Sewing Summit Lectures: Why I Would Be There

by Heather on September 13, 2012

I’m going to give a bit of love to all the lecture teachers because they are people too and very talented. I love lecture classes for a variety of reasons.

1. While I know that most people are hands on learners, you actually get MORE information in a lecture format. I know this from a teacher perspective. For my hands-on classes, I chose a project that takes me 1/3 of the class time to complete because of a multiple factors. Different people work at different rates and someone will “creatively interpret” the directions and will need to do some re-work. For a lecture, the whole time is mine. I can joke and tailor what I say to the needs of the class.

2. Notice that “creatively interpret” up above. Yep, thats often me. I would rather try the new skill at home, where I can mess up to my hearts content and the walls of my sewing studio never tell anyone. And if you get home and get stuck after attending a lecture, Email, PM, FB, IG the teacher. They will most likely answer and its like a private tutoring session.

3. You really get a chance to gain the lecturers insight and opinion on things. Much more so than in a class where the end result is to finish something, not necessarily to educate.

I find all of the classes at Sewing Summit intriguing, in one way or another. And since you have read this far, I’m going to tell you why each lecture interests me. Have you ever read reports from Quilt Market? And the tweets and pictures from school house? This is like the super popular school house, all in one place! Its your chance to listen to some of the best in the industry without having the credentials of owning a shop! If you need some information about what I’m talking about, go here… Diary of a Quilter

Handmade Wardrobe – Mena Trott The Sew Weekly
I don’t hide the fact that I’m also a garment sewist. In fact, thats one of the things that I love to make. It seems very useful. Especially now that I have teens, their clothing tastes are beyond my budget. I love how her site features ready to wear fashions and how to re-create them for much, much less including fabric sources. Its perfect. And I would love to hear how she plans what to sew for a wardrobe. I would recommend this for anyone who has been on pinterest or at the mall and saw an outfit and said, “Wow, I love that. I wish I could have that.”

Creative Fabric Selection – Jeni Baker In Color Order
I was lucky enough to take Jeni’s class last year. First, I always read her blog because of George, her bunny. So adorable and I have a soft spot for bunnies. There are lots of IG sewing cats and dogs, but really I only know of one bunny. I was thinking, “oh yeah, color wheel, blah, blah” but what is hanging in my sewing studio now (after taking her class)?

Yep, thats a color wheel print out. I use it all the time now. I’ve always loved color and paint and paint chips, but everything clicked in her class last year. Its like finding the last piece of a puzzle under the table when you thought the puzzle would be forever finished. It changed the way I looked at things. I now understand why some fabrics are ugly to me, its a color wheel thing. And its more than just finding the colors beside each other or across from each other. I really understand color and how to use it like a super power. Check out my quilts (quilt tab above), all of those were made AFTER her class.

Photography Vanessa Hewell lbg studio
“Don’t judge a book by its cover” I’ve heard this so many times, but with human nature, “you never get a second chance to make a first impression” is by far more accurate. We all are in love with artist endeavors. And guess what? It may be the cutest thing ever, but if the photo is dark and ugly, no one is ever going to know it. If you need proof, look at the popularity of pinterest. Photos matter. The quality matters. I try my best, but I am always looking for new, great tips to make them look fantastic. I took a photography lecture last year at sewing summit. It didn’t go over the mechanics, it went over composition, which was so helpful. Fast forward to the time to enter a quilt into the Modern Quilt Guild Collection at Houston. Guess what? No altering of the photos at all except for cropping. No color correction allowed. (EEEEKKKKK!) And I knew how to do it thanks to sewing summit.

Geared For Guys Emily Herrick Crazy Old Ladies Quilts
Ummm, hello? One of the hottest and most innovative books out right now! And you get to sit in a class from the author. Its like going to school house at market. She has taken a huge “elephant in the middle of the room” (aka, how to make your dad, husband, boyfriend, son, son-in-law a piece of your creation) and put it into glossy pages. This is so tricky. Most women get quilts, but very few men get what goes into a quilt. For me, this should speak for itself.

Website Design Melissa Esplin I Still Love You
I need this. I struggle with my website. I go look at others and say, “wow, how did they do that?” And graphic designers are NOT cheap. Worth every penny I’m sure, but I could buy a lot of fabric for that money. Just last week, I started playing around with my logo. I need something different and I don’t have the skills to do what I want. Even if you don’t have a blog, this would be excellent information in case you EVER need to create a web page. Its kind of related to the photography class. People want pretty things.

Finishing Details Anna Graham NoodleHead
OMG…..this is the amazing woman behind the noodlehead bag that I have made over and over. I know people who made these for birthday and teacher gifts. Everyone was carrying one last year at sewing summit. Every so often a break through pattern comes out. Its easy to make, good instructions and innovative. That description is what I think of when I hear “noodlehead”. I think she is one of the next big pattern designers and I have a chance to sit in her class! She could be talking about what she had for breakfast and I would still be interested.

Successful Blogging Tauni Everett SNAP!
Creating an identity for your blog takes time, effort and still more time. I learned a lot through trial and error and I’m still learning. I am always looking for hints and tricks to make my blog identity more identifiable. I’ve had some small successes, but its a hard road. Any tips and tricks would be awesome! I would like this blog to someday at least pay for itself. And I lay in bed at night trying out different looks, feels, slogans for my blog in my head, but I have yet to find “it”. Don’t ask me how long it took me to come up with “Fiberosity” (which I love now).

Why Fabric Thomas Knauer Thomas Knauer Sews
Sometimes I look at my stash and realize that I have the artistic outpouring from several different fabric designers on my shelf. How do they do it? Is there a magic number? How much fabric do I need to buy to get a full repeat? How is scale decided? What about color? Its kind of like those Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood shows where they visit the factory where crayons are created and you get to see how its all done. Fascinating! And with knowledge, I hope to become a better consumer, a better fabric shopper. AND….all this from a designer who has several lines to his name.

 

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