We are big fans of Teresa Coates and the wonderful team at Shannon Fabrics. Teresa has been a regular contributor in our annual #SewPINK Initiative and has been a dedicated promoter of ByAnnie's Stiletto & Pressing Tool.
It's our honor to be able to promote Teresa's next sewing adventure, as she and Hawke hit the road to take Sew Together Tuesday to quilt shops all around the nation!
Use the buttons above to jump forward in the blog, or continue reading to learn more about Teresa's sewing life and her upcoming adventure.
Who is Teresa Coates?
How did you begin sewing?
Sewing is definitely my happy place!
I’ve been sewing since I was about 10 years old. My mother has always sewn and my great grandmother was an avid quilter, so I think it’s in the blood. I sewed a lot of my own clothes when I was younger and then when my kids were born, I started making quilts. I didn’t have anyone to teach me, so I learned from library books. Since then it’s grown into something that occupies much of my time, both as a hobby and as my career.
How did you begin your career at Shannon Fabrics?
I started working for Shannon Fabrics about five years ago when the company decided they should bring on someone whose main focus was education. I’d been teaching in quilt shops in Portland, Oregon for years and loved it, so this was a great opportunity to stretch my wings a little and expand my skill set. Since the beginning, I’ve traveled to teach in-person workshops in local quilt shops, which is my favorite place to teach, honestly.
What is Sew Together Tuesday?
While I’d been teaching in stores previously, when the pandemic required us to stay home, we had to pivot and find a new way to teach. Our marketing team had done a handful of tutorials before which we had called Sew Together Tuesdays, but hadn’t really gotten off the ground.
The pandemic was strangely the perfect opportunity to get it going regularly. So every Tuesday I taught a class using Cuddle® fabrics and my partner, Hawke Hamilton filmed it, broadcasting live on the Shannon Fabrics Facebook page.
Since so many others were home, too, it really struck a chord with folks and we developed a bit of a following. In January, we started broadcasting live on both Facebook and YouTube, which has been exciting because it opens the show up to a broader audience.
What inspired you to take Sew Together Tuesday on the road?
In mid-spring I started hearing from shops who wanted to know when I’d be getting back to teaching in-person. We didn’t really have a timeline to do so since the Sew Together Tuesdays were doing so well.
I didn’t want to give up those weekly tutorials—I’ve heard from so many people who had started sewing Cuddle® fabrics or just started sewing in general after finding our videos and I felt like we’d really developed a relationship with our viewers. The other part of me really missed the travel and being with sewists and quilters in their local shops.
My partner was going to have to start looking for full-time work again and we thought “What if the two of us do these live from quilt shops instead of my home sewing studio?!”
We proposed the idea and just a few months later we are getting ready to pack an RV and spend the next three months visiting shops across America. We will be doing our Sew Together Tuesday in front of a live audience in the shop, then sticking around for a day or two to teach more classes. I can’t wait to see everyone in the shops again!
How were you introduced to ByAnnie’s Stiletto and Pressing Tool?
I first used the Stiletto and Pressing Tool years ago when I made the A Place for Everything bag. It took me at least a year to finish it because I didn’t know about that tool until about halfway through and I was really struggling controlling the binding.
Annie suggested I try it and it made all the difference. I didn’t think about using it with the Cuddle® until I started teaching how to do Cuddle® binding and realized it was a game changer. It is perfect for all sorts of uses when working with Cuddle® because it helps me control the fabric so much better than I ever could with just my fingers! The bonus is that I can use it to pull the fibers out of the seams and really make it look beautiful.
Links & Resources
Do you have any recommendations for introducing someone to your fabric & stiletto techniques?
I use the stiletto in just about every Sew Together Tuesday episode! But these are great videos that demonstrate how I use it:
- Basic Binding Techniques for Cuddle® Plush Fabric.
- Minky Plush Fabric Binding Sewing Tips.
- How to Sew Cuddle® Slippers
- (I put the stiletto to the test and used both Soft and Stable and the Stiletto and Pressing Tool.)
Want to catch up on past episodes of Sew Together Tuesday?
Other Great Links
- Visit the Shannon Fabrics' blog for updates on Teresa's trip, and other exciting sewing adventures.
- While you're on the blog, subscribe to Shannon Fabrics' newsletter to stay up to date on upcoming videos and events
- Hawke and Teresa will also be documenting their adventures in their joint blog. http://www.makersatlarge.com/
July
- Sew Together Tuesday: Christmas in July (7/13)
- Christmas Cuddle® Patchwork Pillow (7/13)
- Lucky the Lab Workshop (7/14)
- Self-Binding Blanket Workshop with Teresa Coates (7/23)
- Luxe Cuddle Throw Workshop with Teresa Coates (7/23)
- Nutty Nag (by The Rustic Horseshoe) with Teresa Coates (7/24)
July 13-14, 2021
Cali Quilt Co (Rancho Cordova, CA)
July 23-24
Old Alley Quilt Shop (Sherburn, MN)
- Unicorn & Llama Stuffed Animal Workshop (7/17)
- Luxe Cuddle Throw Workshop with Teresa Coates (7/27)
- Beginner Box Workshop with Teresa Coates (7/28)
- Embroidery/Cuddle Pillow Workshop with Teresa Coates (7/28)
July 17
The Fig Leaf (Fort Collins, CO)
July 27-28
Red Roxy Quilt Shop (Decorah, IA)
- Sew Together Tuesday: How to Sew an Easy and Luxurious Throw (7/20)
- Luxe Cuddle® Throw Workshop with Teresa Coates (7/20)
- Sweet Strip Throw Workshop with Teresa Coates (7/31)
July 20
The Quilt Shop (Wakefield, NE)
July 31
Time Flies Quilt & Sew (Nagaunee, MI)
August
- Sew Together Tuesday: How to Make a Lullaby Quilt Kit (8/3)
- Self Binding Blanket Workshop with Teresa Coates (8/3)
- Double Gauze Scout Tee Workshop with Teresa Coates (8/4)
- Sew Together Tuesday: Longarm Quilting with Cuddle® (8/17)
- Sew Together Tuesday: How to Foundation Paper Piece with Cuddle® (8/31)
- Beginner Box Workshop with Teresa Coates (8/31)
- Embrace Doube Gauze Top Workshop with Teresa Coates (9/1)
August 3-4
Blue Bar Quilts (Madison, WI)
August 17
Sew It UP Bernina (Hurst, TX)
August 31-September 1
KC Maker Studio (Kansas City, MO)
- Embrace Double Gauze Infinity Scarf Workshop with Teresa Coates (8/7 AM)
- Luxe Cuddle® Throw Workshop with Teresa Coates (8/7 PM)
- Workshop with Teresa Coates (8/18)
August 7
Always in Stitches (Noblesville, IN)
August 18-21
Original Sewing and Quilting Expo with Sew It UP Bernina (Dallas, TX)
Link to the Sewing & Quilting Expo event
- Sew Together Tuesday: How to Sew a Hooded Towel (8/10)
- Self-Binding Blanket Workshop with Teresa Coates (8/11)
- Sew Together Tuesday: How to Make a Luxe Cuddle® Ottoman (8/24)
- Throw Pillow Workshop with Teresa Coates (8/24)
- Patchwork Cuddle® Quilt Workshop with Teresa Coates (8/25)
August 10
Quilt Beginnings (Dublin, OH)
August 24-25
Poppy Quilt & Sew (Georgetown, TX)
September
- Self Binding Blanket Workshop with Teresa Coates (9/3)
- Beginner Box with Teresa Coates (9/3)
- Throw Pillow Workshop with Teresa Coates (9/4)
- Sew Simple Blanket Workshop with Teresa Coates (9/4)
- Sew Together Tuesday: How to Make Super Soft Stuffed Animals (9/14)
- Kimberbear Workshop with Teresa Coates (9/14)
- Cuddle® Patchwork Quilt Workshop with Teresa Coates (9/15)
September 3-4
The Pin Cushion (Mitchell, SD)
September 14-15
Backdoor Quilt Shoppe (Billings, MT)
- Sew Together Tuesday: How to Make A Cuddle® Strip Throw (9/7)
- Luxe Cuddle® Throw Workshop (9/7)
September 7
Sew On & Sew North (Langdon, ND)
- Luxe Cuddle® Throw Workshop with Teresa Coates (9/10)
- Sew Simple Blanket Workshop with Teresa Coates (9/10)
- Read to Me kit Workshop with Teresa Coates (9/11)
Sew Together Tuesday with Teresa Coates