Now that I’m back from the Sewing Summit, I’ve been thinking about how to capture all of the excitement and fun from the weekend so I can share it with you all! First of all, I want to thank Erin and Amy for all of their hard work– this was a HUGE undertaking, and they pulled it off beautifully. All of us that were able to attend are so grateful that they had such a good idea and the dedication to pull it off!
When I arrived Friday and checked into the conference, I was immediately impressed by the level of detail– everything was so well planned and so thoughtful, down to the handmade fabric lanyards for our nametags! I went with a Joel Dewberry print for mine, one of my faves! I shouldn’t have been surprised when I met up with my roomate, Kate, and she had picked out the exact same one– one of the things we bonded over was our similar taste in fabric!
At the welcome reception Friday night, I kept feeling like I was seeing people I “knew”– it was kind of surreal to be in a room full of people, many of whom I recognized, but hadn’t actually met! Friday evening I went to dinner with a group organized by my friend Rachel, and I was really excited to get a chance to talk to Mary Catharine, as I’ve been following her blog and her work in the Do. Good Stitches bee for a while now! After dinner we had a Do. Good Stitches meetup, and Rachel taught me how to crochet. It was something I never tried before, and given that my crochet looked a little more like a parallelogram than a rectangle when I was done with it, I think there might be a reason why I haven’t given it a try! I think I’ll stick with quilts for now!
I also accompanied Kate to drop off her fat quarters for the swap, and it was a sight to behold! A group was organizing them by color, and it was amazing to think about all of this fabric coming from all over the country to be swapped.
Saturday morning classes started, and this was something I was really, really looking forward to– I wanted to expand my skills, and I love learning new techniques and sewing tricks! My first 2 classes were held in the sewing room, and I took improv piecing with Jess and free motion quilting with Allison.
I loved trying out new free motion quilting designs, and I loved hearing Allison’s techniques for quilting!
In the afternoon, I took Jeni’s class on fabric selection, and Amanda’s class on mini quilts. Both were so thoughtful and provided so much inspiration– I jotted down a bunch of notes that I’m hoping I can decipher now that I’m home!
Also, after talking to us about creative fabric selection, Jeni surprised us all with Kona color cards! Yay for solid color fabric!
When classes were finished, I was lucky enough to hang out with Kate, Kristie, and Sam! We did some very successful fabric shopping, and it was so fun to be shopping in person (not online) with my online friends! It was hard to narrow down my choices, but I knew I would have trouble fitting much extra in my suitcase, so that helped keep me in check!
Saturday night it seemed like just about everyone was in the sewing room!
Kristie was working on a gorgeous Innocent Crush quilt– it made me want to make another one of my own!
And there was some creative photo taking going on. This made for a great shot!
I assisted Kate, who was working on a stacked coins quilt top for a quilt she’s donating to 100 quilts for kids. It is so much fun working on a project with a friend!
Sunday I took a photography class with Vanessa, and then a home decor class with Erin. I’ve never had a lack of ideas for new projects, but after these classes I have about a million more things I want to make. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone, but luckily before we headed out of town there was time for a quick brunch with Kate, Lee, Faith, and Faith’s sister Rachel.
Kate and I even managed to squeeze in a quick trip to the Mormon temple– it was definitely worth stopping by, I’m glad I got to see it while we were there.
I’m still reflecting on it all, and I’m so glad I took the risk and decided to go! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is sewing and/or blogging– it was amazing to meet some of the people in this supportive community, and I hope to make it to another summit in the future!
One last thing– I’d hate to have all the fun and not share some with you all, so check back tomorrow– I just might have a little sewing summit giveaway for you!
It was so much fun hanging out with you, Natalie! I hope it the first of many fun times!
The weekend looks like it was awesome! I’ll be joining you next year!
Envious !!!, i hope i can be there next year!.
Don’t you mean “SEW much fun”??
Can’t wait to hear more about it!
Ha, I didn’t even think of that
Goes to show how tired I am!! I’ll call you soon!
Sounds like so much fun. This is the type of thing I would love to attend. Look forward to seeing more pictures!!
It sounds absolutely amazing! Maybe next year
I am so so so very jealous! It sounds like you had such an amazing time and I hope to stow away in your suitcase next year (I won’t be pregnant then, so maybe I’ll fit this time!). Let’s get together and sew soon!
Oh, no, I failed as a crochet teacher to convert you. Well, I have big plans to continue trying. Just wait till you see.
Yay, I had so much fun getting to hang out with you in person! It was such a whirlwind, your post does a great job encapsulating it all
Oh, that looks like such a blast!
It was so wonderful to meet you, Natalie! I love your free motion quilting, mine is so bad but I’m going to keep practicing.
I loved meeting you!! I hope you give that crochet another try, it seemed like you had the right idea, just needed some practice.
What fun! Glad you had a fantastic time!