Martha Pullen Love of Heirloom Sewing Retreat!

  Yes, you read it right! I got to attend a Martha Pullen event that was only a little over an hour away for me. 
 When Martha posted it on Facebook several weeks ago, my heart did a flip flop! Martha was coming to Longview, TX! Oh geez! I just could not believe it! I've always wanted to go to some of her events, but they were always too far, or I was working, and couldn't take off. 
 This was just perfect! I booked a room for two nights, and I even found a friend to share it with me. We had a blast! 

 I left early on the morning of April 24th. Martha was having Sunday School when I arrived so I was glad I got to be there for most of that. She is such an inspiration, and she is on fire for the Lord! 
 Then we broke up into classes. My first class was with Pam Mahshie and Missy Billingsley. I have had classes with them both, and they are superb teachers. 
 We used the Babylock Ellisimo Gold embroidery machine to make an In The Hoop Cathedral Window Wristlet. The design is by Missy, and you can find it on her website HERE. She does a fabulous job of digitizing! The design stitched out just perfect. I took a few pictures as it stitched to share. 

After lunch, we had a lecture- demonstration session with Connie Palmer. She has a wealth of knowledge, and we all wished they'd had her teaching a class. She showed all kinds of notions, and many of which, I'd never used or never seen, so I did learn a lot from her talk. 

 Amy and I went to check into the hotel, and to eat some good Mexican food. 

 That evening Martha Pullen put on a show! Oh my! I never knew she was such an entertainer. It was all so interesting, and she had everyone dancing to YMCA. I did take a few pictures which I will share. I was having so much fun, I would forget to snap the pics. 

 She would pull out her phone every so often like she was checking FB or taking pictures. LOL I wish everyone could hear her Spanx story. It made me laugh until my ribs hurt. 
 She modeled this jacket the staff made her for their Sew Beautiful anniversary. It was a man's coat jacket, and they had used pieces of lace and trims that had been tossed on the floor during sewing sessions. I know it made her day. I wish I could have seen it closer, but when she finished the lecture, she was packing to leave. 

 She also brought about 30 pieces of her "Martha's Attic Collection" that she would show on her TV program that used to come on Saturday mornings. I was amazed that she passed them all around for us to see, touch, and examine which surprised me! We had a small group so maybe that was why she did that. They all had such magnificent stitching, lace, and style.  

  They took a picture of each of us with Martha, and she signed them all. 

 I snapped a pic of one of the lace shaping projects she taught us. We were given a Pizza Hut box, and we stuck our fabric on the back, and then proceeded to do the lace shaping. She also told the most hilarious story about lace shaping in a class where they had machines to stitch down the lace designs. This one girl kept calling for Martha to come to her, but it was very tight place, and Martha couldn't get to her. So the girl sewed her lace and fabric to the cardboard. Martha can tell a story so good that you actually feel like you were there! 

When I finish my samples, I will post more of these. We didn't have time to stitch them down, but she showed us the technique which is really easy.

 On Friday afternoon, we had a lecture with Missy Billingsley explaining some serger techniques, and then we got to make a little tea towel using the Enlighten. I love the wave stitch, and I wish I had that on my serger, but I don't. It makes a neat decorative finish for lots of things like table runners, place mats, blankets, on and on.

 On Saturday morning, we had a serger class with Kathy McMakin. She is another fabulous teacher. We used the Ovation serger. It is quite a big serger! We made a sewing machine caddy, but mostly we learned how to use some of the different stitches on the Ovation. She also told us some great tips about serging. I really enjoyed her and her class!

 We did pintucks on the serger, and the chain stitch is what you see going across the solid blue. We also made the little pin cushion. The only part we did on the sewing machine was the top of the binding and the ends of the pin cushion. She showed us a neat trick to make the binding on the sides by serging one side, and then cutting the lining on the other side 1-1/4" wider. Then we serged that side, and when we turned it, we had enough of the lining to make the binding on both sides. I need to remember that trick for sure! 
 We learned to attach lace on the serger with a rolled hem stitch. 

 Our last class was with Kari Mecca. We were given a little kit, and she showed everyone how to make a cute little flower using the Whimsey Sticks. However, it was getting late, and I left early since I had to drive an hour and a half home. I still haven't made my flower, but I hope to make something with all of the stuff in the kit soon. She has some really cute patterns out on the market so be sure to check her out online if you sew for little ones. 

 This event was sponsored by Sharman's Sewing Center in Longview, TX. They gave us a goody bag when we arrived. I love goody bags! 

 Sharman's also had a store set up at the event, and on Friday night, they invited us to their real store to shop. Sharman gave us 20% off anything we bought. They had lots of pretty fabric - I mean LOTS of eye candy! 

 The best thing is that they had fat quarters already cut for the fabrics on display. Oh yes, I had fun looking through those. 
 These are the things I bought. I can't wait to use that zigzag ruler, and the little 5" duckbill scissors are the bomb!

 
 This is Sharman with her dog, Chloe. This was the cutest dog ever! She was part Bichon and part Yorkie, and she was sooooo fluffy. 

The picture above is a better pic of Sharman, and also my roomy, Amy. Sharman has not just one, but two fabric stores. The other one is in Tyler, TX. They sell Babylocks, Pfaffs, and Brother machines. 
 I hope you have enjoyed my dream come true sewing event! I feel so blessed that I was able to meet Martha and all of the wonderful teachers from Babylock.
 Thanks for visiting!