The Countdown Begins!!

If you've visited the website -- you know we posted the goal date for online registration. January 3. See -- we improve EVERY YEAR!! And the truth is -- with the timing of Christmas (which I understand cannot be changed) -- this is really the best we can do.

As soon as it is official -- I WILL POST IT HERE AND ON FACEBOOK...

I AM GETTING SO EXCITED about the 2013 Sewing & Stitchery Expo. I look forward to seeing some of my sewing-sister-friends...Charlotte and I met for the first time many years ago in Michigan -- right? I ran into her last year at the Yahoo dinner -- it was a cold and miserable night...but we were so excited about the show -- the weather didn't matter!

Charlotte found a verb tense problem on the website -- (did we correct that yet?)And I got a GREAT picture of you with Sandra Betzina, too...

She was reading the page about the Pillowcase Patrol -- and YES -- the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital is the official charity for the 2013 Sewing & Stitchery Expo.

Linda B. is one of our avid fans. She posts regularly on Facebook -- and ALWAYS brings a smile to her sewing, whether it's sock monkey's, aprons or pillowcases...

AND WHAT A NICE SURPRISE! Claire made a jewelry case for me -- and I have used it SO MANY TIMES. I don't know if Claire and Jolene will be coming to the show this year -- will you be there?

Last year was such a special year for me -- with my actual very own sewing sisters -- Deborah, Ronda and Barb. (she is adopted, not biological)..

They're not coming this year and I miss them already...thank goodness there are nearly 30,000 other fun-loving sewing sisters coming to Puyallup!! I am sure you will keep me busy, inspired and entertained.

It's going to be a GREAT SHOW this year...

Snail Mail Vs. Online Registration

It is so true -- a PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS. In this picture, you can see the a small fraction of the tens of thousands of printed tickets.



I am receiving a lot of questions about whether it is to your advantage to register online or try to jump the gun by sending in a snail mail registration. I am going to tell you everything I know -- and then you can decide for yourself.

First of all -- snail mail registrations receive no advantage over online registrations. Because we have set aside a certain percentage of tickets for snail mail orders. For example -- if 30% of our registrations came last year via snail mail -- then 30% of the available tickets have been set aside.   (Believe me -- this is a diminishing number...as more and more of you use the ONLINE system.)So, a three-needle class that can accommodate 30 students -- 10 would be snail mail and 20 would be from online registrations. This is the only fair way to do it -- and, as you know -- many of those classes SELL OUT ON THE FIRST DAY.

Here's what happens when your registration comes in:

• The snail mail orders are put into a pile, AS THEY ARE RECEIVED. Each order must be keyed into the online registration software so that we can keep an accurate count of available tickets. These orders do serve as an early test of the system -- but when the percentage of "snail mail" tickets are gone -- they're gone. (The remaining tickets go to online registrants.)

• The online registrations are printed out.  Although you know the minute you register whether or not you "got" every class you wanted -- we still have to pull tickets for every seminar and/or special event you purchased.

Whether you register via snail mail or by using the online system -- each ticket order is handled by a real person who will call or send an email if they have questions. They pull your tickets, check it twice, and process every order envelope as quickly and correctly as possible.








So -- the decision is yours. There are pros and cons to both systems. The online handling fee is $8 per order. We do allow you to pool your orders -- and that's a small price to pay if you want to know immediately whether or not you got the classes you signed up for.

Also, the "percentage" of tickets for snail mail registrants is a diminishing number. The first year, only about 40% of you used the online system. Last year, that number was closer to 70%. This year, it could be 80% or more.

We work hard to be as fair as we can possibly be -- and we wish every single person could get every class they wanted. But it's not a perfect world -- and some classes sell out very quickly because they are HOT, HOT, HOT....
Whatever method you choose to register is FINE WITH US.
We have the best speakers in the industry coming to Puyallup and they want you to take their seminars and learn something new -- to go home inspired to SEW...

Happy New Year!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS....did you get the Registration Brochure in the mail?  If not -- please go to the new website: sewexpo.com to read about WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE 2013 SHOW

We have the BIGGEST ROSTER OF SEMINARS AND CLASSES of any consumer sewing show in America. It takes a village, that's for sure!

One of the biggest improvements this year on the website is that we have posted ALL THE BIOGRAPHIES of our talented, world-class sewing faculty. So be sure to go to the page where the Speaker Bios are posted...

Mary Collen won last year's IPCA sewing contest -- this year, they are STEPPING UP THEIR GAME.  For one thing -- they will announce the WINNER at our show -- AND FOR ANOTHER THING -- the winner gets a TRIP!! Their event is called Ticket to Paradise...Visit www.patterncompanies.com to read all about it....

These pictures are just a random sampling of GIRLS HAVING FUN...

AT THE BIGGEST SEWING PARTY IN AMERICA...

But I know your #1 question is.....

WHEN CAN I REGISTER FOR CLASSES???

Be patient...they are inputting all the information, even as we speak...and testing the online registration...

When Online Registration is activated, I will post it here -- and also on Facebook...

It will be soon. But not until after the first of the year. Last year, we opened online registration on January 7 -- and THAT WORKED FINE, NOW, DIDN'T IT??

I know you're anxious. We are, too!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR...SEE YOU AT THE SHOW...

Only 8 Days Until Christmas

Christmas is just ONE WEEK AWAY. We decided that maybe you have WAY MORE IMPORTANT THINGS to worry about this week....lol...so seeing the 2013 Registration Brochure for the first time shouldn't really be such a big deal, eh?

Sorry for the false alarm, people. Believe me -- you were not the only one who went to the Sew Expo website this morning, excited about seeing the Registration Brochure. I'm not sure what happened -- but as soon as I know -- I'll put it here so you will know, too.

But I was delighted to hear from so many of you this morning (yes, this is sarcasm)...and it is unfortunate that I had previously published my personal cellphone number. ugh.

If I had a picture of the new cover, I WOULD POST IT HERE. So sorry....

As soon as I know what's going on -- I'll let you know. Believe me -- THE BROCHURE IS READY TO GO -- I know that -- I've seen it. So it's probably just a snafu with the web master...maybe he missed the memo....

I KNOW YOU ARE ANXIOUS...WE ARE, TOO..!!

Thanks for the calls and emails....

Hello! So excited that it will soon be Expo time once again. My daughter Danielle Dahm, granddaughter Ciara Dahm, and my self have attended for many years. Ciara will be 21 on Feb. 26 and has been attending with us since she was 10. Last year she missed as she is at WSU and missed the timing. This year she is attending with us. I am going to add a photo of us (my hubby always takes a photo before we leave for Expo) that he took the year the Charity event was the red/pink theme... Happy Sewing! Sharon Bosser

Online Registration

You WANTED online registration.  You insisted on it. It was the one BIG THING that came up in the suggestion box over and over again. We came, kicking and screaming, to online registration. And you were RIGHT. It is wonderful. You love it.We love it. You know IMMEDIATELY whether or not you got the classes you signed up for -- and plan your Expo time accordingly.

However -- the way we do online registration is very different from most consumer shows. Because of the sheer size of our audience -- it is necessary to TICKET every seminar. That means we STILL maintain a brick and mortar ticket office ramping up to the show. In December, we rent the temporary office space and set up our rented office equipment. In addition, we print thousands of tickets -- which are organized by number and by day. We get our computers and printers out of the paid storage unit and WE HIRE THE TICKET OFFICE STAFF. These workers are not volunteers -- they are paid professionals who work for us year after year and they do a wonderful job. These employees come to the office and print off every online ticket order.  With the help of the CTA volunteers -- they pull the individual seminar and event tickets, put them into an envelope to be sent to your home. They phone you if they have questions or if there is a conflict or problem.

(Katy is in this old picture -- I know I have WAY BETTER PICTURES of the ticket office staff -- from more recent years -- but they are buried in my avalanche of 30,000 pictures...yikes...I was lucky to find this one!!)

And, of course, now -- on top of all that -- now we also have the additional expense of building and maintaining the ONLINE REGISTRATION itself. We pay computer specialists to do that job. Every class and event must be properly linked and set up with the secure credit card processing site -- and we pay for all that.

(this is actually a photo of the As The World Turns cast -- it isn't easy to find pictures, people!)

Online registration has added thousands of dollars to our budget and we COMPLETELY, TOTALLY UNDERESTIMATED the cost of all this. For the first two years, we set a $4 handling fee. But after doing the ACTUAL MATH last year -- we realized that didn't even come close to covering the real cost.

So this year, the handling fee will be $8 per order. Please understand we keep the costs down whenever possible. But good people do not work for free. And this is a VERY BIG JOB. This increase in the handling fee is necessary to simply cover the cost.

Remember -- this charge is per ORDER -- not per ticket. AND -- we do allow you to "pool" your ticket purchases. So the $8 handling fee, amortized out over the purchase of many tickets -- is still A HUGE BARGAIN..!!

Thank you for your understanding -- I'm giving you this heads-up so you can start to strategize your Sew Expo registration. Again -- the brochure will be going UP ON THE WEBSITE (Sewexpo.com) on December 17. And the online registration will go live, as always, the first week in January.

Sew You Think You Can Blog??

We promised you BIG, EXCITING NEW CHANGES for the 2013 Sewing & Stitchery Expo.

ONE REALLY BIG CHANGE is the Coats & Clark Charity Event on Sunday. The tickets are still only $10 -- and every dime goes to our favorite local charity, the Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital...but the event itself is ALL-BRAND-NEW-NEVER-BEEN-DONE-BEFORE-ANYWHERE-IN-AMERICA...

It is a LIVE audition for the Sew It All television show. That's right -- on the Expo Runway -- you'll see five sewing or quilting bloggers trying out for a spot on the Sit It All television show. We like to call it:

Sew You Think You Can Blog??

If you are a sewing or quilting blogger – WE WANT YOU! Come to Sew Expo to be part of the LIVE audition on the Expo Runway on Sunday, March 3, 2013. You could win a guest spot on the Sew It All Television show.


Fill out an entry form at sewitalltv.com and send it along with a high-resolution (at least 300dpi) headshot to info@sewitalltv.com.


The deadline for submission is January 15, 2013. On Feburary 1, five finalists will be chosen from all entries received by the Sew News editors. Each finalist will be invited to the 2013 Sewing & Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, WA, where he/she will demonstrate a five-minute version of his/her proposed project/technique during the Coats & Clark charity event, benefiting the Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

Each finalist will have five minutes to demonstrate a portion of the proposed project/technique on the Expo Runway at the Sew it All Casting Call event at 12:30pm on Sunday, March 3, for host Ellen March, the Sew News editorial team and a live audience. After the event, the audience will vote for their favorite (you!). The top two audience picks will be announced at the Sew it All Wrap Party, taking place immediately following the Casting Call event. Videos of each demo will be posted on sewitalltv.com and the top two will be open for online voting. (Tell your friends!) Voting will cease on March 15, at which time a winner will be announced and notified.

FAME & FORTUNE!

The winner will receive an expense-paid trip to the Sew it All studio in Golden, CO to shoot their episode for season 6 of Sew it All in mid-October, 2013.

IT IS GOING TO BE SOOO EXCITING. Ellen is actually BRINGING part of the set from her television show. So be sure to plan on attending the Coats & Clark Charity event -- the tickets will be sold on the Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital website...
Stay tuned to this blog -- I'll let you know when ALL THE LINKS ARE LIVE...!!
IT IS GOING TO BE A GREAT SHOW...remember -- every dime of your $10 ticket sale goes to benefit the sick children of Mary Bridge -- where no child is turned away...
AND -- we'd like to thank Coats & Clark AGAIN THIS YEAR for providing a gift of thread for every woman who brings handmade pillowcases for our very own Pillowcase Patrol.
YOU ROCK, LADIES!!