Show 'n tell time!

Aren't these adorable? All made by Kathy Albright, a customer, with Hip Stitch fabrics! She made the dress, bloomers, hat and tote bag for her granddaughter, who lives in Germany, then traveled there to deliver in person! The hat was made from Little Stitches for Little Ones, by Amy Butler. The felt adorables are from The Softies Kit, which we're currently out of but have one that's available for use in the lounge - a hit with kids who come and sew! Kathy put the felt softies in the tote bag as an added surprise for her granddaughter! Beautiful work, Kathy - and thanks so much for sharing with us!

Found the camera!

Excuse the stretched-out wonky tee shirt that I'm wearing, but instead, focus your eyes on the cute shrug I made in a very short amount of time yesterday! It's from the book Sew What Fleece that we carry, and I'm thinking that this would be a fun class - don't you?! It's comfy and warm (well, not yet as we're still having hot weather..), and was a breeze to make! Look for this class offered in October!

....and this was craft night! Yes, that's Heather getting a foot massage from Ann, and no, Ann will not be available at every craft night to give foot massages! (Remember that Heather's "paid" job is at Trader Joe's, so she's on her feet all day)

Craft night fun

Last Friday's 1st craft night for Hip Stitch was a blast! If you weren't there, I hope you've been crafting something at home, at a friend's home, somewhere! I took pictures which I hoped to post, but now can't find my dang camera, so they'll have to wait 'till the next post....

So what did we do? Made eye-pods, experiemented with The Softies Kit felties (is that a word?!), knitted, crocheted, made a pillow cover, cut out pants from a pattern, ate a ton and laughed a ton, made new friends, and I don't know how, but the topic of politics actually didn't come up!!

Our next craft night is in the planning stages....we'll be offering supplies to make a corn sack, which if you don't know about this, it'll be your best friend this winter at home!

Hey, check out this link to Fancy Tiger, a sewing lounge like ours, in Denver: http://fancytiger.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html Scroll down a bit to where you see the 3 ladies in skirts they made....does some of the fabric look familiar? Some ideas as to what you can make!

We're finalizing the October calendar....hope to get it out in the next few days!

New fabrics and an apology, I think?

Here are some of the new ones just in....I wanted to get the images out to you if you haven't been into the store yet! The bottom pic. is flannel - look at the designs on them! I could go on and on about how they're just perfectly beautiful fabrics, but you just have to come see for yourself....and don't forget to check out the email newsletter I sent this week - if you're not yet on our email mailing list, get yourself on, by golly!

And now for an awkward subject.....I had a call yesterday from a very angry customer, "personally offended" (her words, not mine) that we were charging $10 for our upcoming craft night, even if one brings his/her own craft. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a word in; she just needed to vent her anger and then proceed to hang up, leaving me utterly flabbergasted. So I'd like to try to publicly make some amends for this horrible wrong we've seem to have committed.

In our minds, charging $10 goes towards: buying food and drinks to provide; purchasing materials for a craft to provide for those who don't bring their own; and towards the cost of staying open 3 hours later - lights on, sewing machines running, music playing (that would be on our PNM bill!) Granted, we don't get paid for the work we do - a sacrifice we're happy to make while we start up this new venture. But we also know that if we don't have income coming in, Hip Stitch will not succeed as a business.

So, I apologize for any offensive action we may have taken, and as we've always stated that we are customer-driven, we'd like to right our wrong by offering the following: if you would like to attend craft night and choose to bring your own craft, we ask that you pay $5.00 to go towards the above-mentioned bills (minus the cost for the craft). If you attend and choose to do a craft provided by us, we ask that you pay $10 for the above-mentioned bills. I'm also wondering that if this doesn't suit you, you may want to think about starting your own "craft night" in your own home, invite your friends, and make it free?! Our hope is that you all are happily crafting, whether it be at our place or another. Happily crafting, I repeat!

On to other news:
I made an ironing-board cover from our Anna Maria Horner's home dec. fabric - it's out in the store to give you some ideas about what to sew! It was a little tricky - I followed the "template" from the old store-bought cover, and sewing the elastic back on was a challenge, but it gives a great fresh new look!

Emily Hedrick, a customer and seller on etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5060851), has some of her bags for sale in the store. She has a great eye for putting fabrics together - and also makes beautiful "blossoms" that she attaches to the bags....come check them out!

Soon to arrive - some funky Alexander Henry bolts!

Lookie Lookie!

My favorite skirt right now....Amy Butler fabric and wrap skirt pattern from "Sew What Skirts" book (we just sold out - more on order!)

Our Grand Opening Saturday - the knitters are busy chatting and knitting! (don't worry, Village Wools, you're THE place in town to knit and purchase knitting supplies!)

My niece, Leah, with her completed hockey stick bag for her boyfriend's mom....no pattern involved, just in her creative mind! (Notice the cool pocket she added...)

Amy's adorable daughter, in her most-adorable ruffle skirt. Amy's made about 3 (4?) of these now - such cute fabrics put together for the 2 layers!

Adorable sewing tote made by a customer, as a sending-off gift to a college student. It's fabulous!!

Our children are back in school, and I must say, as bittersweet as it is sending them off, I just love the moment when I walk into the store in the morning, and the quiet-ness greets me, and the fabrics call out to me...."create! create!", and I get the coffee pot going, and can't wait to greet the crafters and creators who walk through the door.

Yesterday, Sunday, my family went up to Santa Fe to the International Folk Art Museum (http://www.internationalfolkart.org/). We love wandering through the miniatures room and studying all the scenes - we notice something new every time. They have an exhibit now called "Needles + Pins/Textiles & Tools" - the history of textiles/textile arts. It's sooo cool! Weaving, knitting, sewing, needlework - so peaceful to just wander through and realize what a timeless art our little store represents, and how important sewing is - to our minds, to our well-being, to teach our younger ones that they, too, can create something instead of purchasing it from a store...

The September calendar is being finalized - lots of fun this coming month. Let's sew together!

Major bonding

Man, I'm loving these classes! Not just the creating of fabulous skirts and lounge pants, but the talking we all do while sharing this time together - about sewing, about our lives, our spouses and children and jobs and and and.....

I got some fabulous insight into what's ahead for my daughters (now 10 and 8) when they reach their teen years from 2 very bright, wise, fun teenage girls who took classes, and made an adorable mini skirt and a flouncy tank top/tunic. Dang it, I need to remember my camera to capture these creations and post them!

I learned about the test available for the breast cancer gene from an awesome woman who made a wrap skirt, and now am thinking maybe I should take that test to alleviate my fear of "I wonder if..."

My niece has, in my opinion, sewn the most unusual and unique project I have yet to see: a hockey stick bag for her boyfriend's mother, in cotton-candy pink. Did I word that clearly? A bag to hold her hockey stick! Yes, it's about 6 feet long! And she added a strap for carrying and a pocket!! Go Leah - you rock!

Amy is a breath of sunshine when she comes into the store - having made the most adorable ruffle skirts for her little girl. She's gone from almost paralysis in front of a machine to enormous confidence in just a few weeks, and doesn't realize just how beautiful her stitching is - I joke with her about remembering to breathe while sewing! Thank you, Amy, for discovering us!

So, we're so very excited about the Grand Opening tomorrow and Saturday. I'm off to bed to get some needed sleep!

Classes are humming!

Hey there - what fun we've been having sewing! A wide-leg lounge pants class yesterday (Sat.) afternoon produced some awesome creations! Thanks to the great pattern in Amy Butlers "In Stitches", made on some great Amy Butler fabric, they were a hit! I keep forgetting to bring my camera into the store - when I do, I want to post some of this creativity at work!

I think what helps make the sewing time in the lounge so fun is the togetherness women share....making the time to relax, work on a similar project, doing a hobby that's non-stressful and hums along. It's just, well, peaceful. (and men, you're not banned from the lounge - I know there are some male sewers out there; you just need to make yourselves seen!)

In August, we'll do more lounge pants classes, as well as a super-easy wrap skirt. I just made one tonight at home in about 45 minutes (my pattern was already made; the class will include making the pattern)

And we continue to love to chat with our customers - we learn something new every day from you! (Saturday afternoon's tip was from Cheryl, who taught us a simple method of putting pins in the corners of your pattern & fabric - too wordy to explain in this blog - ask us when you come into the store!)

New fabrics to arrive any day now....we'll notify you when they do...after we attack the UPS man when we see him pull up!