Journalhttp://www.commonthreadstudio.com/journal/en-US2010-07-29T11:01:05ZSquarespace Site Server v5.11.0 (http://www.squarespace.com/)ON THE AIR!http://www.commonthreadstudio.com/journal/2010/4/27/on-the-air.htmlcommon thread studio2010-04-28T00:59:02ZWhile going through my usual morning routine I was pleasantly surprised to see an email from Alex Cohen (YES from All Thing Considered) of KPCC. She got my info from Sonja, founder of UniqueLA, and wanted to get a preview of my workshop during the Unique LA show. So of course I was very happy to meet with her and here's the link from the interview and a picture of the card holder made by Alex Cohen herself.

BTW she was lovely and made me feel so at ease during my first radio interview.

]]>Hobby to success!!http://www.commonthreadstudio.com/journal/2010/3/18/hobby-to-success.htmlcommon thread studio2010-03-18T22:06:18ZLet me tell you about one woman's inspiring story. Jeanette Truppe walked in to CTS about 6 months ago just to check it out. After finding my industrial machines in the studio she was inspired to start sewing again. Having grown-up in the garment industry as a child in Europe, surrounded by her mothers work she was familiar with the studio set up. Though it had been a long time since using these machines, she was inspired to create something for herself. Using just the overlock machine, she made an easy to wear jacket out of cotton fleece. After wearing it around her neighborhood it caught the eyes of a local boutique. Immediately they wanted to carry her jackets! It's been months since this jacket had its debut and they can't seem to keep it in stock. Since then, Jeanette has received orders from another boutique adjacent to her neighborhood and it has spread to NY. She now has expanded her line to knit tops, dresses and vests. I see Jeanette 2-3 times a week for hours at a time working at turning this hobby in to a successful business. Now this is NOT her full time gig, she's a hairdresser by trade. I'm amazed at her dedication as she drives from Sherman Oaks after or before her salon appointment.

I'm sure if you've been in my studio in the past few months you have met her, she's the most friendly person, always greeting people w/ a big warm HELLO! Jeanette you are an inspiration, it's exciting for me to be a part of your new business. Continued success....

]]>Obama & Busdriver sewing at CTS?!?http://www.commonthreadstudio.com/journal/2010/2/12/obama-busdriver-sewing-at-cts.htmlcommon thread studio2010-02-12T23:58:39ZWhat a great country we live in... THE President came to CTS to learn how to sew. If that doesn't make us cool I don't know what else I can do to impress you. We had a great time shooting the video.

Check out the video... and enjoy! http://vimeo.com/obamacomedy

]]>Christmas lights... why I don't put them up.http://www.commonthreadstudio.com/journal/2009/12/5/christmas-lights-why-i-dont-put-them-up.htmlcommon thread studio2009-12-06T02:05:43ZMy close friends know I'm not a huge fan of decorating for every holiday OR any holiday. I will never be organized enough to be that mom who has labeled boxes in the attack for each season/holiday. I'm lucky if I can keep my desk organized... I attribute this "quality" to my creative side. All to say that I had to decorate my store, to keep up w/all the other stores on the street. :) I was very hopeful when I started, there was Christmas music playing in the background and I was determined to get these lights up - happy to be "in the spirit"! (picture #1) After about an hour of fidgeting w/these lights I gave up and thought to myself "this is why i don't have a box labeled Christmas!" (picture #2) My intern Larisa gave her best shot only to be defeated by these lights as well. Luckily my friend Riel happened to be in the store for a class and offered to put them up for me. ( picture #3) I have to admit there are some jobs men are just better at. I say let them do it.... I'm just happy to have them up because I don't want to look like Scrooge of Mission street. (picture #4)

Happy holidays and I hope your experience is better than mine.

(Picture 1) (Picture 2-right side)

(Picture 3) (Picture 4-right side)

]]>Transform old to newhttp://www.commonthreadstudio.com/journal/2009/11/3/transform-old-to-new.htmlcommon thread studio2009-11-04T00:53:05ZIt's always sad when you find or have a clothing item that is not the right shape but you love the fabric or stitch. That was the inspiration for this project. I found this giant sweater downtown, great stitch but way too big and not cute. It's a very easy project to do and only takes about 2 hours. So start digging up your old sweaters and transform it into something new.

]]>I don't like wet dogs....http://www.commonthreadstudio.com/journal/2009/10/14/i-dont-like-wet-dogs.htmlcommon thread studio2009-10-14T21:21:36ZI just had to do something cute for my Luca during this rainy season. I know we (Angelenos) don't experience too much rain through out the year but the fact is we still get rain, hopefully in abundance this year to help with our drought. Every time it rains poor Luca has to wait till it stops to go potty. So this year I've decided to make her a cute raincoat - I LOVE it!!!! Luca on the other hand isn't as appreciative as I thought she would be. I think she just needs to get used to having clothes on, I know once she sees the other dogs coveting her coat she will be proudly strutting around the hood.

]]>Loop in Hoophttp://www.commonthreadstudio.com/journal/2009/10/7/loop-in-hoop.htmlcommon thread studio2009-10-07T23:32:00ZHand embroidery is great to personalize or add texture/design to any project. If you went in your closet and found a boring sweater or shirt then added a little hand embroidery it will look brand new. That's what I love about this craft, you can do as much or as little as you want to change the look completely.

I was very excited to find Kat Coyle, she will be holding a one day workshop here on hand embroidery. We will be working on a wall hanging piece framed in embroidery hoop. I will post a picture soon of what it will look like but in the mean time check out her blog and here are some pictures of her work.

]]>A Quilters Delighthttp://www.commonthreadstudio.com/journal/2009/10/7/a-quilters-delight.htmlcommon thread studio2009-10-07T23:14:46ZFall is here and there's no turning back. Sad to see summer go but excited to bring out all my comfy cozies. I've always been intimidated by the idea of quilting, plus I didn't think they were cute enough. After looking at Alissa Carltons' quilts I stand corrected. Now I want them all over my house. I'm even thinking of how I can incorporate them in to a cool outer piece for me to wear this fall. I'm sure with the right fabric choices it can look chic. I'll keep you posted on that...

Anyway Alissa will be holding a class here at CTS to show us how to make these fabulous quilts that will make your granny proud. Just think of all the possibilities for gifts, your home, and just to learn something new.

Hope to see you for this quilting series in November!

Here are some picture to show off her style.

]]>Loved by another bloggerhttp://www.commonthreadstudio.com/journal/2009/10/2/loved-by-another-blogger.htmlcommon thread studio2009-10-02T17:47:01ZWhat a great Friday! Going through my routine morning emails I received one from a local customer who's featured CTS on her blog. Khali is a multifaceted artist forging her path through LA. What a great post on Boots & CatEyes blog about CTS, thanks Khali for thinking of us!!

Seriously what did we do before the internet???? :)

]]>Look what I found on my day off....http://www.commonthreadstudio.com/journal/2009/9/29/look-what-i-found-on-my-day-off.htmlcommon thread studio2009-09-29T19:58:17ZWhile I was doing some errands yesterday I stopped by my friends fabric store to take a gander and look at the goodies I found. I can't wait to start my own projects with these fabrics. I will keep you posted on that...

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