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For all hallowed eve, I will bring you a few more appropriate creations for the evening of trick or treat. Unfortunately, I neglected to document the artist but their talents are appreciated.
The following villain needs no introduction. There was a line of fabric promoting the futuristic battle for the universe.
We have been using and promoting and using Deb Tucker rulers for a while now. Cyndi McChesney has created several of her eye-popping quilts with the assistance of the multiple accessories. One of her favorites is the line of rulers from Ms. Tucker. We were able to meet her during the event. Very nice and cordial. The rulers certainly make my life easier. Here we are with the creator herself:
While there were the traditional quilts and the uncharacteristic designs, there were many more whimsical projects we found up and down the many aisles of the market. From Desiree's Designs from Riverside, CA I will show you an embroidery project I selected. It's called Boneyard Buddies and offers 5 applique and 2 embroidery images for a quit pattern. You can use a 4x4" or 5x7" hoop. Anyway,caught my eye - especially sine today is Halloween!
Another selection from the same vendor was Kim's choice. Stitchin a Safari and 16" character Safari Mats. In addition, she purchased another trial project that uses outline flower images. You stitch them out, paint or watercolor, then quilt. Pretty cool. Here's the Safari example:
So many quilts, so little time. If I spent any amount of time looking at every single quilt offered, our three day event would double. The amount of time, fabric and determination is reflected in the design of each pattern. What catches someone's eye might be passed over by another. In any case, here's a collection of what caught mine:
Something we hope to bring to bother Canon and Pueblo is a technique of blooming bias. The samples were really impressive. Here's a pic:
Note the 3-D look of the clouds, the "Dream" and outline of various buildings. Chenille-It from Salt Lake City provided the inspiration. If we can, we'll add it to the calendar for an upcoming class.
Another one of our yearly projects involve the Hoop Sisters. They offer a Block-of-the-Month that has been very successful in our Canon store. We will offer it this year for both and hope we will gain a whole new customer base. (I have never completed one myself.) We started in 2014 with the Jacobean Journey. In 2015, there was the Sewn Seeds. 2016 saw the Elegant Elements while the project for 2017 was Charmed Adventure. This will be the first year I personally will participate using my 10-needle. After I saw the upcoming project for 2018, I was sold. It is called Sisterhood and has a Celtic flair. Here's a closeup preview of the blocks:
Another a little further out:
Here's a pic of the creators with us (left to right) Lynda Remmers, me, Kim and Annie Moody:
Monitor our upcoming class list on FirstStitches.com for your opportunity to create your own masterpiece - the latest from the Hoop Sisters.
Though I found several interesting patterns and techniques, I wanted to highlight the following known as collage patterns. Up close, it is chaotic, but the further you retreat, the more striking the pattern becomes. Here are the samples from fiberworks-heine.com.
Sirene
Potpourri
and the final one is called, Hazel Nutt
It was several years ago I saw Ms. Eleanor Burns on PBS as she was demonstrating the creation of a quilt. Drove me crazy as she would cut fabric and threw it over her shoulder on the floor. In 2012, I met her during an event in Pueblo and dressed up as Darth Vader in a short skit she was in as she touted the dark side versus the light. During a Baby Lock convention in 2015, we went down for coffee early in the morning - few people were up - except for Eleanor who was looking to grab her coffee and get back to her room . . but not before I requested a pic with her.
We met up with her again in August 2017 at Baby Lock tech and of course, she was gracious as always. Saturday was no different. We spoke briefly and she invited us to sit through a demo she was promoting. Of course we have proof. Thank you Eleanor!
We flew out of Denver and landed in Houston late Friday afternoon. After about an hour-long taxi drive because of after work traffic, we arrived at our downtown hotel... a few block from where the Houston Astros are playing the LA Dodgers in the World Series. For the next few posts, I'll share just a fraction of what seemed like thousands of artistic creations we said and found unique. I am hoping we can bring as much of the techniques to our stores in Colorado. Stand by....
Very appreciative to have Nicci Brazzell for our 3-day Baby Lock Destiny event. This is the third year running for us and her popularity grows with our customers.
We broke into a new region in July (Pueblo) and we were able to bring in about 30 patrons who either had Destinys or were considering buying one. Nicci was phenomenal in showing just a few of the many attributes of the machine in the 2 days in Pueblo.
The last day was reserved for Cañon City and those who were a little more comfortable with their machines. No matter your skill level, the Destiny is a machine you will fall in love with and never outgrow. We plan on continuing Destiny classes for beginners and advanced.
We hope to have Nicci back in June 2018 tentative. In the meantime, share your projects with us. Thanks everyone.
We used to have a pool table in the man cave, along with a huge flat screen TV and surround sound speakers. I even had a refrigerator and a microwave. This was long ago and buried in and annals of Smith history. I'm not sure how it happened or even when but gradually the man cave disappeared, little by little. The ceiling speakers were changed out to bright LED lighting. In the place of the fridge and microwave stands a shelving unit with UFOs and bolts of fabric. The TV was replaced with a design wall. It was a blur. Below is a pic and a testimony to once was - the cover of the pool table - now quilted and laying proudly on a bed. All in all I am much more productive now. Funny.
This is a DON'T:
DO NOT fill up "one" bobbin with 12 different threads. I unwrapped color after color from the above bobbin and the buried threads were so fragile they broke multiple time. There is no reason for it as bobbins only cost about $.25 a piece. DO designate several bobbins various colors such as black, white, red, blue, yellow etc., based on your needs. The most common color I have for a bobbin is beige. It blends in with most fabrics. The only bonus to this technique is that it serves as a great example of what NOT to do when winding a bobbin for your next important project.
My cousin sent me a box of shirts to piece together. The majority were in great shape - just different sizes that will be a challenge. However, I got down to the last one and received this note.
Yes, I will make it work.
Nicci is coming to town for the Destiny Extravaganza.... She will focus on various techniques and secrets only upper management discusses during Monday morning coffee breaks. I don't know how many seats are left, but less than five for sure, maybe 3.... Just check the website. Should be a hoot....
Anyone that knows me, knows I detest pain. Especially self-inflicted pain.
While it was a great day spent with Randy in sewing room/man cave and then capping it off with the Broncos game, I had a mishap this afternoon.
I always think I can outsmart an embroidery machine, and inevitably, the embroidery machine tells me to get out of the way or else. Well, today, the "or else" happened.
In just a split second, I sewed my right index finger and jerked it back. I did not know, at that time, the needle had broke off and and gone all the way through.
Big time thanks to Randy, who rushed to my side and made the assessment. He said I was very lucky it didn't come out through my fingernail or hit a bone. But it did manage to leave a good 1/4" of needle in my finger. Randy calmly pulled the rest of the needle out of my finger with his hemistat forceps, cleaned it up, and bandaged it to stop the bleeding. His background as a surgical technician does come in handy some days. He is my hero today!
Many machines make your life easier by threading you needles or cutting your thread as necessary - especially on embroidery machines. Its important to note blades and knives do get dull after a while and even though the mechanism tries to do your biding, your sharp blade ends up being a butter knife and the thread is more or less sawed instead of cleanly cut (Example of a 10-needle below). Many of you are adept at removing your bobbin case and needle plate to remove excess or gathered fabric. That's great, but beware the blades are very tiny and easily broken. Do not pull too hard because that resistance may be the very thing you are trying to save. General rule: if your machine is telling you it would like a spa day, then pamper it and bring it in to your local technician. Always consider proactive and not reactive...
Sergers are a great machine to service - especially since I will never know what to expect when I open up the tray and see what emerges. Today, I was tasked with eliminating a persistent rattling. The overall checks produced the normal lint and fuzz, but when I opened up the bottom, .... well, tell me what you see....
You can enlarge if you wish, but I will tell you I found over 30+ straight pins throughout the body of the serger. I am not sure why. I don't question most customers, however, this house is known to have grandchildren running throughout on occasion.
I was asked if I would like to participate in this year's Senior Fair, promoting items of interest to those mostly retired and/or engaged in their silver or golden years. I of course said, "yes". When I got there I set up, and I was surrounded by a health fair of sorts.
Blood pressures being read, eyes were being check, and information for a variety of needs catering to the elderly.
Me? Well I brought a 1951 Singer and a 2017 Destiny to demonstrate the differences in technology. As I feverently changed out threads on the embroidery pattern, I answered questions on the high end machine and showed how easy the machine was to use, I soon became the most popular table around.
I offered a different type of therapy. Granted, the stress-relieving massages a few tables down were popular too. All in all, I had a good time and hope to do it again next year.
We offer sales of Janome, Bernina and Baby Lock machines. I am certified in those three, however I welcome any machine brand and model into my little shop.
If I am able to service and or repair it, I will. If I cannot, I will let you know.
My Bench Fee evals are $35 and I waive that fee if you authorize the regular service. Most machines can be brought back to life but others have worn themselves out after so many years. Parts are either non-existent or are overly priced for what you can get out of brand new machine. In any case, it's your decision.
We'll do what we can to keep you sewing and keeping your projects on track.
Using two pieces of Organza and a water soluable stabilizer, and a digitized flower pattern, a denim jacket was made more fashionable. You should have seen the jeans.
Yes, I have a design wall and yes, I use it quite often, however today I was lazy and just put my pieces on the floor before I sewed them together.
This was the calm before the storm. Cat found out how fun it would be to ace from once side of the room and jump into the middle of the pieces and scatter them everywhere. Needless to say, I had to start over from the top using the pattern in order to piece everything together again. Cat was banned to the outside for the duration.
...until it finally died from lack of service. IF you blow this one up, you will see a few items of interest. One - this is a straight pin hanging from a wiring harness. Two - the gear mechanism (upper left) is cracked and the part is no longer available. Third - there is just a lot of residual fabric bunched up enough to clog all of the gears, and dry out the area.
I am sure the clothing created was absolutely wonderful - seeing the eclectic array here should bear that out.
I used to throw needles in the trash. After I was looking for a place to pour out scented wax (drowns out machine oil smell), I started sticking old needles in the mix. Well, the below pic is the container I discard all of the needles I pull from the machines i service. No matter if you tell me you have a new needle in your machine, I will take it out and replace with a "newer" needle. Reason? Well, I want to start with a sharp, straight needle secured in its clamp so I can ensure your timing is correct. It also ensures my sample fabric, needle and thread are all in sync for the best sew off I can provide. In any case, I hope to fill the container up, pour in more wax and hide it in a haystack in rural Colorado. I think that would be funny if someone found it....
We work 6 days a week. Its often we even go into the shop on Sundays to check on things, book keeping, maybe a repair. So when we have a chance to get away, we normally try to ride the bikes for the freedom, fresh air and lost in thought. Recently, we took a ride on the Highway of Legends just south of LaVeta (Hwy 12). From Walsenburg 160, then south on 12, comes out at Trinidad. The first portion is very scenic as the below pics will show, but the last half was fair - kinda boring. The important thing was to try a new road to explore. We hope to get out again.
First Stitches Pueblo
805 Eagleridge Blvd.,
Suite 120
Pueblo, CO 81008
719-225-8142
