QUICK AND HELPFUL READS and MORE ONLINE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SEWISTS, QUILTERS AND FABRIC CRAFTERS

Hello fabric Divas and Divos!  I just finished reading a wonderful article on how Tension affects the outcome of a stitch and thought to myself "Self..." because, that's how I do it... "Self, many of your friends and VKG followers would probably like this article."  And knowing how busy people are, myself included, who has time to look these things up?  I don't either... but since I've been teaching from home due to COVID 19 I have more time to get nerdy and research quick reads for busy sewists.  I promise you.  These are not essays.  Nobody wants to spend more time reading about sewing than actually sewing itself.  

I couldn't possibly list all of the articles that you might need or just want to read for your personal pleasure, interests or immediate need, so instead, I am listing links for places that have a plethora of articles from which to choose from.  Click on the link I provided to take you directly to the page you need to be on for good reads.

Superior Threads  Who doesn't like Superior Threads?  It's a Pillar in the quilt world and rightly so.  Yes, there are many other brands that CAN hold a candle to Superior but it's the perfect go to.  They have a YouTube chanel as well but their articles cover subjects in great depth and are very easy to find and helpful.  If you click on "Superior Threads" it will take you directly to their education page. There you will find more articles than you ever thought existed about thread, sewing, tension... It's so wonderful!

Aurifil Philosophy  Quilters Love, Love, Love Aurifil.  I love it for piecing because the two ply is just as strong as three ply but the thin strand makes me feel like there is less bulk.  I could be wrong and it's probably in my head... but the term "less bulk" to a quilter is like saying "would you like more fudge on your ice cream?"  YES!  The site I am sending you to will go directly to the designers associated with Aurifil, but if you click on "Auriworld" you will discover a lot more.  Free patterns, a blog, artisans.  The designer page is easy to navigate.  Simply click on the designer and poof, you go directly to their page and look at their information, posts and possibly freebies.  Voile.

The Quilting Hub  I just stumbled across this great site when I googled "what to pack for a retreat".  Many short articles about everything you might need to know in a pinch.  Including ideas for quilt guild activites to do remotely during Social Distancing.  

Quilting Daily  Again, looking for a short answer I stumbled upon this gem.  If you click on "topics" you'll get a pull down box and from there you can go to the topic that interests you.  In addition, there are links to podcasts, a blog, patterns and competitions.  I noticed that the topics are project driven and full of wonderful ideas and help along the way.  

Connecting Thread  Another Lovely thread line, extremely affordable AND they design and mill their own fabric lines.  This is how they keep the costs down and their designers are people you probably know and love.  The area of the site I am sending you to is Learn:  Tutorials, Guides and Inspiration.  Definitely worth a look.  The tutorials are free and they have a "community" in which to share your creations and be inspired by others too.  Give their thread and fabric a look while there.  They are beautiful!!!

There are many more and I will be happy to create a "Part 2" to this posting and... I bet you want to get started.  So before I end I'll leave one last link.  The article that got all of this started:

How does tension affect the outcome of a stitch?

And with this I bid you Adieu to you and you and you.  

Until next time, stay calm and sew on.

FINDING ONLINE CREATIVE INSPIRATION DURING COVID 19

Hello Makers!  I have been home since March 13, 2020, when my school sent students home and closed its doors in order to hunker down, stay safe and wait out the worst.  I feel most fortunate because I have been able to work/teach from home, though teaching music to elementary students from behind a computer screen is really counter-intuitive to my training.  But again, I can't complain.  I haven't been laid off, I teach from my "office" (sewing room) and I finally found my groove.  The first few weeks I was not feeling inspired to sew.  I stated in my previous post that instead of creating, I cleaned, purged and organized.  It felt cathartic and in some way made me feel like I had some control over my life.   Now, that things are slowing down, I feel like I am settling into a new routine of teaching on line, holding online tutorials for students, answering emails, google meet meetings, and leaving the house only when absolutely necessary, wearing a hand crafted mask so I feel "pretty" and disinfecting any and everything that crosses my doorstep.   How about you?  What is your new routine?  Let me know in the comments.  

With the extra time I have at home in addition to finally beginning to sew again, I have also been binge watching all of the tutorials from my favorite Creators such as Vanessa Vargas Wilson of Crafty Gemini, and Sara Lawson from Sew Sweetness.  Some of them are free to everyone, while others are tutorials that I purchased through their clubs and/or bundles.  I don't know about you but when I watch a tutorial it inspires me to get to work and create.  

In a past post entitled "Online Learning for Busy Sewists, Bag Makers and Quilters",  I created a list of YouTube Makers and websites that inspire and teach.    Since I have been working from home,  I have been lucky to find a few more inspiring creators and I want to share them with you so you may find the same inspiration and joy.  

Here is my list:

Sewspire - Youtube
Jean Truelove - Youtube
Karen Brown of Just Get it Done Quilts - YouTube
SewYeah - YouTube
Jess Oklaroots - YouTube

All of these makers have beautiful tutorials on YouTube that are FREE!  However, Sewspire and Jean Truelove are members of an on-line community called Patreon.  This is a community of makers and artisans who share their medium, sometimes for free on Youtube, but for a nominal monthly pledge you can get so much more.  For instance, I am a Patron of Sewspire and Jean Truelove.  The pledges range between $1 - $100 per month depending on the amount of extra perks you desire.  I fall pretty much in the $5-10 range, but I am getting so much in return.  Extra tutorials, special sew alongs and patterns.  It's really a gift I am giving to myself while also supporting woman owned businesses.  

Let me tell you more about these lovely women.

Sewspire Planner Caddy Organizer

Sewspire Planner Caddy Organizer inside view

Andrea Chapman is the beauty behind Sewspire.  She lives and teaches from her studio in Virginia.  Since being home and, quite honestly falling into a bit of a depression, I decided surf the internet for more ways to be creative with sewing.  Andrea was exactly what I needed to gently remind myself to take care of me and find joy in something every day.  Her teaching style is calming, step by step and she develops her creations right in front of you.  You can sew along with her or watch and sew along the second time.  She has refreshing ideas and I really love her way of constructing bags which, for me, needs to be dummy proof.  Listen to her talk and tell me what you think in the comments.  I just love listening and learning from her.  


The second lovely lady is Jean Truelove.  Teaching and filming from her studio in her home in Pennsylvania, she is the definition of exuberant and I adore her.  One of Jean's sons told her she needed to record her creations and make a Youtube chanel.  She really didn't take him seriously so one day he walked into her studio and began recording her whilst asking her what she was doing step by step.  30 minutes later he said "you have a youtube chanel mom.  Get to work."  That beginning totally fits her personality.  I've never met her but I know she is one of those people who jump in feet first and just start swimming.  I love her zaniness and energy.  She makes some beautiful quilts and recently started making bags.  While she admits bags are not her thing She has some pretty great design and construction ideas.  And I love her art quilts and beautiful quilt blocks.  My new favorite is her appliqué heart wall hanging.  Absolutely gorgeous and she takes you step by step in her design method and construction.  She talks a lot... she admits this so I 'm not spreading nasty gossip.  However, I find her to be so enjoyable.  It's like sitting with a friend you've known forever and just getting caught up.  She really lets you into her life.  She has 10... Yes T E N children!  Alright?  She's an angel in my book.  Her youngest, Maxwell, is 20 and lives at home.  He's autistic and the light of the family's eye.  He sometimes appears in her videos along side her amazing husband, Ian.  I feel like I'm part of the Truelove family!  Anyway, I became a patron of hers as well because I wanted to be included in her extra videos and tutorials as well.  She calls it her "tip jar".  If you like it, leave a tip!  You can't go wrong.  Recently I found one of her free tutorials on creating a 5 piece of fabric block in three seams!!!  OMG  It's gorgeous.  Look it up.  

The third YouTube teacher that I quite enjoy is Karen Brown from Just Get It Done Quilts.  She lives, works and teaches from Canada.  Her tips and tricks are spot on and recently I made a quilt in one day from her Comfort Quilt using "ugly" fabrics. 

"Ugly Fabric" Comfort Quilt, waiting to be sandwiched and quilted

 I just wanted to complete something!  And this scratched the itch.  Recently she posted a video on flying geese.  So many different things to learn about flying geese.  She has several ways of constructing them and teaches you how to measure them too.  Lots of math.  She's a quilt math wizard!  She's practical, down to earth, creative, warm and very talented!  Please take a moment to look at her helpful tutorials and videos.  Her tips will also help you save money!  That means more for fabric.

Speaking of money for fabric... have you watched the brothers of Sew Yeah?  They all quilt!  Their Brick and Mortar store is in Las Vegas however when COVID hit the country all of their inventory became last week news as new inventory began to arrive.  What to do?  Well, they took to YouTube and began their Saturday Night Fabric Destash.  It's like a Fabric party on Youtube.  They're all really fun, and it's family friendly.  Recently, to help out a cousin and his wife who were laid off due to COVID, they offered to sell some of the couples' handcrafted goat soap.  The quilters loved it (I bought 4 bars myself and they're awesome) and now that's part of their offering as well.  The Destash has done really well.  So well that their following asked for new stuff  in addition to destash.  So they added Tuesday Night NewStash!  That's a lot of Stash!

How many of you just love to read the pattern and then read it again while you are crafting your item?  A few?  NOT ME!  I'm a musician... who is a visual learner!  I want to see someone make it in front of me.  That's how I know it can be done.  When I read a pattern it's like reading sand script.  So I am very happy when I find a super smart and creative person who is gracious and kind enough to make a video of popular patterns for YouTube.  Jess Oklaroots is that person!  She provides video tutorials for several patterns from popular pattern makers such as BagstockDesigns, Emmaline Bags and Swoon Patterns.  She's organized in her teaching, detailed oriented and always throws in a tip to make things even easier.  I like easier!  If you look at her video playlists you will also find a section for beginner bag makers.  Not that I need it... I mean, sometimes I look at it... but, I'm not a beginner.  Okay, I feel like one every time I begin a bag!  

So, I hope my list of makers inspires you to take a peek and see that life is happening all over the country.  Let's support them by liking their videos, become a patron or thumbs up.  This is the time to lift each other up and keep moving to the beat of a new day!

Stay Calm, Stay Safe and Sew On!

CONFESSIONS OF A QUILTER/SEWIST DURING THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC

Well, here we are.  At home.  Some of us working from home, like myself, but it still leaves me personal time to do the other thing I love... work with fabric!  One Vlogist and tutorialist (I may have made up that word) that I love to follow is Karen Brown of "Just Get It Done Quilts" and she said "This is what we've all been training for."  And she's right!  I mean, unrestricted time in my sewing room, no interruptions, stay up as late as I like, as long as I can show up in my jammies for lessons on my laptop in the morning?  The first two weeks were free of teaching.  So, I had as much time on my hands as I have ever dreamed of... and yet... I was completely uninspired. Instead I spent my time cleaning out closets, the basement, I moved my sewing room to a larger guest room because... let's face it... we're not having visitors for a while.  I cleaned, sorted, organized, purged and finally landed in my sewing room and faced the reality of life at that moment.  I was scared!  Yes!  Never in my life have I lived through something like this.  So, I reached out to a person who I knew would have some perspective on this situation.  I spoke to my 89 year old father.  He lived through the depression and WWII, helped to rebuild a broken and bombed Europe and then returned home to the States to rebuild his own life.  He has known strife and uncertainty and lived to tell the tale. Judging from where he is now in life I know we will get through this pandemic, one way or another.  

However, I worry about what this will look like for the foreseeable future.  Short term, what will my summer and fall look like?  Will I go to my beloved gatherings in July and October?  When will I return to my job?  Will I have a job?  Or will we need to continue social distancing in some fashion?  Long Term, how will our economy survive?  How will the small businesses make it through?  How will people make ends meet?  So many questions.  Not to mention the worry over loved ones and the leaders of our communities and our country.  Again, Karen Brown offerred some comfort.  She lives and works in Canada and has lived through other situations very similar if not identical to the Covid 19 crisis.  Her words, "You just get through it!"  

After two weeks of purging my life I was asked by several people if I would make them and their families masks.  They were scared, and frankly, so am I.  Some believe these masks offer little to keep us safe but it really doesn't matter.  They keep you a little safer and a little is better than nothing.  I also had to use some engenuity and work with a few materials I don't normally work with in order to make the masks more efficient for some family members.  I like challenges.  Especially ones in which I feel I can surmount.  

I watched several... and when I say several I mean probably over 20, tutorials on the best ways to make a surgical mask.  I settled on two and made a mash up of one that suited my style of sewing and creating.  They have been a hit so far.  

I have been able to start things I had on the back burner, finish things I had in a waiting to finish pile and even begin to dream of upcoming projects that I might like to make.  What's on your Pandemic plate.  Post pictures in the comments and let's keep each other inspired.  

Sew Sweetness Tower Cross Body Bag, Free Pattern

Lily, my Sewing Room, everywhere I go, Pup

Sewspire Journal Tool Keeper - Free Tutorial

MASKS

Just Get It Done Quilts, Karen Brown's "Comfort Quilt for Ugly Fabric" quilt.  Mine are shades of blue in mostly Lotta Jansdotter fabric.  I don't think its ugly fabric but I wanted to make something that reminded me of delft, broken up into pieces.  Probably how I feel at the moment.