Here are some of the quilts we got to see and photograph at the Simon Haskins two day workshop that Anni and I took

Anni and I took a two day class with Simon Haskins. Just for extra fun we booked into the event hotel for a sleepover. Below is Simon and to the upper right is the Fabricadabra Quilt that I am in the process of making and will be offering in the shop as a class. To the left is a beautiful evening bag made entirely of embroidery stitches. I had so much fun and if you have not taken a class with Simon.............treat yourself! He is just a blast to spend the day with. Here are some more fabulous quilts from the day. They were all spread out on the floor around the room. Wonderful to see all the quilts that we see in the Jenny Haskins magazines in person.

I have lots more pictures to share but it's bedtime for me so keep an eye out for more pictures in the next few days.

It'a all about me me me!!

Okay so after months, no actually years of getting my Dad's estate all sorted out................note to self, leave a will.
Anyhoo we all ended up with a decent chunk of cash. So we started with paying our debts, then we each got some treats! I decided to beautify the two places I spend the most time in.
So.............I started with my sewing room and bought Sylvia modules to form a big U. Sewing machine on one side and serger on the other plus and extra add on called the quilters table. I ordered inserts for the drawers to hold a ton of thread spools. The whole thing is due any day so right now I am sorting and purging in my sewing room to make room to get the new stuff in and then my bff, Anni and I will get in there and, for the first time in 50 years of sewing, organize me. I am so excited, I have never had a Professional looking sewing room, I will, of course put pics up when I get settled in.
In the meantime you can go see what I got on the site, just look for the most deluxe arrangements you can get and that's it!
http://www.sylviadesign.com/index.php If you see anything you like, I can get it for you.

Next to the bedroom! I had a king size bed but it took up the whole room so I got a queen size memory foam bed............Heavenly! Then I got a set of bamboo bed sheets............wow, those are amazing. Pricey but still I highly recommend them. Then I got a feather duvet and a beautiful duvet cover.....................OMG I cannot wait to go to bed. Actually I am in bed now!

Next on the go is Retreats, one is sneaking up very quickly. A week from tomorrow.
Intrigued? Go see..http://www.pocosewingandvacuum.ca/retreat.html

Okee doke, that's it for now. Time to sleep in my comfy beautiful bed.

Okay, so it has been a while...........

Hi Everyone,
As promised I will be giving you the rest of my trip to Toronto. After spending a wonderful day of bead shopping and clothing shopping with Dariel, my eldest sister.
It was time for her to head on home.
That morning Dariel headed home and Terri and I headed for downtown Toronto to the Royal York Hotel.
After we checked into our beautiful room we took a stroll around the lobby, stopped for the best apple martini I have ever had and then went in search for a Pandora's jewelry shop. Turns out we were standing right above one!


These ladies were absolutely awesome. We had such a blast choosing bracelets and beads for everyone for Christmas, including ourselves. Both my sister and I are now addicted to Pandora! From there we wandered along "The Path" which is an underground tunnel system linking to all the downtown streets, buses and subways. It is amazing and completed filled with shops. We wandered and shopped and had a wonderful day.

That same evening my sister had purchased tickets to a Broadway play for my birthday!
We went to see Pricilla Queen of the Desert. Oh my goodness what fun that was, so colorfull and the costumes were amazing.














One of my favorite sites in Toronto, and there are so many, is this bridge in downtown Cambridge. It seems the townspeople did not like the look of the bridge and decided to get together and change it. So.............they covered it in knitting! I did not get to see it as at the time I was at the bridge, it was just ugly cement. But you can search it out on the net The bridge benefits the arts and the homeless.
http://www.examiner.com/knitting-in-providence/knitted-canadien-bridge-benefits-homeless-and-the-arts-knit-cambridge-update-pictures




Well that's all for now.............stay tuned!

My Trip to Toronto

Hello Everyone.........


I recently took a trip to Toronto to visit my two sisters, Dariel and Terri. Dariel lives in Lindsay and Terri lives in Cambridge. Dariel is on the left and Terri on the right in this picture.

Dariel came down from Lindsey and spent two days with me.

I lucked out totally on my flights. In both directions I got an aisle seat with no one in the middle seat. I love it when that happens. The flight was uneventful, and I really enjoyed it. However, I did not know that the in flight movies were free.............silly me..............so I worked on my computer during the flight and also read my ereader. I thought the movies cost money and that they likely cost too much money, oh well, I did get my money's worth as I watched two movies on the way back.

Terri had to work one of the days I was there so Dariel and I noodled around the small shops in downtown Cambridge. It is very quaint. We found a great bead shop, Iguana Beads and spent quite a lot in beads and projects. The owner was lovely and she gave each of us a free bracelet.

From there we headed to the mall and tried on clothing at a wonderful shop called Casis.


That evening we all went to dinner at a wonderul restaurant. I learned a little about the town of Cambridge. For instance, there is a bridge there and one year the people of Cambridge decided it was an eye sore and so they covered it entirely in knitting.

That's all for now.....................my next post will have all my news about my stay at The Royal York in downtown Toronto.

Diane's fabulous vacation.

Hi! Diane here, manager of Poco Sewing and Vacuum. I just have to share with you all about our fabulous vacation.


Brian & I decided to do something we both really enjoy for our 40th anniversary, so we did a road trip down the Oregon Coast. September is always a beautiful time of year for this little trek. We had a wonderful 6 day holiday and perfect weather. We went a little crazy at the Outlet stores in Lincoln City, but who wouldn't when the discounts totalled 70 to 80% off.


The best part was the number of quilt shops along the coast. I think I took at least a little taste from each one then bigger bites from others. But you would too if you saw what I saw.


Look at the picture of Pat & I at Love of Quilting. What a scrumptious store. There are 6 rooms each with their own fabric theme. Pat is delightful and very helpful.

I bought a few metres there for my son and daughter-in-law's quilt and some cute little scissors for souvenir. Always need an extra pair.


On our way back I visited Diamond Centre in Canaan Beach and bought all the fabrics I wanted to make a Bargello quilt hanging for my hallway. Have been planning this one for 2 years. Let's see how long it takes me to make it.


I also got a perfect pattern book to make doll clothes for my grand daughter's Christmas. It is a book of patterns for an 18" doll. Then Edna told me I could buy the 18" doll at Michael's which I did in Burlington.

It wasn't all about me though. We did get some golfing in so Brian enjoyed that part. Oh yeah, and there was a car show in Florence the weekend we were there. I dropped Brian off and two hours later, (bags of fabric later) I joined him there.

I have a few doll outfits made. When I have completed the wardrobe I'll post some pictures. Hopefully my 4 yr. grand daughter doesn't know about blogs yet.

Crazy about Hoop Sisters!!

Okay so I am totally addicted to Hoop Sisters! And what is HoopSisters you say? Well I am glad you asked.

It is the process of making an entire quilt, piecing and quilting, all in the hoop. Once all the blocks are done you use the Quilt as you Go method of putting it all together. There are little ones and full quilt sized ones. So much fun to do and I dare you to walk away from your embroidery machine as it is also so much fun to watch!



My friend Anni and I spent all day friday making blocks for the center of our TNT Tips and Techniques class at my shop. Mine is the Rust/Brown block and Anni's in the Pink/Green one. We have so much fun doing these while making a huge mess at each others houses.


Lorraine Peck (past owner of The Electric Quilt and also my old boss) is teaching the TNT quilt and I will be teaching a Christmas class of hoop sisters.

Not up to much else these days. Still as always, working on my Sharman's Garden quilt. I have done most of the blocks and now need to start on the center medalion. I can't tell you how much I am enjoying the making of this quilt. Part of it, I'm sure, is the threads I chose. They are very much my Mom's colors and having just past the two year mark since I have been without her, I find her colors comforting.

Happy Sewing! What are you up to?

Mini Vacation

Hello Everyone!

Having worked hard getting things organized around here, Ken and I decided to take the Labour Day weekend off and head for our property in Nanoose Bay. I love going there, we have a luxury 5th wheel on our property so it really is a home away from home. Ken is an outdoor kind of guy so I sew and watch movies all day. Ken does all the cooking so it is super relaxing for me.

I also do a lot of reading. I have now finished the Steig Larrson series and hardly know what to do with myself.

I am working on a Twisted Nine Patch quilt. It is a large quilt made entirely of 4" squares, plain alternating with nine patches. At one of my retreats Marg and Krista were working on them and I loved it so I decided to make my own. It may end up being a wedding gift for my daughter. Shhhhh don't tell her. Look up Twisted Nine Patch on the net.

Some time ago I found an ad in the Country Register for a place called Cindy's Threadworks.

I showed it to Ken and asked if he would take me......................he said YES! Cindy is a Superior threads dealer and I love the King Tut line of quilting cottons. I had my mad money in hand as we set off to find Cindy, just past Little Qualicum falls. Her house was fairly easy to find and all I can say is WOW. This is Cindy with one of her Collies. Cindy herself is wonderful and friendly.

One of those people that after 5 minutes with her you feel like you have known her forever. She also has a few dogs which is always an indication of good people. We had a little tour of her beautiful property

This is just a bit of the front entrance area, it really is a beautiful place. And so quiet, from the back balcony, you can hear the falls.

So now we have entered into the Thread Zone.

There was so much to see and so much I wanted to buy. I looked down at my measly handful of spending money and my husband says, "give me the money", so I did and he handed me the credit card. LOL Much better. I bought a lot of King Tut threads in both large cones and regular spools. It took me forever to choose. There were also a lot of quilts and other projects to look at as well as some fun notions. You can visit Cindy on her website.

http://www.cindysthreadworks.com/