We recently had the opportunity to teach at the Pinner’s conferences in Salt Lake City, UT and Phoenix, AZ. All three of us love teaching the classes. It’s so nice to meet new people and introduce them to cuddle fabrics. In Salt Lake City and Phoenix we taught the textured edge blanket and cuddle applique blanket classes. We also had the opportunity to teach a slipper class in Phoenix.

Cuddle can be incredibly frustrating, and we acknowledge that. It’s a knit fabric, which means it stretches. It’s soft and fluffy which is why we all love it, but that also means it slides while you try and pin it and sew with it. It’s polyester, so even though we love to use it for applique you have to be careful that you don’t melt it. It’s not easy, but we promise, it’s worth it.

We just hope our students leave our classes feeling like they CAN use cuddle fabric and that they don’t need to be afraid of it. Also, for all those people who came to our classes having never sewn before: you are amazing! If you were willing to try using cuddle fabric as your first-ever sewing project you can conquer anything!

For anyone who left frustrated, know you are not alone. I have definitely cried over a cuddle project a time or two. Don’t give up! Cuddle fabrics are surprisingly forgiving. You probably won’t notice that your lines are a little wonky when you turn your project right side out. Give yourself some grace. Working with cuddle is a great exercise for recovering perfectionists like me. It’s nearly impossible to get it perfect and you’ll quickly learn it doesn’t need to be perfect for it to still beautiful and something that you’ll love for a long time.

I know we live in a world of instant gratification (who else gets surprised when something doesn’t ship in two days) but working with this fabric is a great opportunity to practice slowing down. Understand that the fluffier and more luxuriously soft your fabric is, the slower you should move. Try to enjoy the process! It’s not always easy but the more you practice the better you’ll get at enjoying the sometimes tedious journey. And, as an added bonus, your projects will continue to improve as well.

We are so grateful for the opportunity to teach these classes and we hope that we help you feel empowered to try something new. Honestly, that’s part of why we love Pinner’s Conference so much. We get the chance to spend time together and we get try new things too. In Salt Lake City we attended a brush lettering class and we had the opportunity to learn how to uses tombow pens and water brushes to watercolor. In Arizona we sat in on a couple of cooking classes, took a floral drawing class, and Kira and I made some adorable signs for our bathroom.

As we sat in the floral drawing class we thought it would be really fun to create a coloring page as a gift for you all. Unfortunately I put the pro in procrastinate and I just barely finished the design last night. Hopefully you have access to a printer tonight or some time tomorrow because I’d love to see these little pages get used. Hopefully they can help keep the little people entertained while you’re busy getting dinner ready. Try sitting and coloring with the kids. It can be a great activity to connect and communicate. Kids can talk without the pressure of feeling like all the attention is on them. Some adults may feel more comfortable opening up this way too. Or try using it as a meditative exercise just for you. Coloring can give you a chance to slow down, enjoy the process, and think about what you have to be grateful for this year.

I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you: our customers, students, and readers. Thank you for coming to our classes. We love meeting you! Thank you for buying our patterns and sharing your projects with us! We love celebrating your successes! Thank you for your feedback and thank you for reaching out to us when you need help! We love communicating with you! Most of all, thank you for being willing to try new things. Your support is what makes this little business possible, so, thank you!

Happy Thanksgiving!