Meet the Experts: Juliette Lanvers

Meet Juliette Lanvers, sewing instructor, pattern designer and WeAllSew blogger. Her recent blog posts include the Heirloom Table Topper tutorial and the Red Halloween Cape. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, her young son and two rather large cats. She shares her love of sewing through her personal blog http://www.chickpeastudio.typepad.com/ where you can find more inspirations from Juliette.

• How did you learn to sew?

I learned to sew as a teenager with my mother, but I only started loving the craft when a friend of mine displaced by Hurricane Katrina taught me to quilt. I was so taken that I completely turned my back on years of chemistry studies to start sewing full time.

• Where are you from?

I was born a little over thirty years ago in the Loire Valley in France. I moved to the US in 2001 after meeting my husband, a visiting student in the South of France.

• Tell us about your favorite recent sewing project.

Lately I’ve been focusing on machine embroidery and coiled bowls. They are as different as can be and it keeps things interesting! I make custom covers in wool to store silver and gold plated antique silverware, which I embroider with our monogram.

The bowls are meant to hold citrus fruits or crafting tools and I have such a long list of takers that I haven’t had a chance to keep a single one for myself. I will be teaching the technique in March at The Pioneer Craft House here in Salt Lake City, in a public class.

• What machine do you currently sew on?

As part of the WeAllSew group of writers I have the privilege to sew and embroider on the B 580. It is no doubt the finest sewing machine I have ever used.

• What is your favorite sewing tip/tool?

Invest in your sewing machine and steam iron; failure of both those tools will lead you to abandon your projects. Even children should be given access to the best; I hold my four-year-old on my knees while I work and make sure he understands the “specialness” of my tools without fearing using them himself when time comes.