We’ve been working hard developing some new class curriculums around here, and we’re pretty exited about it. The first two classes in September are my own newest, Clothing Construction 101 and Thread Doodling, which both came about after some sewing projects that I ended up loving and thought you guys might too.

A few months ago I made the Roundabout Dress pattern by Anna Maria Horner…

but the blouse version…

which looked like this on me…

but only when I wasn’t making this face…

Anyway, all the while I sewed, I kept thinking what a great beginning pattern it was.  It’s clearly written, so it will be great for learning how to read and understand patterns.  It has pleats and gathers, great techniques for beginning clothing sewists to learn. It doesn’t have buttonholes, zippers, or set-in sleeves, which can be saved for the post-beginner clothing class. Other elements of this blouse give us the chance to teach about bias trims, cuffs and waistbands, and basics of custom-fitting a pattern. Not to mention that it’s just a really great shirt!  You’ll actually like to wear the first piece of clothing you sew.  I can’t say the same for the first shirt I sewed, in a class my freshman year of college.  It was a white button down, and looked like an oversized janitor’s uniform. It went missing long ago. That will not be happening with the Roundabout. My blouse was made with Triflora voile in Mermaid (notice my note about voile on the supply list if you sign up). Class stars September 6. Follow the link for Clothing Construction 101 for all the details, including supply list and how to register.

Thread Doodling all started when I made a little zipper pouch, which I posted previously.  It combined machine applique and free-motion machine embroidery. I found the technique irresistible and did some more…

I called it thread doodling, because there was no pre-planning or marking lines, no fixing mistakes, and it had the playful feel of the doodles you probably did all over your notebooks when you were a student.  You don’t have to be a good drawer or have an impressive vision. I like to start by remembering what kinds of things I used to doodle as a kid, and go from there…

These flowers became a throw pillow, which is one of the options for how to use your thread doodle in our class.
Once we go over how to prepare your materials and practice the free-motion technique, the project will be very freestyle. It can take on endless incarnations depending on who’s doing the thread doodling, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with in class.  Thread Doodling takes place in exactly one month on September 16.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We’ll feature more of our classes here on the blog soon, in the mean time check out our entire Fall class line-up. And I hope you’ll join us in the classroom!

I work really hard at breaking down everyone’s modesty here by forcing them to pose with and brag about their quilts.  Case in point, my Patchwork 101 class from a couple months ago. They may look a bit coerced, but aren’t their quilts fabulous?

They each made a beginner level quilt especially designed for this intro level class, and I really couldn’t be more pleased.

We started at the very beginning, with fabric care and cutting, and learned about piecing, machine quilting, and binding so that our students would leave being able to make a quilt on their own from start to finish.

I always love seeing everyone’s different styles come out in their quilts, and how well their careful work pays off.

An added bonus for us was that Suppose got 2 new staff members out of this class! Jess & Shelley both took the class and I since convinced them to join our team, which we have been so thrilled about ever since.

If you want to make quilts but don’t quite feel like “a quilter,” Patchwork 101 is your chance for learning that it’s not nearly as daunting as you think.  Our next session of the class starts Friday, February 18, 5:30-8:30 and goes for 4 weeks.  More details here.

Kathy here, coming out from blog hiding! Last Saturday I had the pleasure of teaching the Jelly Roll Quilt here in the Suppose classroom. We love this quilt because it uses one entire Jelly Roll with no leftovers, and sews up in just a few hours. Evelyn said the room smelled like whirring machinery as the students worked away.  Each had chosen a different line of fabric, from batiks to vintage reproductions, and the enthusiasm built as progress was made.  It was an extra long session this time, and every single student finished her quilt top before the four hours were up.  I am so proud of them all.  Especially since two of the crew were sewing savvy kids!

This is a quilt that anyone who can thread a sewing machine can work up in an afternoon, producing a nice throw-sized gift.  It is a ton of fun.  The class will be offered again in Winter semester, so come and whir with us then!

Just a quick HELLO! from International Quilt Market. We are all afrenzied here in Houston, picking out amazing fabrics and goodies for the shop and meeting some amazing people. We want to give you a taste of what’s going on here until we have a moment to sit down, catch our breath, and tell you more.  Take a peek…

You can hear all about our quilt market adventures and get a look at the state-of-the-industry this Thursday at the Suppose Creative Guild meeting where Kathy & I will be sharing photos and talking about what new & exciting things are happening in the world of fabric and sewing. If you’re not a member of the guild, just come (6pm at Suppose)–it’s a snap to join and you can get in on the action. It’s so worth it!

We’ll also be sharing the latest on-trend news as it relates to fabric selection in our Choosing the Perfect Fabrics Seminar this Friday. This will be a great one, (plus, it’s a steal) so don’t miss it!

Fall classes are in full swing here at the shop. One of my favorites to teach is our intro to quilting class, which has had various incarnations, but this time around it’s called Patchwork 101 and we’ll be making this quilt. I designed it especially for this class to give us the chance to work with half-square triangles, strip piecing, butting seams, and adding borders, among other things. I’m excited to see all the different versions of this quilt from our students.  There is something so intereseting about seeing the same pattern worked up in different fabrics. Plus watching new quilters learn all the tricks and then be amazed with their new skills is always such a blast. Can’t wait!

Patchwork 101 starts this Wednesday 9/15 at Suppose and lasts 4 weeks. We will cover everything from cutting & piecing, to basic machine quilting and binding, so you go home with a finished quilt!

One of Kathy’s favorite things to do while in the shop is choose 3 coordinating fabrics for pillowcases. Here she shows her choices for the body, trim flange, and hem of a pillowcase out of the Wee Woodland collection by Keiki for Moda. She can literally plan pillowcases all day long, and then we have to think of excuses to make them. Actually, the Million Pillowcase Challenge is a great excuse. If you haven’t heard of it yet, take a look and consider participating!

Our favorite pillowcase pattern is a double trimmed pillowcase with a clever trick that makes it super quick and easy to sew, and gives you a lovely hem with an enclosed seam. In fact, we’ll be teaching this method in a class this Saturday!  It’s the perfect project for a novice sewist, or anyone who just wants to feel the satisfaction of completing something in less a couple hours. (I’d love the satisfaction of completing a project in less than a month!) Once you make one, you just want to keep going. In fact, our teacher Evelyn Greene made boatloads of pillowcases with this pattern for Christmas last year. What a great gift!

I think the holiday pillowcases might be our favorite.  I have great memories of finally being allowed to pull the Christmas pillowcases out of the closet after waiting all year, and seeing what little treasures were to be found in the print of the pillowcase as I laid in bed.  But before Christmas is Halloween, and Alexander Henry’s spooky prints have just been begging to be made into pillowcases.

Our glow-in-the-dark fabric makes the perfect touch as a little trim piece. And I adore all the little different haunted houses in the Boo! Street print.  Just so perfect!

Join us this Saturday 9/11 for the Magic Pillowcase class, the first in our Beginner’s Series. It’ll be a blast!

Lucky us, that even out here in the country we have so many talented designers nearby.  We especially admire Jen Giddens, who designs some of our favorite bag patterns while attending university in a quite competitive program.  So that you could get to know her too, Jen was kind enough to answer some interview questions recently.  Read on and you’ll see why we think Jen is so awesome, and why we’re so excited for her upcoming workshop at Suppose!

Other than designing bag patterns, what do you spend your days doing?

The bulk of my time is spent doing school projects. I’m a junior in the Interior Design department at Utah State University. I love the creativity and practicality of my major, and I spend a lot of time perfecting projects and participating in school organizations. I also work for the USU Cooperative Extension program, where I write researched based documents and develop projects about clothing and textiles.

When I’m not working on patterns, school, or work I enjoy skiing, training for my second half marathon, baking oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, spending time with my husband and with friends, and drinking endless amounts of tea!

Where do you get design inspiration?

I hope that all of my patterns are a combination of aesthetics and function. This is true for interior design as well: for something to be truely beautiful, it must first satisfy its functional requirements. When I first develop a pattern, I ask myself what functions the bag should fulfill. Of course I think about how the bag will look, and it’s often a back and forth process as I move from function to aesthetics and back.

In terms of what inspires me in general, this is a tough question because my inspiration changes daily! I am inspired by images from interior design magazines, textiles, furniture, etc. I am also inspired by the natural world. I enjoy going to the library and checking out books about shells, seeds, corals, beetles, or whatever else strikes my fancy as I browse through the stacks.

What was the first thing you ever sewed? The last thing?

In Home Economics in middle school I sewed a pillow shaped like a jar that held a cute little felt bug! It was adorable, and I loved it until it was completely squished and flat. Most recently, I sewed a lovely gray linen dress with a ruffled collar.

What’s the hardest part about designing patterns?

The most difficult part about designing patterns is making sure that what I am thinking in my head is effectively communicated onto paper in my instructions. I wish I could invite you over to my house so we could sew together! Instructions seem so impersonal, and it is hard for me to bridge the gap sometimes.

What one sewing tip do you wish everyone knew?

Don’t be afraid to try new things and mess up! I am self-taught, and the way I do things might not necessarily be the way it is taught by some expert seamstresses. I have made SO many sewing mess-ups, but each time I learn something new that I can apply to my next project. Don’t be afraid to do things that aren’t by the book.

What one sewing tool can you not live without?

I absolutely love my Gingher scissors that my Grandma got me for Christmas years ago. They feel lovely in my hand and are a dream to cut with.

Any plans for other types of patterns in addition to bags?

Eventually, I would like to branch out into patterns for home use. I would like to make patterns for home organization and patterns for use in the kitchen. I have no concrete plans yet, but I do have pages of doodles in my sketchbook.

Can’t wait for those home org & kitchen patterns!

Jen will be teaching her most popular bag pattern in the Pleated Tote Workshop on Saturday, April 17 at 10:00am Suppose. See more about the class here and more of Jen’s bag patterns here.

Check out those perfect corners and points!  That’s what you get with paper piecing.

We had our first round of paper piecing classes recently, taught by Kathy.  A full class learned the simple but essential method, useful for creating intricate shapes and perfectly matched seams.  The above beginner block is what we created in the first session, and by the end of the second session everyone left an expert.

Here are Joye, Sue, and Jill, in deep concentration.  We’ll have to reprise this class again in the winter, and perhaps add an advanced paper piecing class.  In the mean time, I might just have to try out these retro paper piecing patterns.

Working with new sewists is one of the most exciting things we get to do at Suppose.  Evelyn recently taught a youth beginning sewing class and by the time they were done the girls had nearly all finished their own quilts! Check out these proud little darlings.

It was so much fun to have Kelly, Kayla, Kristin, and Anna-Marie in the classroom.  These girls are on their way to great things!

Check out our proud students! Our first Beginning Sewing class has wrapped up and we are thrilled with how these ladies have progressed. Maren, Angie, Jenna, Katie, Ashlee, and Marybeth each made coasters, pillowcases, and zipper pouches and are on their way to many more sewing adventures. We had so much fun with these girls and are really looking forward to the next cycle of classes. If you are interested in joining Beginning Sewing for Adults in the fall, registration is now open online or in the shop.  If you can sew but want to expand your skills into quilting or clothing, keep your eyes open for Beginning Patchwork and Clothing Construction to be added to the class catalog soon.