A Treasure in Vegas

Normally, when I arrive at a sewing machine store to teach, I introduce myself and browse the samples and products so I can familiarize myself with the store's area of expertise and the customer's interests. Then I get busy unpacking and setting up my classroom. Well, I had some trouble focusing on the task at hand when I walked - shall I say, submerged myself, into Quiltique in Henderson, NV.

Wow - I love this quilt shop - I was bowled over when I walked in. Every where I looked I found inspiration. Their samples are amazing - they hang on walls, drape over gorgeous wrought iron furniture, nestle in pretty containers, spill from armoires, upholster regal chairs and more. I can tell you that at every turn in this xx square foot paradise, you will be inspired.

A family-run Bernina dealership and world-class quilt store, Quiltique is just a stone's throw from the Las Vegas Strip and worth every mile (it's under 10). For heaven's sake, I would take a cab here if I was attending a convention on the Strip. So long noisy casinos, hello piece (pun intended) and shelter in the desert!

Of course, the samples and the staff are just the beginning. I really get to know a dealership when I meet my students - their customers. I've always felt the attitude of the customers is a reflection on the treatment they are accustomed to receiving from their dealer. And what a happy bunch of embroiderers I had over two days. Many learned new techniques and discovered new tools to make their hobby more pleasant (and professional). But most of all, we (me and 80 students) had a ton of laughs, recovered a disaster or two and finished 160 projects in two days. Of course, none of that would have been possible without the gorgeous Quiltique setting, competent staff (thanks Lynne and Kay!) and Bernina 630 machines. A recipe for success!

Behind the Scenes

I'm just back from meeting 165 lovely embroiderers in Sarasota at Sew Worth It's Love of Sewing event. Wow - talk about a successful event. Sue Goldberg owner of Sew Worth It, really knows how to put on a first class event. Attendees were treated to hands-on classes, lectures from Nancy Zieman and me, great food and the use of Baby Lock's top-of-the-line machines. They went away with a wealth of knowledge for their favorite hobby and all were inspired to get home and get stitching! Wow - that was Sew Worth It.

I love meeting fellow embroiderers and am happy to go on the road to share my embroidery experience. But truly, I'm a home-body (you wouldn't know it from my frequent-flier miles) so I'm really looking forward to hosting the Texas Sew Down in April in Grapevine, TX. We're busy taking care of tons of details, right down to some Country Western music! I just learned Nancy Zieman's son, Tom, is joining us. This is a special year for Nancy and I as we are both preparing our youngest children to graduate high school this spring and launch them off to college in August. My son, Ted, will also be on hand at the Texas Sew Down to well, lend us a hand! Good to have two strong young men to help with this event because we're expecting lots of happy embroiderers to join us.

We've been busy planning the presentations and recently made a call to our writers to send some of our readers' favorite garments from the pages of Designs for the fashion show. If you've never attended one of my fashion shows, you might be surprised to learn how educational it is. I share my embroidery expertise as I critique each garment and discuss stabilizers, placement, color and thread selection. This 60-minute review will help you plan your own garments with confidence.

After a fine Texas-style meal, Nancy will take you behind the scenes of the Sewing with Nancy® television show. With over 25 years of television production under her belt, Nancy has some hysterical stories. Imagine the funny stories you've collected in 25 years in your own life - add the pressure of television, guests' unknown talents (or lack of) and severe Wisconsin winters. That's definitely a recipe for a disaster or two! Of course, all of this is presented by Nancy in her charming, down-to-earth, humble style. And that's just Friday night!

Embroidery, Chocolate and More Embroidery

What fun! 150 embroiderers under one roof in St. Louis, Mo. Everyone braved the cold - 10 degrees in the morning! - to get an early start on the day. Some came with friends and sisters, many made new friends. They stitched, they edited designs on the Baby Lock machines; fell in love with the NeedleCam™ Digital Camera on the Baby Lock Ellisimo; and hooped with regular hoops, Magna-Hoop and Magna-Quilter. They learned what hoop works best for what task. They stitched on satin, silk flowers, grosgrain, fur, terrycloth, knits, quilt sandwiches, flannel and cottons.

They used a variety of embroidery tools - target rulers, centering rulers, placement templates, glue sticks, Angle Finders and target stickers. Each team (27 of them) completed 12 projects over the two days. We talked about stabilizers, designing fashion embroidery and large scale embroidery compositions, thread coverage and proper hooping technique. We talked about navigating in the hoop - at the beginning of the design and during a mishap. We showed over a hundred sewn samples of embroidery. Marie and I fielded questions on everything from 'how do I hoop a onesie' to 'how do I start an embroidery business'.

Everyone was immersed in embroidery - talking about it, looking at it, wearing it and stitching it. But it wasn't all work - there were some great meals provided by Jackmans - especially the chocolate fountain, their signature dish! And no chocolate disasters - a few brown, shiny mustaches (so much more in vogue than the old milk mustache!) but no chocolate smears on fabrics.

Join me for my next event in Madison, Tennessee, just a stone's throw from the Grand Ole Opry. Visit www.sallychaney.com for more information or call the store directly at 615-859-0038. I know many of you have full-time commitments during the week so I scheduled two one-day workshops on a weekend to accommodate your busy schedule. See you in Tennessee on Saturday, Feb. 20 or Sunday Feb. 21

A glamorous weekend in the Big D

My Stitching Sister, Marie Zinno, joined me for a 'glamorous' weekend here in the Big D. We're working on our first joint book, Machine Embroidered Monograms for the Home. And Saturday was our photo shoot.

On Thursday, I picked Marie up at DFW - she flew in from her hometown of sunny Canton, OH - and headed to my house for our Show N Tell. We dumped all her bags and mine in the living room and tried to make sense of the embroidered projects. She had worked on the dining room and bath accessories in Ohio while I focused on bedding here in Dallas. We loved what we saw but realized we still had some work to do. So of course, we shopped! We needed just the right color blue fabric, a multitude of napkins for a very cool photo layout, a dust ruffle, some Double Stuf® Oreos - oh maybe they weren't really a necessity but I had to find a way to keep Marie motivated!

Then we made a list that didn't seem very long at all until we started working on it. We stitched all day Friday and into the evening and still, an early wake-up call on Saturday was needed. We headed to the studio Saturday morning -right on time, samples, props, embroidery machine (still a design or two to finish!), and threads all packed in the car. My favorite photographer in the world - Steve Woods - generously helped us unload and the day began. One thing nice about monogrammed accessories, there were no models involved so we didn't have a tight time table. One thing horrible about monogrammed accessories, HOURS and I mean, HOURS, are spent pressing and steaming. Then a click of the camera, an adjustment here and there, another click and then you 'rip the set.' Which means, all that pressing and steaming is now ruined! Talk about a glamorous weekend in the Big D.

But she's coming back for a truly glamorous weekend - this time in Grapevine, when we unveil the Machine Embroidered Monograms for the Home. She'll be joining Nancy Zieman, Mary Mulari, Deborah Jones and I for the Texas Sew Down. Oh my, are we excited - we have weekly meetings discussing menus, schedules, seminar content, menus, shipping details, travel plans, menus, audio-visual supplies and more menus! Yes, we are going to teach our top techniques - embroidery, sewing and quilting - but we're making sure everyone gets a true taste of Texas! Ya'll come down, now ya hear!