(:44) This show opens with the amazing sounds of the Paducah Tilghman Marching Band who annually opens Quilt Week with their exciting showmanship and award-winning music!   (2:07) Bill Schroeder III President and CEO of AQS opens the awards ceremony and Susan Cleveland www.piecesbewithyou.com announced the Best of Show Winning Quilt. Hear personal experiences direct from those attending the ceremony from Alaska, Wisconsin and Nebraska   (6:16) Catherine Gross District Manager for BERNINA talks about the importance of being at quilt week and how special those in the community are. &nb ..read more

Our guest in this episode is George Kalajian the owner/operator of Tom’s Sons International Pleating which was founded more than 50 years ago by his grandfather. Born in Lebanon and moving to the US when he was 5 years old. After working with his father for a time, he went off on his own and worked in technology, as a teacher and as a bartender. Coming back to the family business…George has worked with myriad designers, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and on many tv shows, films and Broadway plays. George traces his family’s involvement in the business back 150 years to his great, great gr ..read more

Our guest in this episode is Robyn Cuthbertson. Born in Melbourne Australia and raised in Lower Plenty (about an hour northeast of Melbourne), she learned to sew from her mom. Robyn was always interested in crafting, so sewing was a natural progression for her.    She graduated from Melbourne University with degrees in Engineering and Physics and spent most of her university free time hanging out with the juggling club and perfecting her circus skills on a unicycle. At age 30, while working on her PhD in Engineering, Robyn was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease and was forced ..read more

Designer, author, educator, and entrepreneur Jessica Barrera is our guest in this episode of Sew & So. Born and raised in Wisconsin, she learned to sew at an early age. She studied entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater.   When not running her growing company, she enjoys coffee, being a mom, coffee, home decorating, travelling and black and white movies!   (1:20) How did she learn to sew? Her mom taught Jessica when she was 5 years old. The first thing she made?! A quilt for her American Girl Doll! (1:56) Who/What inspired her to sew…and keep going? It was h ..read more

(2:04) Karen brings us back up to speed on how she learned to sew. Her mom was the influencer on her – one of six children who learned to sew at the age of 6! Hear how this all began for Karen.   (4:03) Were any of her sewing skills applicable for her training and life as an astronaut? Yes, they were…she explains here.   (4:55) How did Karen get into the space program? As a kid she started to proclaim that she wanted to be an astronaut! She put it out there and made it happen!   (6:16) Karen sewed on the space station in 2013. Hear what she created and what it took to do this in ..read more

Travel with us to Andalusia, Spain for an amazing conversation with Cristina Arcenegui Bono whole cloth quilter extraordinaire!   (2:27) How did Cristina learn to sew? Well…she never really did!   (3:15)Who is her inspiration? How about her 40 cousins?! And wait…there’s more!   (5:16) Cristina started out her career in the Travel & Tourism industry in London…to help improve her English. She shares that story here.   (7:05) Cristine used to frequent haberdashery shops www.libertylondon.com which fueled her love for textile art. It all began when she came to London and th ..read more

Handbag Designer 101 – is synonymous with Emily Blumenthal as she has done it all. What makes her different is that she takes her creations one step further in teaching not only HOW to design…but what to do next with your creations. Born and raised as a New Jersey Girl, she now makes her home on the lower East side of New York.   (2:55) It was the entrepreneurial spirit that her parents instilled in her that got her on her way to where she is today. Hear how ADHD helped her along the journey.   (4:24) Who else was an influence on her? Well, both parents of course in the garment indus ..read more

Only coming to quilting 5 years ago, Linda Diak has had a life full of creativity. She’s raised and sheered her own sheep for fibers to spin. She’s crafted knitting needles and crochet hooks, and beautiful bespoke art quilts. Her newfound love for quilting began at a chance opportunity to sit down at a long arm and well…let’s let her tell you more.   (2:00) How did she learn to sew? Her grandmother was a tailor and furrier who took the reins. However, it wasn’t easy because grandma did it faster! Her mother was a maker too.   (3:45) Marietta Jones was quite an influence on both Linda ..read more

Owner of Kinship Handwork, Tina VanDenburg has lived life others simply dream of. Ready for chances, and learning from experiences, Tina left no stone unturned in searching for passion, peace, and a fully lit-up life.   Born and raised near Grand Rapids, MI, her sewing journey began when she couldn’t find cloths that fit her body. Before that she lived in Alaska then returned to Michigan and built houses as a carpenter.    She blogs and has a vibrant podcast called In Kinship.   (2:06) How did Tina learn how to sew…through osmosis and independence!   (2:55) Tina’s gran ..read more

Show Notes: Yvette Todd  Yvette Todd’s creation Stash Hub is only one year old, but it’s already made bold strides in helping sewists organize their fabric, patterns, and plan sewing projects.   Only sewing since 2020, Yvette grew up in Portsmouth England. She attended the University of Bath where she met her husband…a union that proved essential to the creation and success of the Stash Hub App.    (1:59) Yvette shares stories of her childhood and how these experiences led to where she is today.    (4:00) As Yvette began her sewing journey her projects became more ..read more