The Magical Makerie Sewing Retreat!

Jaime and I had a fantastic time at the Makerie Sewing retreat at Chautauqua. We spent the weekend taking workshops from instructors that Ali of the Makerie brought to Colorado from all over.

Our little pop-up store     photo © Linda Winski

Amy Butler stopped by our shop on her way to the Makerie and Fancy Tiger customers and staff gave her a warm welcome to Colorado.

     photo © Linda Winski

This was the first Makerie focusing solely on sewing, and it was a dream come true. The instructors were Amy Butler, Liesl Gibson, Jenny Hart, Heather Jones, Kaari Meng, Tamar Morgdorff and Cal Patch--amazing ladies and inspiring crafters each and every one!

Wonderful ladies Heather, Kaari, Liesl, Amy, Jenny, Cal and Tamar     photo © Linda Winski

Kaari of French General taught a workshop on shibori indigo dyeing techniques. Jaime and Sadie both took this class and made some stunning fabrics.and hand-dyed lace.

Kaari, Jaime and Sadie     photo © Linda Winski

Jaime and I both took Cal Patch's Design Your Own Clothes class, and learned to draft dresses and skirts to our own body measurements. Everyday Cal wore cute dresses and leggings and crocheted shawls that she made--totes adorable. We can't wait to stitch up our new custom garments!

Cal Patch and Heather Jones

Tamar Mogendorff taught a soft sculpture workshop where we learned to mix our stitching with materials like wire and cardboard to create sculptures. Tamar's sculptures are an amazing blend of art and hand craft, so inspiring.

Tamar with her birdcage      photo © Linda Winski

Liesl Gibson is known for the garment patterns she designs under the name Oliver + S. and Lisette, but at the Makerie she taught a class on smocking. Smocking is a hand stitching technique that makes beautiful pleated embellishments. Jaime took Liesl's class and learned how to smock while making a necklace. Smocking was passed on to Liesl from her grandmother so it was a special craft to learn from an amazing woman.

Liesl wearing her smocked necklace

On the left is a sample of smocking from Liesl's grandmother, the right is Liesl's modern take on smocking

Emily, Liesl, Jaime, Cal, Amber, Heather, and Ali     photo © Linda Winski

♥♥♥ Having miss-out syndrome? The Makerie now has a Summer Series--three single-day mini-Makeries that will include a farm dinner at Lyons Farmette. Perfect for locals! Jaime and I will be teaching handspun at the June one, so come have fun with us there! ♥♥♥

Better Know A Crafter: Ali DeJohn

Ali is a crafty momma who makes all kinds of adorable things for her little ones. We love these placemats she sewed to help her kids learn their place settings. She sells some of her handcrafted goods in her Etsy shop--alidejohn.etsy.com. Check out her adorable hand sewn felt barrettes. Cute!

Ali DeJohn

1) Tell us about yourself. What crafts do you like to do?

I am a stay-at-home mom to two wonderful little people who inspire me to be creative everyday. I love bringing creativity into our family, making things by hand, everything cozy and the tiny details found in everyday life! I love to knit, sew, embroider and dream of all the new crafts I'd love to learn.


2) Tell us about your adorable placemats.
I made these placemats and napkins for my kids so they could participate in setting the table, and I loved the idea of the kids using reusable, cloth napkins that were fun and happy. I created the pattern myself and used vintage scrap fabric (from Fancy Tiger of course!) as appliques for the fork, spoon, plate, cup and napkin graphic.


3) What inspires you to be crafty?
I have always had a love for making things by hand, and I am very new to sewing. I was inspired to learn to sew after I read the The Creative Family, by Amanda Blake Soule. It's a fabulous, sweet, heart-warming book!

4) What is your favorite animal?
My favorite animal is a giraffe.

Thanks Ali! Happy crafting!