www.sewexpo.com                                                             Issue 6, March 2008 After the Show Newsletter Dear Sewing Enthusiasts,   Hey - did we have a good time or what? The 2008 Puyallup Sewing & Stitchery Expo was AWESOME! There are so many people to thank, I hardly know where to begin. I love, love, love writing this e-newsletter. And to every single one of you who took the time to tell me you enjoyed reading it - THANK YOU.   For many years, the Viking Sewing Machine company has hosted a "Sewing Stars" dinner on the first night of the show. This is the only time all year long when these gifted and hard-working speakers gather in the same room. I'd like to thank Terry Smith, Sue Hausmann and the whole Viking crew for supporting this very special evening. This year, Sue Hausmann, Janet Pray and Joanne Ross used this opportunity to pay tribute to Clotilde -- and she received a special plaque from the Expo for her many years of inspired teaching. That was a pretty special moment …   Speaking of Sue Hausmann, I cannot say enough about the three speakers who worked so hard to put together Friday Night LIVE.  If you didn't go - you missed a truly special evening. Sue Hausmann, Nancy Cornwell and Martha Pullen shared many of their "favorite things" - including their musical talent.  When Sue sang "Wind Beneath My Wings" - with her husband Herb sitting in the front row - there wasn't a dry eye in the place. I was the emcee for this fabulous event - which was a complete joy for me. We worked with Quality Sewing to put together the souvenir booklet for the evening. If you go to their website www.qualitysewing.com – you can get the pattern for the “Sew-Premes” poncho.  (You had to be there to really appreciate the power of the poncho).   Southwestern Washington PBS affiliate KBTC promoted Friday Night LIVE during their on-air fund-drive. The first 100 people to pay $100 got special VIP seating, along with a private party where they visited with Sue Hausmann, Martha Pullen and Nancy Cornwell.  We'd like to thank Paul Jackson and the great crew from KBTC. If you live in their viewing area - you know they have a full, wonderful program schedule of sewing programs every Saturday. Their website is: www.kbtc.org.   Saturday was our "Quilter's Night Out" event - Kaye Wood emceed the evening with her special friends Shar Jorgenson and Libby Lieman. This event was also very quick to sell out and Kaye and her friends had a great time entertaining the audience. Kaye put together a wonderful booklet as a souvenir gift for the evening.   Whether it was Nancy Cornwell playing the piano, Martha Pullen tap-dancing, Kaye Wood, Shar Jorgenson, and Libby Lieman sharing their life and comedy or Sue Hausmann singing - I'd like to thank every speaker who took the time and trouble to help us present these special evening events. This was our first year to have TWO events - that will be hard to top next year, but we’re already working on it!   Speakers & Vendors - WOW! The speakers and vendors always bring their "A" game to Puyallup. Every year, I am daunted by how much hard work is involved in what they do. It's not just about sending merchandise, teaching a class or selling in a booth.  They work all year long to develop new products and seminars - and Puyallup is where they launch the newest and latest in patterns, books, or notions. Their hours during the show are exhausting - grabbing a cold sandwich while staffing their booth and teaching on the free stage or in the seminar rooms. Despite their fatigue, they are always delighted to answer your questions or help you with your sewing or quilting projects when you stop at their booth. Please remember that every vendor is listed on our website:  www.sewexpo.com. Click on “About Us” – then click on 200+ Vendors – and the list will come up as a PDF. And on Page 9 of the Expo Insider you'll find a “Business Directory” of all the vendors at the show. The Expo Insider Speaking of the Expo Insider... Wow!! I really enjoyed developing the at-door piece. Emily Mowrer was the amazing young graphic designer who made the Expo Insider look like a tabloid. On the front page, we had a photo of one of our sewing stars - dressed in an odd costume, with her eyes blanked out to hide her identity. Of course, if you attended Friday Night LIVE - you know it was Nancy Cornwell dressed in her sparkling "Sew-Premes" outfit. I'd like to thank Mary Collen and her daughter London for sending some fun pictures for the Insider, including the great shot of Mary surrounded by her fabric stash.   Behind the scenes at the Style Show ...  Mary Collen is a CTA – and her job during Expo is to be the Style Show manager upstairs, in Room A at the Pavilion. She oversees the five free Style Shows that take place every day. On Wednesday (before the show opens) - every Style Show brings 40-50 garments for model fittings. Doing five Style Shows every day requires an amazing amount of organization. Mary and her crew make a master list for every single Style Show, every single model. Then - during the actual Style Shows - every model has her own "dresser." The behind-the-scenes activity is completely crazy - but by the time those models walk down the runway - it all seems smooth as silk. But make no mistake – it requires many hours of organization and planning to appear so effortless. Although I am singling out Mary Collen – I’d like to thank EVERY SINGLE CTA who works so hard to make everything at the show look “effortless.” You are an amazing group of women. You volunteer your time throughout the year – you come to the show, work long hours taking tickets, dealing with the public, organizing door prizes, checking coats and bags, answering questions, handling traffic, doing a thousand things I’m not even aware of. Every person who attends Expo and every speaker who ever gave a class at Expo owes you a great big THANK YOU. The next issue of the newsletter will be devoted to the Clothing & Textile Advisors. It’s a wonderful program and we need to sign up even more enthusiastic CTAs so that we can keep the magic happening for many years to come! Because we plan to keep sending these e-mail newsletters, I’m going to quit now. I’m still recovering. For me – Puyallup is like a four-day adrenaline rush. I’m sure I forgot to thank many important people – but I’ll try to get to everybody in the next issue. Mostly, I’d like to thank you for coming to the 2008 Puyallup Sewing & Stitchery Expo. YOU ARE THE BEST AUDIENCE IN THE WHOLE WORLD. Really. If it wasn’t for your continued enthusiastic support – there wouldn’t be a show – it's just that simple. You ARE the wind beneath our wings … Keep up the good work. Remember our new mantra – “Each One Teach One.” Please forward this newsletter to everybody in your address book and encourage them to sign up and get their own copy (see the Add to our Mailing List link below). We want to get the word out to as many people as possible. (And we never sell our mailing list.) Rita Farro Puyallup Sewing & Stitchery Expo Special Events Coordinator  You have received this newsletter as a result of being a past participant of the Expo.  If you want to be removed from further email messages regarding this event,   please send a message HERE, and your email address will be removed.  If you received this from someone else and would like to be added to our mailing list,  send a note HERE and we'll add you to the next distribution.  Have a story or idea to share? Please share it with us by sending a note HERE  Washington State University  Center for Distance and Professional Education  208 Van Doren Hall  Pullman, WA 99164-5222