Seattle BurdaStyle Club sewing retreat

Instead of our usual monthly meeting at Stitches, yesterday the Seattle BurdaStyle Club held an all day sewing retreat. One of our members kindly volunteered her mom's home for the event, and eight of us got together for nearly 12 hours of sewing, in addition to plenty of chatting, and snacking too.

 

It was raining like crazy on Saturday so it was the perfect day to stay inside and sew.  Coats and jackets were the most popular item - Vineta started an incredible blue wool coat from Vogue, Amy nearly finished a fall coat from McCalls, and Cheryl traced, altered and cut Burda 10-2009-109, which really piqued my interest!  Diana and Cheri both worked on woven shirts, and Stephanie mastered the blind hem on her new machine.  Plus we had a special 8-year old guest who sewed up her first garment ever, a pair of leggings from Ottobre.  They turned out fantastic, that young thing has a bright sewing future ahead of her.

I eased into the day with a pair of easy yoga pants, a BWOF pattern I've made before, and then I finished the jacket with the Carolina Herrera fabric I mentioned in my last post.  Pics and reviews to come as soon as I get them photographed.

All in all it was a fabulous day and we all want to do it again, soon!

First Seattle BurdaStyle Sewing Club meeting

Nine of us met yesterday for the first Seattle BurdaStyle Club meeting. I didn't take many pictures - I kept forgetting because I was too busy talking! I should have delegated the photography to someone else. Anyway, after introductions and show & tell, we packed our monthly agendas for the rest of 2009 with topics like "interfacings", "everything you need to know about knits", and "favorite notions and books". At July's meeting, we are going to get up close and personal with each other - to take a full battery of measurements!

If you are interesting in attending and you aren't already on my email list, drop me a line at assortednotions [at] gmail [dot] com.

Reminder: BurdaStyle Sewing Club this Saturday

Don't forget - the first Seattle BurdaStyle Sewing Club meeting is this Saturday, June 6, 2pm, at Stitches. More details here. See you there!

BurdaStyle Sewing Club - Saturday June 6

Stitches
711 E Pike St
Saturday, June 6, 2009
2 pm

There has been quite a response regarding the Seattle BurdaStyle meetup so this should be fun! Stitches, and a weekend day, were the preferred location and day for most people that emailed me. They have classes on Sundays but Saturdays are wide open for us. I scheduled this first meeting at 2pm, but we can change the time of future meetings, the earliest option would be 11:30 am and the latest probably 4pm so we can be out of there in time for dinners plans, etc.

Here's what I suggest we cover during our first get-together:

Introductions

Something to share/ask

Show us a recent finished project

Bring those pattern directions that have you stumped - together we can figure it out

Show us a picture/swatch of your upcoming/current project, solicit opinions if needed

Tell us about your favorite website for fabric, patterns, videos with sewing techniques

Show off those great vintage patterns you scored at the thrift store

Plan future meeting topics

Identify a few things we'd like to learn about - how to install zippers, make welt pockets, etc

Identify people who would be willing to demonstrate these at upcoming meetings

Scheduling

Preferred dates/times for future meetings

Upcoming topics/themes

Schedule next meeting

Photo session

For anyone who needs this

I hope most of you can make it! See you then!

Join the Seattle BurdaStyle Sewing Club!

Attention Seattle-area stitchers! Put down your pincushions and listen up. Are you interested in meeting other people who like to sew, and who appreciate the BurdaStyle vibe? Here's your opportunity. I have volunteered to organize a BurdaStyle Club in Seattle and I would love for you to get involved!

This is just as new to me as it is to you, so we can make it whatever we want. Here are my initial thoughts:

Where: I know of two fabric stores, Stitches (Capitol Hill) and Pacific Fabrics (multiple locations) that can provide free meeting space for us. Other locations (coffee shop?) could work too.

When: I'm thinking a weekend day or possibly a weekday evening. I'd like to get input from everyone, and eventually work out a regular monthly meeting, like "the 3rd Sunday of the month at 10am" so there's some predictability.

What: This is where we should all provide input. I believe I can get a suggested syllabus from BurdaStyle, but here are some ideas:

- technique demos - handstiches, welt pocket, bagged lining, etc
- project help - understanding pattern instructions, fit issues, etc
- show and tell - the fun part of sewing!
- photography session - if you want to post finished projects on the BurdaStyle
website or your blog, sometimes it's fun to shoot 'on location' instead of in
front of a boring wall in your house

All skill levels are invited. And you're welcome to join whether or not you've made a BurdaStyle pattern. I love the site and check it religiously on Mondays for the new release, but for some reason I've only made 2, well, 1.5, of their patterns (the very basic Lydia tee, and the Alison swimsuit which is a UFO hidden in a dresser drawer right now). I think this is cause for me to get going on a new garment from the site.

If you're interested, send me an email (my address is on the right) and let's get this started! Edited to add: I'm aiming to have the first meeting in early June.

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So you're interested in being part of a BurdaStyle club but you're not in Seattle? Check out other US locations here; international locations will be announced soon.