight is fine, it can be any brand of fabric.  You just don’t want a fabric which is too loosely woven, or unravels easily.  Fabric.com has a nice selection of Amy Butler printed twills if you want to use her fabric designs.  There are 8 panels, all the same, which are sewn together like sections of an orange.  They are packed with a LOT of stuffing.  I found hand sewing the first one, Amy Lou actually did that work since it was her project, rather tedious.  So, when I made MY first one, I used an invisible zipper to close the pillow once it was stuff.  Much easier and quicker.

Kids absolutely love this pillow. They have found it as a great place to sit and bounce and roll on or off.  Adults do find it useful as a footrest.   You can make them with one fabric or two.  If you cut it from one fabric, you fussy cut it, making sure that it is cut in the very same place on the fabric, for all the pieces.  This makes interesting, kaleidoscopic patterns, especially if the fabric has symmetry.  You can see this on both of Amy’s pillows.  Even though I used 2 fabrics in the pillows for my nieces, I did cut all of the large-scale, patterned fabric in the same place.  There is an octagonal patch on the top of the cushion.  I fussy cut that, centering it on a flower or pattern.

I propose that the workshop be on Sunday, March 15th.  From 10am-4pm.  That should give us plenty of time to work and eat and stuff and finish one gumdrop cushion.  The next one, you will be able to do on your own and much faster.  I will provide the stuffing and the pattern. You provide the fabric, thread (good quality polyester like Gutermann or Mettler) and an invisible zipper in a matching color.  The only part of the zipper to show will be the tab.  Buy a 12-14″ zipper or longer.  It will work for either size pillow.  And, if you have to buy a longer zipper to get a color match, it is very easy to shorten.  Better too long than too short!  The Fabric Corner sells invisible zippers and the presser foot to apply it to your project.  I just talked to them about ordering enough for all of you.  The presser foot is adaptable to most sewing machines and can be used over and over again.  It is reasonably priced and worth buying.

I will have to price out the patterns and stuffing.  So, I will have to get back to you on the price for the class.  I think that we can have 5, possibly 6 students for the day.  Let me know if you want to take the class and I will let you know the price.  If the 22nd of March is better than the 15th, let me know.  I am flexible about the date.  If you are available during the day, M-F, I could possibly meet with you for a workshop on a Thursday.  I am excited about this project.

We are in a time when people are concerned about their jobs and income.  Many of us are looking for ways to save money by doing things ourselves we may have paid to have done it the past.  Sewing can be a great skill to have with this in mind.  Hiring a decorator costs money.  And, having any curtains or pillows or bed clothes made for you, is unbelievably expensive. (I promise that I will post pictures ASAP)  This is too boring to read without illustrations….well maybe not boring, but far easier to understand if you have photos to look at.)
You can save a lot by making your own roman shades or other items.  I made 9 roman shades for a sunroom I had.  I designed them to pull up from the bottom or drop down from the top.  That way, I could still have light and an open feel, but gain privacy on the street side of the house.  There are some custom mail order services which will make your curtains and shades to order.  One very good one is Smith & Noble.  They do quality work with a quick turn around.  They have very nice fabric options, etc.  I looked up the price of one roman shade.  At the time, they offered top down OR bottom up options separately, not together.  One shade with similar measurements to mine would cost $250 at that time (7 yrs ago?)

I made 9 shades from some sale fabric I liked, and spent approximately $100 for all 9, including the hardware, wood (for mounting boards and slats at the top and bottom of the shades) and cording.  I even made shade pulls for the ends of the cords out of Fimo clay.  I was able to use a color which went well with the fabric.  Make them the size I wanted and then set the clay by baking it in the oven.  Didn’t smell the best, but the weather was warm so I opened the windows.

I reupholstered a wing chair I have.  It is a quality piece originally from Ethan Allen.  The fabric on it was a large bargello weave.  There was a tack line along the wings, arms and base of the chair.  It took me forever to get the tacks out.  They were only decorative.  I think there were over 300 of them.  I never liked the tacks because they would rub along the bone between my elbow and wrist.  I saw some fabric I liked at Fabric Place and bought enough for the chair.  I thought I would do it myself.  Then I changed my mind and decided to have it done for me.  I was going to cost me $585 without the cost of the fabric.  I waited until I could put aside that kind of money for it.  I forgot about it for awhile.  That was until almost 3 years ago.  I had a student who came to me, who was taking an upholstery class at the Fabric Place in Framingham at the same time as mine.  It was 10 weeks long.  Toward the end of the FP class, she told me that I needed to help her finish her wing chair.  I told her that I wasn’t sure if I was the best person to help her.  She insisted that I could.  And, that I should do my own chair for practice.  I had worked a short time for an upholsterer in Northern Wisconsin in 1988.  I had done cushions and foot stools and many other projects.  But, I was a little shy about a wing chair.  They are a more advance item to work on.  I have a lot of books on upholstery.  I find it very interesting and I have done a few slipcovers.

So, she convinced me to do it.  I focused all my spare sewing time on it for 10 days.  I took very good notes as I removed each part of the original cover, so that I could remember how things went together.  I saved all the fabric panels to use as patterns.  What surprised me, is that once the agony of extracting so many tacks and staples was over, that upholstering the piece was far easier than slipcovering it would have been.  You cut panels of fabric larger than you need in a shape similar to the original.  Staple it to the frame in a certain order and then cut away the excess fabric.  It requires very little actual sewing!  The only things I needed to sew were piping/welting and the cushion cover and arm covers.  It came out very well.  And, even though I spent time on the project, I enjoyed it and continue to enjoy the chair in my Living Room.  One funny thing was that I thought I had bought the fabric 2 years before.  Fabric Place would always place a sales slip on the fabric when you bought it.  I hadn’t removed the slip and when I looked at it, I realized that I had bought the fabric 4 years earlier!  You must use no fabric before its time..it must age appropriately…..(that’s a take-off from an old wine commercial with Orson Welles saying, “We sell no wine before its time.”)

Simpler projects can be fast and easy.  I made my dog 2 different beds from fabric left over from other projects.  I’ve made pillows, valances, bookcase curtains on swing rods.  Placemats, table runners, tablecloths, napkins, sewing machine covers, book covers, (I don’t want people knowing what I really read, “fluff,” or as one of my HS students calls it “Chiclet reading.”)  It’s hard to even think or list all the home items I have made.  Oh, another is a bean bag ottoman cube.  I have one in my school’s living room area.  It is very comfortable to rest your feet on and is simply a cube.

Bedroom items: shams, quilts, duvet covers, dust ruffles, curtains, throw pillows, hanger covers for those clothes which are not worn often, so you want to cover the shoulders to keep off the dust.

Bathroom: Shower curtains (to be used with a waterproof liner), window curtains or roman shades or valances, sink skirts, cosmetic bags or a hanging storage bag with pockets for all of the separate items.

I could go on, and I probably will.  But, it is getting late and I do want to post some pictures for you.  So, I will sign off for now.

When I was setting up my shop, I talked about what it was like and what I wanted to do to it.  I haven’t updated any of that for a long time, nearly 2 years.  I have the before pictures on my shop computer and will make sure I load them on the original post about the bathroom.  Right now, I am writing from home.  But, I wanted to post current (Jan 2009) pictures of the bathroom.  So, here are some shots.

Since this bathroom doesn’t get wet from a bath or shower, it has allowed me to really go wild decorating it with items that wouldn’t stand up to the humidity of a full bath.  And, I hope it can inspire you with decorating ideas.

I did get a new vanity, faucet and mirror installed, not too far into 2007.  The vanity is very nice.  It is shallow, has a porcelain sink, and the style of it and the mirror go really well with the bead board walls and pressed tin ceiling.  The 3 came as a set from Lowe’s.  I found the faucet after much searching.  It is the only water source in my shop, so I needed it to be flexible.  High enough to fill pitchers with water.  And, be a good quality.  I finally went to Brickman’s in Waltham.  Unfortunately, they are now gone.  They were a “fixture” on Moody street for many years.  The faucet cost more than the vanity package.  Then, when the plumbers came, I found out that the installation was going to be more than the cost of the vanity and faucet combined.  This was because it was a commercial installation.  These are the hidden costs of running a business.  I have never regretted getting this improvement.

Two of the first things I installed in the bathroom were a toilet paper holder and a towel ring.  When I moved in, the painters had painted with the TP holder in place with TP on it.  There was tissue stuck to the wall! Uck!  And, the towel bar was just above it.  Standard-issue hardware store, bent square shaped rod, with screw plates at each end, chrome, of course.  I took a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond and got the holder and towel ring.  They are very sturdy, well-priced and look nice.
I hung a paper towel holder on the wall which use to be in my grandmother’s kitchen in Northern Minnesota.

Above that is a counted cross stitch of a bundle of pansies.  That was made by my Mom.  She is a dedicated cross stitcher.  I have another piece she did for my last birthday.  It is a Welcome sign.  It has sewing implements on it, which make up the letters.  It is hanging about the coat rack at the front of the shop.
The ceilings are tin and really high, so I had space above the pansies and the sink mirror.  I was at TJ Maxx and found a framed print.  I thought I would use it at home, but the colors and style made me think of the fabric and colors in the bathroom at the shop.  So, I brought it there and it fit the space sideways really well.  Plus, it covered a small (1.5″ dia.) hole in the beadboard.

The light fixture on the wall was ugly and operated by a twist switch.  I installed a wireless switch on the outside of the bathroom door frame.  Then I screwed the other end into the fixtures socket, then the bulb into that.  I removed the frosted glass shade and attached a beaded/sequined silk shade which has crystals hanging from the bottom.  I had those on some sconces in my old house which were above the fireplace.  I bought them from a wall lamp vendor at the Minnesota State Fair.  I cannot remember who he was.  But, he made lamps with would hang on the wall, and the cord was hidden in a pipe which curved and resembled a vine with leaves.  They were nice.
I bought swag finials and screwed those into the upper corners of the window.  I draped a black embroidered shawl over them and that covered a telephone junction box on the window frame.

I found a small, striped, wool rug at TJ Maxx & More in Woburn that goes well on the floor.

There is a painted wooden vessel at the base of the vanity.  I bought it from Target.  It looks nice, just a little decorative addition to the small space.
On the wall behind the door, I made a long curtain that fits on a continental tension rod.  It is a semi-sheer fabric with shiny holographic dots on it.  It picks up the light from the star lights hanging in front of it really well.  The lights were a gift from a friend who bought them from IKEA. The only problem I had making the curtain was that the dots would stick to the soleplate of my iron and somewhat to the ironing table.  I had someone give me some fabric and included was a multi-colored printed sheer.  I split it in half lengthwise, sewed both halves together at the middle so it would be long enough to drape along the top of the wall curtain.

I attached a dragonfly hook on the back of the door.  I purchased it from Restoration Hardware some years ago to put in the half bath of my old house.  It has a verdigris finish.  I thought it would come in handy when students use the bathroom as a changing room.
The plant on top of the toilet tank has survive my neglect for nearly 2 years.  I am terrible with house plants.  I do well with the window boxes because I have to water them everyday.  It is part of my opening routine.  But, give me a house plant and you are sentencing it to a long and slow death.  I should not have admitted this.  The plant was given to me by some very good friends as a “shop” warming gift.  I moved it to the bathroom so I might remember to water it more often.  Maybe that is why it is still hanging in there.

Here are just a few photos I had posted on my Wirkkala Designs website.  I thought that I would copy them here.  The first is of the curtains and pillows I made for the Master Bedroom in my old house.  You may recognize them, since they now hang in the front windows on my Sewing School!

Second picture is of a lamp I found in the trash.  I cleaned it up, had it rewired and made a lampshade out of some Elephant print fabric I have, which you may recognize from a quilt I have pictured below and in another post.  I glued the trim on with white glue.  I prefer double sided tape nowadays.  Less messy, instant tack and no burning potential when using a hot glue gun.  This picture was taken at the base of the stairway, leading to the 1/2 bath on the first floor of my old place.  The painting on the wall is a watercolor I did.  I copied a picture of leaves scattered on the forest floor.

The third picture is of my daughter’s crib, from when she still slept in one.  Of course, she slept with the side on, but the picture looked much better without the railing.  I made the dust ruffle, bolster pillow, the bumper pads and the duvet cover for the crib-sized down comforter.  (The only place I was able to find that size of down comforter was at the Company Store in Wisconsin)  Amelia still uses the duvet and even though she is too long for it to cover her, she takes it with her on sleepovers and, at home, has me put it on top of all her other blankets.  Once I pieced the top, I backed it with cotton batiste, stitched those layers together in the ditch so that it would keep the patchwork seams from fraying in the wash.  It has worked well because this cover has been washed many times in the last 8.5 years.  Don’t you just love the walls behind the crib?  They were painted during the 4 days I was in the hospital when I had Amelia.  The painters did this beautiful paint effect.  Plus, they painted faint cloud images on the ceiling.  Dave Matuccio and his crew did the work.  Great guys.

Hi, this is very appropriate topic for today (Jan 28, 2009.)  We are having a snowstorm which is supposed to turn into freezing rain.  I have rescheduled today’s classes.  If the schools are closed due to weather, my school will probably be closed.  I will leave a voice message on the Laura’s Sewing School line (781-646-2463) as early in the day as possible, saying whether or not we will have class.  I will then try to contact everyone, effected by a class cancellation, directly.  I will offer a makeup class.  If you cannot make that class time, I will do my best to find another time for you to attend.  For example, I have been able to reschedule both this morning’s and evening’s classes for tomorrow.  Yet, one of the evening students couldn’t make it, so he is coming to another class time next week.

Keep warm and safe and cozy and we will see each other soon.

Laura

Following up from the Quilt project posting, here are pictures of various projects I completed in 2008. It’s not all of them, but the ones that are loaded into my shop computer. As you scroll onto the picture, each has a label of what it is.  Just like on the other pages, if you click on the photo, it will enlarge. To return to this page, click on the Back Button. (When I made so many items from a duvet cover: shower curtain, sink skirt, a top and a dress and then had some fabric left over, I couldn’t help but think of Carol Burnett’s “Went with the Wind.” Their take on “Gone with the Wind.” Check it out on YouTube, especially part 2 and the dress she makes…… Part 1 and Part 2)

Well, I haven’t been very prolific when it comes to posting new things. I do sew as much as I can, but haven’t been keeping up with posting pictures of my work. And, I have made more things than I have the photos to prove.  So, I thought I would quickly post my latest quilt project. I make quilts, not for money, but for friends and family. There is so much time and work involved, it would not be a financially viable way to make a living. I do it for the love of the process and the recipient. Piecing a quilt top requires precision, and since I have a streak of perfectionism in me, it is a good outlet for that. (To see an image closeup, click on it. To return to this page, press the Back button.)

The pictures of the individual blocks are in order from left to right, top to bottom. If you look closely, you can see that I put the border print in every block. I had to “fussy cut” them but the effort was worth it.

The Last picture is of the pillow my daughter, Amelia, made for Joan. She took scraps from when I was making the center block, and without help from me, cut and sewed the pinwheel. Then, she asked me to rotary cut some strips. She did all the sewing and stuffed the pillow and hand-sewed it closed.

This quilt was started in the fall. It was a gift for my daughter’s great aunt, who was suffering from cancer. I had bought a set of 1800′s reproduction fabrics from Keepsake Quilting in New Hampshire. My friend, Sara, and I went on a day trip there a few years ago. We wanted to see their store and take a day off together. She makes wonderful quilts. Sara always has a quilt in process and is very organized. She brings a file folder of fabric swatches with her so that she can fill out the colors needed for the quilt. I tend to enter a store and buy what appeals to me. I didn’t plan on buying anything that day. But, of course, I could not resist…… 19th century style fabrics are not what I usually work with. I tend to like batiks, bright colors, and more contemporary styled prints, including some modern. I bought a variety which would go together well. Trying something new, or should I say “old?” I thought I would make a feathered star quilt. But, as I let my fabric age, I never started it. When I thought of doing so, I couldn’t find them in my stash and then, when I could find them, I had misfiled the pattern.

Last Fall, I decided to make a quilt for Joan. I thought she would like the more traditional fabrics. She was a fine needleworker. Amelia received several gorgeously made smocked garments. And, Amelia was christened in a gown Joan had made for her children, grandchildren and other family members. Amelia was the 11th to wear it 9 years ago. She was a photographer, and writer, too. I decided to use Biblically inspired blocks for the quilt, since Joan and her husband are devoted Christians. I used 2 books by Rosemary Makhan for the patterns, “Biblical Blocks” and “More Biblical Blocks.”

The 6 squares above and below the center block, are 12 inches square and placed on point. They are divided in thirds, fifths, sixths and sevenths. That means that some of my cutting was to the 1/16th of an inch, yikes! For the triangular piecing, I used a paper piecing technique using freezer paper patterns. I used freezer paper templates, ironed to the fabric for the odd shaped pieces in the Tree of life block. The rest were cut to size and pieced together. The borders were cut to show the pattern at its best. It was hard to match them at the corners since the pattern in the red section was not symmetrical. I was in a hurry to put on the outside border, so I just crossed my fingers and left it up to serendipity that they would look good. It turned out better than if I had tried to second guess it. As you have probably figured out, I did all of the cutting and sewing for the quilt top.

Since I needed a fast turnaround on the quilting, I decided to have a professional machine quilter do the work, if I could find someone who was available. Georgette Gagne of Black Wolf Quilting Services was able to help me. I gave her the top on a Sunday afternoon. She lives in Webster, NH. We met the following Wednesday at 5pm in Nashua. I drove right back to my shop and started putting on the binding. I finished it after my evening class, around Midnight. I printed a label on my inkjet printer. I set the ink with a dry iron. The printing was done by ironing a sheet of 8.5 x 11″ sheet of freezer paper to the back of the fabric. I trimmed the sides evenly and ran it through my HP. I used the same fabric as the quilt backing. So, to have it stand out, I bordered it with a rust colored print, which coordinated with the binding fabric.

I used the freezer paper piecing method on my Elephant Walk quilt, pictured below.  It hangs in my shop near the cutting table. It is easy and precise. All of the triangles in the compass and the borders are done this way. It was especially helpful when I did all of the green triangles in the Tree of Life Block. This technique was the brain child of Judy Mathieson. I took a workshop with her a few years back in which I did the center compass of the Elephant quilt. She is an extremely talented quilter whose best known for her Mariner Compass quilts.  Since I was intent on using the Elephant print fabric somewhere, she suggested that I have Elephant’s walking across the quilt.  Thank you, Judy!  I machine pieced all of the geometrics.  I hand appliqued the various Elephants who are walking outside the lines.  Needle turning under the 1/8″ inch wide tail of the smallest elephant is not something I would like to do again.  Then, I machine quilted in the ditch around all of the triangles and compass points and borders.  Then I free-motion quilted around all of the elephants and plants and flowers and the cream colored background of the center block.  Trimmed bound and labeled it.  The label is also done on the inkjet printer, like the Biblical quilt above.  It’s been in 3 shows.

Kathy and I first met when she started attending one of my classes 6 years ago. She heard about me through her friend, Mary Poor, who had been taking lessons with me. Kathy kept coming week after week, month after month. She started with home dec, never imagining she would sew clothing, let alone, knits. Now, Kathy’s outlet is sewing and she has a fabulous new sewing room in the house she and her husband, Noam, just moved into after lengthy renovations.

Kathy has become a very good friend and has gone exploring the internet and fabric websites and pattern makers I hadn’t even known existed. Recently, we took a trip out to Sawyer Brook Fabrics in Clinton, MA, together. Pattern Review arranged a special day visiting SBF. They opened the showroom on a Saturday for us, gave us a preview of their fabric line and let us loose in the showroom to purchase fabric. I only bought 4 pieces, hah! A beautiful silk tweed; a soft, pinwale printed corduroy; and 2 different knits. I will post pictures when I finish those garments. After we finished at SBF, we all went to a lovely orchard in Sterling, MA. called Meadowbrook Orchards. The sandwiches were great and do not miss their apple turnovers.

So, back to Kathy. I am posting pictures of a few of the items she has made. I think you will enjoy working with her. She is positive and can help you understand working with knits from purchasing them, matching them to the right pattern and construction techniques on a regular sewing machine. If you have a serger, you are welcome to bring it, but it is not required to be able to take this class.

Please check out the web links on the right column for resources.

Patterns: Jalie, Christine Jonson, the major pattern companies: McCall’s, Butterick, Simplicity, Kwik Sew, Burda, New Look, Green Pepper all have patterns for knits. The Ottobre Designs Magazine always has some nice patterns for knit clothing. You can buy these patterns at each of the listed companies’ websites, plus: JoAnn’s, Pattern Review (website), Sewing Patterns.com, The Sewing Place, Sewzanne’s and others.
Since Fabric Place is closing, it is harder to find good quality knits locally. Online is our best resource for buying knits. This can be scary for us who like to feel the fabric before we buy it. Most online services will send you swatches of fabrics which interest you. And, places like Sawyer Brook, offer a regular swatching service in which you receive swatches of the new fabrics several times a year. Usually there is a small fee for this service, but it is worth it.

I have several sites listed. There are so many great knits available today. Eco friendly like Bamboo, or even Soy! Tencel, Rayon, Cotton and blends and Polyester and hemp, this list goes on. Check out: Emma One Sock; Sewzanne’s; Gorgeous Fabrics; Christine Jonson; Fashion Fabrics Club; Vogue Fabrics; Sawyer Brook Fabrics; The Rain Shed (known for activewear and outdoor fabrics), Denver Fabrics and I am sure there are other places I haven’t encountered, yet.

Kathy will be going over the basics for choosing the right materials for your project. Have some ideas in mind coming to the first class. One thing you need to know is that patterns for wovens are sized for woven fabrics. There is extra room built in for “wearing ease.” There needs to be space between you and the fabric so that you can move your body. With knits, the fabric itself has wearing ease built into it, from a little to a lot. Have you ever bought a knit shirt that was smaller than your body, but when you put it on, it fit perfectly? To get a skin tight, curve-hugging fit, the knit shirt had to be made smaller than your body measurements in order to fit that way. The give of the knit fabric allows it to hug your shape.

Different knits, have different stretch. Some stretch more in one direction than another. Most sweaters have more give across your body than up and down. Knits designed for activewear usually stretch equally across an up/down. Double knits, you may remember the cursed Leisure Suits of the 70′s, are very stable and hardly stretch at all. You would use a pattern for wovens for this type of knit.

Denver Fabrics has a very good page on their website describing different types of knits and their appropriate uses for garments. They also describe how much stretch is in different percentages of stretch suggested for patterns. You see, each pattern for knits will have a stretch guide on the back of the pattern envelope. For example. A 50% stretch fabric means that if you take a 4 inch piece of fabric, it must stretch at least 6 inches wide to qualify to be used in the pattern calling for 50% stretch. On Sewzanne’s web site, there is a description in the right hand column of each particular knit, how it is made and best suggested uses. So, if you click on the page for “French Terry,” it tells you its definition in the right hand column, next to the color listings.

I have been playing with knits more lately because of Kathy’s encouragement. I bought some Jalie patterns through Pattern Review. As a member, I receive a discount on patterns purchased through their website. Nearby is a picture of my daughter. She is wearing a shirt I made for her from Jalie pattern 2788. It is the twist top pattern with a couple of alterations. I made a girls size “8″ (Jalie sz “L”), but lengthened it quite a bit. As you can see, she is thin and long. I raised the back neckline so it no longer scoops or needs a tie. She wanted long sleeves that flare out at the bottom. A nice part of Jalie patterns is that they are sized from a girl’s size 2 up to a plus sized woman’s. I used this same pattern to make 2 different sleeveless tops for myself. You trace off your size from the heavy paper pattern. I like using Pattern Ease for this. Pattern Ease is sold by the yard. It is a non-woven polyester/rayon material which is stable in all directions and is sheer enough that it is easy to trace patterns. It is quite durable and I prefer it over Swedish Pattern paper or other tracing mediums. Fabric Corner, here in Arlington, usually carries it. It is often kept with the interfacings.

If you use Ottobre Designs, the patterns are traced off from a Magazine insert. Pattern Ease works great for this, too. Getting back to this shirt I made for Amelia on October 3rd…..After I traced and altered the pattern, I sewed the seams with the serger on a 4 thread overlock and used a twin needle for all of the hems. The 2 best things about the project were that I finished it in 2 1/2 hours and Amelia really liked the shirt and it fit her. I guess that is 3 things.

In conclusion, you will love this class. Kathy is personable and funny and knits are easier than you would think. You must know how to sew in order to join this class. This is not a class for beginners. If you are not sure where you stand, just call or email me to find out if you have enough experience.

This summer was amazing. I met so many new students and was thrilled with their work. I wanted to share some photos of a few of the many projects which were completed over the 7 weeks of classes. I will be adding more pictures shortly.

You can click on any one of the images to enlarge it. When you want to return to this page, just use you “Back” button once.