Decorative Trivet
This year BERNINA University, the annual BERNINA Dealer Convention, was held in VERY hot Washington, DC. BU gives the dealers an opportunity to attend a wide variety of classes to learn about new products and brush up on skills using those that have been in the line for a while.
I had the pleasure to co-present a class focusing on several accessories: the Binder Attachment; the Spanish Hemstitch Attachment; the Walking Foot with the new Central Guide Sole; and the Needle Punch Tool. During the class, the attendees learned how to create a perfect miter with the Binder Attachment.
The class project was a decorative trivet. The front of the trivet was a modified 9-patch pieced top with a band of ribbons that were sewn together using the Spanish Hemstitch Attachment and a decorative stitch. I have to say, this attachment has been added to my list of favorites!
On the back of the trivet we played with the Needle Punch Tool; this was everyone’s favorite part of the class, hands down. To give the project more dimension, a flower was cut from yellow felt using the CutWork Software and Tool and needle punched in the center of the flower to the backing felt. The petals were embellished with contrasting yarns, and leaves were added to the background using a green variegated yarn. Some of the attendees claimed creative license on their project by adding scraps of yarns in the open areas of the back.
When I created the prototype for the project, the fabrics I used were more traditional kitchen fabrics with fruits and berries. However, we wanted to jazz up the project using something a little brighter. I sometimes find it difficult to go outside my comfort zone when selecting fabrics; so, I went to one of my local BERNINA dealers to solicit their assistance.
Upon my arrival, I told the owner, Ronna Hammel of Ready to Sew BERNINA, the reason for my visit. She immediately said, “This is the girl for you!” … she was pointing to her 5-year-old granddaughter, Merrick Hammel, who was sitting on a stool watching as fabric for her new pajamas project was being measured and cut.
Merrick jumped off the stool and made quick work of selecting my fabrics. She had them picked out within 10 minutes … something that would have been a painstaking process for me. And I must say she did a fabulous job! The attendees were thrilled with the fabrics used.
Merrick is a precocious young lady and a sewing prodigy. Unfortunately, school will take her away from the store and I will have to make an appointment with her to schedule my next visit for picking fabric.
Visit your local BERNINA dealer for more information about the accessories used in this project.
