Martha's Newsletter - April 7, 2008

FABULOUS JACKET USING THE 2004 IEC ALPHABET!
Maureen Wolter, one of our Martha Pullen Licensed Teachers wore this adorable jacket last week in Pennsylvania. It has the animal alphabet which was FREE with membership in the 2004 IEC. This jacket was so precious on her and it would be adorable on a teacher’s jacket, on children’s clothing, on room decorating, especially a nursery, on a picture spelling out the child’s name--or on so many things. What an adorable end of the year teacher present for a teacher to put on an apron or to make a wall hanging, “Mrs. Davis.” Or you could just put “Davis.” Now if your teacher’s name is not Mrs. Davis you would certainly not want to use Mrs. Davis. Just kidding of course. This would also be a great new baby present in a frame for the baby’s room. Or a great birthday present for any age child. You can join the 2004 IEC by clicking here. You can see all of the back years of the IEC and the designs that are available if you join that particular year. To choose the years of IEC and see the designs, please click here. For the 2004 IEC year’s designs please click here. For the home page for all of the back years of IEC please click here. We have people joining the back years all the time. Thought you might like to see what you might have missed which you can have TODAY-the whole year-for only $59!

Click here to enlarge photo

Click here to order for $29.95!

THANK YOU FROM JANICE IRICK, A NEWLY LICENSED BERNINA TEACHER
I do not know how to truly express to all of you, how thankful I am for your attention to detail, caring for all of us, the great classes and kits, and the knowledge that you pass onto us. The Martha Pullen Company truly has the best education programs and educators that I have ever encountered. I would also like to thank Elva and Bernina for the support, education and providing the sewing machines. I can hardly wait for my new serger to arrive.

Thank You! again for the great job that everyone did. I will see you in Arlington and future licensing programs.

SWEET LETTER ABOUT OUR PENNSYLVANIA EXTRAVAGANZA FROM JOYCE
I would like to thank you and all your staff for a wonderful sewing experience at the PA Sewing Extravaganza, March 26-29th. The teachers were knowledgeable, helpful and generous with their time in assisting us in completing our projects. The materials in the packets were quality and contained more than the amount of material necessary to complete each project. The store was stocked with everything we needed, and the items displayed throughout the stores and the classes provided visual food to stir and encourage our creative juices. This was my second experience participating in a workshop in which you were the featured artist in 2004 or 05, I cannot remember the exact year I attended classes you and some of your teachers facilitated in Ocean City, Maryland and that experience as well was exciting and fulfilling.

I am a member of the Phila Chapter of ASG and will share my excitement with other members of my group regarding this past week. Again I thank you and all your staff, the teachers, store staff and all the helpers. I look forward to having the opportunity to attend the school in Huntsville for both licensing as well as School of Art Fashion.

PLEASE SEND SEWING TIPS AND PROJECTS WITH PICTURES, ESPECIALLY PICTURES WHICH INCLUDE MARTHA PULLEN CD’S, IEC DESIGNS, GIFT OF THE MONTH DESIGNS, PATTERNS, PATTERNS FROM SEW BEAUTIFUL - OUR READERS LOVE TO SEE HOW YOU HAVE USED OUR PRODUCTS!! AND SO DO WE!! PLEASE SEND TO martha.pullen@yahoo.com.

SEWING TIP FROM FRAN Z. FROM TEXAS
I just read the tip to unplug your sewing machine to prevent damage from a power surge. Your machine should be plugged into a surge protector, not the wall outlet. A power surge can happen at any time. When you buy your surge protector, do not buy a really cheap one, spend a little more money to protect your sewing machine investment. We splurge on our fabrics, splurge on your surge protector.

SEWING TIP ABOUT WASH AWAY BASTING THREAD FROM BEVERLY FROM SOUTH CAROLINA
Use pill bottles and one of those little silicon packages that come in shoe boxes - keeps the thread from getting gummy - even here at the beach!

SEWING TIP FROM BARBARA TIDWELL OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE: SAVE YOUR SEW BEAUTIFUL MAGAZINES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS-EVEN A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW! THE PATTERNS AND DESIGNS IN ONE ISSUE ALONE ARE WAY MORE THAN THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE! AND YOU GET TO SUBSCRIBE FOR ALL 6 ISSUES FOR $18!
Let me start by saying I love everything about Sew Beautiful magazine! This year for Easter I let my niece pick out what she wanted for her little girl for Easter. She looked at Issue #111 and fell in love with the Tea Dress. It said in that issue that the pattern was published in the 1989 issue of Sew Beautiful. Luckily, my 87 year old Mother-in-law (who is such a dear person and taught me a lot about heirloom sewing) still had her 1989 issue! I made the dress in pink Swiss batiste with ecru laces. I used my all time favorite embroidery CD - Martha Pullen Crosses - for the embroidery on the front. I left off the last step of embroidery where it outlines everything. It turned out really pretty. And my little 2 year old great-niece proclaimed that she was “gorgeous” in it! Thank you for the great magazine and all the patterns and instructions!!

Click images to enlarge

(Note from Martha: Your dress is gorgeous. This was one of the most requested patterns in all of Sew Beautiful history so we reprinted the pattern as a single pattern which has been a HUGE seller. It is truly magnificent! We also made a CD with the hand embroidery designs from that dress plus many more. This is one of the most gorgeous CDs that we have ever had also! PLEASE, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO Sew Beautiful magazine and keep the issues. The patterns and ideas are timeless and we have a major “pattern company” for you in the pullout sections of Sew Beautiful. I PROMISE THESE PATTERNS IN SEW BEAUTIFUL WILL BE TOTALLY AMAZING IN ONE HUNDRED YEARS! You can subscribe for only $18 if you get this newsletter and I promise YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE WITHOUT THIS MAGAZINE. THE PATTERNS AND EMBROIDERY DESIGNS AND ARTICLES FOR TECHNIQUE AND INSPIRATIONAL PHOTO SHOOTS, THE WOMEN’S CLOTHING, THE CHILDREN’S CLOTHING THE BABY CLOTHING, THE CHRISTENING CLOTHING-I COULD GO ON FOR A WHOLE BOOK! For yourself and for future generations of women in your family who will love to sew, please subscribe now for the ridiculously low price of only $18 for 6 issues! Click here to subscribe.


Click here to order	Click here to order

SEWING TIP FROM PAT CADY
Not sure if this has been sent before, but I purchased a sturdy canvas over the door shoe bag and it stores my rolls of stabilizer. Sure makes finding the right one easier.

SEWING/IRONING TIP FROM DEE IN OHIO
My tip is to always unplug your iron, not just turn it off. I had one burst into flame and burn holes in my ironing board a couple of weeks ago! At a quilt retreat last Oct., other members reported 2 fires from their irons.

Martha's Letter

Dear Sewing Family,

We are having the absolute best time at the Baby Lock Licensing this week. Our ladies hail from sea to shining sea and Canada. I am always amazed that people come from so far to take our classes. About half of the class is here for the first time to be licensed; not necessarily here for their first Martha Pullen event but for a Martha Pullen Licensed Teacher program. The other half have been here many, many times. We had the best time in our two business seminars discussing and discussing business possibilities from teaching to custom sewing and embroidery. This is a very creative group with many experienced teachers as well as those who are going to be teachers. They cannot wait to take these classes back to their students or to begin teaching for the first time.

Two of the ladies shared that they love to have “spend the night” parties in their dealerships. When I was a sewing machine retailer we never had a “sew all night” party but lots of dealers do this. One of our younger teachers in the group stated that she never had done this in her dealership but she was going home to set up this new type of class. One of the greatest benefits and most exciting parts of our licensed teacher program is the learning which takes place from student to student. This group-as all of our groups are-has an absolute world class “think tank” for business ideas as well as for sewing ideas. I’ll have more pictures and news from the Baby Lock licensing next week since it is not over until Wednesday night.

April 2008 Baby Lock Licensing Photos!

Click thumbnails to view more!

    This week I read from a “Needlecraft-The Home Arts Magazine” from April, 1934. The article was entitled “Camp Fire Girls Seek Hobbies.” In a portion of a letter from Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, whose love for knitting is a matter of public record, she wrote: “There is no question but what every girl should begin as young as possible, to build up a variety of hobbies, hobby which can fill quiet hours, or which can take her out into the open air, even hobbies which can, if necessary, supplement her regular work income and still provide her with an outlet which will express her own desire to create something with her hands. To some of us it is cooking, or knitting or pottery or writing. That we should develop every possible avenue, no one who is familiar with the lives of busy, happy people can deny.” It is always amazing to me to realize how timeless is sewing and the sewing arts and how appropriate it is to think of taking one’s hobby and turning it into a business. That is what the licensing program is all about.

    Immediately after the Baby Lock Licensing I head to Tulsa, Oklahoma to B-Sew Inn to conduct a Friday night and Saturday morning presentation on April 11 and 12th. I can’t wait to see Mary Hess (B-Sew Inn) and all of my Oklahoma Baby Lock friends for a couple of days. Phone number at B-Sew Inn is 918-664-4480 if you would like to come for this fun occasion.

    Please go ahead and put June 19-21, 2008 ON YOUR CALENDAR! These are our ARLINGTON, Texas dates! Martha’s Sewing Market, at the Arlington Convention Center, will be celebrating 11 wonderful years. READY TO START SEWING TO WIN FABULOUS PRIZES IN ARLINGTON??? The judged categories for Arlington are 1. Christening Gown (or boy christening suit) 2. Quilts or Quilted Wearables (no larger than 45” by 60”) 3. Women’s Machine Embroidery (clothes or accessories) 4. Baby’s or Children’s Machine Embroidery 5. Machine Embroidery Embellishment on Purchased Items 6. Hand Smocking or Embroidery 7. Textile Creations (anything else such as doll dressing, home dec, hand embroidery, textile arts, beading, accessories.

    The First Place prize in EVERY CATEGORY, will be a collection of Floriani Stabilizers and thread valued at $339. The Second Place prize in every category will be a Rowenta Pressure Iron and Steamer valued at $215. The Third Place prize in every category will be a Sulky Blendables Dream Package of 42 new colors of 30 wt. Blendables thread valued at $209. The Best of Show award chosen from the 7 first place winners of each category will be a $400 gift certificate from the Martha Pullen Booth.

    Some very BIG NEWS FOR ARLINGTON THIS YEAR is a People’s Choice category with the prize being an Ellegante Baby Lock sewing machine!! This is underwritten by Baby Lock USA! Each day every person who has a ticket to the market will get to vote for ANY ENTRY by number on one ticket. The People’s Choice winning entry will be based solely on the number of votes by all of the people who come to the event. It will not necessarily be any of the other winners chosen by the panel of judges. Please get all of your friends to come to the show-3 days-to vote for your entry!

    The pre-day sit and sew classes will be on June 18, 2008. The classes will be day-long classes with one or two projects per day. Cost is $125 per day and includes classes, kits and lunch. Martha Pullen and Dody Baker will teach French Lace T-Bonnet and Linen and Lace Envelope Pillows. Louise Cutting will teach “Cutting It Apart..Sit and Sew..All Day..All New.” John Flynn will teach Dresden Plate and Arabic Lattice. Kathy McMakin will teach Heirloom Camisole by Serger and Heirloom Lingerie Bag by Serger. I will let you know when registrations begin for these pre-day classes. Phone registrations only.

    We have THREE huge celebrity events-FREE to daily ticket holders. John Flynn, quilting celebrity (underwritten by Janome) will speak on Thursday evening. Sue Hausmann (underwritten by Husqvarna/Viking) will speak on Friday night on the topic “Give the Gift of Sewing” and bring tons of fabulous gift making ideas. Eileen Roche, Founder and Editor of Designs in Machine Embroidery magazine, (underwritten by Baby Lock) will present a machine embroidery professional fashion show on Saturday around noon. Each of these celebrity events will be totally FREE to ticket holders. A Janome machine will be the door prize drawing for John Flynn; a Husqvarna/Viking embellisher will be the door prize for the Sue Hausmann event; a Baby Lock Ellegante will be the door prize for the Eileen Roche Event. WOW WHAT EVENTS AND WHAT DOOR PRIZES!

    We have never had special event door prizes at Arlington like this - ever, ever. After purchasing a daily admission ticket, your classes (over 70 choices daily) will be FREE. You will be able to take 5 classes on Thursday and Friday (plus the John Flynn and Sue Hausmann evening events) and 3 classes on Saturday. Plus, ticket holders will have admission to Eileen Roche’s machine embroidery professional fashion show. Please e-mail angie@marthapullen.com to be on the list to be mailed a brochure when they are ready in about a month. I will have the brochure on the website when it is ready. THE SEWING CONTEST will be bigger and better than ever with fabulous prizes. You need to make a $5 donation to Cook County Children’s Hospital for each of your entries.

    We are thrilled by your UNBELIEVABLE EARLY REGISTRATIONS for the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion in July! PLEASE CALL TODAY IF YOU PLAN TO COME. I DON’T WANT YOU TO BE DISAPPOINTED WITH A CLASS BEING FULL! It is my 65th birthday party celebration-AND I AM NOT RETIRING. No birthday presents please, just your presence is desired. You can click here to see the FABULOUS line up of classes including the classes the kids are taking. Call 1-800-547-4176 ext. 105 or 106. I am so sorry we cannot accept e-mail registrations-only phone or fax. We check the fax machines often.

    I pray for our men and women serving in harm’s way and for their families. I pray for you and your family. I pray especially for those of you who are feeling like your prayers aren’t being answered. I have found that God has several answers to my prayers. Yes, No or Wait a While. Waiting for God’s answer is very difficult for me and possibly for you. Please don’t feel that God is not listening or that he does not care. I know that God is sovereign. He is perfect. He does not make mistakes. I also have learned throughout my lifetime that God has perfect timing in his decision making. Always know you are in my thoughts and prayers. All week long I think about things to share in this newsletter which you would enjoy. I deeply appreciate your letting me come into your home each week. We deeply appreciate every purchase you make from Martha Pullen company and I promise we never take you for granted. Thank you for all you do for me, personally, and for this business.

May God Bless You,
Martha

SEW BEAUTIFUL MAGAZINE!!!

SPECIAL SEW BEAUTIFUL OFFER: The regular price of a Sew Beautiful magazine subscription is already a bargain at $24.99, but for a limited time, you may order a one year subscription to Sew Beautiful for only $18.00! This fabulous offer applies to both personal and gift subscriptions and that means you and your friends will be receiving six issues of Sew Beautiful for only $3.00 each! To take advantage of this wonderful offer, click here for a personal subscription or click here to give a gift subscription! You can also call 1-888-825-5823 (U.S. only) to purchase a subscription.

We have a survey for Sew Beautiful readers. Please click here to give us some feedback on Sew Beautiful magazine.

News and Sales
April 7th - 14th, 2008

Retail: $12.00
Sale: $9.60

Click to order

Heirloom Tea Dress
Sew Beautiful Collection pattern
By Judith Dobson

While Supplies Last

Retail: $40.00
Sale: $32.00

Click to order

Heirloom Tea Dress
Machine Embroidery CD

While Supplies Last

MARTHA PULLEN LICENSED TEACHER WEEKS

The licensing dates are scheduled as listed below:

Martha Pullen/Teaching Beginners Licensing - July 11-17. 2008
Martha Pullen/Serger Licensing - September 12-19, 2008
Martha Pullen/Husqvarna/Viking III Licensing - October 1-8, 2008
Martha Pullen/Pfaff Licensing - October 10-17, 2008

For more info, call 800-547-4176 ext. 107, 131 or 108. Or visit our licensing info page: Licensing Link

TO CONTACT US BY PHONE: 800-547-4176 ext. 2 or 256-533-9586

TO e-mail ONE OF OUR DEPARTMENTS, choose from this list:
catalog@marthapullen.com (send your postal address to request a color catalog)
orders@marthapullen.com (for order questions)
wholesale@marthapullen.com (for wholesale questions)
SWBcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com (for Sew Beautiful subscriptions)
schools@marthapullen.com (for School of Art Fashion)
licensing@marthapullen.com (for teacher licensing questions)
embroidery@marthapullen.com (for Internet Embroidery Club)
markets@marthapullen.com (for our sewing markets)
martha.pullen@yahoo.com – MARTHA'S PERSONAL E-MAIL ADDRESS

SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK

1 JOHN 4:19
“We love him, because he first loved us.”

This is part of a message delivered Sunday morning, December 19th, 1858, by the Rev. Charles H. Spurgeon at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens, London, England.. Many of you know of my love of Rev. Spurgeon’s sermons. This selection from a sermon entitled “Love” seemed just as appropriate today as it was in 1858. Please, if you want to be spiritually fed go to a number of websites and read Rev. Spurgeon’s sermons.

“Brethren, it is a common thing with us all to love only a part of Christ’s body, and not to love the whole; but if we love him we should love all his people. When we are on our knees in prayer, I fear that when we are praying for the church we do not mean all that we say. We are praying for our church, our section of it. Now, he that loves Christ, if he be a Baptist, he loves the doctrine of baptism, because he knows it to be Scriptural; but, at the same time wherever he sees the grace of God to be in any man’s heart, he loves him because he is a part of the living church, and he does not withhold his heart, his hand, or his house from him, because he happens to differ on some one point. I pray that the church in these days may have a more loving spirit towards herself. We ought to delight in the advance of every denomination. Is the Church of England rousing from its sleep? Is she springing like a phoenix, from her ashes? God be with her, and God bless her! Is another denomination leading the van, and seeking by its ministers to entice the wanderer into the house of God? God be with it! Is the Primitive Methodist labouring in the hedge and ditch, toiling for his Master? God help Him. If ye loved Christ better ye would love all Christ’s church, and all Christ’s people.”

RECIPE FOR THE WEEK from the editors Taste of the South, a magazine about the food and rich food heritage of the South. Each issue of Taste of the South features more than 60 easy recipes, which we know you will adore. It’s published by Hoffman Media of which Martha Pullen Company is a subsidiary. Thanks to their editors for sharing these recipes with us. If you have questions concerning these recipes, please contact taste@southernladymagazine.com, or Hoffman's main number, (888) 411-8995. Click here to subscribe to Taste of the South for $15.98 a year.

Cornbread is a tasty addition to a fresh spring salad. For more recipes like these, see the February/March issue of Taste of the South magazine.

BLT Cornbread Salad
Yield: 8 servings
Preparation: 20 minutes
Bake: 15 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Cool: 20 minutes
Refrigerate: 3 hours

Cornbread:

1 egg
2/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup self-rising cornmeal mix

Salad:

1 pound bacon, cut into small pieces
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Lettuce leaves

Preheat oven to 450°. Grease a 10-inch cast-iron skillet; place in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes or until hot. In a medium bowl, beat egg. Add all remaining cornbread ingredients; mix just until combined. Pour into hot greased skillet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 20 minutes.

While cornbread is baking, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels. In a large bowl, combine cooked bacon, tomatoes, onions, and parsley. Add mayonnaise and pepper; mix to coat. Cut cornbread into 1/2-inch pieces. Add cornbread to salad, tossing gently to mix. Cover tightly; refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight, before serving. Serve over lettuce, if desired.

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