tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13685603680806339432012-01-27T11:53:57.574-08:00joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04094846540764394582noreply@blogger.comBlogger411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-71957822928325695672012-01-26T20:09:00.000-08:002012-01-26T21:10:17.377-08:00

It's me, Christine! You might have noticed on our schedule that there’s a new teacher. I’ve known the lovely Devon Iott of Miss Make for many years now, and I’m thrilled that she and her adorable Square Knot Clutch are coming to Sew L.A.! Devon’s first class is on January 31 - it's already sold out - with another session coming up later in the spring on March 24. The clutch is adorable and

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-56363626145846802972012-01-11T13:50:00.000-08:002012-01-25T12:01:26.716-08:00

We all love the Schoolhouse Tunic from Sew Liberated. It's pretty easy to sew, it lends itself to many different types of fabric, Sew Liberated was one of the first indie pattern companies, and it's EASY TO ALTER! This tutorial is great if you have already taken our Schoolhouse Tunic class or if you are sewing at the intermediate level. I personally need a little bit of shaping at the

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-32354986022559106102011-12-07T16:09:00.001-08:002011-12-07T16:31:10.989-08:00

As you might have noticed in some of Shaerie’s recent blog posts, there are a couple of new shop girls at Sew L.A., so I thought an introduction was in order! I’m Christine Haynes. You might have seen me in a class, as I’ve been teaching in the classroom for over a year. But recently I started assisting Shaerie with the managing of the shop. Fun! Also new in the shop is the lovely Haley Glenn

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-86078464780680814732011-12-02T14:50:00.001-08:002011-12-02T17:14:03.889-08:00

This wraps up our coverage of this fall's Quilt Market, which took place in Houston in November this year. Christine and I are already planning our spring trip to Kansas City, so if anyone has food  and / or museum recommendations, please pass them along! Quilt Market is our biggest trade show, where we meet all the fabric designers and the companies that carry them. Some of these fabrics have

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-31680071091863360062011-11-18T20:04:00.001-08:002012-01-13T20:45:41.379-08:00

Dress post! I finished my Macaron dress just in time for my friend Jimm's wedding. As usual, I was handsewing practically in the car on the way to the ceremony... this seems to happen at every formal event I ever go to. I have had my eye on this dress ever since it was released by Colette - especially after seeing all the cute versions of it being made all over the country - and when Christine

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-15027666337878627232011-11-13T23:27:00.001-08:002011-11-14T17:20:01.496-08:00

Here's Part Two of our Fall 2011 Quilt Market coverage, which took place in Houston this year - this post will feature Melody Miller, Nani Iro, Echino, Kokka and Kiyohara.  I'll be posting the final part next week, which will focus on some of our amazing American designers like Alexander Henry, Lizzy House and Marisa Haedike. Remember, we don't actually HAVE this fabric yet - except the ECHINO

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-46058134911513354742011-11-07T14:42:00.000-08:002011-11-07T14:42:41.702-08:00

Hooray for fall! And of course fall means that we all have to drop what we are doing and make coats. I was looking at several coat patterns when I started my "Fall Wardrobe" series, and I ended up making muslins for two of them. I can't seem to stop looking at coat patterns, however, and someday I am going to make a coat like this, from Japanese designer Atelier Boz:

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-20878324669523312662011-11-03T20:57:00.000-07:002011-11-03T20:57:59.772-07:00

Twice a year, people who stock fabric stores gather in droves to attend the largest fabric industry trade show in this country, the International Quilt Market. Now, you may be saying "But Shaerie, Sew L.A. has like one quilt class" - and of course you'd have a point there - Quilt Market is pretty overwhelmingly quilty.  BUT (I love a big but) this is also where the fantabulous independent

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-23073273019498324152011-10-25T16:24:00.000-07:002011-11-07T14:43:07.359-08:00

Since it seems like most of the patterns I make these days are from Japanese pattern books, I thought I'd do a little post about some basics for using these great resources! Many of you have heard me proclaim in class how stylish and well-designed these patterns tend to be, and with a little patternmaking skill you - yes, you! - can partake in the wonderfulness. I'd recommend starting

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-64984571301571303702011-10-14T14:10:00.000-07:002011-10-14T14:10:47.530-07:00

As a sewing teacher, there is a lot of pressure on me to 'represent' - to wear clothes that I have made myself. It's a bit embarrassing to have someone say 'Oh, that's so cute, did you make it?' and I have to say 'No - I got it at Anthropologie'. Not that there's anything wrong with shopping! But since I have been sewing and fitting for so long, I tend to get frustrated with how expensive and

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-56119415524836016462011-09-20T22:26:00.000-07:002011-09-20T22:26:56.656-07:00

TWO, count them, TWO amazing things happened today! The first amazing thing is that fabric designer Etsuko Furuya has released images of her Fall 2011 Echino prints! Many of you know that Echino has seasonal collections - spring being more technology and transportation based and fall being more based in nature. I have to admit - as much as I love it all - the fall collection is the one I wait

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-61288126934280442232011-09-19T20:16:00.000-07:002011-09-19T20:16:39.164-07:00

So, Sew L.A. turns four this month. Four! And it all started out with me saying "Well, maybe I can have some sewing classes in my corsetry studio... that sounds like fun..." Way back in 2007, I would not have believed how far we have come. A bigger classroom, a fabric shop and website, people learning and creating every day - it's really amazing! We have (somewhat) (hopefully) weathered

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-15185179646624509752011-05-23T20:19:00.000-07:002011-05-23T21:35:49.518-07:00

Well, that was some weekend. Busy classes, busy shop, the Silverlake Jubilee and a sew-along! This is the last Quilt Market fabric-related post, but before I get to the fabric part I'd like to take a minute to thank everyone who joined us for our cat blanket sew-along last night. We made 15 finished blankets and have 5 more in the works... just waiting for the next meetup. These blankets used up

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-82051988345679338462011-05-20T10:45:00.000-07:002011-05-20T22:55:41.973-07:00

So I thought I'd start out today showing you some fabric that you CAN have right now... we just got Tula Pink's latest collection in at the shop! We saw her beautiful prints a little before Market and were able to get this order out ASAP. The collection is called 'Prince Charming' and the indigo toile below is my favorite! (psst... the scallop fabric has snails on it...)Joel Dewberry's newest

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-15278583051713717072011-05-18T21:24:00.000-07:002011-05-19T14:56:19.569-07:00

The second day of Quilt Market saw me meeting up with my lovely Moda rep, Laura, after a mad dash to the convention center. Those acre-long blocks just about killed me! The two designers that really grabbed me were Aneela Hoey and Cosmo Cricket - both had separate mini-booths in Moda-land where their fabrics were shown off. Aneela's latest collection is called 'Little Apples' and it has TURTLES!

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-58528609149087564342011-05-18T14:56:00.000-07:002011-05-18T19:33:36.917-07:00

Even though it's called Quilt Market, this is where I find the majority of the fabric that we carry at Sew L.A. There are hundreds and hundreds of businesses in attendance - most of them are still pushing quilting fabric but there is a trend towards garment-friendly fabric that has been growing the whole time I have been attending. Good news for us!I had only ever been to Salt Lake City once

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-42389138808498819142011-04-15T22:45:00.000-07:002011-04-15T23:06:21.750-07:00

I am working hard on a four section posting of the recent LACMA exhibit, "Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail 1700 - 1915". It's pretty exhaustive though, and while we wait I thought I'd post some new fabric and a sneak peek at the brand new Echino Ni-co collection for Spring of 2011!Many fans know that Echino designer Etsuko Furuya has two distinct collections that she works on - an

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-35930096284537938242011-03-14T17:50:00.000-07:002011-03-20T13:59:02.489-07:00

We are thrilled to have the first collection from Melody Miller in the shop! She is indeed a rising star in the fabric design industry, and this collection from Kokka is already selling out all over the place. We have the following fabrics in the shop, and we'll be adding a few more colorways in a few weeks. Vintage Ladies Vintage Dishes ~ Pink ~ Mint ~ Grey Viewfinder Transistors ~

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-61425622711175088232010-10-11T12:02:00.000-07:002010-10-18T12:23:44.779-07:00

Thanks to everyone who attended, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! We especially would like to thank everyone who drove from quite far away (by L.A. standards), the Project Runway designers who stopped in, new & old friends, students, longtime & brand new customers... You all made it our best opening party yet! Now it's time to get working on those lovely patterns, and we look forward to

joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04094846540764394582noreply@blogger.com11637 Silver Lake Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026, USA34.0889853 -118.268930434.084542799999994 -118.2762259 34.0934278 -118.2616349tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-32900302702889976672010-09-15T12:04:00.000-07:002010-09-15T12:04:57.568-07:00

Due to travel and trade shows and summer and family, there will be no pattern of the month for September. Aww, shucks you say! What I can give you instead is a preview of some fabric that will be delivered in October & November... Josh and I drove up to Las Vegas this past Sunday to attend the Fall International Textile Expo at Bally's on the strip. It's always a trip to go to Vegas and see all

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-71354315348506710902010-08-09T13:26:00.000-07:002010-09-15T12:10:05.319-07:00

Hello all! Boy, that was one busy July. We had some Kids Camps and then there was the Renegade Craft Fair - which was awesome - and of course all our classes and people who wanted to buy some fabric. August is shaping up to be a bit more mellow, so we'll get a little R & R before September hits. And since Sew Liberated just released a brand new pattern - the Sunday Picnic Blouse - we can be cute,

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-34467534454851601492010-08-03T14:42:00.000-07:002010-08-28T14:52:45.146-07:00

Next month Sew L.A. will be three years old. Since then we've taught at least one Machine Intro class per week, and with 8 people per class that's roughly 32 people a month, times 36, which according to my sloppy math means we're looking at 384+ beginners that have taken this introductory class. Probably more, but it doesn't matter for my intended purposes. Shaerie figured it would be a good

joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04094846540764394582noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-87252690955340668142010-07-22T00:01:00.000-07:002010-08-28T14:53:16.958-07:00

Thank you all for entering! Congrats RETRO-Fabulous! Fabric and sewing junkies rejoice! We here at Sew L.A. (and Sew L.A. Fabric) have the pleasure of partnering up with the wonderfully crafty blog Craftside to bring you 2 chances to win the new book Sew Retro: 25 Vintage-Inspired Projects for the Modern Girl & A Stylish History of the Sewing Revolution and some beautiful fabric. Leave a

joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04094846540764394582noreply@blogger.com59tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-6123424523745618022010-06-30T19:59:00.000-07:002010-08-28T14:54:01.072-07:00

Recently, I have taught a couple of our Tote Bag classes, and some of the students were asking if there were any reversible bag patterns that we recommended. I didn't know of any off the cuff, but I did some research and found this one - Amy Butler's Swing Bag. It's a great size for running around town with a bit of a different shape and a cute little detail to the handles. It took some

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-6621864845455051672010-06-04T17:27:00.000-07:002010-06-30T20:01:39.347-07:00

In the modern spirit of a 'staycation', my darling dearest and I recently used some of of our traveling savings to get a small grill and two chairs for our patio. Hooray for summer! I realized quickly that I did not have any appropriate lounging garments for relaxing on said patio, hence the June 2010 pattern of the month - comfy summer PJ's from KWIK Sew 3595! I chose this pattern because

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-2856540262984774292010-05-24T14:14:00.000-07:002010-06-30T20:00:25.311-07:00

Quilt Market is the largest trade show for people who own sewing, fabric and/or quilting shops in the US of A. It happens twice a year - Fall Market is in Houston and Spring Market travels around - this year it was in Minneapolis! After doing a bit of research, I was excited to visit as I had never been to Minneapolis before. I am a museum freak and they had a lot - and my sister said there

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-17092121496109183812010-05-03T18:30:00.000-07:002010-06-04T17:30:20.407-07:00

I love this bag! I made it for the Pattern of the Month and was going to put it on display at the shop, but it seems that I have kidnapped it and it's now my everyday bag. I can't tell you how much stuff I can cram in it - and that for me is a good bag. I even decided to make it into a kit to make it easier for everyone to get online (and we have them at the shop too)! Like I said in the

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-22806253073226206182010-04-16T15:23:00.000-07:002010-05-03T18:31:51.249-07:00

Part Deux of our Full Bust Adjustment festival, this tutorial will show you how to increase the size of an existing dart. I'll be using our Party Dress pattern (Kwik Sew #3521) as an example. Most commercial patterns draft for a B cup, so many people have to alter up or down accordingly. On some patterns, you can fudge it a bit, or just get by - this is one of those patterns for me. It has always

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-65011851274424785742010-04-07T15:54:00.000-07:002010-05-03T18:33:38.340-07:00

Welcome to the second part of our Bust Adjustment extravaganza, a companion to the 3/22 Petite Bust Adjustment (sometimes called an SBA) where we featured the lovely Parfait Dress by Colette Patterns. Most commercial pattern companies out there draft for a B cup, so if you are not a B cup you'll need to make some changes in the pattern for it to fit your body better. This is really the essence of

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-16697787517718567262010-04-01T20:31:00.000-07:002010-04-01T20:43:44.964-07:00

There are so many great sewing patterns out there that we here at Sew L.A. have decided to highlight one pattern a month right here in our blog so everyone can share in the fun! We'll talk about why we picked the pattern, show you some pictures and talk about anything we did differently from the instructions, plus share any helpful hints we might have regarding fitting and construction. We just

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-87716041406146666662010-03-22T13:31:00.000-07:002010-04-01T14:46:15.450-07:00

Hello all! Shaerie here, with the first in a series of posts designed to take some of the mystery out of fitting your body correctly when using commercial patterns. We teach a class here at Sew L.A. using Colette's awesome Parfait Dress pattern, which is drafted for ladies with a C cup. Most commercial patterns are drafted for B cup ladies, so while this is a boon for some of us it ends up

Shaerie Meadhttps://profiles.google.com/110936839595747894933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-15398377805528739392010-03-18T16:31:00.001-07:002010-03-18T16:31:46.841-07:00

It's finally happened. We have a SIGN! It's been sitting in the back room for quite some time begging to be put on the building and today it happened. Now when people call and ask where we are I can tell them to look for our SIGN! Oh happy day!

joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04094846540764394582noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-14908035417394460032010-03-16T20:04:00.000-07:002010-03-16T20:04:44.169-07:00

Sitting in the shop minding my own business when the UPS man walks in the door carrying the biggest box I've seen walk through our doors in quite some time. I knew what it was immediately; it was the Van Gogh collection.  We ordered some really amazing rayon prints in October and were completely convinced that they were never printed, and I never thought I would be so happy to be wrong. You

sweatshop_warriornoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-35500677104102266842010-03-12T15:06:00.000-08:002010-03-13T12:07:37.129-08:00

Etsuko Furuya's most recent collection is from her Nico line, which focuses more on technology and pop art than on her other collections which have nature and animals highlighted. We ordered a whole bunch and now comes the hard part - waiting for it to arrive! It will be here in about 7 weeks and we'll be sure to let everyone know. We also ordered a bunch of new Nani Iro fabric from designer

joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04094846540764394582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-54152722095395207522010-02-19T13:09:00.000-08:002010-03-19T12:10:26.109-07:00

This is one for all the lovebirds out there who put any stock whatsoever in Valentine’s Day. First of all, you’re all fools. Fools I say. Perhaps this is harsh of me, or perhaps it is not completely unfair of me to loathe any holiday completely over-taken by greeting card companies. Don’t get me wrong, the idea behind the holiday is still a very nice one, but sappy greeting cards, tacky flower

joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04094846540764394582noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-36302590010195775732010-02-15T13:02:00.000-08:002010-03-13T12:07:37.130-08:00

So most of our fabric is up on-line now, and our classes are  up through June. We have a few classes that we're working out the details for, so as soon as they're done those TBA's will be replaced. Books are still coming, we just have limited numbers as far as quantity goes so it's not as much of a priority as we don't really want to list a bunch of items only to put most of them directly set to

joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04094846540764394582noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-81272175689016007632010-02-10T15:08:00.000-08:002010-02-19T13:23:25.590-08:00

   I recently had the pleasure of seeing one of the most awe-inspiring stop-motion animation films ever made by one of my favorite contemporary directors. I was a little late in the game as it was released on Thanksgiving, but now that I’ve seen it I’m completely obsessed. The director is Wes Anderson and the film is Fantastic Mr. Fox.  If you have yet to see it, run out of your house

sweatshop_warriornoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-59132728331727521662010-01-15T21:08:00.000-08:002010-02-15T16:48:48.215-08:00

For these little guys I employed the help of Adam, my partner in crime…and craft. Ever since we got these adorable, aeronautic woodland creatures I’ve been dying to make one.  So we made two! These little guys are perfect for gifts or just a good way to kill a couple of hours. We put on some old episodes of Strangers With Candy, cracked a bottle of bourbon and got down to business. It was crazy

joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04094846540764394582noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-31543963030500508642010-01-06T21:06:00.000-08:002010-02-15T16:48:48.215-08:00

After having my blog hijacked by the boss-lady, I decided it was time for a new post! I spent a moment in heavy contemplation before I realized that I could kill two birds with one stone; I could manage to beef up my wardrobe and find a way to work on my Christmas vacation. Because I’m just that dedicated. Once the Christmas feast was made and consumed and I was sure I would explode from all the

joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04094846540764394582noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-18683262921348889102009-12-26T15:31:00.000-08:002010-02-15T16:48:48.215-08:00

Shaerie here, taking over Daniel's blog while he works on his next amazing project. We have had a bunch of people ask about this great fabric! Double gauze consists of two layers of sheer cotton gauze sandwiched together with tiny, almost invisible stitches. Heather Ross' "Far Far Away" and the Spring 2009 Echino collection by Etsuko Furuya plus many of Naomi Ito's Nani Iro designs are printed

joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04094846540764394582noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1368560368080633943.post-48987439790521209472009-12-13T15:17:00.000-08:002010-02-15T16:48:48.216-08:00

And so it begins…with a big mess. Let this be a lesson to us all; don’t put bobbins full of thread in the washing machine. It took me twenty minutes to release my freshly laundered clothes from the mouth of that fierce, golden-toothed beast.    Little “Zakka Sewing” Linen BasketWhen I was told I was getting my very own blog I rejoiced, and when I was done rejoicing I picked up one of the cutest

joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04094846540764394582noreply@blogger.com0