Sewing Summit 2013

Lindsay from Lindsay Sews, Veronica, and Justine from Sew Country Chick 

Hello sewVery readers! I'm Caila from CailaMade and today I'm taking over Veronica's blog to tell you all about Sewing Summit 2013 and what I learned about her while I was there!

Veronica and I have known each other in the virtual world for about a year, but we actually met for the first time last weekend at Sewing Summit. We shared a room with two other girls, and had an absolute blast talking about fabric, sewing machines, blogging, and everything else in between. I really enjoyed following her around to get pictures of her over the weekend. Can you appreciate the very serious look on my face in the picture below? 

Caila from CailaMade and Veronica

Before I jump into the Veronica-stuff, I should probably tell you a bit about Sewing Summit. Sewing Summit is an annual sewing-and-blogging conference attended by approximately 250 people. We gathered together to take sewing classes, learn about growing our blogs and businesses, network with others in the industry, make new friends, and ultimately have a lot of fun with people who speak our creative language. Veronica and I both took a lot away from Sewing Summit, including some really great friendships.

Veronica and Lindsay

Here are my Top 5 Favorite Things About Veronica:

1. She is one of the kindest, most caring souls you will ever meet. Veronica always has good things to say about everyone, is considerate, a good listener, and great for "talking shop" about blogging. 
2. Veronica LOVES her children. It's evident all over her blog, and I could hear it in the way she talks about them. I tell you, they are so lucky to have a mom like her. 
3. She can sew like a boss. Seriously. Have you seen the leather accent tote she made at Sewing Summit? It's beautiful! 
4. Veronica blogs because SHE LOVES TO SEW. This is one of the number one things I took away from a weekend with her. She doesn't blog because she wants to make a million bucks. She doesn't blog because it's the next big "thing." Veronica blogs because she loves to sew and she wants to share it with you. I think that's what makes her so trustworthy as a person who writes about sewing patterns and shares projects and tutorials. You can trust what she says, and find inspiration in what she sews. 
5. Veronica has beautiful hair! Yup. You ought to see it in person. She got a haircut while she was there (done by Melissa Esplin's sister, in one of the hotel rooms) and it pretty much shimmered the whole weekend. 

Carving stamps in Miriam's class 

From what Veronica shared with me, I can tell she really enjoyed her classes. She took the following ones, and I'm sure she would tell you more about them if you asked: 

• Designing fabric, by Pat Bravo
• Sewing with Leather
• Printing on Fabric with Miriam Tribe
• Personal Branding with Olivia Omega
• Working with Brands, by Bernina
• Making a Metal Frame Pouch (the one she sewed was amazing, by the way).
• Making a Leather Tote
• Building a Creative Business, by Alicia DeRigo

Veronica carving a stamp. 

Eight classes in one weekend--that's a lot of creative inspiration! Veronica shared with me later that the highlight of the weekend was meeting her online friends in person and making new friendships. 

Our roomies: Jen from iCandyHandmade, Lindsay, Veronica, and Caila 

I could tell that one of the other highlights for Veronica was visiting more of Salt Lake City with some of the other women who are just as addicted to fabric and sewing as she is. Shopping for fabric with sewing friends is really one of the highlights in life, don't you think? 

The only regret I have after Sewing Summit is that I didn't get more pictures of Veronica and I! To tell you the truth, we were too busy talking to stop and snap a shot (and I was too busy sneaking around getting candid shots of her carving stamps). 

Before I go, here are a couple more pictures of Veronica with her TRULY INCREDIBLE leather accent tote. I can't believe she actually made this in one class: 

Gorgeous, right? After the weekend we were pretty tired, but it was worth it. Veronica said, and I agree, that Sewing Summit is a trip she looks forward to all year long and it did not disappoint. After all the talking and late-night sewing, we all went home and did this: 

Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this peak into Veronica's weekend at Sewing Summit. Have a great weekend!

Caila, you did a pretty terrific job of summing up my Sewing Summit experience!  It was great to finally meet you in person, too, and I hope to see you again soon to hang out and talk more.  I appreciate all the pictures you took of me at Sewing Summit, too!

Visit each of these blogs to read more Sewing Summit stories from some of your favorite sewing bloggers and to see who got the chance to stalk follow them around for a few days!

Running With Scissors

Sew Country Chick

Rae Gun Ramblings

iCandyHandmade

Caila Made

Sew A Straight Line

Melly Sews

Junebug Pattern Top & Best of Summer Series

Today I'm blogging over at Caila-Made as part of her Best of Summer Series.

I'm sharing with Caila's readers two of my favorite children's summer clothing patterns:  the Junebug Top Pattern by Craftiness is Not Optional (CINO) and the Class Picnic Shorts Pattern by Oliver + S.

For my full pattern review of the Junebug Pattern Top and Class Picnic Shorts, head over to Caila's Best of Summer Series, and don't forget to follow along for the next three weeks for more great summer pattern inspiration.

To read my original post from last year about the Class Picnic Shorts, click here!

If you are visiting my blog for more info on how I made my Junebug Pattern Top with velcro closure, then keep reading!  More info on that topic is below.  Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you'll decide to check out some other outfits I've made recently.  To follow along in the future, please consider becoming a follower through Bloglovin by clicking the button below or by any of the other social media outlets by clicking the icons at the top right of my blog page.

To make the top with velcro closure, I sewed the soft half of the velcro to the lining side of the bib (about an inch from the raw edge so it will end up 1/2" from the finished edge) before assembling the bib.  After assembling the rest of the bodice, I then marked where to sew the remaining rough velcro pieces onto the side bodice.  Each of my velcro tabs is roughly 1" square.

Alternatively, I could have sewn a strip of velcro down each side of the bib, but I felt like the smaller pieces were sufficient to keep the bib secured to the bodice.

The velcro washes just fine.  I can't recall ever sewing velcro on clothing before, but I know I've bought coats and jackets with it on it and it always works great.  I found it a great alternative to buttons and snaps for this particular application.

By using the velcro in lieu of buttons and buttonholes or snaps, I was able to sew this beautiful vintage trim to the front of the bib where the buttonholes would normally be.

Just days before I even thought about making this top, I picked up a yard of this trim for 50 cents at a yard sale near my house!  The colors match perfectly right down to the burnt orange flowers, green leaves, and navy blue.  It was meant to be!

If you want to make your own Junebug Top or Dress, head over to Craftiness is Not Optional to purchase your copy of the pattern.  Be sure to tell Jess that Veronica at sewVery sent ya!  Thanks for stopping by!

Oh, and thought I would mention another great pattern that is on sale today--Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop's Bubble Shorts Pattern (affiliate link).  Just $4 this Thursday only!  Grab it while you can at this fantastic price!  Just click the picture to purchase at Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop.