SEW-lutions Blog from Sewing.org » General Information

Congratulations to the National Sewing Month winners

SCAJanice — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:13:52 +0000

Congratulations to the winners of the 2011 National Sewing Month Sew for the Love of it contest – Jennifer June (First Place), Tenneh Wilkins (Second Place) and Katherine Heisler (Third Place)! Our sincerest thanks to everyone who entered. Every entry embodied the love each of you have for sewing. We loved them all! See all the entries.

Contractor Dad Sews Daughter’s Wedding Dress

SCAJanice — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:11:24 +0000

This story is too precious not to share. When Erin Lucien’s daughters were little, he suggested to each that they give him a shot at making their wedding dress when they grow up. When one of his daughters, Danielle, became engaged, she reminded Dad of his offer from all those years ago. Always a “crazy inventor,” Erin took the challenge. Although he had never sewn before, as a contractor, he knew how to build things and set about taking measurements and making drawings, and learned how to sew from books and online videos, Erin then created several prototypes from sheets and shipped them back and forth to his daughter for review. The finished gown, made of silk charmeuse, was truly made from love from a Dad to his precious little girl.

This really touched my heart!

Read the full story

Springs Creative Giveaway – Hobo Tote Kit

SCAJanice — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:56:09 +0000

National Sewing Month sponsor, Springs Creative, has another giveaway for us – a Hobo Tote kit. I love the look of this bag! The Creative Cuts hobo totes can be found in select Walmart stores and on walmart.com. They come in several different designs. Material, instructions and handles are included in the kit.

To be entered to win this kit, make sure you complete the National Sewing Month survey.

Zip It Up Lampshade from Ghee’s

SCAJanice — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 22:40:32 +0000

Linda McGehee from Ghee’s has shared another fabulous project idea using her fun and unique zippers. A zipper lampshade!

Choose your zippers and colors from the available styles at Ghee’s
Tip: To avoid waste, choose long zippers and purchase additional zipper pulls
Use Beacon’s glue to glue lengths of zipper to the shade
Follow the instructions on the National Sewing Month website to make the zipper pansy’s.

This fun lampshade was designed and created by Susan I Jones for Ghee’s.

Zipper Heart Project from Ghee’s

SCAJanice — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:19:07 +0000

Our thanks to Linda McGehee from Ghee’s for being a National Sewing Month sponsor! Linda is a master of handbag design and construction and fabric manipulation. She has been on the forefront of the latest artistic zipper creations craze. In keeping with our Sew for the LOVE of it theme, Linda is sharing instructions on how to create a heart out of zippers. Try adding it to the shoulder of a garment, stitching it to a wall hanging, or on a handbag!

Zipper Heart

Stitch a basting thread (by hand or machine) along each side of the zipper tape.
Unzip the zipper and gather the basting thread to form the shape of the heart.
Apply to project with permanent stitching.
Tuck under unfinished edges of zipper at top and bottom.
Depending upon the pull style on the slider, it may be necessary to gently remove pull with pliers, flip the pull, and gently press the hook closed on the pull. To avoid scratching the pull, place lightweight fabric scrap on pull for protection before closing hook with pliers.

The Rhinestone zipper used on this project can be found on the Ghee’s website.

National Sewing Month Spotlight on V.I.P by Cranston

SCAJanice — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 18:17:37 +0000

Our thanks to 2011 National Sewing Month sponsor V.I.P by Cranston. Cranston is located in Webster, MA and is a manufacturer of distinctive fabrics for sewing, crafting, quilting and decorating with a history of printing textiles dating back to 1807! Their fabrics are sold in Wal*Mart, JoAnn Stores, Hancock Fabrics, Hobby Lobby and the Rag Shops, as well as at independent retail stores and quilt shops throughout the country.

Visit their website at www.CranstonVillage.com to see all of their fabulous fabrics!

Springs Creative Apron Kit Giveaway

SCAJanice — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:02:00 +0000

The next National Sewing Month giveaway is this bright and fun Apron Kit from Springs Creative. The kit includes the fabric panel with printed instructions to make the apron.

I’ve loved to cook and bake since I was little and I’ve always been a rather “free spirit” in the kitchen. And by free I mean messy. I love aprons! Aside from keeping me clean, they seem to ground me in my project. And this apron makes me want to bake an apple pie!

All you have to do to enter our giveaway is to complete the 2011 National Sewing Month survey.

Daisy Kingdom offers a wide range of products – a fabric line, pattern designs for Simplicity and craft kits. Daisy Kingdom products can be found online at Amazon.com and hancockfabrics.com as well as in Michaels and Hancock Fabrics, as well as retail stores and online outlets. See the full line of Springs’ products at www.springscreative.com.

Congrats to Kathee Tooher, winner of the Springs Creative Apron Kit!

Springs Creative: National Sewing Month sponsor

SCAJanice — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 02:02:20 +0000

Sincerest thanks to Springs Creative Products Group, LLC, a sponsor of the 2011 National Sewing Month Celebration.

My first experience with Springs was when, as a teenager, I fell in love with the Daisy Kingdom line and sewed nursery items for family members who were having children. Springs still has the Daisy Kingdom line with too-cute doll kits, aprons, pet kits, pillow kits and more. In addition, they offer retail by-the-yard fabrics, packaged craft kits, and many wonderful products geared to kids and beginners. Springs also offers the Crafty Cuts and Creative Cuts line. You can find the exclusive Creative Cuts line only at Walmart stores.

For National Sewing Month, Springs is featuring projects, tips and giveaways on their blog. They also have a free project section with projects for all levels.

Springs Creative is a leading supplier of retail by the yard fabrics, precut fabrics and packaged craft kits in a variety of designs including licensed options by Disney®, Nickelodeon®, M&M/Mars®, Hasbro®, and Marvel® to major retailers including Walmart®, Walmart.com, Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts™, Joann.com, Hancock Fabrics™, Amazon.com®, and Hobby Lobby® throughout the United States and Canada.

You can visit Springs Creative on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SpringsCreative.

For more information about Springs Creative Products Group, LLC, call (803) 324-6300, or visit springscreative.com.

Love Quilting? Visit these online quilt stores.

SCAJanice — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 05:39:29 +0000

The Amish Country Quilt Show in is returning to Dalton, OH on June 7-9, 2012 at the Buckeye Event Center. In anticipation of the show, 3 of our vendors have sent us some of their featured products that we thought you might enjoy.

Engine House Quilt Shop is showing their Minky Strip Quilt As You Go. Take a look!

Harvest House Quilting has the WACKER seams perfect tool, a Fall-themed quilt pattern and beautiful quilt nightlights. Visit the page

Mary Huey Quilts is featuring 3 beautiful quilt patterns- Mississippi Mud, Marie’s Scrpas and Houses of Hope. She also sent us photos of some of her colorful exhibit quilts. Don’t miss seeing them.

September is National Sewing Month

SCAJanice — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:26:53 +0000

It’s National Sewing Month!

The observance of National Sewing Month began in 1982 with a proclamation from President Ronald Reagan declaring September as National Sewing Month “In recognition of the importance of home sewing to our Nation.”

As we all know though, our passions for sewing today are a probably just a tiny bit different than they were in 1982! Well, that is for those of us who were around in 1982… I don’t know about you, but back then, I was sewing because I couldn’t afford to buy what I wanted. Today I sew because I really do want to make it myself. Store bought is nice, but the size is always wrong, the color’s not quite right… so off we go to the fabric store (or the fabric stash). Sure, we all still sew for utilitarian purposes, but all it takes is one look at Etsy and you’ll see how those creative juices REALLY flow. I particularly love that new sewists just dive right in – no more first timer A-line skirt project. And with intuitive machines, fun fabrics, easier patterns and a bit of spunk, I hear myself saying WOW quite a bit when friends share their first time projects. I’m impressed!

We hope you’re doing something special to celebrate National Sewing Month. Maybe it’s time to finish those UFO’s, take a class, join a group or start that business. Whatever you decide to do, why not share it with us on Facebook – join in the discussion!