MyFav's - Sara

Join us this week to hear about Sara's favorite items! 

Q: What is your favorite sewing/quilting book?

A: One book that is my good ole stand by for Christmas fun is New Noel. It has a few simple and beautiful Christmas stocking patterns that I have used to make stockings for everyone in my family! Also the other patterns, table runners, placemats and pillows are super fun. I know the colors they use are bright and nontraditional but I have done most of my projects in green and red and they are beautiful! Definitely my holiday go to book! Also I love the Quilter’s Academy books – All of them!!! They all have lots of useful information about quilting, sewing, sewing machines, quilting tools and other good tidbits of information. For those of us out there who are sewing and quilting and are mostly self-taught, these books can take your sewing to another level! I love the confidence I have gained in my quilting and sewing through these books and I use them as reference tools often!

Q: What is your favorite sewing notion?

A: I love my Frixon Pen! You can use the pen on fabric, on your notes, in books, patterns for super sharp and precise lines and marks. And the best part is you can erase all of your marks! On fabric to make the marks disappear all you have to do is use your iron! Heat or friction makes the pen disappear! Once you wash your project and fabric the marks will never come back! Love it! Wonder Tape is also one of my favorite notions! I use to help apply my binding to hold it in place as I’m sewing it on by hand. It makes the task a lot easier and the finished product is nearly perfect! My last favorite notion is my Mini Iron II! This specialty iron has a few different attachments and they make this iron so practical! I love the small iron tip as it’s perfect to fuse the applique pieces onto your projects! Since I love fusible applique this iron is wonderful for me but the other attachments have many other functions too!

Q: What is your favorite sewing foot?

A: The #5 Blindhem foot is one of the most practical feet in my arsenal. It’s my best friend when hemming pants and the seams are nearly invisible because of this foot! Another favorite is the #35 invisible zipper foot! I have struggled with invisible zippers many a time and this foot has little guides that the zipper coils fit right into so you can perfectly attach an invisible zipper! This foot has made my garments and projects go from looking homemade to looking flawless! My last two favorite feet have made me a successful quilter, they are the #50 Bernina Walking foot and the BERNINA Stitch Regulator! With the aid of these two feet I have been able to quilt all of the quilts I have ever made! It feels great to be able to piece and then quilt all of my projects from beginning to end. I now have a major passion for quilting, it has become my favorite part of sewing!

Q: What is your favorite hand/machine sewing thread?

A: I have recently fallen in love with metallic threads, most specifically the YLI Yenmet threads! They are sparkly, shiny and make your projects stand out! I have enjoyed quilting and machine embroidery with these threads. The trick to achieve no thread breakage is using a size 90/14 Metallic needle and loosening top tension on your Bernina. With those two tricks I have never struggled with the Yenmet thread and I am now obsessed with them! Another favorite thread of mine is Aurifil. This is my favorite cotton piecing and quilting thread. I know many other staff members have raved about it already but I can’t say enough about this stuff! My dream is to have Aurifil in every color!!! With 216 colors, it’s a big task but one I am more than happy to work towards. J

Q: What is your favorite sewing blog(s)?

A: http://www.coletterie.com/ The Coletterie is the blog for Colette Sewing Patterns. They feature lots of real sewers and other blogs who are successfully using the Colette Patterns, which are awesome by the way! There are also lots of fun and interesting tutorials on garment making techniques and step by step guides on how to put together their patterns.

 http://weallsew.com/ We All Sew is the wonderful and amazing Bernina blog. This blog has free projects, features about the new and hot ideas in the sewing world and lots of tutorials from Bernina Educators and Sewing Celebrities. I check this blog weekly as there is always something new and exciting to discover!

P.S: Don't forget to leave a comment or tell us what your favorite notions are. You will be automatically entered to win a $25 gift card to the store!