April 1, 2010

No Foolin'.... FREE First Class Shipping to USA and Canadian Destinations on any of my

Creative Sweatshirt Patterns and Book as found in this department:

http://www.londas-sewing.com/Patterns--printed-format-c61.html...

 April 1 and April 2 ONLY

I LOVE Spring!  Don't you? Sorry it's been so long since my last newsletter - January 28 I see - Oh my GOSH...get ready for a LONG newsletter to make up for it! It's not that I've been lax - I've been on the road!  January found me at a shop in West Palm Beach, FL.  Two weeks later I did a BIG flying circle from Illinois to a show in Denver, then to an ASG group in Corpus Christi (where a gal FINISHED her jacket at the workshop! and many have since then - go Ladies!) and back home for one short week - then off to the Creative Sewing & Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, WA.  Home a week, then zapped down to Atlanta Original Sewing & Quilt Expo - home a week, then to same groups' show in Cleveland, OH last week.  I shouldn't have been surprised when either exhaustion or a bug got to me the last day of the last show, now should I????

Next Thurs - Saturday, April 8-10 will find me at the Round Bobbin Sprigfield, MO Quilting & Sewing Expo

I get to teach 2 hour classes each day - YEAH!  AND do my Trunk Show of Jackets each day Too! 

• Thursday is all about Creative Sweatshirt Jackets - including LOTS on fit - from 1-3 pm
• Friday is all about Design Principles...I call it "Frumpy to...WOW!" 10:15 - 12:15
• Saturday is all about Embellishment - 11:30 - 1:30 

The largest blessing is my life and friendships enriched with the generous and VERY talented help from friends Bobby, Laura, Jo Ann, Jean, Kathy, Glenda and Von.  Making so many new sewing friends and putting faces with website customer names along the way is such a delight!  THANKS to you all!  Oh... and my dear Hubby, Charley, for learning and managing to fill orders here at home in my absence!

Somewhere along the way, I managed to publish a new "Talking" pattern:  LIVING which is now available and gals seem to love it.  Three totally different jackets are included.  The first is PEACE - which may look familiar to some of you as the old 'Swirl' jacket I used for a short time as a promotional pattern.  I refined and simplified those directions.    ENDURANCE is a tribute in red and pink to women who have fought breast cancer and heart disease and features an area designed to show off heirloom jewelry pieces right at the center front.  JOURNEY was a delightful 2 days of designing and writing...where I came up with another way of reducing the sweatshirt to body sleeve circumference in a creative way that evolved into wonderful new sleeve embellishment seaming AND use of 45" - 6" scarves for the neckline. 

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The best part is...TOGETHER, we are going to drill a well for LIVING WATER through World Vision somewhere in Africa with your contributions and my tithe on this pattern!  Read all about that effort - and where YOU can go to make your contribution at my Blog at this special Londa's Drill a Well website:  http://www.firstgiving.com/londasdrillawell    I hope we can meet the $2600 goal by early Fall.  So - please pray and consider donating - and perhaps even purchasing this new "Talking" pattern! 

That's more news to share ... I had a very exciting Birthday appointment on Monday - with a patent attorney!  He was excited about what I've developed and so we're applying for a patent and Trademarking "Londa's Talking Patterns".  With re-editing, adding to and transforming all my best-selling designs into this new format, I am selling out of the 'OLD' versions - so snatch them up at savings on top of the FREE SHIPPING today and tomorrow.  Even with the old versions, for those that are now TALKING - you DO have access to that portion - it is just that your printed booklet won't coordinate perfectly with the photos and my verbal tutorials.  Cindy, dear friend, I can't thank you enough for your creative thinking with me that day in the car! 

SWEATSHIRT SUPPLY NEWS is still not good.  The USA Comfort Color brand is still in 'flux' as they move the manufacture out of the USA (boo hoo-what's new?).   At least they'll still be dyeing it in the USA.  Keep posted - you'll hear me shout from the rooftop when this gets all worked out - AND with the transformation to the preferred blend of 80% cotton and 20% polyester - yet in still LOTS of great fashion colors!  WHEN that happens, and I have time, I will transform my REFINED pattern into the Talking Format.  Meanwhile - even the Authentic Pigment Sweats seem in short supply. 

That has me all excited about a concept I've been talking about at the shows all the time anyway...using my designs on any well-fitting jacket base of ANY fabric!  I shopped at Louise Cutting's booth across the aisle from me in Atlanta and have some BEAUTIFUL linen on hand to do just that!  Also - a beautiful printed scarf for my new Living/JOURNEY design.  Now...just to stay home long enough to sew. 

MISCELLANEOUS CHATTER & HINTS

• So far, LOVE my OLISO IRON - the one with the feet.  Was just $149 instead of $200 (usual specialty irons) at the shows.  I'll let you know how it holds up - but so far, as I iron and fold and put together my KITS for my jackets that i sell at shows only - it is working like a DREAM! 
  
• WOW Storage Containers are my new favorite kitchen accessory!  See photos and a link at my Blog. They just stack together so nicely in the cabinet - no more fighting with lids/containers...and they look/work great in my frig too! 
  
• PRICELINE.com for HOTELS lately is saving me a boatload of $$ as I travel.  In Cleveland, I stayed right at the airport Hilton - regular $149 per night for just $49!!!!!  Try it, - you'll have more $ to spend on your hobbies!
• Beautiful Fabric ONLY Banners caught my eye driving down the road at my local rental place.  Just 2' x 6' pieces of white satin fabric attached on one long side only to what appeared to be about a 1" diameter PVC pipe stuck into the ground - WOW - how pretty fluttering in the wind!!!  If this were last year this time  - all engrossed in wedding planning, my Dear Daughter and I would have sure had to do that TOO to create the directions and outdoor 'site' for her wedding. 
  
• LOVE my KINDLE book   as I travel - AND at home!  Read about that at my BLOG as well...
• TRYING to fall in love with my new DROID phone - which I determined I had to have to easily keep tabs on email while I'm gone so much. 
  
• LOVE Netflix and discovering sweet, meaningful, teaching, inspiring movies...which I treat myself to watching as I make kits in my basement between trips.  Favorite new one:  "I Am David"...sweet movie about a little boy who escapes the prison camps during the Holocaust. 
  
• Speaking of Children...when I was at the Family Christian Bookstore yesterday my heart melted when I say Eman's photo in the World Vision Child Sponsorship program.  She is 11 years old - the age I so loved with my daughter and of the girls I taught to sew when I had my retail store and after wards when I taught sewing camps here in my basement.  Gee - I miss that - ANYWAY - I decided she would be our website 'daughter' - so meet her, and know that in a small way your purchases with me are helping support her along with our women in Guatemala at Miracles in Action.     Eman lives in Jerusalem, West Bank Gaza with her parents, 3 brothers and 1 sister where they struggle to meet their needs in this war-torn Israel/Palestine region......... So when you hear of that area of the world, please remember Eman in your prayers. I'll write to her soon, and keep a log at my Blog. 
  

Tomorrow is Good Friday... I pray it is a meaningful time of the year for you. 

My prayers for you are that you develop and use your gifts to the glory of God.  

With Sewing Hugs,