Spiritual - Praised by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
who bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens.
God chose us in him before the world began,
to be holy and blameless in his sight.
He predestined us to be his adopted sons through Jesus Christ,
such was his will and pleasure, that all might praise the
glorious favor he has bestowed on us in his beloved.
Eph. 1, 3-7
Sewing - In July, Jennie, Audrie, and I attended the School of Art Fashion in Huntsville, Alabama.
With much anticipation, we left our homes to spend our first "girls only" vacation - a sewing vacation, to boot! This was my treat, and, of course, was not going to be "cheap." BUT, I can tell you, that before the first evening was over, it was already
worth every penny...as you can see from the pictures!
We left Lafayette on Wednesday morning and arrived in Huntsville, Ala. at noon in time to register for our classes, peruse the classroom setups, meet the teachers, look over the retail and wholesale stores, and look at all the wonderful dresses, hand work, quilts, and other hand made items hung all around the Von Braun convention center. It was so exciting.
We attended classes Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 8:30 - 5:00. Each morning coffee, juice and tea were served at the center. At 10:00 snacks such as cinnamon rolls, croissants, cookies, or scones were served. Lunch each day was a spread that could not have been eaten even if you'd stayed for weeks - salads, soups, meats, fresh vegetables, casseroles, desserts. and a vegan menu at each meal. At 2:00 snacks included ice cream, pop corn, cookies, rolls, pretzels, etc. Thursday night was Potato Bar night. Friday night was a fabulous style show with a Prime Rib dinner. Saturday night was Barbecue Night (along with the most famous Huntsville cream pies) hosted by Martha and Joe Pullen at the Art Museum.
Bonus: Sewing machines by the various companies (see excerpt from Martha's newsletter below) were given away each lunch. The stories of the women who won these machines were so inspirational.
Martha gives glory to God for all she has created and shared with the sewing world and prayer is an integral part of this event. You know that God is present and working in these women's lives.
Door prizes from all the companies and teachers were given away every day. Table demonstrations after the potato bar on Thursday was wonderful and and teacher selling night after the barbecue was quite interesting!
ALL OF THIS is included in the price of the School...$785 for adults and $485 for kids. We were lucky to have earned enough air miles to get us there without extra cost and we all stayed in one room in a Holiday Inn next door to the center. The school supplied a transport bus to transport people to and from the hotel, the Von Braun Center, the Museum, and church. Sometimes Jennie, Audrie, and I were the only ones on the bus! The school did arrange for Catholics to attend services at a local Catholic church Saturday evening before the barbecue at the Museum. The entire Martha Pullen and F & W Media staff are at your service and are so gracious. The event ended Sunday evening at 5:00. We stayed over Sunday night and arrived in Lafayette around 1:00 pm on Monday. We were happy to be home, but talked excitedly about next year's trip.
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| On too many Shirley Temples! |
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| Letting her hair down! |
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| Martha & us. |
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| Laughed till I cried! |
Bottom Line: We were totally spoiled!
Jennie,
Audrie, and I took classes in which Bernina and BabyLock combo (sewing
& embroidery) were provided. There was a machine dealer/mechanic,
at least one sewing assistant, and the teacher in each classroom. You had
your own table to spread your "stuff" out and there were plenty of
cutting tables, irons and ironing boards available to use.
I was provided kits and patterns for 3 wonderful children's outfits. Jennie was provided kits for a pair of vogue pants and a darling dress, and Audrie was given kits for 5 projects (see Kid's Sewing School post on blog).
What more could you want?
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| Jennie & her BabyLock |
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| Linen Blouse |
Did we come home with extra stuff? Yea...fabric, patterns, machine embroidery cds, specialty items, a sewing machine (shhh...present for Christmas). But, hey, this is what I save my money for! Next year, several of my students/daughters are going to join us. The School of Art Fashion is held every February and every July. This was my very first time. I'm just sorry it took me so long to decide to go. What a hoot!!!
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| Portrait Beach Dress |
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| Day 1 |
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| Vogue dress & red pant |
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| A Sweet Dress |
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| Jennie working late into the night! |
Excerpt from Martha Pullen's 8-4-2012 Newsletter:
I am so deeply grateful to all of our teachers and our staff who worked so
very hard getting ready for this special event and to our sewing machine
companies - Baby Lock, Bernina, Pfaff and Viking - for their generosity
in sending machines and teachers. Baby Lock underwrote the whole kid's
school sending in 85 machines and four teachers. Baby Lock also
underwrote the teachers and the assistants for three more schools. Baby
Lock gave away four machines as door prizes. Steve Jeffery, president of
Baby Lock, came to visit with us for two days. Pfaff, Viking and
Bernina furnished machines for schools also. Pfaff gave away three
machines. Viking gave two machines for
door prizes. Rob Barber, national sales director for Pfaff and Viking
was there for two days. Bernina also gave a machine at lunch on Sunday.
All four companies also contributed gifts to everyone at lunch. As I
announced several times, the generosity of these four companies make it
possible for us to offer the school at a very reasonable price. THANK
YOU! I would like to thank the dealers who were here with these
companies. Tony Coulson and Kristi Coulson-Fearn with S&R Sewing in
Huntsville represented Baby Lock and Viking. Catherine Forsyth from
Sewing Machine Mart in Birmingham represented Pfaff. Robin Parker from
Robin's Sewing in Birmingham represented Bernina.
