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[Note: something weird is going on with the spacing. Weebly is acting strange today; I tried to fix, but can't. Apologies!]

I wonder if I could pull off a dress like this? Perhaps once the last few pounds of dreaded baby weight are gone! Seriously, Iwas so in love with all of the button displays at this year’s CHA. This one isfrom Jesse James BeadsJHB had some lovely displays, too, including their new line of Vintage Chic and stacked buttons.
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 Oh, I also got to meet Suede, of Project Runway fame. He was hanging out at the Simplicity booth,talking about his new line of “Suede says” patterns he’s doing for them. Igrabbed one of the cute skirt patterns in the collection. Each pattern hasoptions for making the piece “flirty,” “edgy,” or “classic.” Suede said thathe’d be happy to do a Q&A with me, so look for that in the coming months!In the meantime, I’m going to try to figure out which description fits me. Ithink Suede needs a 4th category: “postpartum.”

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 When I came back from lunch on Saturday, I enteredthrough the door right next to the Kunin Group’s booth. I was immediately drawnto the amazing felt creations, like the pillows above. What was this stuff, I wondered? Must be wool felt, I thought.
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Wool felt? Think again. It's your oldest friend, polyester, but it's never looked better!
 It turns out, all of these lovely lovelies were madewith that basic craft felt that you find in Jo-Ann’s! I don’t know about you,but I’ve always sort of looked down on craft felt as cheap and polyester andsuitable mostly for kids’ art projects. But their display is definitely makingme take a second look. Plus, their Eco-Fi felt is nowmade from recycled plastic bottles. Yes, it’s still polyester, but they tookthe trouble to get UL certification, meaning that their products contain aminimum of 95 percent post-consumer recycled content. As George Stellmach, thenational sales and marketing manager told me, the bottles are just going to gointo a landfill—why not use them. Good point.
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 Wool felt is lovely—no one can deny that. And all thebetter if you are felting it yourself, using old wool sweaters. But thepolyester felt is a pretty good alternative, especially if you’re on a budget.

I think that about wraps up my CHA coverage. I'm still working on my post about why I've decided technology is a good thing, and I need to quit being such a scaredy-pants about it.

7/1/2023 08:08:30 am

Thanks for wwriting this

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