Monday, February 28, 2011

Last month.....

Hip Stitch hosted guest instructor Shirley Kay Wolfersberger, who held a day-long retreat called Creativity by Design.  Shirley Kay is a national teacher in fiber art, color, design and creativity.  That's just the tip of the iceberg in describing her.  I myself didn't take the class (kicking myself), and I had no idea what to expect in the lounge that day.  We had 5 women participate, and I was able to catch little snippets here and there as I refilled and re-heated my coffee throughout the day.  The women gave rave reviews at the end of the day, saying they truly felt exhausted from switching from left brain to right brain throughout the day (or were they switching from right to left?!)
Anyhow, I hope we can offer this class again (so I can take it!), but in the meantime, Shirley Kay is offering another one of her day-long retreats in April - Creativity through Color.   More description and details to come.....but I can't wait!!
Here are just a few shots of the class in January:

Friday, February 25, 2011

Eleven years and a week ago:
(Jane, feeling the baby's kicks.)

She entered into the world just after midnight on Feb. 24, 2000.  My labor was short, she came out after only a few pushes....we opted to be surprised with gender, but when she came out, she looked exactly like her sister, so we cried, "It's a Jane!" before the dr. even told us she was a girl.  I held her shortly, then she was put into the warming tray (yes, like a little turkey) for vitals and cleaning and other necessities.  Turns out, she had some fluid in her lungs, so the minutes ticked by as she was monitored, and monitored some more, until it was decided she needed to go to NICU.  I was able to hold her briefly again (20 seconds, maybe?), and the nurses had to take her off to take care of her.  I remember being wheeled back to my room - it was probably 3 a.m. by then, and delivered to my bed.  I remember feeling as though not just a baby, but my heart, had left my body.  I was all emotion, and exhaustion, and more emotion.  I cried quietly by myself, in my room, with no baby to hold.  Not much sleep that night.
That was Claire Suzanne's entrance into the world.  She and I made it through those 1st few rocky days - I was discharged without her, and I spent every waking moment going back and forth to and from the hospital for about a week, until she could come home.  
She's our baby, she's been her sister's best friend and companion.  She's bright, and inquisitive, and sweet, and tough yet sensitive.  She gets embarrassed when I talk to her classmates when I drop her off at school, yet loves to snuggle with me at night before bed.  She and I have frustrating, clashing disagreements, yet we love to go on long walks together through our neighborhood and talk and talk and talk.  She makes our family complete.
Happy Birthday, Claire Bear!

And now to some Hip Stitching.....here's the finished Weekender Bag - at the store:
All done!

And finally, new fabric that arrived this week:
Robotics from Moda 


and Oh My, also Moda:


Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Oh Amy, Amy, Amy......

So I'm making the Weekender, Amy Butler's pattern.  This is the 3rd one I've made.  The 1st one was years ago - before Hip Stitch, to give you a frame of reference.  I use it when we (rarely) travel....it doesn't have much in the way of interfacing - just craft fuse - and so it's floppy, but I love it.

The 2nd, I made for my best-est friend Lisa.....the blog post is HERE (I'm not that great about linking things sometimes, so if nothing comes up, I'm sorry!)

After each bag, I swear that I'm not going to make another one.  And then that passes, and after some time, I get the itch again.  Like this weekend.  Here's where I am:
Layers of home dec., craft fuse, timtex & cording......2 spools of thread, 2 broken needles.....having to step away from my machine to take some deep breaths, having a glass of wine to calm my nerves.......are you just dying to try this project yet?!  No really, it's truly the most beautiful bag I've made, and I love to pack clothes in to go on a trip (did I mention that was rare?), because I feel so.....cosmopolitan.....with it.  But I think if I do another of these, I need to borrow someone's industrial machine to take this baby on.

In the meantime, I'm done with the hardest part - the exterior.  Lining shouldn't take long....and then it'll be in the shop with a price tag of $3,000 on it!  haha.....haha.....

This afternoon, my almost-11 yr. old and I went to the library.  When we got home, I waltzed into the house with my stack of books and told her, "this is one of the happiest feelings ever!" referring to having a stack of new library books.  Here they are:
Why Sewing for Dummies, you wonder?  Oh, I just always grab a sewing book or 2 to see if there are any tips I can learn.  And the funny part is, I ran into Trish, who's going to be teaching the kids' doll class, in the sewing book aisle - we were both browsing that section.  Sigh, we sewing geeks think alike!

Goodnight - I'm going to bed to READ!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Just so you know....

About a week ago, (or maybe 2?), Ali sent me this link that has a great article about why the prices of cotton are going up.  I've been hearing that they are for the past few months.....some of our new bolts are a bit higher, but THIS is a really informative piece - worth reading!

And thank you, Ali!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Things to oooh and ahhhh over....

First, this ABC book, made by new customer Karalenn.  We met just before Christmas - she came into the store for an impromptu craft night - she brought this in the making.  Those of us who were there gathered round and were totally blown away by how intricate and perfect and beautiful is was.  She came in this week with her adorable daughter, "Pip", to show off the finished book:

Oh my gosh, is that not incredible?!  I don't know what I love more.....Karalenn's talent, which I want to clone, this book, or the adorable nickname Pip.

And this awesome creation.....Heather Bailey's Happy Stacker Ring Toy, made by customer Kelly, for her little one, Owen:

Kelly came down to Hip Stitch all the way from Denver to buy this pattern and the fabrics.   OK, I lied.  She came down to visit her family.  But she also came in to Hip Stitch to buy the pattern and fabrics.  And isn't this just lovely?!  (and Owen is just perfectly lovely, too, by the way)

Friday, January 21, 2011

Itchy Tweed, exciting news, and new fabric!

First, the tweed.  I found this in my garage...I remember my mom giving it to me some years back.  I think the story is that my aunt brought it back from Scotland, maybe 30-40 years ago?  (I need to check on this story for accuracy)  I never knew what to do with it until the Classic Tailored Jacket class came about.  I sooooo wanted to make the coat, but my time has been limited lately, so I haven't been able to shop around for fabric.  Then, the light bulb went off, I went into the garage, and here it is, in the making:


.....and the little Featherweight that's tackling this coat!  Right now, I feel like Sherlock Holmes when I see this fabric - like all I need is a pipe and matching tweed cap.  It even has the scent of a musty castle in the Scottish Highlands.....but my imagination tends to run away sometimes!
Melisa Hart is teaching the class, and I can't wait to see the finished coats of the gals taking it - their fabric selection is beautiful!  More on Melisa in a future blog post.....she is so incredibly talented.

Exciting news.....Hip Stitch is featured in the Feb./March issue of Vogue Pattern magazine!  Should be either on the newsstands or will be any day now....I just got my copy in the mail.  A story was done on sewing lounges around the country.  I'm so tickled, and have to credit the very talented Ellen for the photos!

New fabric to be shared later today....having some camera difficulties....

CRAFT NIGHT TONIGHT - who's coming?

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

New Fabric arrived!

We have almost 30 new bolts in the shop this week, including these goodies:






Obviously, this is just a small sampling.....too much to post all the pictures.  New patterns, too:




We've been told by all of our fabric wholesalers that the price of cotton is going up.  We try to keep our prices below other area stores, but prices will have to be raised a bit as we're hit with wholesale increases.  In the meantime, all of our current fabric stays at the price it has been......period.  For all of us fabric lovers, this shouldn't affect our hobby/passion, right?!