Last Minute Gift Ideas

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Categories: Tools and Notions.

For all those with sewists in your life, here are a few of our favorite tools that we think would make great gifts or stocking stuffers. (Feel free to forward along to the gift buyers in your life!)

Bernina Button Sew-On Foot, #18. Like magic, it works with your machine to sew buttons on in record time! Check out my post on using this foot here. Step it up a notch and include the buttonhole cutter kit for the garment sewer in your life.

Fresh Tracing Paper and a Double Tracing Wheel. Perfect for those Burda patterns that need seam allowances added.

Trick out your home workspace with irons like we have in the classroom. The robot legs allow the iron to stay on it’s belly and are less likely to be knocked off your board.

Bamboo handled tools from Clover are beautiful and eco-friendly.

My favorite marking tools–Chaco Liners. Available in a rainbow of colors.

You can never have too many bobbins, or an attractive and functional way to store them!

As always, gift certificates for supplies and classes and 10 hour Open Sew punch cards are appreciated by all crafters! Happy Holidays from Modern Domestic!

MD Holiday Schedule and New Sewcial Hours

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Categories: Uncategorized.

We are running low on crafting days before Christmas, but there are still a few left. In order to help you finish your last minute projects, we will be open everyday until Christmas and have open sewing available during the entire holiday schedule. Listed below are MD’s holiday hours. We will be open during our regular schedule until December 24th.

REGULAR HOURS EXCEPT: Friday 12/23 10-6pm (NO SEWCIAL)

Saturday 12/24 10-3pm

Sunday 12/25 CLOSED

Monday 12/26 CLOSED

Tuesday December 27-Thursday December 29 REGULAR HOURS

Friday 12/30 10-6 (NO SEWCIAL)

Saturday December 31-10-4

Sunday 1/1 Closed

Monday 1/2 Closed

We look forward to seeing you all through the bustle of the next few weeks! Remember, you can always purchase gift certificates online, and certainly sign up for classes anytime from the comforts of you home. When the new year begins, we are going to change one tiny little thing. Friday Night Sewcial will start and end an hour earlier. You will still have the same amount of fun, just from 5-8pm instead of 6-9pm.

 

MD Sewist Spotlight: Cathy Fowler

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Categories: Sewist Spotlight.

Every other week, we’ll be profiling one of our customers to find out a little bit about their sewing life. This week the MD Sewist Spotlight is on Cathy Fowler.

How long have you been sewing?

I asked my mom to teach me to sew when I was about 10 and although I’m not sure she thought I’d have the patience to do it I ended up loving it.  I made tons of clothes in high school, and when I moved to NY City after college I continued to sew a bit but when my apartment was broken into and my sewing machine stolen that ended that. I couldn’t afford to replace it at that time and I got kind of busy with my publishing career for the next 20 years. I got a new machine in 2010 (just before Modern Domestic opened), took a quilting class and fell in love with what is happening with modern fabrics and quilting and now sew pretty much every day.

 Tell us about a favorite recent sewing project.

There are a few things I made recently that are my favorites. One is a quilt I made as a graduation gift for my sweet niece, Elise.  I’d seen a picture of this lovely bento box quilt on One Flew Over and used the photo as inspiration.  

It was a nice way to highlight the Kaffe Fassett Millefiore fabric in blue which I’d wanted to use for a while.  It is so vibrant and has great detail even when cut into little pieces.

 

I really like textures in fabrics and I saw a pillow online that cost about $125 and thought, “I can make that.”  So I took a yard of fabric I had in the closet and did a lot of pressing, a lot of pleat sewing, stitched the pleats down in one direction and then the other. It makes me happy whenever I look at it. Plus it cost about $14 including the zipper and pillow form.

Oh, one more thing I made that was a lot of fun were some stuffed dinosaurs based on my son’s drawings.  We got kind of carried away and I made 12 of them as party favors for his friends.

 

What is your favorite sewing tip/tool?

Aside from my amazing Bernina sewing machine (purchased from Modern Domestic, of course) my favorite can’t-live-without-them tools are my Gingher lightweight embroidery scissors – I have two pairs just in case I can’t find one.  And those Clover Pen Style Chaco Liners – love ‘em!

 

 

Where do you sew?

I sew in my dining/living room.  Even though sometimes the sewing clutter gets to me I just feel too secluded in my office.  I have a nice big window I can look out, I can have a fire in the fireplace, and my son and husband can hang out in there too while I sew.  And although I yearn for a tall cutting table like MD has, for now it is great to have the dining room table space right there.

What sewing project(s) do you plan to tackle next?

Once I finish some holiday presents I have a few things waiting for me:
  • I have a queen size quilt for our bed that needs to be basted and quilted.  I used those fabulous new Lotta Jansdotter fabrics and I can’t wait to finish it.
  • I have a Vogue pattern and some luscious brown wool for a jacket waiting for me to tackle. (I hope I remember how to lay out a pattern.)
  • And I want to do some more things with fabric textures.  I picked up a copy of Stitch Magic by Alison Reid, which is all about stitching fabric into new forms, and it is simply inspirational.  Maybe I’ll get good enough at the techniques that someday I’ll teach a class at MD. That would be fun.

The Cutest Little Machine

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Categories: bernette, Kids and Teen Sewing, Learn to Sew.

For just $149 you can bring home this cutie.

…is the bernette 46 of course and it’s on SALE!! We love this little darling for its vintage styling, simple function, and fact that it comes with classes! All the machines sold at Modern Domestic come with machine owner classes so you can know exactly how to use your wonderful new tool to its fullest. We also great warranties on BERNINA and bernette machines and a friendly staff person who is always here to help.

It makes shopping local the best deal in town!

Hello Portland. Nice to Meet You.

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Categories: Apparel Sewing, Bags and Accessories, Behind the Scenes, bernette, BERNINA, Learn to Sew, Sewing Machines.

Craft Wonderland was wonderful! We meet soooo many awesome people! We were thrilled that such a flood of our lovely customers came by the booth to say hi, give us hugs, and chat about all the fun they have had in classes. We got to see teachers and friends selling their beautiful handmade goods and maybe even do a bit of shopping ourselves.

Look! Our booth was like a mini MD! We felt right at home for 2 days, with the prettiest class samples, great books and notions, and sweet machines all around us.

Our booth full of shiny new BERNINA's

Sign and toolkits.

Felt like mini-home!

Getting to see Erica‘s smiling face and hearing all about her teaching skills from loads of  her happy sewing students made the days fun. Plus, she was selling these darn cute owls. If you missed the show, you can still get ahold of one here.

Erica and her darling owls.

Anna has had a busy late fall, with many shows, this woman puts the H in hard work! Her booth was beautiful, and she even spent Saturday night sewing sweatshirts, just so the Sunday shoppers could have the selection they deserved. Anna creates these lovelies on her beloved BERNINA 450, named Bernice and her brand new serger, an 800DL named Sergio. We are honored have Anna as one of our teaching staff, sharing her knowledge in her applique classes.

Anna surrounded by her beautiful applique.

While Zanna is no longer teaching Silkscreen at MD (we miss the pants off her by the way) she is still creating amazing products that you can purchase here. Her new arrow print is pretty much a show stopper in my opinion. And yes, two arrow tea towels came home with me.

Zanna's silkscreen printed goods always make me melt

I will not lie, shows are totally exhausting. But at the same time, they fill you up with the feeling of handmade goodness, invigorate the spirit and reinforce why were are here. So Portland, nice to meet you. We can not wait for you to come learn to sew!!

Modern Domestic now offers Bernina Financing!

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Categories: BERNINA, Financing.

The BERNINA Credit Card is here! Modern Domestic is pleased to offer BERNINA financing and with the new addition to your purchasing options, there is a great 48 month no-interest event this Saturday from 10am-6pm only.
The Bernina Credit Card is a revolving account and can be used anytime in our store, but it is especially wonderful during Bernina’s seasonal financing events. This particular event is good for purchases of $3000 or more and can be used to purchase one amazing machine OR multiple machines such as a serger and sewing machine together. Applying is quick and easy and can be done on the Bernina website or right here in the store. You will get an instant response and could walk out with your dream machine. If you apply online, be sure to bring in your new account number and we will get you into the right machine for your sewing needs. Remember, this event lasts only one day!

Everything Workshops

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Categories: Books, Handwork, Trunk Show.

Many of you may be familiar with Diana Rupp’s first book, Sew Everything Workshop. Erica teaches several classes from this go-to beginner’s book including Perfect Pencil Skirt and Learn to Sew: Foxy Boxers. In addition to full sized patterns included, the instruction in the first half is great as a reference and for skill building.

The same can absolutely be said for her new publication, Embroider Everything Workshop. Covering everything from hand embroidery, cross stitch, smocking, and needlepoint, the techniques in the first chapters will lead you to be successful in completing some of the seriously awesome projects like the Old-Meets-New Gadget Cozies.

Or the Old Country Tea Towel. Love.

For all of our drafty Pacific Northwest homes, the Horsey Draft Dodger.

What some of you may not know is that Diana founded, operates, and teaches at a studio called Make Workshop. Located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, this studio opened in 2002 and has been educating and inspiring NY crafters and sewists in jewelry making, needlework, knitting & crochet, sewing, and more. Be sure to read my post Friday on the Bolt blog as I get to know Diana a little better. And join MD next Tuesday evening, December 13th from 6:30-7:30 pm for a chance to meet Diana. Check out her work, pick up a copy of her new (or older!) book to get signed, and hang with fellow Portland stitchers!

Crafty Wonderland and We Will be There!

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Categories: bernette, BERNINA.

We will be there. We hope you will too!

Standing in line at Crafty Wonderland last year got me thinking: what a lot of handmade goodness, and what a whole whole lot of people who love hand made! What a perfect place for Modern Domestic to try out our very first booth experience! We have been ordering, packing, planning, and looking at each other wondering “How do we do this?” Come join us this coming weekend, Saturday and Sunday December 10th and 11th and see a little slice of MD.

We will be selling bernette and BERNINA sewing machines, awesome tools and accessories, offer gift certificates for classes and more in our little mini 10×10 piece of Crafty+MD goodness.

MD Sewist Spotlight: Grayson Hackney

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Categories: Kids and Teen Sewing, Sewist Spotlight.

Every other week, we’ll be profiling one of our customers to find out a little bit about their sewing life. This week the MD Sewist Spotlight is on Grayson Hackney.

How long have you been sewing?
I have been sewing since I was around 5 years old. My mother taught me how to sew on her Babylock Machine and also how to sew by hand. I’ve taken classes at Modern Domestic on and off for the past two, this must be the third summer and I also sew in my spare time.
Tell us about a favorite recent sewing project.
One of my favorite projects is a tiered skirt with an invisible zipper that I made for my sister after I made one for myself in an MD class. I basically made it using my measurements from my first skirt but making things smaller here and there. It was my first project where I really sewed something without using an instruction booklet or manual and I think that learning classes from Shelly Figureoa who really isn’t super strict about following pattern rules helped me realize that I could make things on my own and that I should experiment more and go off the pattern.
What is your favorite sewing tip/tool?
My favorite sewing tip would have to be to always, always take out your pins in your fabric before sewing over them. My mother always taught me to sew right over them which became an immediate problem with Michelle and Shelly at MD and then turned into a running joke between us. But seriously, don’t run over your pins!
Where do you sew?
I sew the most in the Modern Domestic classes that I take and in the MD studio but I also have a sewing room in my basement where I sew sometimes, most often when I have just finished a camp at MD and I want to finish up projects or make replicas of things I made in classes.
What sewing project(s) do you plan to tackle next?
Next I plan to do a lot more finishing up of projects that I have started in the past and that I need to finish. One of them being a baby quilt that I also started without instructions or a manual (Very, very, bad idea. Always use a manual when making quilts, even if it is just for some guidelines!) and that I never got around to finishing but that is really very darling.

Winter Frolic this Friday!

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Categories: bernette, Neighborhood, Sewing Machines, Uncategorized.

Spend this Friday night shopping on your favorite street in Portland!

MD will be participating in Winter Frolic, an evening celebrating your favorite small businesses in the Alberta Arts District including Frock, Garnish, Collage, Tumbleweed, Salt & Straw, Close Knit, and pedX, plus others. Plan a whole evening–don’t miss the bars, coffee shops, and restaurants that help make this area a destination!

We’ll be here hosting our Friday Night Sew-cial from 6-9 pm, so stop by for refreshments and a special discount! 15% off tools, notions, thread, & books…and Bernettes! Pick up the tools to help you craft this holiday season or buy a new machine for the sewist in your life.