Uncommon Threads - Taping in LA

Our Dressing Room!
Amie, Judy (our Producer)and me
For the last 3 months, we’ve worked on specific projects for the show; we’ve broken down our projects for easy demonstration (called step-outs) and basic scripting for conversation during the taping. All that changed the morning we starting taping, but it all worked out pretty darn cool I’d say. Some projects were totally cut from the line-up, which I was OK with (as mine was super small) BUT Amie had a project cut that was extremely time consuming, so I felt really bad for her. All in all, I think we had a great taping, a great director and producer, who allowed us to do a bit of “show and tell” to showcase our crochet designs (hoping this will direct some traffic to our websites for business.)

Working on step-outs before taping, I'm a little nervous here.

Just before we were going to start taping, one of my skeins of yarn got tangled, and Dave, one of the props guys, jumped in and untangled my yarn, gotta love that! He also would re-thread the sewing machine for Allison between “takes”. I’ve decided I’d like a props person around the house, for when I need a little extra help…oh…wait a minute, that’s only in Hollywood.

Dave in from the props dept. untangles my yarn

Yes, our days were long, averaging around 12 hours. We had some down time, got to met another group filming a sewing episode. I LOVED to talk with Jane, the wardrobe guru. She gave me some valuable advice and I plan on following through with her advice on getting a professional haircut. You see, my husband Scott has cut my hair for the last 8 years, just an inch off the bottom every 6 months or so. But it is time to get a ’new do’ I think. I’ve had this hair style for almost a decade. Yep, 10 years, just pull it back, tie it on top, rat and spray. Time to upgrade, hey, I’ve just got back from LA where everyone is beautiful!

Here I am on the set (in the coral shirt) with the crew

Here we are on TV!
Drew, Allison, Amie and me

Here we are showing our bags for one episode. Not sure if we can show our designs, so the bags are blurred, to protect the innocent.

Amie, me and Drew

We are all on set, Allison is demoing some sewing. We look enthralled!

During my travels, I took the opportunity to meet some folks. I met an array of characters; I had layovers each way so I had a total of 4 flights, that’s a lot of people to meet! I had a layover in Phoenix on my way out to LA and I met a nun from India, who looked like a younger version of Mother Teresa. She was traveling from Phoenix to New York, to London, to her home in India to see her dying mother. She told me her story and I starting crying, she gave me a big hug and we wished each other safe travels. I also met a Navy officer from San Diego, on “leave” to go home to Wisconsin, we talked about the military life, as my husband Scott’s brother Steve is in the military and was stationed in San Diego. We also agreed that growing up in the Midwest allows us to easily talk strangers; I told him I talk to everyone, strange or not. I also sat next to a couple from Watts, which is a rough suburb of Los Angeles. They were flying for the very first time, going gambling in Vegas. We talked for a long time about turbulence. They didn’t like turbulence, but liked getting drinks on the plane.

Back in Minnesota, life is just the same, but I feel different. I feel like I've just had every crochet designers fairy tale dream come true, to be on a craft show that features crochet. I will be forever grateful to Amie for bringing me along on this great adventure, I'm thrilled to have met The Crochet Dude, Drew Emborsky. I will cherish every crazy moment and every stress filled rehearsal.

Stay tuned to find out when the 3 epsoides will air on the DIY channel!