Oh, HECK YES I’m going back to Sewing Summit this year! It is less than three (!) weeks away and I am super excited. OK, sure, I’m bummed that I didn’t get into many of the classes I had hoped to take, despite being online for class registration the very minute it opened. (Long story, but let’s just say it involved a very wonky web process, and me on an iPad at my son’s karate studio, trying to chase a toddler while typing in my credit card number over and over again.) But still, it’ll be fun, and there will be a lot to learn and plenty of fellow fabric geeks to hang out with.

As the weekend approaches, people are sewing like mad in anticipation. Everyone, it seems, wants to bring a piece (or six) of something handmade. Obviously, it is by no means “required.” But we’re sewing addicts about to be among 200 of our own kind. Of course we want to have a little something to show off, knowing everyone else will actually appreciate what went into it.

Custom fabric name tags are a big one. Sure, there are perfectly lovely conference name tags that we’ll get when we arrive. But come on, who can resist?

I didn’t make one last year, but last weekend I got bit by the bug, and simply had to put something together. I decided I wanted it to mimic the design of my blog, on the off chance anybody there actually reads it and might recognize it.  Why I decided it should be embroidered, I’m not entirely sure. It’s not as though I do embroidery regularly, or really at all. But it felt like the right way to go, so I did it.

Believe it or not, I even hand-quilted the damn thing – something I have NEVER, EVER done before. If you ever see this in person, please just promise me that you won’t look closely at the back, because it is a hot mess. Though I rather like my little ribbon sewn into the binding so the tag can attach to a lanyard at the conference.

And no, I didn’t stop there. Because, you see, the lovely Sewing Summit folks run a feature in the lead-up to the conference called Travel Handmade. Honestly, check out all of the links and the Pinterest board, and you will want to make ALL of it. So far, I’ve made a large open wide zippered pouch to hold my hexagon making goodies.

I’m also strongly considering a jewelry roll, and have a little something in the works that will be a quilted tote bag to bring along for shopping.

That might be it for this year. But one of these days, mark my words, I am tackling the Weekender.