www.sewexpo.com Issue 5, February 2008
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Only two days until Expo! I am really loving my job – there is never a dull moment! Ann Sagawa, Expo Speaker Coordinator, was invited to do a pitch for Expo on KOMO TV, the ABC affiliate in Seattle. Simplicity Patterns sent some outfits for Ann to show – and they even made Ann a jacket to wear on camera! Can you believe it? So if you see Ann at Expo – be sure to comment on her beautiful new outfit! (out of gratitude, she’ll probably wear it every day – Simplicity even let her pick her favorite color!) Check out the Simplicity Style Show (Room A, 11:30, Thursday, Friday and Saturday) to see their “Project Runway-Inspired” patterns.
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One lucky person will win a beautiful
quilt made from the pattern “Yellow Brick Road,” compliments of
Nancy Zieman and Nancy’s Notions. The quilt will be displayed in the
Ticket Sales Booth inside the Showplex – every time you purchase a
seminar ticket at the Expo you’ll be entered in a drawing for the
quilt! If you already signed up for all the classes you can
handle, you still have a chance to win – simply complete the form in
the show newspaper and drop it off at the Ticket Booth.
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And, believe me, we do listen to
you! Thanks to your feedback, we’ve added more evening special
events. And since many of you told us you’d like a place to relax
and hang out on the fairgrounds, we’ve created a new “Wine Garden”
area for you to sit and socialize while you wait for the doors to
open for your evening special event! Look for more details in
the “Expo Insider.” |
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Here's a wonderful girlfriend story from Wendy Arend of Charlotte, North Carolina. She writes: Dear Rita, I moved from Virginia to Seattle in the summer of 1993. I make friends fairly easily but for the first time in awhile I didn't have a sewing buddy. I went to Expo in 1994 by myself. I was so envious of all the pairs and groups of women and was sure they were enjoying the event more than I was. Being a bit of a party girl this did not sit well with me. That summer we moved from Seattle to Bellevue and my daughter started preschool. One day as Expo '95 was looming on the horizon I spotted a little girl in my daughter's preschool class with rick-rack on her dress. The conversation was something like this: Who made your dress? Stuck out my hand, introduced myself and asked if she was going to Expo. She said she didn't know but maybe. I told her I would love to have someone to go with and would love it if she would think about going together. We went and had a blast. We left home at 7 am and got back at like midnight each day. We laughed so hard our sides ached. We found we had more than sewing in common and became fast friends. We went for the next two years. We also hung out during the year. Helen is a fast and dirty sewist and I am a knit picky, detail-oriented self-proclaimed Queen of Topstitching. One day I showed Helen a pair of shorts I had made my son-complete with a front placket, zipper, pockets and belt loops. She about died. “How long did you take to make these?” she laughed. “Oh never mind. Come over Friday night with some fun kid cuts of fabric and I'll show you the joy of elastic waist shorts.” And she did. We sewed together, we shopped together. One year we found an annual fabric sale at a made-to-order garment cottage business and we crossed the line (together) to buying fabric on bolts. I'll never forget the priceless look on my husband's face the first day I brought those home! It was great. Helen and I went to Expo in '96 and again in '97. We always had a great time. In the summer of '97 my husband took a job in Maryland and I said I would only go if I could come back to Expo each year. He readily agreed since he knows that providing me my sewing outlet keeps me off the streets and out of the funny farm. I was pregnant with our third child when we moved. When the doctor said my due date was the end of February I immediately said "Oh no, I'll be in Puyallup at Expo that weekend!" It wasn't meant to be. Darn kids with their lousy timing. We did make it back in '99 and it was great. We have made it back most years since. We moved (again) in 2004 to North Carolina so now I fly from here. I'll be there this year and can hardly wait. We will shop till we drop every day. We take bunches of classes, and are coming to the Rowenta Charity Tea and the Quilter's Night Out. By Sunday night we'll be exhausted and Helen will drop me off at the airport where I will change into my jammies and use a bag of fabric as a pillow as I sleep on the floor waiting for the red-eye home. We have this trip down to a fine art and look forward to it all year long. Helen is one of my best friends and has supported me through some pretty tough times in the last 13 years and even though we live apart every year during Expo we talk a lot, laugh a lot, sometimes cry a little and always cherish the time we have to be crazy together. That's our story as best as I remember. By the way, my son is going to be 10 this year and is NOT happy I am once again not going to be here for his birthday. When he was finally old enough to understand that I never really am he got upset with me. (When they are little you just move the date and they don't know any better.) He stayed upset till my older son told him "Let her go! She'll be really nice for like a month when she gets back." Oh how true... Thanks for listening. Helen and I will see you there-we always do. Wendy Arend, Charlotte, North Carolina |
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I’m looking forward to seeing you there! |
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