A Whirlwind Week...

After a whirlwind week traveling in Oregon presenting “America Sews On The Road Shows”, today, Herb and I are sitting in airports trying to get back home to Cleveland. It seems a huge snowstorm has hit Cleveland and the airport is closed. There are six Continental “red eye” flights from the west coast every night and as of now only two are still on the boards to go. They flew us from Portland to Seattle this morning and we are “holding our breath” hoping the Seattle to Cleveland “red eye” goes tonight. A “red eye” flight is one that departs between 10pm and 1am and arrives at your destination between 5am and 7am. I’m sure you understand why travelers on these flights have “red eyes”.

Many people think a job like mine that is constant travel is really glamorous!? The fun of travel wears off very quickly but Herb and I love my job so the travel is the means to do it and to meet and share with people who love to sew all over the world. It was pretty funny to see Herb on the floor in front of the ticket counter rearranging all the suitcases this morning to try to get them each near 50 pounds! This is another challenge of air travel today. When we opened them up the ticket agent could not believe we had very few clothes and 3 ½ suitcases full of quilts, pillows, felting, embroidery and “sew” much more! I almost ended up giving a demonstration right there! She saw one of the books and said “Husqvarna Viking! Tell you what, if you give me a new Husqvarna Viking, I’ll pay for your excess baggage weight! I have had a Husqvarna Viking for years but now I really want that new one that embroiders!” The wonderful world of sewers!

Right after Puyallup, we visited good friends and my nieces in Poulsbo and Sammamish. Little Bailey, my 1 year old grandniece smiled the whole time we were there! I really wanted to tell my nieces about why I am working on genealogy but must keep it a secret from everyone a little longer. I had a wonderful e-mail from a gentleman this week with the ship logs from my Great Grandfather’s trip from Sweden to America. He clarified that the names were not changed as immigrants entered this country and the ship manifests always showed their name for immigration however many people “Americanized” their names as a part of their embracing their new country, America.

We drove South to present programs in Oregon. More than 125 people came to the Hillsboro Fair Grounds for the America Sews Road Show hosted by Hillsboro Sew and Vac and Viking Distributing. The event was held in the Cloverleaf Building so I shared how I learned to sew in 4-H when I was 10 and what fun it was to exhibit at the Lake County Fair and to win a trip to the State Fair with the black gingham shirtwaist dress I had sewn.

Here is Holly in her embroidered sweater! Love the “walk away” embroidery on the back!


The ladies poured in and enjoyed home made cookies and goodies before the program started. It was exciting to share the joy of sewing on the Husqvarna Viking Designer SE Limited Edition and to tell them about the special added value package and the $1,000. shopping spree! A number of the attendees went home with new Husqvarna Viking Sewing Machines and Huskylock sergers! I autographed all the new Husqvarna Viking sewing machines to their new owners, however, many who purchased the Designer SE Limited Edition are thinking about the 1 year full exchange/upgrade offer where they can exchange their Designer SE Limited Edition for the new Husqvarna Viking top-of-the-line and get the full amount they paid for their Designer SE Limited Edition. I did not personalize their name, only autographed Happy Sewing, Sue Hausmann and the date so that when their Designer SE Limited Edition is “adopted” by a wonderful new owner they will have the autograph too!

Be sure to ask your Husqvarna Viking Dealer about the value added package, shopping spree and 1 year upgrade/exchange. It is offered at all participating US Husqvarna Viking stores. Many stores already have started their a list for priority delivery of the new top-of-the-line Husqvarna Viking and another list of customers ready to “adopt” the exchanged Designer SE Limited Editions! Be sure to get on one of the lists at your store!

Everyone loved the new Air Ease Hoop that makes hooping effortless, automatically pulls the fabric taut and completely eliminates hoop burn. All the Husqvarna Viking Designer owners were absolutely thrilled to know that all their hoops will fit on the new Husqvarna Viking top-of-the-line coming in June. Did you know there are 10 different hoops for the Husqvarna Viking Designer Series of sewing and embroidery machines? Each one has a special purpose and every one of these hoops will slide right on your new Husqvarna Viking top-of-the-line!


From Hillsboro, we drove to Salem for a program at Whitlocks Sewing Center. We did visit a couple of antique stores on the way and I have some really cute new toy sewing machines to share!

About 100 people “poured in” to the downtown Salem store. We travel with a camera and projector so Herb was in the balcony “shooting” the event so people could see the techniques and the projects well.

Sherry wore this fabulous denim shirt and jeans embroidered with Designs from the Mega Richilieu Embroidery Collection. She cut out the cutwork and Richilieu Bars on the shirt but did not cut out on the jeans because –to quote Sherry “I did not want cellulite poking out of the cutwork”!



It was fun to sign all the new Husqvarna Viking sewing machines and Huskystar ER10 Needle Felting/Embellishing/Punching Machines before people took them home. We decided the Huskystar ER10 does not use thread or a bobbin so it is really not a sewing machine, it is a notion or sewing tool so there is no need to worry about your husband thinking you have bought another sewing machine!

Leslie brought this fabulous quilt for Sew and Share! She created it for her daughter as a special gift to celebrate Laura’s lifetime love of reading and her accomplishment of getting two masters degrees in the same week of June 2006. Leslie asked her daughter to send a list of her favorite books and all 124 books in the quilt titled My daughter the bibliophile” were stitched lovingly on Leslie’s Husqvarna Viking Designer SE with lettering, numbers, and a fabulous label created in Husqvarna Viking Embroidery Software.

The Husqvarna Viking Fab-U-Motion with Stitch Regular was the hit of the day. Many of the quilters and sewers had been doing free motion quilting and were suffering from neck and shoulder aches and uneven stitches! Because so many are planning to buy the new top-of-the-line, they asked if the Husqvarna Viking Fab-U-Motion they were buying would be compatible with the new top-of-the-line and it will! So if you have been thinking about free motion quilting and free motion artistry and want it to be easier than ever before, visit your local Husqvarna Viking store and experience the joy of quilting with the Fab-U-Motion with Stitch Regulator by Quilter’s Cruise Control!

Next week we will be traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Hagerstown, Maryland, and on Saturday morning will present a live special event on Arkansas Public Television from 6am to 12noon. Fun!

Until next time,
Happy Sewing!
Sue H

Happy Birthday Sue - How about a Blog!

Greetings!! I’m Sue Hausmann, Host of America Sews and because this year will be one of the most exciting ever for sewers, I’d like to begin to share some of the excitement with you!

Blogs, YouTube, chats, bulletin boards---I’m celebrating my 65th birthday—who would have ever thought I’d start a Blog at this age. Just a short time ago, I had no idea what a blog even was!

Everyone asks How do I get your job? “Sew” why not travel with me over the next few months and then see if you still want it. Many people ask “Where in the world is Sue”

Today, I fly to Sweden. I’m going to be spending a great deal of time in Sweden the first half of this year getting ready for the most exciting new top of line Husqvarna Viking sewing machine ever and if you keep watching this blog, I just might let you in on a few secrets.

Here you see me this week in the office embellishing a warm jacket on the Huskystar ER10 Needle Felting machine (so fun!) since it will be cold in Sweden. I left my boots (on purpose) at the hotel in January so they will be there waiting for me!

People often ask how long I’ve been sewing on a Husqvarna Viking sewing machine. Well I first experienced sewing on a Husqvarna Viking in 1976 and have been “hooked” on this user friendly innovative brand ever since.


In 1977 my Husqvarna Viking 6570 was burgundy red! One of the reasons I was so excited was that Husqvarna Viking had the only machine that did not need oiling. I had spoiled too many projects with sewing machine oil on them. The Swedish Engineers figured out how to make the metal parts with powdered steel, as the parts were heated the, the steel was permeated with oil creating sintered steel bearings. How great! Oil and fabric really don’t belong together!

The power gear which allowed the sewer to gear down the motor for full piercing power at even the slowest speed was another Husqvarna Viking first in the days before the wonderful electronic speed control and piercing power we have on Husqvarna Vikings today. Those same R and D engineers also developed the Selectronic Needle Stop so we could chose to stop with the needle up or down. Another Husqvarna Viking first was the color coded stitch selection—today no dials to line up colors thanks to computerized sewing, one touch does it all. I often wonder how we sewed before all these convenience features!


I’ll be sending some pictures from the factory next week but first I want you to meet by picture one of my favorite Swedish people Nanya Florin. I call her the “Linen Lady”. The town of Huskvarna (that spelling is another story) is on Lake Vattern, the second largest lake in Sweden in the center of Smaland about three hours south of Stockholm, 3 hours north east of Copenhagen Denmark, and 2 hours east of Gothenburg on the West Coast. It is a beautiful area and in the summertime Herb and I love to take the ferry from Granna (about 8 American miles north of Huskvarna where my great grandmother was born!) to the island of Visingso. The island is one mile wide and 7 miles long. The story of how the island was formed goes like this. Many, many years ago, a Giant from Smaland (the south area of Sweden) was going to step to the other side of Lake Vattern with his wife. The step was too big for his wife so he picked up a “giant sized” piece of dirt and threw it into the lake to make Visingso Island so she could step across the lake. We had read about a lady who grew flax and made it in to linen fibers she could weave but were unable to find her for some time. Finally I was asking at the Husqvarna Viking factory and someone spoke up and said “Oh that is my mother in law” and gave us directions to her farm.

The reason we had not been able to find Nanya is there is no road for a car by her home. You must go by Remmalog—a horse drawn wagon. You sit facing outward instead of forward and the story goes it is because when someone has had a little too much to drink and sits facing forward if he (or she) was to fall “off the wagon” and would be injured under the wheels of the wagon. When you face outward, you just fall onto the side of the road. They tell me this is where the phrase “fall off the wagon” (meaning beginning to drink again) came from!

Herb and I visited Nanya Florin and our friendship was born. We share our love of sewing, textiles, Husqvarna Viking and family. We learned she presents programs in her yard about how she grows flax and turns the plant into linen fiber, spins it into yarn and weaves it. She shared the history of linen in Sweden and more. We immediately set up an opportunity to bring a group to visit her and this special visit has been a tradition for many summers!

When Herb and I visited Nanya last summer we took her a new Husqvarna Viking Sapphire sewing machine to thank her for her many presentations for our groups. You see, she was still sewing on her red Husqvarna Viking and it was time for her to experience the exclusive Sensor System, the largest sewing space in the sewing industry, the fabulous Sewing Advisor and “sew” much more! She was thrilled and started sewing immediately! In fact she already knew about the Sapphire because she was teaching a young teen how to sew and she owned a Sapphire 830! What fun!

While we were in Nanya’s little gift shop, a baby hedgehog ran across the floor. Kent Einmo, husband of Kimberly Einmo, one of our Sewing Stars, picked the little guy up and let us pet him then let him go in the field. Wow was he prickly!

Later in the day, Nanya and her husband serenaded us playing instruments made in Sweden in years gone by. Amazing!

Over the next few months I’ll be sharing the Swedish heritage of Husqvarna Viking and why Husqvarna Viking sewing and embroidery machines are the industry leader in innovative features that make your sewing and quilting faster, easier and more fun.

Today’s Tip—don’t be afraid to buy bobbins! The new multi-color bobbins are great for specialty threads. I have my fine bobbin weight thread wound on red bobbins, my wash-a-way basting thread on yellow bobbins and my fusible thread wound on dark blue bobbins. I’m continuing to use the classic green Husqvarna Viking bobbins for standard weight sewing thread.
More next week from Sweden!

Until then, Happy Sewing!! Sue H