Event Review - American Sewing Guild 2011 Annual Conference

This summer I got a chance to attend the "American Sewing Guild 2011 Annual Conference" which held in the city of Los Angeles, California.

It was a great opportunity to see what is new in sewing, what the trends were, and what  different types of workshops were being offered.  They even had a display of some their pin and thimble collectibles from former conferences. The American Sewing Guild has a great slogan that includes, bringing people together through sewing.

Parking in LA is always an expensive experience. Some of the hotels in the area where the conference was being held were charging $40 per day to park there.  My friends and I found that to be a little ridiculous so we found a parking structure less than a block a way that only charged $12 to park. We also figured that the walk over would justify the coffee drinks we were planning on having once we got to the conference site.
The conference was held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles which is known for its unique architecture and decor.

The American Sewing Guild Conference offered different free demonstration of sewing techniques at the exhibit hall state.  The ASG conference offers workshops, seminars, and a large amount of lectures to suit difference member needs.  The selection was amazing.
They also had a wonderful community service project called the "Painted Turtle Pillow" where members

buy the pattern to make the turtle pillow and then donate them to either raise funds for the children or to

give to the children.  The "Painted Turtle" camp (a non-profit organization) is a special camp and family care center for children who suffer from "life threatening" illnesses.

The American Sewing Guild also had some great special events that included the "Art Bra Exhibit" from "The Way to Wellness Foundation"' and the well known Hoffman Challenge from the "Treasures Collection".
The first exhibit I got to see was the "Art Bra Exhibit" from The Way to Wellness Foundation.  The art bras can be made of just about anything.  The artist's imagination is only limited in the fact that it has to remain wearable and displayable.  The "Art Bra Exhibit" from "The Way to Wellness Foundation" was created to benefit woman's breast cancer services.

The detail work on these bra's is very creative and fun.

Below is a close up of some the different detail work on four of the bra's that were on display.

The first has some fun western motifs on it.

The second has all different types of beads.

The third was covered in cloth domino's which were three dimensional.

The fourth bra was covered in colorful display of feathers.

The second special event was the 2011 Hoffman Challenge  from their "Treasures Collection".  Here is a

peak of only a few of the beautiful pieces of clothing that were on display.

In the trends area, I stopped by and spoke with Stephanie Klienman at the "Fabric Studio" booth.  Who explain how the  Fabric Studio Software line that allows the user to create and print their own fabric patterns in easy to follow steps.  It was so simple and the resulting fabric is pretty to cool to see in person.

Below are printed examples of some fabric made using their fun new "Fabric Studio" software. I like the kitty and puppy fabric.  They are too cute!

This little dress is so adorable and if you look closely, you can see the little girl's face in the print.

The I went to visit with Linda McGehee from Ghee's to talk to her about the zipper trend and some of the many different things you can make with them.

Her booth had an incredible selection of zippers that varied from simple to some covered with

rhinestones.   I personally loved the fancy lace trimmed zippers.  She even had badge holders that were made from zippers.

Linda knows that folks are busy and cannot often shop around for the materials to make some of her cool jewelry projects that she sells on her website.  So she actually had some kits at her booth that were

Samples from Linda's Jewelry Making Patterns from zippers.

incredibly cute and very reasonably priced.  She also offers free patterns on her website.  Linda a very

cool class on upcycling old clothing.
    Then I decided to check out the Exhibit Hall and see what types of merchandise was being sold by vendors.  One thing to catch my eyes was "Dawn Sklar Ribbon and Button" booth where there was

a fabulous selection of ribbons and buttons.

She also had jewelry making supplies as well as pre-made button jewelry.  However, it was the buttons

themselves that held my attention. She even had some steampunk ones but they sold out pretty quick on those.

Batik Stamp for Stamping on Fabric

The show had a lot to offer between the workshops, the lectures and the exhibits.  There was plenty of eye candy and a great selection of interesting products to empty the pocket book.  If you like to sew and attend workshops, then you may wish to look into this show.

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