Sewing Expo recap!

Last weekend I attended the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Indianapolis. It's a 3-day event with classes, vendors, fashion shows, etc. They have shows around the country, visit their website for all the info. Going to this show was my Mother's Day present this year, and my wonderful husband volunteered to go with me. We left AB with my parents and were more than a little thrilled to have an entire day to ourselves!

I felt a little weird taking photos at the show, because there were "rules" about taking pictures of booths. There were even some quilts with signs that said "don't photograph unless you have purchased the pattern". Okay...I guess quilt pattern theft must be a thing? IDK. However, you can see pictures taken by the Expo folks on their Facebook page.

This was my first time attending any event like this, so I didn't know what to expect. Since quilting was obviously going to be a part of the show, I had some concerns about how much of it would appeal to a garment enthusiast like me. I was right to have my doubts, as it turned out the vendors and programming was definitely skewed towards quilting. I'm not sure if that's a function of this particular show, or because the state-wide sewing vibe leans towards quilting anyway. Most of the attendees were also much much older than me. My husband wanted to know if he won a prize for being the youngest person there (he's a year younger than me and loses no opportunity to remind me of it).

I took two classes, one on casual jackets taught by Barb Callahan, and one called Fine Tune Your Sewing Skills, taught by Linda Lee. The jacket class wasn't really worth the money ($19 for an hour-long class). It was mostly Barb showing off jackets she'd made and talking about them. If the jackets weren't your style then you kind of had to glean what you could and figure out how you'd adapt the ideas for yourself. Spoiler alert: the jackets weren't my style :) I was easily the youngest person in this class, probably by 10 years, so all the jackets were a bit...mature for me.

Linda Lee on the left, narrating a fashion show

The second class was much better. I've seen Linda Lee on It's Sew Easy (I think?), and she has classes on Craftsy as well as being a contributor for Threads. I can't say that I haven't heard her tips before and that the class was revolutionary for me, but it was still worth the price as she was a great presenter.

Honestly, the best part was the hotel where the Expo took place! It had enough space for all the classes and vendors, plus a beautiful outdoor courtyard. There was also a great restaurant and bar right in the middle of everything.

Day drinking! It wasn't even noon yet...

We did spend the entire day (10am-5pm) at the show and if it weren't for the hotel's amenities we would have been bored. I mean, my husband was probably bored the whole time, but y'know. Believe it or not, I didn't even buy anything! Vogue Fabrics was there, as well as a store from Canada called The Wool House, and an Indianapolis store called The French Seam. They all had lovely fabrics, but nothing spoke to me right now. Maybe I'm wrong, but it didn't seem like anything was cheaper except for possibly sewing machines. Obviously, you're not paying shipping, but I kind of wanted to "get a deal" or at least FEEL like I was getting a deal!

The only reason we stayed until the end was because the prize drawings required you be present to win. They were giving away some nice stuff, including a new Bernina, so I felt like it was worth it to stay. Also, even though it was Saturday, it didn't feel like the show was crowded at all so I thought I had a good chance of winning. Until the giveaways happened! Then suddenly it was crowded. I didn't win anything, unfortunately.

Did I mention the hotel lunch buffet included dessert?

I MIGHT go next year...but it would be more about spending the day with my husband at a nice hotel than about the show. I would also be more selective with the classes and their instructors to make sure I was getting my money's worth. Ideally, I would prefer to go to a convention like the American Sewing Expo which seems to be bigger and more focused on garments, but it's a state away and that's not quite as feasible for me as an hour drive.

The one benefit I can't overlook is simply being surrounded by fellow sewists. When you're self-taught and your primary community is online, it can be surprisingly refreshing to be around real people who share your interests. It's also a great measuring stick for me to see if I really know what I'm talking about. If I can follow along easily in a tips and tricks class without getting lost, it boosts my confidence immensely. 

Are there any other shows in the Midwest worth attending? All I want is a large show conveniently located to a dog-friendly hotel and mountain biking trails. With free babysitting. Is that too much to ask?

What I'm Watching: Tailoring Ready-to-Wear

*I received this class for free as a Craftsy affiliate. All opinions are my own. Want to sign up as an affiliate? Click here! This post contains affiliate links.

People in the sewing world seem to think of alterations as boring. I agree that it's fun to create from scratch, but fixing a fit problem can be just as rewarding. I'm lucky in that I don't have a ton of issues with fit (no curves=no difficult fitting, womp womp) but I would love to be able to alter my husband's clothes. And who knows, maybe work in an alterations shop someday (more on that next week...).

I've been working my way through Craftsy's class, Tailoring Ready-to-Wear. The class is taught by Angela Wolf, a well-known sewing instructor, designer, and author. After seeing Angela on the TV show It's Sew Easy, I knew she'd be a great teacher in this class. I kind of want her to be my BFF.

This lesson is entitled "Hammer Time".

The topics covered in this class include hemming jeans, taking in a dress, and altering knit t-shirts. There is a great lesson on hemming skirts, which I used on a bridesmaid's dress (project show-off tomorrow!). Do you have any jeans that fit everywhere but in the waistband? I do, and now I know how to fix that! I can't wait to get out my seam ripper.

Creating a side seam in a t-shirt.

There are more than 6 hours of instructional videos in this class, which are available anytime using Craftsy's website or app. I love watching them on my iPad, since I can take it into my sewing room, or the kitchen, or anywhere I want! If you come up with questions during a lesson, you can add them to the discussion area and have Angela or your classmates answer them.

Each alteration lesson shows the best way to pin-fit your live model, then how to transfer the markings properly in preparation for sewing. Angela always pins with the right side out, which is counter-intuitive to me (only mark the wrong side or the world will end!) but does have the advantage of properly showing you how the garment will look. Throughout each lesson, Angela throws in little tips and tricks that she's picked up over the years, so you benefit from her experience.

I've really enjoyed this class. Confidence is half the battle when it comes to new sewing skills, and having seen "complicated" alterations I now feel like I can try them myself. I hope to feature some of these projects on the blog in the coming months. What about you, do you alter your own clothes? I kind of want to go to Goodwill and pick up a bunch of practice garments, who's with me??

In case you missed it on my Facebook page, Pattern Review is hosting a giveaway of my book! Click here for all the details!

New Offerings from Craftsy!

Just a quick Saturday post to let you all know that Craftsy is now offering Fine Arts classes! I'm making my way through two of the sewing classes, and I can tell you that they are definitely worth the money. Hours of class instruction for less than you would pay for private lessons, plus you can keep the class and rewatch forever (not to mention a money-back guarantee)! Here are the new Fine Arts classes:

Craftsy Perspective in Landscape Drawing (Patrick Connors)

Craftsy Acrylic Landscape Painting (Bennett Vadnais)

Craftsy Portraits in Watercolor (Matt Rota)

Craftsy Narrative Portraiture: Painting in Acrylic (Micah Ganske)

Craftsy Drawn to Painting (Rob Zeller)

Craftsy Master Palettes: Exploring Color Mixing (Scott Gellatly)

These are making me want to bust out my drawing supplies again (read more about that here)! Remember, it's free to join Craftsy and they also offer many free classes. Topics range from sewing, to knitting, to cake decorating...if you can craft it, you'll find it there. Look me up and follow me by searching for 110 Creations!

*This is a sponsored post, however the thoughts and opinions about Craftsy are my own. Srlsy, I love it!

Craftsy free class day!

Just a quick Saturday note to let everyone know about a fantastic chance for a free class, today only, on Craftsy!

For all new users, you can choose a free class, that's a savings of up to a $39.99! The best part is, if Craftsy hits their goal of giving away 10,000 classes, they will donate $5,000 to the organization DonorsChoose, to benefit art education in public schools. How cool is that? I've taken a few Craftsy classes and I love it. Sign up today and receive your free class! Then come back here and tell me what you picked, I'd love to hear about the other courses.

This post contains affiliate links, however the excitement I feel for Craftsy is my own!

What I'm Watching: Craftsy Mini-Classes

This post contains affiliate links.

There's a bit of a twist to this week. Instead of sharing a book I'm reading, I'll be talking about what I'm watching to improve my sewing skills. Hey, we all learn in different ways, and sometimes you can only get so far with written instructions!

Since signing up with Craftsy (it's free to join!) I've taken a few different classes. I love that they're always adding new topics, and that a bunch of them are free. I definitely recommend the course about zippers. When I was working on my Simplicity 1879 shorts I posted about yesterday, I was terrified of having another disaster like with my green and white dress. After watching the Craftsy video and following the steps, I not only put in a great looking lapped zipper, I wasn't scared anymore, and now I have the confidence to tackle other patterns with zippers.

Mastering Zipper Techniques

I also recently went through Sewing Machine 911:

Sewing Machine 911

I'm not sure why it's called "911" when "101" is probably more accurate! The first portion is all about the parts of a sewing machine and how it works. I would have LOVED to watch this lesson when I first got my machine, instead of reading my manual over and over! There was even a portion about vintage machines, which I enjoyed watching just for fun. The second section is about troubleshooting, and there is a cheat sheet with the course materials for figuring out common troubles.

The last portion is about maintenance. Now that I've had my Brother for a year, it's definitely time for some heavy duty cleaning. And maybe I'll even stop blowing into my machine like the instructor recommends :)

The best part about these classes is the Craftsy app. I can pull it up on my iPad, turn on a lesson, and watch it while I cook dinner, or while I'm cutting out patterns. It's easy to knock out a couple quick lessons and feel more prepared for whatever sewing obstacle I have. With the zipper class, I could take my iPad into my sewing room and watch each step one at a time. There's even a 30 second repeat button if you need to quickly see something again. Whether you watch on a mobile device or a computer, you can interact with other students and take video notes.

There's more to Craftsy than classes, there are patterns and user projects as well. Visit their blog on Fridays for free patterns too!