Custom Workroom Conference

Hi blog people!
I have been out of town at the Custom Workroom Conference in Spartanburg, SC, the workroom industry's premiere educational event, packed with inspiring instructors, eager attendees, and the most attentive and helpful vendors imaginable.

I was honored to be chosen to present my class "Set Yourself Apart," addressing ways in which a small workroom can set itself apart by offering the best in service, collaboration, and fabrication.

Thanks to Penny Bruce for the photo xoxo

Before heading to CWC we were busy in the workroom- besides fabricating for our designers and their clients, we were doing new quotes for future projects, research for product sourcing for current projects, and having a blast making class samples.
The last customer product that we finished was a roman shade with grosgrain ribbon banding.  I think this little shades is a great example of "setting ourselves apart."  We used the ribbon to cover the board ends as well as the ends of the weight bar.

 We made so many samples- I love this one, showing 5 different ways to make a top tack.

I left a day early so I could spend some time exploring South Carolina.

It was hard to choose what to visit, but I think I made the best possible choices for me.
I headed first to Middleton Place National Historic Landmark, one of the early rice plantations in the Low Country.

The tours showed me a perspective of history that I had never considered before.  I think that the Eliza's House and Beyond the Fields tour should be required attendance by every American.  I could've stayed all day, listening and learning.  I hope to return to the Low Country area and visit more historic sites and natural areas.

I was determined to get some sun on my face and dip my toes in the Atlantic Ocean, so I randomly picked what turned out to be the best beach choice I could've made for me- Folly Beach, off of James Island, just across from Charleston.  I traded $10 admission for a mere but highly satisfying hour walking in the ocean and collecting shells.

I was thrilled to find plenty of Thai food in both the Charleston and Spartanburg areas.  This is one of my favorite cuisines, so I got my fill, and for awhile, at least, I won't have to pester anyone at home to go to Thai restaurants with me!

In Charleston downtown, there are so many beautiful sights, I couldn't imagine what to pick to show you.  Just google Charleston, and you'll get an idea.

But what really sparked my imagination was this: the Karpeles Manuscript Museum.  What on earth is THAT?  I don't know, yet, but I know that I want to go back and visit it.

Well, I was so busy during the conference, there's not much I can show you in the way of pictures to give you an idea of what it's like.  Our workroom community is vibrant and exhilarating, and at the conferences and trade shows the excitement spills over until you think you just can't take in any more.  

The days were filled with meeting up with old friends, meeting new attendees and even brand-new rookie workrooms, attending the extremely moving and inspiring Keynote speech from Lonnie and Kelly from Weave Gotcha Covered!, sitting in on classes with other instructors, and networking with our awesome workroom supply vendors.  

Promoters Susan Woodcock and Rodger Walker are our workroom heroes and they put on an event for us that is unmatched.

If you've never been, and think that a few days of intensive industry immersion can improve your workroom business, let me know, and I'll keep you informed as details about next year's conference are settled.  

Now I'm home, in the workroom, and supplies that I ordered are beginning to arrive.

Time to get back to what I love to do- working with beautiful fabrics!  Stay tuned!

Fab Fabric Friday- fab fabric combo!

Monica Plotka loves natural fibers and interesting fabrics as much as I do, so I was excited about making for her these relaxed roman shades with an unusual combination of materials.

On the face, a white slubby windowpane sheer provides pattern, which is tinted by the lining, a gauzy khaki linen sheer.  A slate twill tape binds the edges on three side.  After layering the two fabrics, I basted the twill tape all around before folding in half to sew it down by machine.

Designers' Resource in Lodi carries a khaki ladder cord shroud which blended perfectly with the lining.  Clear rings, ivory cord, and natural weight bar tubing also help keep the lift system unobtrusive.  

I love the effect of the colored lining behind the white sheer.  In an actual window, sunshine will create layers of color as the folds stack up.

The shade will be mounted inside the window frame, but I still thought I'd better cover the ends of the boards in the twill tape in case a little bit is visible.

I can imagine tinting sheer face fabrics with all kinds of color and texture, and even pattern......

Fab Fabric Friday- keeping it simple today

Embroidered linen- flat Roman shade

That pleated linen again, I never get tired of this!

Embroidered linen, and the simplest possible treatment- unlined flat valance with banding

A neat French seam- in case anyone ever peeks at the back of that unlined valance!

Darn it!.... another Fab Fabric Friday, almost

I earned badges in all kinds of needlework when I was a girl, and I'm always amazed when those skills acquired at a young age come in handy now.  Even beading skills have come in handy for repairing broken bead tassel trims.
If it were not for the inconsistent pattern repeat, this fabric sure would've made the Fab Fabric Friday list, but as it turned out, we needed my childhood darning skills to make this shade happen. 

Through most of the cuts, the embroidery lined up at least adequately well, but as you can see in the above photo, one motif was horribly off.  I knew I could not join the widths by sewing right sides together by machine; not only because of the pattern not matching, but also because the raised embroidery "walked" under the presser foot.  So I pressed the seam allowances into place and..... joined the widths by hand from the front.  Yes, I joined the widths by hand from the front, a first for me!  (Thank you, Penny, for a long-ago post that inspired me!)  Come to think of it, there's another childhood sewing skill put to good use!  It sure did take awhile, two seams each 70" long......starting at the top, the other end looked like it was about 5 miles away!  That's when you put on some Van Morrison and just sing along through the sewing.

I gently nudged and squished the fabric together to get the embroidery to line up, until I got to that one motif, where no amount of cajoling would convince the two sides to compromise; there I had to take more drastic corrective measures.

That's when the darning skills were called up.  I practiced until I got the hang of using white thread to fill in the space to make it look like the lines were continuous.  It was awkward at first, but I got better, and took out my first attempt and re-darned it.

Here is the result.  What do you think?  

A quick iPhone shot from the installer after it was hung:

Designed by Paris Interiors

Fab Fabric Friday!- and the shades we made!

What a brilliant balance of color and design:

Kravet's "Exotic Travels"- embroidered faux silk

I enjoyed making shades for this laundry room.

And a seat and back cushion for the mud room.

I have a new method for making ribbed shades, at least some ribbed shades.  I make pockets on the inside of the lining, and press them downwards towards the bottom.

I fold the side and bottom hems over and sew the bottom and one side.

For these shades I used Rowley's mesh tube shroud; when it was all done except for the side I did not hand-hem yet, I slid in the weight bar and the ribs;

Then hemmed that last side border.

The last row of mesh tube shroud is a little awkward to sew, with the rods and ribs in place, but it goes quickly.

The result is a nice, neat back, especially important on the smaller of these 2 shades which is mounted on a door.  Whoa, I forgot to take a picture of the back!  Here's one of a different shade in the same house, with ladder tape rather than shroud:

Technically this should wait for Fab Fabric Friday- this amazing textile from Bart Halpern: sheer linen pleated to order with their "Wave Pleat" onto a stabilizing backing.  That Samuel & Sons tape is pretty awesome, too!   

I was lucky enough to get to make 3 ribbed roman shades out of this, for Liz of Paris Interiors; here is the smallest of the three.   

Today they were installed along with the beautiful tree sheer shades featured in the previous post.

Fab Fabric Friday!

Another sheer tree fabric! - this by Calvin- "Shimmering Aspen" color "Golden bark."  The fabric is Trevira; it's lined with sheer poly batiste; braid-wrapped top lip cord; bottom olive green square glass beads.  Chosen and designed by Liz at Paris Interiors.  Can't wait for this installation to see all five shades together in one room!

Fab Fabric Friday!

For a teenage girl with hippie aspirations-

The pink and black section was perfect for the flange.

This is my favorite style of sham- ruffled-corner flange.

This stripe just begged to become a bolster.

I had a hard time deciding on pink button or turquoise?