Tulsa Class with Louise Cutting

Hello from Tulsa, OK on Thursday night.  Phylly and I are in our two-bedroom hotel room sitting in front of the fireplace.  She is using her Ipad and drinking hot tea, and I am using my laptop and also drinking hot tea out of my now-favorite mug that Margaret gave me for Christmas.

We met Louise Cutting at The Cloth Merchants tonight.  She is a very friendly, lovely person.  Phylly and I were the first ones to arrive, and we got to spend almost an hour with her before the others arrived.  Phylly and I also got to see all the gorgeous fabrics first, and we dove right into them.  I must have purchased 12 yards already.  We get 20% off of everything we buy at The Cloth Merchants during this class, so that is very nice.

I am typing this sentence on Friday night -- one night later than the two paragraphs hereinabove (don't you love that word).  Phylly and I arrived back "home" to our hotel a few moments ago.  I am already in my pj's and she is at the kitchen table studying her Louise Cutting pattern.  Louise had her make some changes today to how she does her Full Bust Adjustment, and Phylly got flustered in class.  She needed her OWN table and some quiet time to THINK.


It is hard to jump from one track to another.

Seems like every teacher has a different method.

I brought up Peggy Sager's methods a couple of times when talking to Louise.  At first -- yesterday -- I just mentioned "another teacher".  Phylly looked at me and said, "She KNOWS who you are talking about, I'm sure."  Today, I actually said in a private conversation with Louise, "Peggy Sagers says _____________________."  Louise looked me right in the eyeballs, and she told me in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS what the other independent patternmakers think of Peggy.  Yikes!  Let's just say she agreed with Phylly's opinion.  Three of the blouses I brought are from Peggy's patterns, so I don't feel the same.  Yes, there are tons of mistakes in her patterns, and yes, she isn't the best teacher, but still....  Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.  Absorb the good part, and toss out the bad.

This is Louise Cutting, in case you are wondering who I am talking about tonight.  Her hair is to her shoulders now, and she is a few years older.

Louise was a great help to me.  There are 11 of us students, and just one Louise.  She had us write our names on the white board if we wanted her undivided attention, and she called us by name, one at a time, to come be alone with her for as long as we needed her.  GREAT system!  It worked very well for me.  Phylly too.  She spent a long time with Phylly talking about Full Bust Adjustments.  For my sewing friends that have to do FBA's, you will be shocked to hear that the LARGEST FBA you are allowed to add in width is 1 1/4".  Now Phylly often adds 3 1/2 inches in width.  She showed us a new way to do them though, and that is what Phylly is working on right now.

This is what I am making in Louise's class.  It is her pattern.  I am making the blouse and the skirt. Could I design it with SFD.  Of course!  But Louise wouldn't appreciate that in her class, and neither would Glenda.

Here is what Phylly is making -- the blue one -- another of Louise's patterns:

I took a lot of pictures today, but I left my camera in the classroom.  Phylly and I were beat by the end of the day, and we just wanted to come "home" and get in our jammies.  She is cutting out a garment, but I'm sure not going to.  My stuff is all in the classroom.

We went to bed at 9 PM last night, and we are thinking of going to bed at 8 PM tonight!

Until soon.

Hugs, Joy