Luxe print cuddle and velvet cuddle (the solid red) from ShannonFabrics.com

Oh I can’t WAIT to start sewing this.  At the Janome Education Summit in May we had a program from Shannon Fabrics using their double gauze and Cuddle (minkee).   I saw these three fabrics in swatches and NOW I have some!  They are part of the Fall line, and I can’t wait!  SQUEE…just checked and these are now available at Fabric.com–go here.

The white with buffalo-plaid moose will be backed/edged with the big buffalo-check (each square is about 2 inches) for a ginormous throw, almost twin sized (I think it will be about 54×66 inches when done.  The red will line the buffalo check for a new winter coat or wrap to snuggle in.  This stuff is SO SOFT!

Learned a fantabulous trick from the ladies at Shannon Fabrics at the Education Summit:  when cutting Cuddle and other hairy fabrics (like minkee and similar), cut the pieces, then carefully roll them up and put them in the drier on air/no heat for a while.  About 80 percent of those stray hairs will gather in the lint filter (remember to EMPTY IT), leading to a billion times less clean-up in the studio.

Stay tuned–I should have the throw done by early next week.  The coat will take longer!  THANK YOU Janome America for that fabulous summit and Shannon Fabrics for these snuggly fabrics.  For all of you, I had already ordered some blue for a different throw, and some other fabric for Christmas gifts which obviously I can’t tell you about—yet!

Recently made up a VERY quick and easy project for Janome America which is free for you to use… a felt apple pin for your favorite teacher.   Of course you could also make it in woven cloth, a lovely wool, anything you like, but a wool felt is fast, Fast, FAST…and fun!

A quick and easy project by Sarah Ann Smith for Janome America ©2018

I used leftover bits of felt–you could use black for the backing instead of the oatmeal felt I had, anything you want!  Including drafting the apple and sewing on the pin backing I think this took all of an hour to make.

The blanket/buttonhole appliqué stitch on my Janome 9400 make this quick and easy.

To find full instructions with more pictures, details and tips, visit the Janome blogpost for this project, here.

Thanks as always to Janome America for their support.  I’ve sewn on Janome machines for 15 years now, and they are the best.  Currently I’m using the 9400 and it is my dream machine!

OH MY….let’s just say every single person on the boat was snapping pics like mad!

Though this was the evening before the last session, it needs to go last as a spectacular wrap-up to a fun and informative week at the first ever Janome Educational Summit.  We had Artisans and Makers from the US and Canada, members of Janome America and Janome Canada staff, so many generous and inspiring sponsors, worked on the Janome 15000, 9400, Serger, Cover-stitch machines, did piecing, quilting, Acu-design work, worked on garments, fleece, double gauze, knits, learned about industry trends and upcoming machines and campaigns, and most of all had a blast getting to know each other.  It is amazing how quickly a community of like minded souls can meld into a group that sticks together even after you go home.

At the last minute, just the Friday before the summit (we arrived Monday afternoon), Shin Yamamoto the President of Janome America, decided they needed to lay on something special for our last evening.   OH MY did they ever!   A dinner cruise on the Hudson from NJ down to the Statue of Liberty and back.  The rain of the earlier week had vanished, the temperature was perfect, the humidity low.   Traffic en  from Park Ridge to up by the Hudson and back was something else again for this Maine Mom (more cars in the 90 minutes it took to get there, there were more cars on that route than I think in the entire state of Maine), but what a treat.

At the dock waiting to depart

Sailing under the bridges…arches that I recognized from photos of NYC and some of the Janome crowd, including my main contact Erin S.

After dinner up on deck, the Janome crowd enjoying the perfect weather…gosh what a FUN group.  The collective skill level in that room was beyond amazing!

Miriam and Karen….what a fantastic photo!

Me and Meredith–can you tell we were having fun?

Terry, Sam, Meredith and the sunset, Liz, Miriam and Karen behind the pole

MORE sunset, Statue of Liberty at far left

Lady Liberty, as the Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America / Land That I Love (cue Kate Smith!) played. Utter. Complete. Perfection!

After the Statue of Liberty we turned around to head back to the dock, as night fell and the lights came up. Magical!

I’m so not a city girl, but if you’re gonna do city, this is pretty spectacular.  Look at those reflections in the water!

The NJ side of the Hudson as we headed back…loved the light falling light water down the side of that skyscraper.

The end of the trip. WOW.  THANK YOU JANOME AMERICA, and you betcha I’m shouting!

Thank you Shin Yamamoto and David Manierka for being such good advocates for Janome, Janome users, and all the folks at Janome, and for such a phenomenal week. It was such a treat to be able to meet in person folks from shipping to marketing to headquarters whose names I have known these past fifteen years. THANK YOU Regena Carvelaro for putting together a Summit that has to rival the best of these events anywhere, any time.   Thank you Erin Schlosser, for being a great contact, for supporting the makers and artisans that work with Janome, for all you did to make this event such a success.  And thank you to the sponsors/presenters, Educators, Makers and Artisans who were the lively, inspiring heart and soul of this event.  Let’s do it again!

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Thursday was a whirlwind as we finished up at lunch time.

Me with my Summit t-shirt (we also did some iron-press decals…this was a basic shirt with an altered neckline also done at breakneck pace) with my skirt tucked underneath. Even my lime suede sneakers go with it!

In that morning we had a presentation on My Fabric Designer Software by Eileen Roche and made a knit skirt using sergers and cover-stitch machines thanks to Girl Charlee.  The amount of machines and work Janome America put into having them onsite for us all to test-drive and learn was amazing–huge kudos to Janome America for such a great Summit!  And of course major thanks to the sponsors and presenters for all the goodies and best of all the learning!

Today I am actually wearing the skirt I made (photo above)…the project was to make a pencil skirt.  I’m afraid that pencil skirts and my body and lifestyle are not a match made in heaven, so once again I was the disobedient child and made a gathered skirt.

The fabric I chose…other choices were a solid denim look and a blue floral print. Heather Peterson’s Girl Charlee site is here, with a wide range of VERY reasonably priced knits. This particular fabric is still available as of early July 2018, here, and is only $8.50 a yard! It’s a lighter t-shirt weight skirt (so not too heavy for a full skirt) and is soft and comfy.

Owner Heather Peterson showed some of the fun projects she has made and gave us tips for sewing on knits.  For those who don’t have a serger, even the most basic sewing machines have an overlock stitch that you can use to whip up these fun things on your domestic machine.  What I learned:  don’t be afraid of knits!  You can do it!

Heather holding up a comfy knit dress

And on the screen behind her, tips:

Different types of knits….I had never heard of Vegan Leather….but it looks leather-ish and it actually stretches! I don’t think leather leggings are in my future, but maybe this might work on a quilt….hmmm…….

Some of the delectable fabrics at Girl Charlee

A couple knit projects up on the front table

The ladies who DID make the pencil skirt wore them and fell in love–the entire time I was thinking “I wish I had Ashley’s (DIL) measurements” because this project was ideal for her.  When I showed very petite Ashley the pattern provided (here) she was delighted and said “OMG, a pencil skirt that would actually FIT!”  The pattern has you start with your measurements, then subtract a bit, calculate the length, and presto, nearly instant skirt.   I used the full yard of fabric to make a nearly ankle-length skirt.  I didn’t have time to be afraid…we had to work FAST, so I serged up the side seams, serged the elastic (my first time ever doing that!) to the top, then switched over to the cover-stitch machine to stitch down the elastic and hem the skirt.

The hem of my skirt. I’ve never used a cover stitch machine before–I love the look of this three-needle hem. On a domestic machine, you can simulate the look of a cover stitch machine (or setting on a serger) by using a twin needle. The bobbin thread zig-zagging on the bottom side gives stretch to the hem, which means the threads don’t break.

After the summit I did some noodling around on the internet: the one issue I had was the fabric curling at the top edge of the hem.  Terial Magic would take care of that by stiffening the edge, but there is also stuff called wash-away tape that is 1/4″ wide.  That, placed on the cut edge, would hold the hem in place AND keep it from curling (which it does between the pins).  Thanks to Heather’s workshop I’m determined to take the fabric I bought to make leggings 2-4 years ago will be MADE UP into leggings this summer!  I’m not afraid any more!

Back to Eileen Roche– her company prints your designs (similar to Spoonflower) on a wide range of base goods (cottons, knits, poly, etc).  But she also offers software that works on PCs (sorry, not on Macs which is what I have) that helps you design repeats.  I could see having a lot of fun with this!

Here’s the print fabric website: https://www.myfabricdesigns.com and here’s where you find the software: https://www.inspiredbydime.com/inspiration-software/my-fabric-designer/

Although I’ve returned to earth after the rush of the Summit, just revisiting these photos has brought back what a great week this was.  A TON of good stuff packed into 3 full days!

Hold on to your seats…it’s me on video! At the Education Summit in late May, the Janome Marketing department paired up the participants, then had us ask each other some questions.   They’ve just today posted those videos.  Apart from the fact that it was late in the day so Terry Mingee, whom I have met a few times before at International Quilt Festival in Houston, and I were fairy tired and relaxed and therefore didn’t sit up straight…the videos are a total hoot.  Here’s mine with Terry…I am now Sarah the Time-Turner (after a brief detour as Sarah the Ripper).  I knew we were doing OK when the Marketing staff were all laughing quietly as this went on…it was so much fun!

Here’s the link to all the videos on Janome’s YouTube web page; the interview between Kimberley Einmo, the US Janome-America spokesperson, and Tamara Kate Serrao, the Janome Canada spokesperson, is great.