Ya Ya Expo Ideas!

I hope you had a wonderful Merry Christmas, folks! My December has been jam-packed with a visit to New York City, time spent with my sister Deborah and her girls, then a visit from Mary Mulari so we could work on our 2010 YA YA program...

This is Mary Mulari, visiting me in Iowa -- and we spent a day going on a "Christmas Mansion Tour". The only reason I'm posting this picture is so that I can show my OTHER pair of fabulous stretch velvet gloves from New York City...here's a close-up. Pretty amazing, eh?






Of course, Mary and I are always on the lookout for the next interesting, unique, YA YA idea. It's really the BEST part of our job. And it is always a pleasure to see something that a woman SEWED with love, probably as a gift, that is still being enjoyed many, many years later...

We both yelped with pleasure when we saw this beautiful redwork flat pillow sham. I LOVE THESE. And, as you know -- I have a big collection of vintage flat shams. Mary has an incredible vintage redwork set that I photographed for my book, "Dress Your Dream Bed". It was awesome to see a bed made up with one...it says "Good Night"...



And, hanging in the kitchen, one of Mary's favorite things -- an apron with a very interesting hand-appliqued scene...it makes you wonder about the woman who made it, and also the woman who wore it. Where they lived, what they enjoyed cooking....


This next photo might be a little hard to understand....but if I tell you it's a picture of a quilt??

Made out of LIVESTOCK RIBBONS won at county and state fairs? This was a first for BOTH Mary and I...

And -- THIS just might be in one of our future Ya Ya seminars. Can you see what it is? A beautiful "muff" -- with a zippered purse on the back! (puckered silk). AWESOME, eh??
During this busy holiday season -- I hope your family appreciates all you do for them. Women who sew are, very simply, the BEST. You are kind, caring, patient, loving, generous and thoughtful. You think of others first, and you are always looking for ways to continue GIVING. I know who you are. You are my grandmothers, my mother, my sisters, and my friends.

And I'd like to wish you a fabulous NEW YEAR. We're all looking forward to 2010 -- and WE'LL SEE YOU AT THE SHOW!!

SIGNING UP FOR EXPO CLASSES

Hey -- some of you already received your Registration Brochures!

GREAT!! However, as anxious as you are to SIGN UP FOR CLASSES -- our ticket office does not open until January 5th. (it has always worked this way -- I'm just doing a review...)

If you complete your registration form and mail it to the ticket office, on January 5th, the envelopes will be opened according to postal cancellations.

Also -- the fax line will not be connected until January 5...so, near as I can tell, this is one of the few times it's to your advantage to use snail mail...

I know, I know -- you want ONLINE REGISTRATION. Hey -- ME, TOO!!

2010 Registration Brochures

YIPPEE KAYEE..!!! Katy, Barb, Bud and Mardell could NOT BE MORE EXCITED!! The Registration Brochures are HOT OFF THE PRESSES...



YES, people -- it DOES take a village!!


It takes thousands of man/woman/hours to get us to this point -- from speakers and vendors all over the country, then the Expo staff and volunteers. We believe it will be THE BEST EXPO YET...



So -- be on the lookout. It should be hitting your mailbox after Christmas...

Hey -- DON'T FORGET TO SEND ME ONE, ANN!!

Give EXPO for Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Did you ever think about giving EXPO as a Christmas gift??

Honestly -- think about Bonne and Jan. They represent a very large population of our audience. Women friends who use Expo as an excuse to get together and have a GIRLFRIEND WEEKEND. Also -- they have been working with Linda McGehee all year to bring a BRAND NEW SHOW to the Expo Runway for 2010!! (and you wouldn't want to miss that, now, would you?)

Here are two different friends -- waiting for their next class, relaxing with a little knitting. Who would you invite to join you at Expo? A neighbor? Maybe you could call up that old college chum you keep meaning to get together with??

We offer you plenty of opportunities to meet new people...

Learn new things....


And, well, there will be visiting,laughing, sharing...here I am with two of my Expo friends -- Judy & Chris...

So -- MAKE EXPO YOUR GIFT!! The timing is perfect! In 1992, when I earned a trip to Portugal -- I knew I wanted to take my Mom. The trip was in February. For Christmas that year, I gave Mom a little carry-on suitcase. Inside, I had a book about Portugal, and a letter about how much she had done for me...

I'm just sayin'...this is a great chance for you to CREATE a memory...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!

This is a completely superfulous picture of my adorable grand-nephew Cash...but there IS A Christmas tree in the background!!

December Expo Insider Newsletter

Does this look familiar?

It is the official header for the show e-newsletter, the "Expo Insider". It goes out once a month -- and the DECEMBER issue should be hitting your emails this week.

In this newsletter, we announce which speakers will be teaching the BRAND NEW TWO-NEEDLE CLASSES at the show. When we asked our speakers to come up with a completely new extended class format -- including an educational handout -- THEY RESPONDED LIKE YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE. Probably the toughest job for Ann Sagawa this year was taking 43 single-space-typed pages of possible class ideas and choosing ONLY 15 topics for this new format at the 2010 Expo. Who will be teaching the Two-Needle classes?? I'll give you one little hint...



Okay -- a second hint...

And, alright -- a third teacher...

If you don't get the Expo Insider, you are missing out on lots of EXCITING INFORMATION -- so you should go to the website (http://www.sewexpo.com/) and SIGN UP NOW.

Our Show Brochure!!

If things are going okay -- as you are reading this blog, our brochure is GOING TO THE PRINTER!!

AND -- under the heading, 'YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HARD THIS IS"...I would like to give you a little behind the scenes about the process we go through to come up with the 'SHOW BROCHURE". In the summer, we send a letter to all the speakers and vendors, asking them if they want a booth, if they want to teach a class, etc. Once all that information comes back the real fun begins (nobody EVER misses a deadline!) YES, THAT IS SARCASM, PEOPLE...

Janet York (pictured here) puts together the VENDOR information, and Ann Sagawa (who, PLEASE NOTE -- has NOT SENT ME A PICTURE) compiles the CLASS information.

Then it becomes a matter of coordinating all that information. How many vendors, how many booths, who's teaching what, is the class 45 minutes? Two and a half hours? Is it hands-on? Do they need a sewing machine? A slide projector? Cameraman? Can they be in a room with no AV? ALL THAT INFORMATION must be crammed into the Registration Brochure. Believe me -- it is like trying to herd a flock of hyperactive hairy octopuses...

Class descriptions come in from all over the world. I'm editing from Iowa, Joanne is in Phoenix, Ann is in Tacoma and we email it to Janet in Puyallup -- who makes sure the grid matches the updated, revised class copy coming at her...and wouldn't it be nice to include a picture or two??....well....you can only imagine...


JANET -- THAT SOUND YOU'RE HEARING IS ME CALLING YOU -- I HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL CHANGES -- PICK UP THE PHONE!!! lol...

Olfa circle cutter demo

Of course, one of the reasons we all enjoy GOING TO A BIG SHOW is we get to see what's new and happening. The definition of "new" depends entirely on what you're "into" at this moment. For the last coupla years, I've been into circles and squares. I love the whole geometric thing...and cannot get enough of Kandinsky shapes.
But NOBODY TOLD ME IT COULD BE THIS EASY...!!


Of course, you probably already knew about this amazing invention, eh? I have a wonderful boiled wool coat (my friend Sandy gave it to me!!). Right now, it's plain black. But with this magic circle cutter -- I might cut out many circles of different sizes from my collection of felted sweaters...wouldn't that be cool??

Humm...I'll keep you posted...

Did you get your newsletter the other day? Be sure to check this blog next week -- because I'm going to post MY FAVORITE PICTURE OF JANET YORK...