It's about exploring and sharing my creative adventures (mostly sewing these days) ~
~those activities that sometimes obsess, usually inspire, occasionally frustrate
~and always provide a delightful maze to wander through.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Pattern Review Day, 2013!

Yesterday I attended my first "official" Pattern Review event - in San Francisco this year (yay!).  I was really looking forward to meeting a number of PR & blogging folks from all over, but the first day was SO jam-packed with activities that finding a moment here and there for meet & greets was harder than one might think!

Sandra Betzina was the guest speaker - if you've ever heard her speak, you know how delightfully firey her style is - FILLED with tips and tricks & show & tells & answers & hints & advice and unfinished sentences and and and.....always a fun time with her!  She has a couple of new patterns out - not only were the new Vogues JUST released, but they're on sale at Club BMV through Sunday - right after being released!   If you can make it in to the site (I haven't had much luck yet...overloaded?), check them out!  I love her new pants pattern, and plan on adding that to my stash :).

I'm pretty sure that Sandra casually mentioned Stonemountain and Daughter approximately 73 times during her talk; clearly that's her go-to destination for most of the garments she designs.   Saturday was the official "shop til you drop" day for the PR weekend.   After Sandra's talk, I have a suspicion that most of the out-of-towners who were thinking of spending their shopping day in SF changed their plans so that the first stop was Stonemountain in Berkeley (my personal local favorite...by far!).   I already planned on zipping over there in the morning for one specific fabric that Sandra had showed, and I'm glad I got there early!   This is what the line looked like about an hour after they opened:

That was maybe 1/4 of the PR folks who were flooding the store!

I was really delighted to finally meet and spend some time with one of my favorite bloggers and PR members, Mary of Biblioblog:

You may notice the twin MarcyTilton-with-hook-and-eye-tape jackets (totally unplanned - it's no wonder we knew from the get-go that we would be friends!)

Here's Wendy (one of my local BABES babes) with her pile of fabric (Mary hadn't started shopping yet), backed by a couple of the friendly and efficient employees madly trying to keep everything moving.

Backing up to Friday night, the gang took over a large area of Buca de Beppo in SF - they serve family style Italian meals, and I admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the tastiness of (almost) everything we were served.  Lots of raucous laughter and cheers as raffle prizes were handed out and new friendships were being formed (that is, if you could hear enough over the noise to have an actual conversation lol!) - but once again, I somehow managed to NOT hook up with a number of people I had been hoping to meet - y'all are going to have to come back!

It's always nice to spend time with a bunch of other sewists, and in spite of the fact that I'm not normally much of a big crowd lover, I'm really happy that I  attended this year.  :)  Some of the rest of you are probably still out there closing down the fabric stores - I hope you enjoyed your experience in the Bay Area, and if I didn't meet you, just give me a shout out the next time you're here, ok?

Once I left Stonemountain and settled back in to normal errands, everywhere I turned I found that people were commenting on what a great day they were having.  Was it the Sunshine?   Something else in the air?   Just what I was attracting/seeing?  It has, indeed, been a very good day :).   After running around town taking care of the Stuff of Life, I tended my overgrown-but-still-beautiful garden for awhile.   I'll leave you with a few shots that I just took, which will hopefully explain why I'm going to go back outside to enjoy a cuppa out there.  :)







Happy Weekend, all!   :)

24 comments:

shams said...

A great summary, Jillian!

The Hojnackes said...

What a fun weekend! Your garden is beautiful!

Scenic Route said...

Ah, PR envy! My daughter & I ALMOST attended--SF is one of my favorite cities and what could be better than hanging out with Kindred Spirits? Alas, I am just now winging my way home to US--currently hanging out in the Incheon airport in Seoul. Thanks for your lovely coverage of this event--I would have loved to have met you! Question: did you all make it to Britex Fabrics? 4 or 5 stories of fabric & notion bliss. A real SF landmark.

Jillybejoyful said...

Ah well, if you can't fly to one event, traveling somewhere else is a good reason! I spent 10 years working 1 block away from Britex, so I was in there drooling on a regular basis (even though I wasn't sewing much in those days....I still appreciated fabric petting!)

I did indeed zip down there during lunch break - they generously gave away a lovely canvas Britex bag to all the PR attendees who went to the store, so I'm sure that many people made it there :)

Connie B said...

I agree that there never seems to be enough time to chat with people one really wants to meet at PR events! We are such a vibrant group! And I admit that I was one of the ones who decided to hit Stone Mountain after hearing Sandra rave about it.

BeaJay said...

Sounds like a wonderful time.

prttynpnk said...

Wow- it looks like you all have a great time!

mrsmole said...

Maybe one day I can sneak down from the north and join you in SF. It just looked like a perfect way to spend a weekend!!!

Bonnie O. said...

Great recap, Jilly! I really loved visiting your city!

Jean said...

Nice recap! It was great seeing you again! How funny about Stonemountain -- after hearing Sandra's talk, I was wondering if the store would be mobbed the next day! It's such a wonderful shop that I'm glad others were able to visit and find some treasures. One flower question for you: what is the name of flower in your third garden pic (the peachy colored one)? I have that same flower in my garden (planted by the family who lived here before us) but in a bright yellow, and thought it was a daffodil but it doesn't look like other daffodils I've seen. Enjoy the gorgeous weather we're having!

Barbara said...

Thanks for the recap but boy, it makes me so sorry I couldn't attend. I had to be in southern California for a family wedding in March and another trip halfway across the country was not in the budget. Maybe next year it will be closer to flyover country :)

I'm looking forward to you posting some pictures of your purchases as well as what wonderful things you do with them.

Anonymous said...

Awesome! I have always wanted to go to one of these. I was able to get on Vouge's site today and place an order, but the new Tilton pattern was "sold out" :( ~Teri

Goodbye Valentino said...

How fun! One of these days I'm going. Maybe PR weekend will meet in Atlanta one day :)

Jillybejoyful said...

Would love to meet you! Definitely give me a head's up if you come down :)

Jillybejoyful said...

Jean that's a bearded iris - MUCH larger than a daff. I have quite a few colors, several of which came from a friend who lives down in your neck of the woods - they do grow very well around here!

Jillybejoyful said...

Barbara I didn't buy much - just a black wool gauze (that was what I really wanted after Sandra's talk, but black won't photograph well), some hair canvas, and a couple of remnants. It will be fun seeing what the Big Spenders got though!

RhondaBuss said...

I can't believe that you can grow orchids outside. Beautiful. When I moved to Chicago, I had to learn about what I could and could not grow here. Orchids are an inside only plant:( oh well, I have a wonderdul collection of some of the most magnificent hostas. They bring me such joy.
So glad that PR was such a fun time. Wish I could have been there. One day!

Jillybejoyful said...

Oh gosh, hostas are such a favorite of mine; you're lucky! People do grow them here, but all I've managed to do is say "Here you go, snails - I've prepared a gourmet dinner for you, but leave some for me, ok?" And they never do.... :(

It's just the cymbidiums that do well outside here. But they do very well indeed :)

Jen Shaw said...

Jilly, it's always a pleasure to see you too! I ended up driving to St Mt and D, then traversed back to SF to Fabric Outlet, Fabrix and Satin Moon. Had a great lunch with some new friends from LA area, Meagan (aka Tailypo) and Nancywin. A good time was had by all..

Kathi Rank said...

Jilly, you don't want to wait until PR makes it back to SF to meet more of your virtual friends ..... commit to Austin next year. I'm sure it will be an even larger group and a great time. See you then.

Jane M said...

Looks like a a perfect day! Thanks for sharing it with the rest of your virtual friends around the world. We are all there in our imaginations!

SEWN said...

So good to see you!!!

Jillybejoyful said...

I was so happy to meet you too! You were one of the folks I would have loved to have spent more time with :)

Mary said...

ah, Jillian, thanks for the nice picture :-) I have snagged it for my archives. As for gardens...yours is blooming beautiful! My lilacs are waiting to go as it is still cold at night here but the hedges are topped with tight purple buds. My poppies are coming in and setting up, and the thyme is really pretty this year.