October 23, 2012

My Sewing Summit Reflections

Wow! Just wow.

Last year as I was perusing blogland I started to hear about Sewing Summit.  Mmmm, what was that all about?  It sounded interesting but how did I miss it? Not to let it go by again, I marked the registration date on my calendar in April and I was ready, even so fortunate that I got $50 off for being one of the first 50 to register for the 2012 Sewing Summit.

Since registration, I became more active in my local quilt guild and met another girl who was going to attend also so it was really nice to have a buddy and not have to attend alone.  Of course I would have, but knowing someone just made it better.

So, Sewing Summit was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, a city that I had never visited.  Let me tell you, it is really beautiful and I plan to go back with Mr. Maxtin and explore some more.

The famous Diane and the super sweet January were my awesome roommates.  We have lots of memories, the first one that pops into my head is Saturday night {and it was somewhere around 2 a.m. at this point} we were getting ready to go to sleep as we all had early morning flights on Sunday, but we couldn't stop laughing.  The "my stomach hurts from laughing so hard" laughs.  I believe we were delirious from the lack of sleep all weekend but we just could not stop.  It was contagious.

Upon check in we received a fabulous swag bag including wonderful goodies from so many wonderful sponsors. Later that evening Craftsty sponsored a Welcome Mixer and Friday brought a whole day of fabulous classes.

First up was Handmade Wardrobe, then Creative Fabric selection (one my my favorite classes), Lounge Pants and then Idea Pouch.  All of the instructors were well prepared, had great knowledge and the classes were fun.
Tiffany and January  - Creative Fabric Selection Classmates

Friday evening brought us out to a wonderful Salt Lake City Modern Quilt Guild Mixer.

Saturday brought 4 more classes including Serger Pillowcase, Foundation Paper Piecing, Metal Frame Pouch and Perfect Pockets.  Perfect Pockets was a bit intimidating for me as I am strictly a quilter but this class had me sewing up a welt pocket, which was awesome!

Becky and Liz - Serger Pillowcase Classmates

There were more mini "unofficial" and spur of the moment classes too.  Embroidery, Instagram 101, and how  to sew a zipper were just a few of the wonderful things I learned thanks to some generous folks.

All in all, I thought going into this that it was all about the classes and skills I would learn. Wrong.  It was about the relationships you start, nurture or develop.  Funny story -> sometimes you don't know that you know someone...and then it hits you that you do.  I was spending a lot of time with a gal who didn't realize until the day before we left who I was and when she did, I saw the light bulb go off.   She said "I know who you are, you're happyvanillabean on flickr!" There were many moments like that.

Lisa and Me

By the end of the weekend, we were having so much fun and nobody wanted to leave.  We made memories, connections and most importantly, friends.  It was wonderful!