Our Very First Stitch Fest!

April 12, 2010

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.

: The glossary table displays sewing essentials.

: Menswear-inspired projects – great ideas for reusing old shirts!

: Tote bags displaying a variety of techniques: iron-on transfer, applique, and embroidery

: Soft animals and dolls

: Step-by-step instructions

: Really fun and easy

: Another great idea for reuse – how-to for a mouse made from an old men’s blazer.

: A child’s kimono

: And another

: Materials for making pincushion tomatoes

: Examples of cute pincushions

: Step 1 for the tomato pincusions

: A sophisticated quilting machine demonstration by Above and Beyond Creative Sewing from Nanuet, NY – An expert from PFAFF sets up a 5′ quilting frame

: The PFAFF Quilt Artist – an automated quilter – this was the first time this new product had been unveiled to consumers.

: Materials for making a quilt

: The quilt in progress

: We displayed some Hawaiian Quilt projects that are in the book. This is a how-to for echo quilting.

: A finished echo quilted pillow

: RIT dye provided giveaways and for our dyeing display.

: We set up this display about dyeing.

: The book comes with a CD which includes all of the patterns and templates shown and more…

: Bird Embroidery being pieced together for a quilt

: An embroidered bird quilt by Laura Normandin

: A Viking embroidery machine from The Quilters Alley in Ridgefield, CT

: These pretty napkins are embellished with ribbon embroidery.

: Ribbon embroidery beautiful enough for framing.

: A treasured sewing box unveils its contents.

: The book has very clear diagrams for hand-embroidery stitches.

: A Pfaff embroidery machine from Above and Beyond Creative Sewing monograms dishtowels.

: Some examples of machine embroidery.

: A machine-appliqued duvet cover and pillowcases

: A comprehensive chapter on the technique of applique

: Iron-on applique is a very useful technique for decorating.

: Our Craft Department created these adorable hand-made boutonnieres for the catering staff to wear!

: Silke Stoddard and a finished pincushion

: Stephanie Hung prepares pincushion materials.

: Stencilled cushions

: Sea-inspired prints

: A scallop shell used for printing

: More sea objects for printing

: Everyone who came to Stitch Fest was given a copy of our new Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts.

: Putting on the final touches before the crowd arrives.

: 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.