Sewing Expo

Well, Jane and I went to the Sewing Expo in Omaha yesterday, and we had a really good time! We had signed up for an Emma Seabrooke class on sewing with knits, and it was quite good. She had lots of specific tips on sewing with different kinds of knits, and she not only told you what worked, she told you what didn't work, and why. Her samples were beautifully sewn, and she had lots of good ideas for different kinds of knits. One of her specialties is Slinky Knit. I've only sewn with Slinky once, but we had happened to wander into her booth before the class and looked at the great fabrics she had brought, and we went back afterward and bought. I got a piece of Slinky in one of "my" colors, a gray-green, and a piece of a Missoni-like sweater knit. Jane got orange Slinky, and a coordinating print knit. Jane said she wants whatever I don't use of the sweater knit, which is fine with me, as I'm planning only a top from it. It was one of the precut 3 yard lengths available, as was my Slinky, and that's more than I need of the sweater knit. I also bought a pattern from Emma, the Aliece, which is a V-neck cardigan with a plain- or cowl-neck top. Her sizing is very interesting, and I hadn't even looked at it when she looked me over and said Size E. I didn't know what that was, but it's a 10 with a C/D bust. Sounds good to me! Her pattern line is SewKeysE, but I don't believe believe she has a website.

The Japanese buttons at the top of this post were just irresistible! They are so darling. I got enough for a camp shirt, and the long one is just because. They're kind of heavy, and I think they're magnets to which shanks were glued. They're from Japanese Textiles & Tours which is Carol Lane-Saber's business. She taught at the Expo too, and her booth had wonderful pieces. I managed to hold myself to just the buttons, though.

As I said earlier, I was hoping for silk thread, and I found it! I got some lovely colors of Tire thread, and one spool of DMC cotton embroidery thread, all 50-weight. Jane pointed out the DMC, and said she's successfully used it when she needs a very perfect color-match. Anything DMC is usually great, so thought I'd try it. I'd not seen it before.

We also each bought a starter kit from Bo-Nash of their 007 Bonding Agent. I had seen it advertised, but never really figured out what it did. Well, they had a woman demonstrating, and it appears to be a miracle product. You can invisibly fix holes and tears in things, and I saw everything from a patterned thin silk blouse to a wool jacket. It also will bond lace appliques to silk chiffon invisibly and with no stiffness whatsoever. We both thought of many good ideas for it. I plan to try it to attach the Angelina Fiber koi fish I'm going to put on the next purse I make. I've been wondering what would be the best way, and nothing was really looking like the answer, but I think this may be it. The kit also included a leather/vinyl bonder that works the same way, a large Teflon appliqué sheet, and iron-cleaning sheets. There is no excuse now for lack of industry.

We also watched a fashion show of Park Bench Patterns. It was interesting, and the patterns are much different than the drawings I'd seen before. All in all, it was a very nice day, and I hope they will hold the Expo next year too. They say they will, and if so, I'll be there!

Today, our neighbors were having a garage sale, so I went over to chat and look, and my very sweet neighbor gave me this wicker suitcase filled with yarn that had belonged to a friend. Really a nice collection, and a complete surprise! It will be fun to play with, and the wicker case is great!