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KBTC Sewing Shows and Recent Pledge Drive

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

Quality Sewing employees and Sew Fun consultants answered the phone.

Do you watch the sewing shows on KBTC? They have a wonderful flight of sewing & quilting related sewing shows each Friday and Saturday morning. We are so lucky to have so many great sewing shows playing in our area! Many communities are lucky to have 1 or 2 sewing shows that play weekly and we have 8 different shows that play weekly. Thank you KBTC! Quality Sewing & Vacuum recently participated in the KBTC Pledge Drive. Many of our Sew Fun educators and staff answered  phones and took pledges! With the help of Baby Lock, our joint sponsor, we gave away two different Baby Lock machines (Baby Lock Sofia 2 & Baby Lock Eclipse DX serger) and tickets to the Nancy Zieman Love of Sewing Retreat on Jan 6, 7 & 8th at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. Plus everyone who pledged $35 or more received a ticket to the Northwest Quilt Craft & Sewing Festival and  a Quality Sewing Gift Card. Thank you to everyone who pledged and helped support public television and the sewing shows.

KBTC, Comcast Channel 12 airs a wonderful flight of sewing and quilting shows that broadcast every Friday and Saturday morning. The current schedule is below:

Paul LaPonte, Owner of Quality Sewing pictured with Jane Moxey from KBTC

Friday Mornings
9:30am- Linda MacPhee’s Workshop
10:00am- Fon’s and Porter’s Love of Quilting

Saturdays Mornings:
8:30am- Quilting Arts
9:00am- Linda MacPhee’s Workshop
9:30am- Lap Quilting With Georgia Bonesteel
10:00am- Sewing With Nancy
10:30am- America Sews with Sue Hausmann
11:00am- Martha’s Sewing Room
11:30am- Fon’s and Porter’s Love of Quilting
12:00pm- Quilt in a Day

You can even view a few of the shows online like Sewing with Nancy. This Sewing with Nancy video is on Sensational Scarves. They look like they would be a great holiday gift or a fun way to spice up your wardrobe this fall. View her shows online here.

Enjoy!

Carmen


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Posted in Community Service, Events, Resources, Sewing Celebrities | 3 Comments »

Design the Sewing Room of Your Dreams with Nancy Zieman

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

Do you have your own sewing room? I wish I did! I sew in my dining room and living room, stashing my machine and supplies in the hall closet.  I have three small children so the majority of my sewing happens late into the evening hours. I shut down shop when I am not sewing and put away my machine and all my supplies when not working on a project for the safety of my kiddos and to protect my favorite fabrics.  Having an organized sewing and crafting room would be a dream for me! My current set-up takes so long to prepare to sew, I often don’t work on a project unless I have at least an hour or more to work on it. I know I would sew a lot more if I had a designated sewing space and a sewing cabinet.

Does this dilemma sound familiar? Having a designated sewing space makes sewing much more accessible. Plus it allows for more organization and saves you time and energy so you can just enjoy sewing! A sewing and craft room can take shape in many ways and can be set up in a corner, a closet, an attic or even an entire room.

Nancy Zieman has teamed up with Koala cabinets to create the sewing room of her dreams. Take a tour of Nancy’s dream sewing space and get inspiration to create a sewing space or room in your home. Also view  the Customers Style Gallery where owners of Koala cabinets have shared their own sewing studios. Its great to see a wide variety of different spaces that are utilized for sewing and crafting!  Plus you can enter to win a Koala Studio from Koala Cabinets, click here to read more details and enter the contest which ends 12/31/10.

My Mother's sewing room with the Koala Treasure Chest Plus IV and Koala Storage Center Plus IV in Birdseye Maple.

Not all of us can have the luxury of such a large space like Nancy for a sewing room. Here is an image of my Mother’s sewing room. She has taken a standard bedroom sized room and created a sewing and crafting room.

What is your sewing room like? We would love to see what your sewing room looks like, send us an image to share with all of our customers for inspiration and motivation to re-vamp our creative spaces!

Happy dreaming . . .

Annalee



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Posted in Crafting, New Products, Sewing, Sewing Celebrities, Sewing Studio | 2 Comments »

KBTC Pledge Drive This Saturday!

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

Be sure to watch KBTC this Saturday morning October 9th from 9am to Noon. Not only will you see the wonderful flight of sewing and quilting shows that broadcast every Saturday, but you will see many Quality Sewing Sew Fun educators and staff answering the phones during the annual pledge drive. Before you say, “pledge drive, I don’t want to sit through that”, listen to what we are doing to help support sewing programs in the Great Northwest:

Pledge & You Could Win One of These Machines!

In conjunction with Baby Lock, our new joint sponsor, we are giving away two different Baby Lock machines! The Baby Lock Sofia 2 and a Baby Lock Eclipse DX serger! The Sofia 2 with USB is a perfect travel machine, a great 2nd machine or the ideal starter machine for someone who is just getting into sewing and wants a machine that’s fun and easy to use. The Baby Lock Eclipse serger has the amazing Jet Air Threading and will take your sewing to a new level. Everyone who pledges on Saturday morning will be entered into the drawing for the Baby Lock Sofia 2. We will draw the winner Saturday about Noon. The Eclipse DX serger will go to the individual who tenders the highest pledge on Saturday morning.

We are also going to donate 2 special classes that we have coming up this fall or winter. The Nancy Zieman Love of Sewing Retreat on Jan 6, 7 & 8th at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. See Nancy Zieman in person! A $299 Value. And the John Deer Embroidery Event October 30-31st at Mount Vernon Convention Center or November 6-7 at Puyallup Fairgrounds. A $69.99 Value. Everyone who pledges will be entered to win these events as well!

But that’s not all, to help support public television and keep sewing programs on the air, we will give everyone who pledges $35 or more a ticket to the Northwest Quilt Craft & Sewing Festival, a $10 Value and a Quality Sewing Gift Card. You will have to watch on Saturday to find out the full details! Plus KBTC has special gifts for everyone who pledges as well!

So don’t miss the fun. Look for us on TV and place or renew your pledge to help keep Sewing on the air in the Great Northwest.

-Carmen


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Project Preparation Tips for Streamlining Your Sewing

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

Photo: The back pieces of a vest lining pinned together for quicker assembly.

I do not sew quickly. Sometimes it’s one of my greatest frustrations. Part of the problem is my penchant for experimentation and challenging projects. I just can’t resist trying out new tools and techniques – after all,that is how we learn. While it definitely broadens my sewing horizons, it also leads to a lot of ‘backwards sewing’!

The other factor is a lack of organization. I am easily distracted, and when I have several deadlines (and their related projects) stacked up at once, it’s difficult to avoid total chaos.

That’s when I turn to the experts. I am very grateful to Pati Palmer, Marta Alto, Nancy Zieman, Sandra Betzina, Claire Schaeffer and the rest of my reference book and dvd collection authors for their invaluable advice and suggestions.

So, as I scramble to churn out my projects, I thought I’d share some tips for getting the most out of your sewing time.

Step 1:
Do one task at a time for multiple projects. For example, rather than cutting out one project at a time, cut out several. Or fit several patterns. It’s easier to stay focused if you are doing the same task. Plus, if your studio/work area tends to become an unnatural disaster when you work (guilty!) you will be more likely to use your space more efficiently. Cutting out or altering patterns takes dedicated table space – quite a bit of it. So while you have it cleared off for one project, you might as well keep going.

Step 2:
After you cut your garment pieces, pin them together. This helps prevent the dreaded ‘two left sleeves’ scenario. When possible, pin them in their construction order, as in the photo above. This vest back is ready to be taken to the sewing machine and sewn, without having to get up or down to pick up pieces or guess “now is this for the left or right back?” I don’t normally use pins when sewing, but you get the idea!

Step 3:
Consolidate your sewing and pressing. Sew as many seams as you can, then go and press them all rather than sewing and pressing each individually. Again, projects may vary but often this is possible. There is no reason I shouldn’t be able to do that with my vest project shown above.

Step 4:
You don’t always have to use different colored thread for every project. Seriously. If you are sewing for a competition, that may be a different story. But otherwise, no one should ever see your basic construction threads unless your seams are too loose or are straining. If you’re sewing a lined, interfaced bag or garment, as long as the thread color doesn’t show through to the front, you’re fine. Similarly, when serging, only the needle thread is likely to show, if at all. The looper colors aren’t as crucial.

There are many other ways to help speed up and streamline your sewing. I hope you will share some of your best tips with the rest of us! Keep sewing!

–Katrina


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Posted in Resources, Sewing Celebrities, Sewing Studio, Tips & Tricks | No Comments »

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