Since several people flew in from other places I supplied the sewing machines. I love my Bernina's and love sharing my machines. I have 4, at the moment. Mostly older ones, but all in excellent working condition. One I have on loan from Bernina. Louise, from Vermont, used this one - the Aurora 440.
Everyone who tried this machine loved it.
We did a lot of free motion sewing and Bernina's have no problems sewing along fast and slow. The 440 has the BSR, Bernina Stitch Regulator, which several in the group enjoyed using.
Liz Orban brought two of her Bernina's and one had the BSR. This allowed two people at a time to sew with this foot.
The other Bernina's we used were the 200e, 145, 1230, 730 and 1080. Not all mine.
Spending 5-nights and 4-days together you do make friends quickly. This group was no exception. We laughed, played hard, worked hard, shared and will keep in touch.
There's something very special about women getting together. We know how to have a good time and not let the mundane things in life get us down.
This is Jacquie, Louise and Liz O.
Another project we had was mugs that Liz Orban brought, along with markers. We each had fun decorating ours. I'll have to take a closer picture of mine and share it in a future post. In this photo Pat is holding hers as Liz and Emma relax on one of the sofa's in the great room.
Saturday afternoon we took a break and went to Wayne and Barbara Chapman's Open House. Their home is truly a work of art. They've traveled throughout Asia and collected artifacts that decorate both the exterior and interior of their home.
One in our group had left already, but the rest of us enjoyed visiting the Chapman's home and seeing all the decorations and artwork on display.
Wayne and Barbara have an open house twice a year and it is well worth a trip to San Diego to attend.
There was a lot of things we did during our 4-day workshop. We did get the bodies put together, the clothing made, but not all the beading finished. As you can see, the dolls turned out wonderful and I know they'll get finished.
The clothing is made from both silk crepe de chine, that each person dyed, along with the tunic made from silk rods, waste, chiffon, Angelina that was first felted then free motion sewed. They all turned out fantastic.
Liz Finley is using my new Babylock Embellisher. We used this to create the tunics you see on the dolls above. By "felting" the silk fibers onto water soluble stabilizer we created a wonderful fabric that was unique to each person.
The photo to the right shows my Aerin. Her tunic and shoes were created using the embellishing technique. Very addictive.
This was our last evening. Liz Finley had to fly home early. We missed her.
The next day we all had to go back to reality, but with promises that we'd be back next year.
Yes. There will be a Dazzling Daze 2009. We may not go back to the beach as we found much of the beauty was wasted as we worked on our dolls. If John and I could clear out some of our furniture we'd have it back at our house, but that probably won't happen. So, I'll be looking for another beautiful place to have the next one. Keep checking my website, newsletter and here for the announcement of when and where.
Happy doll making!
