One spot left in the Anna Tunic class at Bolt

This just in: We just had a cancellation for the Anna Tunic class, meaning there is ONE SPOT AVAILABLE! This is seriously the cutest top that we'll be offering all summer, so hop to it and call the shop to sign up! Class will be held Sundays, April 13th and 20th, 4:30pm-6:30pm. Call bolt at 503-287-2658.

Marching On

So much for all those posts I had planned for March of The Tools. I may just have to March into April with my tools... Mercifully, our weather has turned from slushly snow and hail to some beautiful blue skies! We're on day two of good weather and I love how it lifts everyone's mood!

Unfortunately, I'm having some odd technical problems getting my photos uploaded to Blogger. And I have such a cute little photo of my "tool" box and of a little wooden box that is labeled "tools". Soon, folks.

Anna Tunic class at Bolt

I just learned that due to a cancellation, there are TWO spots open for the Anna Tunic at Bolt! This is a totally cute tunic with great details and the class will cover all sorts of interesting things - fit: what to do when your bust and hip measurements don't "match", buttons with loop closures, gathering, facings, and more!

Class is for "intermediate" seamsters, meaning you need to have successfully finished a project or two, preferably a garment. So if you've made the Cute Skirt, you are ready to move to the Tunic!

Grab a friend and call Bolt at 503-287-2658 to sign up!

New Classes at Bolt!

The new schedule of classes at bolt is now available! Since the owner just had her baby, the website might not be updated for another day or two, so I'll put all the info here and create the links when the website is up. There are a few new classes, so read on!

As always, call bolt fabric boutique at 503-287-BOLT to sign up.

All classes are held on Sundays, 4:30pm-6:30pm.

April 13th and 20th: Amy Butler Anna Tunic
With it's clean lines and modern style, this tunic will be great for any spring or summer wardrobe. You will learn to properly measure yourself for a good fit and you will learn techniques to modify the tunic if you are between sizes or if your bust measurement doesn't match the hip measurement listed for your size. The tunic has a neck facing and gentle front gathers, two useful skills skills to learn! Intermediate skill level please. $40.




April 27th and May 4th: Cute Skirts
It’s that one–the one we keep offering, since you seem to just love it! We use the Favorite Things “cute skirts” pattern-a paneled skirt with a flat front waist and elastic in back. It’s a great first project if you’ve played around with your machine a bit. You’ll learn how to measure yourself to make the right size and have a skirt that you’ll love to wear. Advanced beginner. $40.

May 18th, 25th, and June 1st: Learn to Sew: Lunch Bag
Have you been looking for a good replacement to that disposable bag you pack your lunch in? This is a "learn to sew" class, which means all you need is a working machine (and the manual if you aren't sure how to thread it and wind the bobbin). We will use the Favorite Things pattern to make this great bag. You will choose fabrics for the outside and the lining and will make a bag that includes two handy pockets. Beginner. $60.

June 8th: Zipper Clinic
Are you ready to learn zipper applications? Come learn easy ways to sew zippers in your garments and craft projects. In this hands-on class, we will cover centered zippers and lapped zippers, making you ready to tackle any project that calls for a zipper, from a throw pillow to a prom dress. Advanced beginner. $27 (includes materials fee)

June 22nd: Zipper 2 Clinic (Invisible Zippers!)
Do invisible zippers seem mysterious to you? Have you wondered about their uses and applications? Come take this one evening class and learn to apply invisible zippers. We will discuss the proper uses of invisible zippers, where they are best used, and how to make them look great! Advanced beginner. $27 (includes materials fee)

I'd love to see you in class!!!

Space open in Frenchy Bag class!!!

I just got news that there is an opening in the Frenchy Bag class that is starting THIS SUNDAY, March 9th. If one of you kind folks is interested in the class, call bolt fabric boutique at 503-287-2658. Call early to nab the space! This class was wait list only and we just had a cancellation!

And who doesn't need a bag like this? The one in the photo is the shoulder bag, and there is also a handbag option that is proportionally smaller, with shorter handles. Very cute! There is a magnetic snap closure, and haven't you always wanted to learn how to put one of those in?!

Come join us in class! Class will be held on two consecutive Sundays, 4:30-6:30pm at bolt -- 2136 NE Alberta St.

March of the Tools

Over on Heather Bailey's website, I saw she started a month of talking about tools! As any of my students and friends will tell you, I love good tools! They make sewing easier and WAY more fun!

So I'm going to be posting information on the tools I use. All of them can be had at your local sewing store, and I'll post more details about the really unique or hard to find ones!

To start with, let's talk about "pincushions". There are so many cute ones available to buy, and so many darling patterns to make your own. But I use none of them. They all make me crazy, because you have to stop sewing, glance at your pincushion and carefully stab the pin in before you can resume sewing. Who has time for that? In the crazy rush that I have for my sewing time, I need to sew at full speed with as few pauses as possible (this might explain the embarrassing topstitching on a baby blanket I just made for a friend. Oops.)

So I use two magnetic "pincushions". One is a Grabbit - and I love it! It is just the right size and weight, the magnet inside is well placed, and while I sew, I can just toss the pins in the general direction of the Grabbit and it sucks them on to the top. The pins all lie straight and flat on top, ready for me to use them for my next pining.

Last year I got the Fons and Porter red heart magnetic pincushion. It was so cute, I couldn't resist. But it's such a drag to actually use because the magnet is poorly placed. This causes pins to stick to the bottom of it (if you set it on the table near some pins) and when you causally toss pins at it, they don't lie flat. They stick up. Straight up. Pointy end up. This is a real drag when you reach for the pincushion without looking at it, thinking you can grab a pin to help feed your fabric through the machine. It's also a drag when you are pinning anything. Imagine a tomato pincushion where half the pins where pointy end up.

So for now, I use the red heart to catch pins next to my machine. I use the Grabbit when I need to actually reach for a pin. And I regularly move the pins from the heart to the Grabbit when I run out of pins. It works. But it makes me want another Grabbit. ;)

Strangest thing I've seen yet today

So, it's a cake pan that is segmented to provide different size pieces of cake for each of your picky guests. Would it bake correctly? I would worry that the thick pieces would be undercooked while the thin pieces would dry out. But maybe I'm the one who is picky about her piece of cake?

7 little things about me

I was tagged way back when by sweet Anjie of studio wellspring and for various reasons (none of them very good), I haven't gotten around to writing up my list of the 7 interesting/unique/unknown things about me. I've thought long and hard and can't come up with much that folks don't know about me, so forgive me if you learned this all the first time we ever met...

1. The first time I sewed, I was three and it was in my grandma's sewing room. I have fond memories of that space, and it was the first that I knew of women having an actual room of their own. At the time, my mom had only a back porch that housed all her sewing. I am extremely lucky to get to have a wonderful sewing room of my own now!
2. Said sewing room is a current disaster area. I don't think anything has been produced in the sewing room since before the holidays. But somehow it is the dumping ground for all that has no other space in our house. We could really use some extra storage around here!
3. In college, I traveled a LOT. In '97-98 I lived in Germany and visited Austria, Switzerland, France (for an afternoon layover), Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Hungary. If I missed one in there, my long time friend and travel partner, Katy will hopefully remind me. What makes this a little interesting is that my most recent trip to Hawaii totally terrified me. I didn't know where to park at the airport or really how to take the shuttle into the terminal. I was mystified by security (what the heck that they don't allow WATER?!), and more than a little afraid of the logistics and details of boarding the plane and staying relaxed during take-off.
4. On my first ever date with my husband, I knew I would marry him. Six months after that date we moved in together. Six months after that we were engaged. Six months after that we bought our first house. Six months after that we got married. It took us another year to get a dog, and another year after that to have our son.
5. My husband brought a cat to our relationship that I have always hated. We have a deal that for as many years as I live with her (we're up to 6 1/2 now), I get to decide the cat-status of our household. Just to spite me, I think she'll probably live to be 22. Ironically, our son LOVES her.
6. I love my sleep. One of my (many) issues with the cat is the regularity with which she wakes us up in the middle of the night.
7. I'm 12 weeks pregnant. This contributes greatly to #6. :) So far the pregnancy has gone pretty well, I haven't been too terribly ill, except when I try to brush my teeth. So if I have bad breath, I'm really sorry! But my toothbrush makes me have dry heaves. It's really inconvenient!

So if you haven't ever done one of these, I hereby tag you!

NEW CLASSES AT BOLT!

The new class list is available over at bolt!

There are a lot of very interesting classes available including Russian needlepunch, embroidery, pattern making, and the machine sewing classes that I teach. I was out of town when the list first went out, so many of the classes are already full, but it is ALWAYS worth it to be on the waiting list! We had a lovely break from classes in January and it looks like a lot of you are ready to start sewing again!

Also, if there is a class that you're just dying to take, I am still offering private lessons and am now able to give private lessons in Portland on Sundays, prior to teaching at bolt. Generally that means the lesson is 2pm-4pm, depending on how close to the store you live. For rates and other details, go to sewsally.com.

Hope to see you in class!

I'm baaaack!

It's been a long absence for two reasons -- first I got to go on a vacation to Hawaii, while my son played at Grammie's house. And then when we all got home and got settled, we all got a nasty flu that we're still recovering from!

I'd never been to Hawaii, so didn't really understand all the hype until I'd been there for about 10 seconds and decided I could really live there!

We had a beautiful room that opened out to the ocean for gorgeous views and wonderful sunsets. We snorkeled almost every day and saw literally hundreds of different kinds of fish and coral. We took a sea kayaking trip that totally blew my mind. I'd never been on a kayak before and paddling in the warm ocean was amazing and thrilling and only a little terrifying.

Kealakekua Bay. photo by letsgo-hawaii.com

photo by letsgo-hawaii.com

But the highlight for us was snorkeling with the manta ray at night! We boarded the boat at about 5pm and watched the sun set as we motored about 20 minutes to the snorkeling spot. On the way, we saw a mother and calf humpback whale! Imagine the setting sun and two whales 50 yards away. We got to see the tail flip right before they dove down under the water, an image I'll never forget!

photo copyright Rolf Hicker

Once we got to the snorkeling location, we donned wetsuits and jumped into the water. There were four divers with us and they went down to the sandy ocean floor, about 35 feet down. They turned on dive lights to shine up toward us and each of the 10 snorkelers had dive lights as well, that we pointed down. The snorkelers all held onto a communal floating circle, so we stayed together. It created a sea of light, so to speak, that attracted fish and plankton. Mantas only feed on plankton and since the folks in Kona have been doing this for years, the Mantas know that there will be food there at night.

photo by Lisa Christensen for honusports.com

The Manta swim in figure 8s, doing belly rolls and summersaults as they near the waters surface (where we were all floating). In the US, it's against the law to touch them, but they can touch us! And my husband got "blessed" by the manta (what they call it when one touches you) on one of its turns in the water. It about scared the pants off him at the time, but distanced from the moment he thinks it's very cool.

photo by Lisa Christensen for honusports.com

Having transitioned to big black (Nikon D40X) from the slow and dinky little silver (old Cannon powershot) meant that the photos we took were beautiful, but that we were too shy to actually take the camera anywhere that could get wet. Since we were in the water every day, that means not a lot of pictures of the interesting things we did. But we got an underwater camera that we need to get developed and with it, there might actually be a photo of the two of us together. :)

For now, we're still working on getting well from the flu. We've watched a lot of movies. I've read a lot (I can't stand that much TV) and just finished Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It really motivated me to work on eating locally grown food. In Hawaii that meant we got lots of citrus, papaya, mango, and bananas. Here that means apples and winter kale, which aren't quite the same. But we're trying!

edited for grammar, sorry!