Make You Own Custom Sewing Storage!

We’ve got a ton of creative people around here at Zede’s Sewing Studio.  We’re reminded of this every month when we have club and we see all the fabulous show-and-tell that our customers bring.

Last month, our software teacher, Joanne, brought in a picture of her husband Paul’s handiwork in her sewing room- Paul also happens to be our marketing guru, no nepotism here!

Joanne says she loves the plastic drawers from places like Target, but when they get too full, they sag and are difficult to work with.  Paul’s hobby’s are wood-working and off-roading in his Jeep.  I guess Joanne told him to put the keys down and pick up his saw to help out with her problem.  Look what he did!

Instead of conquering the very difficult and time consuming task of making custom drawers, Paul made custom shelves to fit Joannes plastic drawers.  The project went a lot faster than it would have if Paul would have made wooden drawers, and Joanne gets to see all of her pretty fabrics on display.

What creative steps have you taken to organize your sewing room?

 

Basic Sewing: Fabric Boxes

Sometimes we get a little busy here at Zede’s, and we forget to put a class up on the website….woops!

On Thursday, October 18th, we’ll be having a basic sewing class on how to make fabric boxes.  Check out this picture!

Fabric Box Class

In class, you’ll master buttonholes on your sewing machine, get to try out a serger, and learn about how to make all different shapes and sizes of fabric boxes.  So, come and have fun- it’s only $10!

See you soon!

Mallory

Quilt How You Want: Fancy Feathers Re-Imagined!

Since this Summer at BERNINA University, we have been absolutely in love with “Lunchbox Quilts”.  Lunchbox Quilts is a brand of quilting designs that allow you to use your embroidery machine to create beautiful appliques!

One of our favorite designs is “Fancy Feathers”.  This pattern has 7 different birds, plus a few swirls and eggs for accents.

You can see below how the vision of Lunchbox Quilts designer Angie Steveson for a Fancy Feathers quilt.

One of our customers, Rita, bought Fancy Feathers and put her own spin on the design for a baby quilt.  I think it’s wonderful!

Check out these detail pictures.  Rita used Sulky Blendable threads for her outline stitching on the birds, it’s quite stunning!

                   

Check out Angie’s website to see more Lunchbox Quilts patterns and designs, all of which are available at Zede’s Sewing Studio!

What have you embroidered lately?

 

 

 

 

Inside Zede’s Sewing Studio: Episode 2

Check out the latest episode of Inside Zede’s Sewing Studio.

This time, we talk about how to make the perfect purse strap and why you should keep your sewing machine clean.  Before you watch the show, check out the little “commercial” we made in order to scare people who think they don’t need to keep their machines clean!

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Now, enjoy the show!

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Do you have questions for us?  Come to the next filming of Inside Zede’s Sewing Studio on March 20th!

Fabric Bowls: Free pattern when you come to class!

As many of you know, Linda B teaches at the shop quite a bit- especially on Tuesdays!  This coming Tuesday, the 28th is no different!

Come join Linda and learn to make a Basic Fabric Bowl.  The class is $15 and she gives you the pattern to make the bowl.  

This class is back by popular demand, it’s also a prerequisite for the Flower Bowl class that’s being given later this month.

After taking this class last year, one of our customers ended up making over 50 bowls, several of which she sold at craft shows!  Come see how fun they are to make!

Free Downloadable Book for Using a Ruffler Attachment

Guys, guys!!!! Sorry to fill your inboxes with two blogs this morning, but this could not wait!

Using the magic of the internet, Pinterest in particular, I discovered an awesome “e-book” about how to use your Ruffler Foot!

Find it on this website!

The post was written by The Scientific Seamstress, and I don’t think we’ll all be able to thank her enough for the awesome instructions.  It’s a PDF file, so just download it to your computer, save it, print, laminate it- whatever!  Keep the info near your ruffler and you’ll be bound to use it!

Need a ruffler?  Come to Zede’s and get one!  We’ll help you use it!

Mallory’s Throw Pillows

This isn’t a tutorial- but maybe I’ll make one in the future.

I bought this fabric in Kansas City on a trip, and I had just enough to make these two pillows!

I thought it needed a little *pop*, so I used my BSR and outlined one of the flower motifs and filled in a couple of the petals with metallic thread.

What’s a BSR? It’s a Bernina Stitch Regulator, and it lets you do free motion stitching without the worry of making your stitches easy- it’s heavenly.

Do you like sewing for your home?  What have you sewn lately?

What Motivates You?

For those of you who are not aware of it, I am not a morning person, not at all!   However, there was a time when I could be pursuaded to jump out of bed before 7:00 a.m., grab a cup of coffee, and be emersed in quilting.  It was HGTV’s, Simply Quilts hosted by Alex Anderson that motivated me in the mornings.  So imagine my excitement to be able to meet her in Houston, at the International Quilt Festival!

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If you are too young to remember, Simply Quilts, perhaps you will recognize her from one of her many books that she has written.  There are 30 of them, selling near 1 million copies world wide.  She is a national spokesperson for Bernina of America, a promotional partner with AccuQuilt’s GO!, a fabric designer with P&B Textiles, and threads with Superior Threads.  She is a founding partner of The QuiltShow.com, and is a co-host of “The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims”.

This lady knows quilting.  So I asked what her advice would be to someone new to quilting.

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You can find out more about Alex on her website, www.alexandersonquilts.com or check out TheQuiltShow.com.

Incidentally, Alex was the person that got my friend, Sheri, interested in quilting.  Thank you!  Now I have someone to share this passion with.

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Perhaps I should have asked how do I get into the business of interviewing wonderful quilters full-time,  Linda B.

Expert Advice For Those Interested in Machine Embroidery

I admit that the reason I even purchased the machine embroidery unit to my sewing machine was because my husband urged me to do so.  I was truly just interested in the Bernina Sitch Regulator(BSR).  However, I was so busy learning how to use the embroidery unit, and having so much fun, I didn’t even open the BSR for about a year and a half after the purchase! 

So imagine my delight when I met up with Jenny Haskins at the International Quilt Festival!  She is the Editor of the magazine, Creative Expressions, which features machine embroidery and quilting ideas and techniques.  Jenny has also edited and authored several books, created award winning quilts, taught her techniques to others in her-Jenny Haskin’s Accreditation Academy, recently released her own Premier fabric range-When Dreams Flower,and so much more!

Watch as she gives her advice to someone who is new to machine embroidery.

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The book that contains the technique that she describes is called, Jenny’s Heritage , by Jenny Haskins.  If you need a copy, contact Zede’s Sewing Studio and they will get you one!

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Jenny has a website at www.jennyhaskins.com  where you can get a glimpse into all the remarkable things she has done!

Exploring machine embroidery,  Linda B.

T-Shirt Quilt

T-Shirt Quilt

I am so proud of my student, Jennifer.  She has spent many hours designing this quilt from various t-shirts that she has acquired whenever she participated in races. Many memories are attached to this project and for many years this quilt will warm her heart as well as her body.
She had the pleasure of using my trusty 1130 Bernina. I am always pleased at the performance my 1130 Bernina gives me whenever I have a major project to undertake.
And as with all my Bernina sewing machines, they all withstand weekly and sometimes daily use and always perform and never disappoint me in the quality stitching of the machines.

Be sure to check back soon for my Pillow Case Party post.  It was a blast!

Happy Thanksgiving!