Sew South

Well, my friends, I've just had the most inspirational, creative, amazing, awe-inspiring, motivational, fulfilling, friendship forming weekend of my life. There were actual tears when we left. Actual tears. I went to SEW SOUTH!First off, thank you to the amazing Jennifer Mathis of Ellison Lane Quilts who put it all together. The stars aligned when this group of talented ladies came together!We kicked it all off with a fun filled day of fabric shopping!And what's the only thing better than fabric shopping...cocktails! We got to meet everyone and put a face with a name. It was an hour of, "You're (insert awesome blog/Flickr name/Instagram here)!" Lots of laughs:) This is Diane & Lindsey who both taught classes. And Karen & Mel who are in my Usual Suspects Bee!! I'd never met them in "real life" but we were instafriends!There were just so many talented folks!! Thursday night, we got set up for a weekend of sewing! Our welcome packs included rotary cutters and cutting boards from the sponsors. And an insanely helpful interfacing guide from Pellon! I'm thinking about making these for my students.On Friday, we started sewing with a paper piecing class with Jennifer. She'd made a cute star project. But I was behind on some Lonestar blocks, so I worked on those.Then we started the duffle class! Lindsey deserves sainthood for teaching this class in such a small space to so many folks! The duffle became a rite of passage. Every time anyone finished, the whole room cheered!Saturday, we made a clutch with Diane. She is just awesome and her pattern is fabulous!! I cannot wait to make more! UPDATE: Diane's pattern is free on Craftsy!Here are some of the amazing projects from everyone!!There was sewing, sewing and more sewing!! And a hugely helpful keynote from Leah Day!!We also did a sample swap. You were supposed to make four of something and bring it to swap. I was in group six! Full of awesomeness!! I made these totes! It's a free pattern from Ellen Luckett Baker.And I got these!In a moment reminiscent of Oprah, Jennifer surprised us with swag bags! The best quote about the swag bags...better than Christmas because it was tons of stuff we actually want!! Thank you Pellon, Westminster, Wyndham, Allison Glass, Aurifil, Joann, Coats & Clark, Dritz, Warm & Natural, Insulbrite and everyone else for the most amazing bag of loot!! We were speechless!The one thing I cannot put into this post that I wish I could is the feeling of community. These are my people!! I loved getting to know each and every one of you! I am already counting the moments until SewSouth2014!!xo LCA few more pics just for fun!