Sew South Part II

Today I want to share the projects and finishes from my retreat last weekend at Sew South!
I also want to acknowledge the wonderful sponsors of this awesome weekend and all the wonderful products that were given to us in our Swag Bags!

Completed Clutch from class and wonderful Sugar Scrub from Old Red Barn!

It feels amazing to sit down and sew and actually Complete a project all in one day! I don't know about you but in my world that rarely happens between work, commute, grocery's  laundry, housecleaning, yard work ...yada, yada, yada...you know what I am talking about ;)

So to sit and sew and with women who get it -- well, it doesn't get much better! But to top it off we had awesome projects and amazing teachers!

To start with on Thursday morning we had a bus trip to We're Sew Creative in Concord NC, where we picked up some great fabric for the weekend, for stash, for.... well you know. Jennifer Rycroft has a great selection - including the sale section. She is a Baby-Loc dealer and also has a great selection of machines. If you are in the area be sure and stop in!

Then it was on to Ikea where I think we almost bought every yard of this iconic fabric!

We had a cocktail reception that evening, mingled, had a few glasses of wine and got to know each other a bit better. Then it was off to dinner.

In the morning we picked out spots and settled in for the weekend! First up was a great little paper pieced star from Jennifer Mathis of Ellison Lane Quilts. It is a 6 1/2in block and goes together pretty easy. I chose to make mine scrappy! And love how it turned out-- I see more of these in my future :)

Next up after lunch was the Duffle bag!!  This is a BIG bag, 2 zippers, side pleated pocket and handles that are made from one long continuous loop! We used the Studio Cherie pattern and the class was taught by Lindsey Rhodes from LRStitched. This is truly a project -- it feels like quite an accomplishment when you finish it. And here is where the infamous cheer comes in-- everytime someone finished she stood up, holding that bag high and everyone cheered her on! LOVE it!  It is a great bag!

Lindsey and Jenifer in front of all the awesome Duffle bags1      

Next morning we did the Clutch, which was taught by Diane Stanley of Random Thoughts..do or di. She was awesome as well! This is a quick and easy project with a great finish! Again there is a multitude of styles and possibilities just by changing the fabric let alone adding accents. WhileBabyNaps on Etsy generously donated the frames. You can purchase all sizes of frames there along with the Gutermann glue that you need. I would suggest a set of tweezers also to help with getting the fabric in the frame. Diane's pattern is available for free on Craftsy.com.

Clutch in process- allowing glue to dry 15 min/side

Sampling of some of the wonderful Clutches completed that day!

Next was PJ pants. I chose not to make these as I have prior garment sewing experience and really just wanted to do some free time sewing. There were many very cute pairs completed. Again so nice to have a completed project to take home. Inspired by the Sew South banner that has cute bunting on it,  I used this time to make a little zippy pouch. This had been in the back of my mind after seeing this cosmetic bag. I used natural colored linen and some scraps and raw edged appliqued the front.

 I pieced a little nine patch (one inch pieces) for the back and centered it for a bit of fun!

I also wanted to show you pics of the Charity quilts that are being completed! These wonky house blocks were made by the quilters that came to Sew South. Each made one block keeping in mind these were going to hang in the Rec Room of the Ronald McDonald house in Charlotte, NC. There is such great variety and individuality! I just love them and I think they will add smiles and cheer to the families with sick children who are staying there until their child can go home from the hospital!

My block is the top row, right corner :)

Now to give a HUGE Thanks and shout out to all the sponsors! They were AWESOME! There was a goodie bag upon arrival and upon closing there was an Oprah-like moment where carts with huge bags filled with goodies were wheeled in and distributed to everyone! It was "better than Christmas!"

There were many drawings and door prizes given away during our time together. I won this great FQ pack from Rowan fabric!

We were provided with new rotary cutters and small cutting mats to take home. Large cutting mats and rulers were provided at stations around the room as were Oliso irons. Pellon provided many types of interfacing and fusible product for our Duffles and clutches--they even cut it for us!

Here is the full list of sponsors! Amazing and very generous! I will definitely be using their products!
Take a look at all the loot from the weekend!

I know this was a long post but wanted all of you to know that this was one retreat that was well worth your time, effort and dollars. The sponsors were so very generous, you go home with completed projects, you meet so many amazing people and most of all you go home with so many new friendships!

Gininy

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