Celebrate with us as we showcase some of our top QVP products this month! Get ready for the fall and those warm projects you have coming up using our QVP line!
Our Haruka TL-18QVP is perfect for those fall bags, and heavy quilts we all love! Bring industrial technology into your home; this machine can go from straight stitch to free motion quilting for all your project needs. The Kokochi DX-4000QVP is one of our state-of-the-art machines! offering touch screen capabilities, a large sewing space, and an abundance of features, this machine truly gives you that ‘good feeling’! Don’t forget to check out our MO-2000QVP! Perfect for giving your projects that clean finish, this machine offers automatic needle threaders, air threading, and more to make sure your project ends on a high note.
Like many others, Mellissa, better known as Lissa, looked up to her older sister growing up and watched her sew. When Lissa was in fifth grade, she took her first sewing class at her local Ben Franklin. Creating an adorable lime green with bright pink apples trimmed with pink ric-rac pinafore and shorts, Lissa tried following her sister’s footsteps by creating projects with no patterns. She quickly realized it was not as easy as she thought and left the clothing construction to her sister. However, this didn’t shy her away from sewing but encouraged her to look into different projects Lissa could create. One day, she stumbled upon quilting and found herself transfixed with it!
“Quilts don’t have to fit anyone.”
Photo: Moda Lissa
The idea of quilts changed her life. No longer was she trying to hem and follow a body type, but now she was tackling a different puzzle! With a father in engineering, she took to quilting like a math problem, creating patterns in her artwork. After marriage and having kids, Lissa kept up with her hobby by working at a local quilt shop a few evenings a month and on Saturdays. Eventually, she started teaching classes and was hired to open a quilt store. Nine years later, she began a position as the Director of Marketing for Moda Fabrics.
Working at Moda Fabrics, Lissa started collaborating with all different types of designers. Sewing various projects from fabrics those designers crated and creating combinations no one could’ve predicted! Lissa created pieces of art that were as beautiful as they were different. Her favorite challenge with each project was seeing how many different designers she could place on one project.
“It just makes me happy. As I touch each piece I think of the designer, the name of the fabric line, and how fortunate I am to have them as friends.”
Photo: Moda Lissa
As time went on, Lissa began creating patterns she wanted to share with others. Inspired by a high school story where she introduced herself to the class, she came up with a clever tactic to make her peers remember her name. Cutting a picture of the Mona Lisa and gluing yellow yarn to represent her blonde hair, she created a plan! Everyone knew about the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci and all they had to do to remember her name was to think of the Mona Lisa but with blonde hair. Years later, after starting her position in Moda Fabrics, she called it a no-brainer when she created the nickname Moda Lissa for her media.
Lissa’s first solo pattern book, “OH SCRAP” was published after experiencing a series of seizures diagnosed as a subdural hematoma resulting in brain surgery. While recuperating, she was offered the opportunity by Martingale Publishing to create her first pattern book. Continuing forward, Lissa would begin working on the Sisterhood of Scraps and Scrap School. Working with some of the best quilters in the industry sewing scrap quilts, she learned new skills and techniques for her projects. While her books focus on the usage of a scrap quilt, her main goal has always been to encourage freedom for quilters to play and create with fabric.
“You may have always heard that quilting is therapy and it certainly was for me. I love learning and exploring how the publishing world works was very exciting.”
Photo: Moda Lissa
As Lissa continues to sew on her baby Junie, our TL-2000Qi named after her aunt, she hopes to start sewing apparel in the future. With her two granddaughters and three grandsons, she’s excited to start creating their Halloween costumes and more in the future. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for Lissa’s next pattern book! Lissa’s goal is to continue her pattern creations and helping sewers like you have fun.
To learn more about Lissa and her story follow her on the links below and check out her site to see her pattern books!
If there’s one thing our community loves, it’s a sewing challenge! If this is the first time hearing about a sewing challenge, it’s essentially a task set up on social media with rules as to how to complete your new project. These challenges can be for a day, a week, or even a month but all come with one main goal: you getting up and sewing!
Sewing challenges are a great way to be a part of the community. With so many people working on a similar project simultaneously, it can help you feel like you’re not sewing alone. The opportunity to join and share your work is always exciting! Using these hashtags to challenge yourself and show off what you create is part of the fun. Sometimes we all need that little push, like a challenge, to get us sewing again.
THE CHALLENGE >>
This month we’re making our own #JUKIJulyChallenge, and we want every one of you JUKI Lovers to join! Your goal is simple, create something that screams the beach! It could be anything from quilting to fashion that represents what visiting the beach (or lake) means to you.
Think of this as a fun new challenge to get your creative side flowing. Take the time to sit down and create something new with low pressure and think about what summer means to you!
Celebrating National Small Business Month with JUKI Dealers
Owned by a team of family and friends, we’re proud to share The Stitching Store located in Covington, TN! Recently The Stitching Store has changed ownership to a trusted friend, Nicole, who recently purchased the shop. Being an employee before buying the shop, Nicole was able to gain experience in the sewing and quilting world.
Inspired by her mother, who created beautiful outfits and crib set for Nicole’s newborn daughter, she joined the world of quilting. Close to her mother, Nicole shared with us her favorite memory of being in the shop is her mother sewing her heart out every day there.
Offering a range of services, The Stitching Store is an excellent place for all your quilting and sewing needs. Feel free to stop by and turn your gorgeous quilt tops into quilts with their machines, where they offer both edge-to-edge quilting and free motion for more delicate tops. Find comfort in their classes available each month that focus on basic sewing and quilting and are held on a one-on-one basis to focus on you.
When you’re doing the project on your own, they can help there too! Having various sewing machines and models to choose from, they offer free lessons when you purchase one of their sewing machines and a two-year warranty on your favorite JUKI’s! Whether you’re looking for fabric, notions, patterns, or custom-sewn items, they make sure to supply what you need.
Make sure to check out their repair offers as well. When you’re having trouble with your machine, their trusty teammate Randy is there to help. Able to work on both old and new sewing machines, find comfort in knowing your sewing machine is in good hands.
If you’re in the area, make sure to stop by and say JUKI sent you! Visit them at http://www.TheStitchingStore.net to learn more about what Nicole and her team can do for you today!
*Photo Credit: The Stitching Store Facebook Media Page
If you’re interested in The Stitching Store check them out today and follow their information below!
Sewing and quilting have long been a hobby for many people. Some turn to it to let their creative minds be free. Some find comfort in creating things for a family. Some enjoy it because it brings in extra income. Whatever your reason, you turned to sewing. As society has grown and changed, sewing and quilting have stuck around for ages!
A woman machine quilting/sewing three layers to create a grid pattern on a patriotic quilt.
At JUKI, we’ve been around for decades and have seen the changes in the sewing community. Still, one thing has stayed consistent, people’s happiness when they get their new machine and start working on new projects. The heart of sewing is often found in family hobbies being passed down, finding a pastime that brings tranquility and satisfaction in getting something done right.
Sewing in history was a meaning of expression during hard times. Whether used as a tool to bring privacy and comfort or sewing and quilting parties, sewing throughout time has brought the community together. As social media has grown, we’ve been able to find history through fabric and threads from around the world. From being hung in museums to art showcases, this channel of communicating with others is universal.
The therapeutic sense of sewing and quilting is a significant factor in many people’s days. Through non-profit organizations, systems like our prisons have created a safe space for those transitioning back into the outside world. As a way of offering a new art form and sense of expression, many of those incarcerated find this therapeutic. Some programs even allow them to sell their work and create savings when it’s time to go.
Photo by Ksenia Chernaya on Pexels.com
Also, sewing is a channel of occupational therapy for our veterans. The ability to learn sewing and quilting allows veterans to communicate through their work and even make a living. This has helped many veterans handle their mental scars. The self-confidence that grows when learning a new trade and completing a project can work wonders for anyone!
The relationship between creativity and well-being is a common subject. Whether it is found in sports, painting, or quilting, concentrating on a project has proved to assist in inner turmoil and relax one’s mind. At JUKI, we love that so many people find comfort when sewing on our machines. We know the importance of having a machine that will keep you going and excited to work!
Learn more about the programs and their stories that assist those who turn to sewing for therapy below!
sewinwithjuki.com 