Prima Diva Sew Along Day 1 – Intro

First, let me say thank you to everyone who has decided to participate in the Prima Diva Sew Along!  This is my first sew along so I’m super excited and I hope you are too!  I did however plan this at a bad time of the year for me since I am leaving for Quilt Market followed by Quilt Festival on October 22 for 12 days. That won’t stop me though!  We might have some extra time in between posts though so please bear with me 🙂

I will be posting pics on my Instagram and Facebook page and blogging here as we go along.  These posts will stay up so if you miss anything you can always go back later!

There are no official rules – this is just for fun!  But here are a few things to keep in mind:

1.My goal for this sew along is to walk you through the pattern by giving helpful hints & tips as we go.  Please feel free to ask questions – no question is stupid and remember, someone else is probably wondering the same thing.

2.Post your progress pictures as we go along on Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #primadivasewalong. You can also use #primadivawallet #primadivaclutch and feel free to tag me!

3. Be kind!  Everyone sews at different skill levels and makes different fabric choices.  No negative comments please!  Let’s encourage each other instead.  And please remember that I’m not perfect either.  The pattern has been tested but sometimes mistakes get by.  I am only human.

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First things first you will need to get your pattern and supplies together.  The pattern is available on my website under the patterns page or Diva page as well as my Etsy page.  I have it listed as an Instant Download on Etsy and a PDF (emailed) on my website.  I am happy to mail a hard copy (US only) if you order off the website.  Please just add a note to seller!  Frames are also available in Silver, Gunmetal & Antique Brass.  This pattern uses ONLY the 7 1/2″ frame.

Let’s talk supplies now!

After you order your pattern please go ahead and get your cutting done as per Page 1 of the pattern.  I recommend labeling your pieces too – there are a lot of pieces to this wallet so labeling them will make much easier.   You will also want to fuse your Pellon Decor Bond to the pieces that need interfacing.  This is my interfacing of choice and I use it for all my bags. If you haven’t worked with a fusible before, here are a few tips for you:

Always press from the fabric side first.  If you press from the interfacing side it can leave wrinkles and sometimes (depending on how hot your iron is) it can wrinkle.  I use an extremely hot iron with steam and I try to iron on the back only if necessary.

This pattern works best with non-directional fabrics.  We will be turning and sewing the pockets down in a way that works best with fabrics that can go in any direction.  As you can see below I didn’t follow my own advice and now my little deer is upside down!  Oops…  I did however make the outside with the same directional fabric and just added an extra seam – these measurements are included in the pattern as well.

For the front band I added some Renaissance Ribbon for decoration.  They have a great selection at Hawthorne Threads.  You can add anything you like to the band which is decorative and functional (it helps to hold the frame on better!)

Clover Wonder Clips are so helpful when making this wallet and other bags too.  If you haven’t tried them out you should!  They’re much better than pins at holding your pieces in place.

That’s it for now.  Grab your pattern & supplies and get ready to start making your wallet next week.  Show us your fabric choices too!  #primadivasewalong #primadivawallet #primadivaclutch

If you have any questions or comments that you would like to discuss privately you can always email me – jessica@sewmanycreationsny.com

Jess

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Charleston by REVIVE Blog Tour

Welcome to the Charleston by REVIVE Blog Tour!  So happy you’re here!  Today is my day as well as the final stop on the Charleston Blog Tour.  Charleston is a new Art Deco inspired line from Timeless Treasures.  This is the debut collection for the new REVIVE division and features recolored vintage prints that are perfect for today’s quilter.  The line features rich colors, metallic accents and a great mix of small & large scale prints.  You can check out the full 28 print collection here.  Be sure to also check out the Timeless Treasures blog to enter the giveaway to win a complete Fat Quarter Bundle of the Charleston Collection – that’s 28 Fat Quarters!!

I’m excited to share with you my new Stella Swing Bag.  I had hoped to have the pattern complete for my stop today but it’s still in the final editing stages.  Want to be the first to get your hands a copy?  Check out all the awesome giveaways at the end of this post!

I decided to separate my colors into blues & reds and make 2 different pieced tops for the Stella Swing Bag.  They feel so classic yet modern at the same time – don’t you think?  I also made a solid top using one my favorite prints – Gatsby in Multi.

 And a few detail shots for you.  I love the professional finish a turn lock adds to the flap closure.  There’s a recessed zipper under there too!  All the little squares are so beautiful.  What a fun way to carry around your favorite fabric collection, right?!  Want to know how to make perfectly aligned seams?  Come back in a few weeks when I share some more details about the making of this bag.

                       

Time for some GIVEAWAYS!!!

Isn’t this collection by REVIVE great!?  It’s versatile, vintage-inspired and gorgeous!  Do you want to win a FQ bundle for yourself?  Timeless Treasures is giving away 3 complete bundles (28 FQ’s, worth approximately $90).  Be sure to enter here!

One person will also win One Yard of Charleston fabric of their choosing AND the first printed copy of  my new Stella Sling Bag, due out in August.  All you have to do is leave a comment on this post.  A winner will be chosen on Sunday July 26th at Noon EST.

Be sure to check out the rest of the blog tour from earlier this week:

Monday, July 20:

Shayla Wolf, Sassafras Lane Designs

 

Tuesday, July 21:

Leslie Meltzer, 50 Sq Ft Studios

Kim Buffington, Make Something/Dritz

 

Wednesday, July 22:

Rebecca Silbaugh, Ruby Blue Quilts

 

Thursday, July 23:

Kim Brackett, Magnolia Bay Quilts

Lee Chappell Monroe, May Chappell

 

Friday, July 24 (Hey that’s me!!)

Jessica VanDenburgh, Sew Many Creations/The Straight Stitch Blog

 

A big thank you to Timeless Treasures for this opportunity to play with beautiful fabric and for sponsoring this blog tour!

 

 

EQ7, Desert Sky & a little bit about market

Back in May I attended my 4th quilt market in Minneapolis, MN.  I decided not to have a booth this time around and instead  did 2 Schoolhouse lectures, battled my way through Sample Spree and hung out at the Dear Stella booth for a couple days.  Shop owners from around the world come to meet industry professionals like me.  Did I just say industry professional?  Am I grown up now?  Anyway…..Pattern designers, fabric companies, notions vendors and so on, all attend.  Some are there to show off what’s new.  Some are there to find out what’s new.  I was there to meet new people and make connections – the best part of market.  As a pattern designer I work with fabric companies who send me digital images of new fabric lines that I can then use in EQ7 to create quilts.  I send back those images so they can see my vision as well and use them for marketing tools.  It’s pretty cool to see a quilt I designed in the latest fabrics and sometimes I even get to make the quilts (see below).  When my husband bought me this computer program years ago for Christmas I hardly ever used it.  I had no clue how to use and I didn’t feel like taking a class to learn how to use it.  I stumbled my way through for a guild project one year and then didn’t touch it again.  Until September of 2013 that is.  I realized that it was the 1. Cheapest 2. Easiest. 3. Only solution if I really wanted to work with fabric companies ( I don’t do Photoshop or Illustrator).  I couldn’t pass up anymore opportunities due to my lack of knowledge and complete laziness!  So I gave myself a crash course in EQ one afternoon and made myself figure it out!  Now, I’m no expert, and just like all the other programs on my laptop, I’m guessing that I do not use this to its full capacity.  But it does what I need it to do.

Sorry, got a little off track there.  As I was saying, I meet lots of people at market and get tons of business cards to follow up with later when I get home.  Sometimes I meet shop owners who buy my patterns.  Other times I meet fellow designers who share my passion for fabric.  At this market I had a nice chat with some of the ladies running the Sample Spree Table for Island Batik.  They were so nice and the batiks they had were so vibrant and rich – much different from what I thought Island Batik had to offer.  When I returned home I contacted them about working together.  Now let me just say, sometimes it’s not always this smooth.  Sometimes companies are just too busy and inundated with designers to write back.  Sometimes they do write back but then your name gets lost in the shuffle and you don’t hear from them again for a while, if at all.  It’s a frustrating process but you find who you can work well with and go forward.  I sent some designs to Island Batiks and one of the designers love what I did so they asked me to make a sample.  This is the BEST part of my job!

Desert Sky is a pattern that I designed last year using some southwest prints from Windham Fabrics.  I loved the shape of the blocks and the Arizona-southwest-desert feel but I wanted the quilt to be more versatile as well.  Not everyone (especially here on the East coast) is a fan of that look.  So I played a bit and realized that just by changing the color placement and mixing up the fabrics I could achieve what I wanted.  Duh moment.

Here’s the original design (this is a digital image from EQ7):

And here is the revised coloring (this is a digital image from EQ7):

And just to show you the difference from EQ to real life, here is a pic I took of the finished quilt:

Pretty impressive right?  Not my design (I mean I love it) but the fact that EQ can make such realistic quilts on the computer.  Technology is a very cool thing that has helped my business in so many ways.  Of course I do sit and wonder sometimes about all the opportunities I missed when I didn’t have this program.  Yes, that’s what I do.

Below are a few more digital versions of Desert Sky.  And if you love the pattern too you can  buy it here.

Happy Sewing!

Jessica

Left is Alison Glass for Andover.  Right is Persimmon by Basic Grey for Moda.  Below are using Indigo Blues by EBI Fabrics.