Teapot Quilting Patterns

Reluctant fashionistas

Handmade apparel, wearable art, DIY, craft: These are well-worn terms in local lingo. They also call to mind certain retail opportunities, like the artist booths at LEAF and The Big Crafty. But the forerunner to both of these (and, for that matter, to the current crafting craze, Church of Craft groups, Stitch ‘n Bitch circles, Etsy.com, etc.) is the twice-a-year Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands. That event (which showcases works from some of the Southern Highlands Craft Guild’s more than 900 members) has been going strong since 1948.

The fact that the craft fair is older than the parents of most of The Big Crafty's exhibitors might have something to do with the impression that it's a little bit staid . Or antiquated . (And there is the traditional dyeing exhibit held outside of the Civic Center when the craft fair is in session.) "People think it's more conservative and traditional than it really is," says gGuild member and apparel designer Jude Stuecker. "I did, too, before I joined."

It's hard to get farther from Appalachian weaving looms and vegetable dyes than Jennythreads, the sunny, modern, downtown West Asheville studio of local designer Jen Swearington. The busy space is filled with sewing machines, a cutting table and racks of jersey dresses and striped shirts. It looks more like the walk-in closet for an indie band than the work bench of a fiber artist. But Swearington is quick to identify herself as a crafter rather than a fashion maven.

"I've never studied fashion," she says. "I'm not very fashion oriented. It's been interesting to figure out construction and what's wearable and what's flattering."

Swearington started out making wall pieces that resemble quilts but involve painting and other processes that she works on in secret. It was that work that earned Swearington membership in the Southern Highland Craft Guild in 2003, but as her first Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands approached, she realized that she needed wearable items for purchase at her booth. "In graduate school I'd studied fibers and did some scarves," she says. "But I couldn't do a whole booth of scarves. So I thought, 'Why don't I try to make a skirt and a top?'" And that was the beginning of her apparel line.

She began working with silk, and now uses silk with Lycra, "which hangs beautifully," and which she dyes herself. She taught herself to design by tracing her own clothes and looking at commercial patterns for sizing. "For the first three years, people were like, 'Jen when are you going to put sleeves on something?,'" she says. "Sleeves are hard!

Made With Love: Quilt Market- Schoolhouse with The Quilted Fish

My Momma and I arrived in Salt Lake City Thursday afternoon, just in time for The Quilted Fish's Schoolhouse presentation.  Per the Quilt Market catalog, the International Quilt Market’s popular Schoolhouse Series is an exciting, information-filled forum for manufacturers, publishers, and retailers to present new products, techniques, and books to you.

Show Me How to Create Quilting Designs, 60 Ready-To-Use Designs, 6 Projects, Fun, No-Mark Approach

Debbie Mumm's Quick Country Quilts for Every Room, Wall Quilts, Bed Quilts, and Coordinating Accessories Using Easy, Timesaving Techniques

Debbie Mumm's country quilts for all occasions, 120 quilts, decorations and accessories you can make using easy, timesaving techniques

Country quilting

Show Me How to Plan My Quilting, Design Before You Piece: A Fun, No Mark Approach