It's my birthday!!

Birthday month that is. I love to celebrate my birthday, a day completely dedicated to me. Yes I have no shame when it comes to my birthday.

But lets talk about Exploring Textiles and the Studio. I've decided to add two new Berninas. Now there is a total of 6 Berninas that belong to the business, plus my three personal ones. I'm also in the process of purchasing three more sergers for a total of four. If you haven't used a serger you should try it. They are fun! Not only can you finish your seams, you can make Home Decor like napkins, table linens, pillow cases, pillows and you can make garments like T-shirts and fleece items- hats, neck gaiters, jackets, socks, pants, etc. Stay tuned for a Serger specific series.

The next session of "Learn to Sew Series" starts February 18. This program is based on the one I took 30+ years ago, but modernized for 2020. The series begins from the very beginning, "this is a sewing machine" and ends with you being able to sew a garment or home decor; all in 4 short weeks. I'm offering three sessions; Tuesday 10am-12:30pm and 6-8:30pm and Saturday 10am-12:30pm. Registration is opened and spots are filling. Each session is limited to 4 students and cost $140 for the series. There are no additional charges or expenses.

One thing that is different from other Learn to Sew programs is that I give you the choice to sew on your own machine or use one of mine. I want to empower you to use your own tools so that you can easily replicate what you learn at the Studio at home. Although I have Bernina sewing machines and sergers I am not affiliated with Bernina or any other sewing machine manufacturer.

I also started scheduling the "Additional Sewing Skills" workshops. Some will be more of a demonstration and some will be hands-on. The hands-on workshops are limited to 4 participants. As always, all supplies are included in the tuition, which is $35 each except for a couple of workshops that are longer than 2.5 hours. The next workshop on the schedule is Zippers, scheduled for Thursday February 13, 6-8:30pm. If you can't attend, the repeat is on Friday February 21, 10am-12:30pm. I’ll be covering invisible zippers, regular zippers both center and lap application, decorative zippers, and separating zippers. If you have a specific question please send it to: monique@exploringtextiles.com. I will review and be ready to answer and demonstrate.

And back to my celebrating my birthday… Open Studios will continue to be “free” until the end of February. All I ask is that you pre-register on the website to make sure I’m ready for you.

Happy sewing!

With gratitude,

Monique