Sewtopia Chicago

Goodness!  How is it Thursday already?  I feel like the week just slipped away from me.  But before it goes entirely, I wanted to share with you all my very fun sewing weekend I had this past weekend in Chicago.

Chicago Sewtopia

I attended the second Sewtopia weekend, this time held in Chicago, and this time held with classes and teachers.  AWESOME teachers.  We got to learn from two greats in the industry whose work I have respected and admired for a long time, Latifah Saafir, The Quilt Engineer, and Rita Hodge, Red Pepper Quilts.  Uhm. yeah.  That was fantastic.

Latifah taught us her Molehills quilt (pattern available soon!).  I love Latifah’s work because we have a common love of sewing curves.  You might wonder why someone who wrote a book on curves would take a class on sewing curves from another quilter.  But let me tell you, there is always something new to learn.  And if someone has a fantastic pattern, then go ahead and do it.  I’m LOVING my quilt from her class and it was pretty low stress for me.  Win win.  I loved finding out what we did in common and what we did differently.  Plus Latifah is just an amazing teacher and it was a pleasure to see her work in person and hear her talk about it.

Chicago Sewtopia

Chicago Sewtopia

Back at home and trying to finish it up….

Chicago Sewtopia

Come on…that’s pretty darn yummy!

Chicago Sewtopia

Rita was in all the way from Australia.  I know!!!  It was so delightful to meet her.  Rita is shy and quiet but feisty if you got her laughing.  And I made it my goal to make her laugh.  I know how hard it can be to be an introvert and teach.  She taught us a labor intensive, y seam filled patchwork piece.  And I seriously respect her even more now than I did before.  She can sew like no one else.  I’m proud to say that I actually finished piecing my mini there at the retreat (quite a feat, let me tell you) and I’m planning on turning it into a pillow for my daughter.

Chicago Sewtopia

Chicago Sewtopia

Rita showing us her epic pin basting technique for getting those perfect quilts she does.

Chicago Sewtopia

Just one of Rita’s beautiful samples of this pattern.

Chicago Sewtopia

The weekend was full of fun especially as I got to hang with some good friends Faith, Fresh Lemon Quilts and Lee, Freshly Pieced.  Oh and  Diane Stanley!  Plus the fantastic organizers, Amy and Jemelia, and the assistants, Jen and Rossie.  I had the bonus of road tripping with Rossie so we got to spend extra time together before and after.

Chicago Sewtopia

Chicago Sewtopia

Chicago Sewtopia

Chicago Sewtopia

Oh and I was shocked when my doll won second place in the Michael Miller challenge.  This is just maybe a 1/3 of the entries in the picture below.  Apparently I get a prize.  Woohoo!  Thanks for the doll love everyone.

Chicago Sewtopia

The swag was fun and fantastic…and be on the lookout on IG because I might just be doing a giveaway for you and a friend over there with lots of swag! 😉

Chicago Sewtopia

11 thoughts on “Sewtopia Chicago”

  1. This is the second post I've seen from an attendee of Sewtopia. I have loved seeing your pics, some of which had me mentally drooling! I'm a sewist and a wanna be quilter, and of course a fabric hoarder, lol. Thanks for sharing!

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