Sewing Expo - Ft Worth

The first Sewing Expo www.sewingexpo.com event in Ft. Worth was huge success. Everyone who attended had a great time taking workshops and shopping with the vendors.

Since I was teaching workshops and staffing a vendor booth to sell my books and trim tools. I found helpers for my booth (sight unseen). Leah Bowie and Joan Crittenden both showed up to work all day on Thursday while I was busy teaching. I had the best first day of sales ever and I sure wish I could take these two with me to Minneapolis next week.

Here is a note I got from Leah today:

"I enjoyed working for you and with you at the recent sewing and quilting expo in Fort Worth. Thank you for the Hexagon Trim Tool. I bought some material this week and finally had an opportunity to sit down and sew! I haven't sewn "for fun" in who knows how long. Thank you for the inspiration! I have attached a picture of my first three blocks that I have made.
Sincerely, Leah Bowie"

I love Leah's blocks and can hardly wait to see her finished quilt. Making hexagon blocks is sooooo easy with this new tool. I think I will abandon my computer for the rest of the afternoon and make a few blocks myself.

Sewing Expo - Fredericksburg, VA

This past week I taught workshops at the Sewing Expo www.sewingexpo.com in Fredericksburg, VA. It's a good thing it was over on Saturday afternoon...I just heard on the news that today, 8 October, Fredericksburg is having a tornado watch.

Of course having thousands of quilters arrive in town for a three day whirlwind of quilting, quilting, quilting, is a tornado of a different kind! At every sewing expo there are workshops, demonstrations, and lots of vendors showing the latest books, products, patterns, fabrics and tools. I was there with my best friend from high school managing my booth to sell my own books and the trim tools I have designed for Creative Grids®. To see the latest tools for quilters visit Creative Grids on facebook www.facebook.com/CreativeGridsUSA

Back to the workshops...I taught Lickey-Split Log Cabin, Easy-Peasy Pineapple and Free Motion Machine Quilting for Beginners. Each class was filled to capacity and what a good time we all had. Everyone was enthusiastic and willing to work hard to learn how to quilt small projects on their home sewing machines. Here are photos from the free motion workshop. Pat James, the Bernina educator who helped in the classroom sent these photos she took of everyone as they learned new skills to take home and practice, practice, practice. Remember quilters, fast needle – slow hands!

I am teaching the same 3 workshops in Birmingham, Alabama on October 10, 11 and 12. Then in Ft. Worth, Texas on October 17, 18 and 19, and lastly in Minneapolis on November 7, 8 and 9. I hope to see you in one of them. Here is the website to sign up: www.sewingexpo.com