Our Very First Stitch Fest!
To celebrate the release of my 71st book, Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts, we decided to host an event called a Stitch Fest. This really fun occasion occurred earlier this month at our offices in the Starrett Lehigh building in New York City. Our experts from MSLO were joined by others from Singer, Husqvarna Viking, and Pfaff and demonstrated projects from the book, as well as some pretty incredible sewing machines. For just a $30 admission fee, each guest received their very own copy of the new book, plus cocktails, and hors d'oeuvres. Project demonstrations included fabric crafts, easy sewing, embroidery, fabric dyeing, and appliqué techniques. I was so pleased with the great turnout and was happy to share the evening with so many sewing and fabric craft enthusiasts.
1 Everyone who came to Stitch Fest was given a copy of our new Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts.
2 The scenic view of the mighty Hudson River and New Jersey from the Starrett Lehigh building.
3 The glossary table displays sewing essentials.
4 Menswear-inspired projects - great ideas for reusing old shirts!
5 Tote bags displaying a variety of techniques: iron-on transfer, applique, and embroidery
6 Soft animals and dolls
7 Step-by-step instructions
8 Really fun and easy
9 Another great idea for reuse - how-to for a mouse made from an old men's blazer.
10 A child's kimono
11 And another
12 Materials for making pincushion tomatoes
13 Examples of cute pincushions
14 Step 1 for the tomato pincusions
15 A sophisticated quilting machine demonstration by Above and Beyond Creative Sewing from Nanuet, NY - An expert from PFAFF sets up a 5' quilting frame
16 The PFAFF Quilt Artist - an automated quilter - this was the first time this new product had been unveiled to consumers.
17 Materials for making a quilt
18 The quilt in progress
19 We displayed some Hawaiian Quilt projects that are in the book. This is a how-to for echo quilting.
20 A finished echo quilted pillow
21 RIT dye provided giveaways and for our dyeing display.
22 We set up this display about dyeing.
23 The book comes with a CD which includes all of the patterns and templates shown and more...
24 Bird Embroidery being pieced together for a quilt
25 An embroidered bird quilt by Laura Normandin
26 A Viking embroidery machine from The Quilters Alley in Ridgefield, CT
27 These pretty napkins are embellished with ribbon embroidery.
28 Ribbon embroidery beautiful enough for framing.
29 A treasured sewing box unveils its contents.
30 The book has very clear diagrams for hand-embroidery stitches.
31 A Pfaff embroidery machine from Above and Beyond Creative Sewing monograms dishtowels.
32 Some examples of machine embroidery.
33 A machine-appliqued duvet cover and pillowcases
34 A comprehensive chapter on the technique of applique
35 Iron-on applique is a very useful technique for decorating.
36 Our Craft Department created these adorable hand-made boutonnieres for the catering staff to wear!
37 Silke Stoddard and a finished pincushion
38 Stephanie Hung prepares pincushion materials.
39 Stencilled cushions
40 Sea-inspired prints
41 A scallop shell used for printing
42 More sea objects for printing
43 Putting on the final touches before the crowd arrives.
44 A PFAFF Expression 2.0 Sewing Machine. It features the original IDT system which guarantees even fabric feed from top and bottom. This machine was raffled to a lucky winner, courtesy of Above and Beyond Creative Sewing.
45 Athena demonstrated stenciling on linen.
46 Our friendly bartenders serve refreshing cocktail with prosecco, St. Germaine and vodka.
47 Morgan Levine demonstrated iron-on applique.
48 The PFAFF Quilt Artist at work.
49 Trying out a machine
50 Guests were able to make their own Tomato Pincushion.
51 Guests demonstrate their sewing prowess at the pincushion booth
52 A busy group finishes their tomato pincushions.
53 Who are they taking a photo of?
54 Broccoli rabe and ricotta crostini
55 Eggplant crostini
56 Smokey Benton’s Bacon BLT
Great images. Brought back many memories of when I used to sew. Quilt machine...things have changed so much in 35 years! And it looks as if everybody had a wonderful time! Let us see more. Thanks.
Posted by: http://twitter.com/Geotravel | April 12th, 2010 at 2:13 am
Hi Martha,
Congratulations on Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts, another great success. Thank you for posting photos from the book, love the projects shown. Another addition to my Martha Stewart book collection. The hors d'oeuvres looks so delicious.
Good luck!
Posted by: Rowaida Flayhan | April 12th, 2010 at 3:52 am
Hi Ms. Martha,
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Thanks for showing us this event everything looked wonderful.
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I will be in NYC May 3 - May 10 and was hoping I could catch a taping of a show and/or spend a day with you. Is that possible? Please let me know.
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Thank you very much.
Posted by: KLBrown | April 12th, 2010 at 9:43 am
What a great event! Very inspiring - I want to sew something right now! Loved the design of the appliqued duvet cover. I'll make sure to check out your book next time I'm at the book store.
Posted by: ryepye | April 12th, 2010 at 9:49 am
What fun! The tomato pincushions are very dear. I liked the BLT presentation...very appetizing!
Posted by: sherey | April 12th, 2010 at 10:19 am
Must Rush Out to Purchase Book ~ Hours & Hours of Fun.....
Posted by: Cheryl | April 12th, 2010 at 11:29 am
Hi Martha,
The Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts book is beyond mahvelous and I am the proud owner of 2 copies. I bought one and I won one from the Crafts Department! How great is that? After I got my hands on the copy from Amazon, I couldn’t put it down so I was glad to win a second one to keep pristine. I know I’m going to wear that book out. I think my first project will be the star-pattern patchwork on page 68 but I also want to learn embroidery. I’m so glad you have included all the instructions! Anyway, a lot of us were over on Twitter tweeting about the Stitch Fest and for our efforts, 10 of us were randomly picked to win the book. Your contests are too easy Martha. I was going to tweet about the Stitch Fest anyway! Trish
Posted by: Trish | April 12th, 2010 at 11:41 am
Please consider coming out to the west coast and doing the same kind of show. I have been sewing and embroidering since childhood and I believe a movement is afoot where we are desirous of a slower, more tactile and connected way of living. More home gardens and craft rooms than ever are being constructed. My daughters who are in their 20's are avid crafters and slow-food enthusiasts.
Posted by: Tracy McDonald | April 12th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
This has left me utterly speechless. I couldn't imagine a world without Martha Stewart.
Posted by: TheBarcelonaChair | April 12th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
I second what TheBarcelonaChair said!
Posted by: Wendy | April 12th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
I know that you are mind blowingly (ok not a real word)
but you could easily take this project on tour around the country and have great success. I bet it's not too late to set something up for July or August.
You could easily do a craft/garden tour of this type in a few select cities each year over the summer and I bet it would get a monster turnout.
Posted by: Sonya W. | April 12th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
What a fantastic event! My sister and I went together and had a great time. We are actually in picture 50! (Well, her side and the back of my head are) The pincushions we made are adorable and we already have so many ideas for new projects to do together.
Posted by: Barbara V. | April 12th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
Hi Martha, I was just listening to a repeat of today's 'Ask Martha' on Sirius Radio 112 and heard you say you were going to the 125th anniversary of Good Housekeeping Magazine tonight and congratulations on being one of the 125 people who get an award! Hope you do a blog of that soon. Also anxious to see the new video you will be doing at the farm. Is it for next September's 1st TV Show on Hallmark?! Also, hope your kitties are doing well after their spaying today. As you can see, I love listening to 'ASk Martha' on Sirius! I love your blog,also! This one about the Stitch Fest was wonderful. It looked like everyone who was able to attend had a fabulous time. Maybe some day I will be able to visit the Starret Lehigh building. It looks fantastic! Working on my tax return today to get it in on time. Love, Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | April 12th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Wow, this looks great ! I want to attend the next one, please give us plenty of notice, thanks so much.
Posted by: Bea Trainer | April 12th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
Sounds like fun!!
Posted by: Darcy | April 12th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
This is amazing... the best thing is that I was talking to my sister and my niece is talking about you tomorrow at her school on a "Influential People" themed day... can't wait to see her as you in her little apron... enjoy!
Posted by: Punctuation Mark | April 12th, 2010 at 11:04 pm
"Our Very First Stitch Fest".....Hope there will be another as I would definitely make the trip for it. It looked like such fun and such great information! Any plans for the second one????
Posted by: Deb Gwinn | April 13th, 2010 at 7:56 am
My name is Vicki and I live in Jensen Beach,Florida and I have watched Mrs. Stewart for years and I am now trying to find out how to reach her,I am a single parent with no child support comming in,and I have been working on my Invention for 18years and I have tried to get Investors and they have tried to steal it from me,but withy me patented I have been very lucky and been safe so far.I am all about living green, I'm 48yrs,old and I have never left the 60's hippy days-LOL,In a nut shell I have made a Central Horse stall vacuum system-like the Vacu-flo(for homes) but with a vacuum rake and the manure goes into a large bin,now I need some one that works for Mrs.Stewart to please send this too her-please,I need help0 before someone does get the chance to steal this from me-please help me get this to her. I have now just hooked up with the Ocala,Florida Manure power plant and we are going to put my vacuum system together with the ending of the manure going into their large manure bins that will turn the manure into electrical power that their farm will run off of their own manure,but they are in Sedin at this time and I really need an Investor to help me get this model made,I already have the blue prints the Busiess liceanse done,the rake half way made,the plumbers,the electricians and all done,we are ready to build/make the model. And I have a list of 39,000 stables on a waiting list for them to buy the Stallmate Vacuum System,but I am just a single mother with no funds and I don't know any rich people,so I am going to Mrs.Stewart because she knows how it was before she started,someone has to help someone get started and this is a multi-million dollar product,and we are needing this product bad,virus's were spread 2008 in Wellington,Fl. Olympic horse show,and the Virus that a horse brought over sea's past through the manure and it killed 6 horses and made over 60 others sick,and this was harrific,these were million dollar horses and not many horses come this far,too the Olympics,but also its happening to allot of other show grounds,I have talked to Washington patent office and they will help me get a bill papers for me to send to washington to pass to make it mandentory for all show grounds to have the vacuum system installed in the stable area,also the supplements we put into our horses feed to make better eye sight-better/stronger bones/shinier coats/stronger hooves etc.is sinking into the ground from the manure and is contaminating our drinking water/ponds/streams/rivers and making our wild life animals sick as well. So as you see this is so much needed. The US Grant office would of sent me money if I was a college or a non-prodit org. but Im not.I have talked to John Deere Tractors and their patent attorney Mary wants me to sell the product for 1 year then they will hold a meeting with me and my partner to see about buying the patent out,if thats what we want to do! So see here I am trying so hard to reach Mrs.Stewart to see if she will make a Moms dream come true,as well as make more money in the long run, and give other people jobs all over the world sales/electricians/plumbers and help the environment, All About GREEN-GREEN-GREEN, so I ask you please associates of Mrs.Stewarts please get this letter to her and see if she is willing to help a fellow American, me just little old Floridain girl Vicki Hoverkamp,Thank you and have a great day.
Sincerely Vicki L.Hoverkamp/Inventor
Home#772-933-1930
Address:2058 N.E.RIDGE AVENUE
JENSEN BEACH,FL. 34957
"Stallmate Vacuum System LLC"
P.S. I have tried other routes ,grants,trusting other people that own manufacturing plants in Chicago,please it's time to get this model made so we can start a New Rejuvenation Central Horse Stall System, Thank you
Posted by: EquestrianWomen | April 13th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Is it to late to third comment from Thebarcelonachair and Wendy. Those of us who follow you have wonderful opportunity learning.
Luv vintage shows on Hallmark,too.
Posted by: ann | April 13th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Friendly AND handsome bartenders, Martha! Rowr!
Posted by: Marie | April 16th, 2010 at 4:04 am
oooh now I really do need to get the book...although I do have all the magazines with those crafts in them...still so nice to have them all in one book! Love my Martha!
Posted by: Lisa | April 18th, 2010 at 1:31 pm