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Threads and Breads

November 23, 2008 – 10:04 pm

Thanksgiving is coming soon, and amid your hustle to find the right turkey and the polish the silverware, you can take time to help others in need with your sewing and cooking skills.


November 26th is National Tie One On day! Not what you might think–we’re talking about tying on a custom-sewn apron. The idea is that you tie up a loaf of bread (homemade or purchased) in an apron, add an encouraging note, and donate it to a needy family for their holiday meal. This “official” event, now in its third year, and was the brainchild of EllynAnne Geisel, author of The Apron Book: Making, Wearing and Sharing a bit of Cloth and Comfort book.

Some quilt stores and fabric stores around the country are offering special sewing events to make aprons for this purpose, but it’s something you can do on your own as well. It doesn’t take long to make a simple apron, and the bread can be baking while you sew. There are lots of fun aprons in the pattern catalogs, or you can simply copy one of your favorites for this worthy cause. We even have instructions for a beautiful monogrammed apron here on sewing.org.

Time is short for the Thanksgiving offering, but this is a worthwhile cause for Christmas and other holidays as well. Call social service agencies and food banks in your area to offer your donation, and if you’re part of a guild, recommend this worthy gesture as a group activity.

For more information on the the National Tie One On campaign, or to find a store in your area with an organized effort, visit the Apronicity site.

By LindaG | Posted in General Information, Sew & Craft Industry News

National Geography Week silliness

November 21, 2008 – 1:36 pm

November 16-22 is National Geography Week, and in noting that I became curious about how many towns there might be with sewing-related names. (OK, you may think I have too much time on my hands, but curiosity is in my genes from childhood.)

So, I started doing a bit of research online at Map Planet. I put in some sewing terms and discovered several fun things. There are 38 locations around the world with the word needle in them, including our favorite Needles, California. How fun would it be to live on Stitches Ridge in St. Helena? Or near Scissor Creek in Australia or the NW Territories of Canada?

Not far from my home in the Portland, Oregon area is a town called Zigzag. It’s a beautiful little burb near the base of Mt. Hood, and is always abloom with rhododendrons and azaelas in the spring.

There are also lots of towns with the word rip, pattern and fabric in them as well. Most people can’t really choose the name of their own street, but wouldn’t it just be fun as a sewer to live on a Thread Lane in Zigzag? It’s almost like a fairy tale.

By LindaG | Posted in General Information

Sewing-motif Cards

November 19, 2008 – 11:24 am

It’s that time of year when we all start thinking about holiday gifting and cards. I don’t know about you, but I have lots of sewing friends that I like to surprise with fun gifts at the holidays–whether it’s a small handmade “something” I created just for them, or a personalized card.

Over the years, someone I’ve never met has actually helped me to find just the perfect thing for gifting. Alison Winn is a talented artist who hand draws greeting cards. She has some standard designs in a number of themes, but just quite handily, she also has about 20 cards with sewing and/or quilting themes.

The fun part is that she will also personalize them with either your name, the recipient’s name, or almost any verbiage you want. For example, I’ve got some that say “A note from Linda…” on the front with a beautiful drawing of a sewing studio (if only mine looked that good!).

By LindaG | Posted in Sewing, Quilting, Embroidery & Craft Products

Fitting Thoughts

November 13, 2008 – 1:14 am

I’ve received several questions about specific fitting problems that really can’t be answered without a personal consultation, and of course that’s “virtually” impossible at the moment. However, I would like to make one recommendation to those of you with fitting concerns.

It’s much easier to fit yourself if you can actually see how the garment looks on your body, all around. A three-way mirror is helpful, and a fitting buddy is a big help in determining fit issues. But, an even better solution is to have a dress form. Yes, custom forms are expensive, and many don’t adjust with the changes that aging and gravity bring us. But bring out that innate DIY spirit and make your own.

It’s easy to make your own dress form with duct tape from the home improvement store. (I, of course, am recommending Home Depot since my dear husband works there. They also sell duct tape in colors, so if you’ve ever wanted to be that “lady in red” you can be.)

Making your own form does require a sewing buddy, but most of us have at least one person we trust to see us in our undies without being judgemental. They can help you, and in turn you can help them make one as well. Take a vow of secrecy to the rolls and lumps you’ll both witness in the process.

To purchase step-by-step instructions to make your own dress form, check out sewingevents.com/html/body_form.html. This downloadable booklet is well illustrated, offers a bit of humor (after all it is a novel process compared to most of our sewing activities), and it gives you a complete supply list so you’re not left standing in the middle of the process while your buddy runs to the store.

If you’re a member of a sewing guild chapter, making your own dress form is a great activity either for a neighborhood group meeting or for the entire membership. Follow it up with a speaker who can address basic fit problems for the group.

I think it’s fun to dress up the form when you’re not using it for fitting. Add a seasonal costume, a hat, ribbons, an old college sweatshirt or perhaps a provocative bustier. It’s your chance for an alter-ego and it’ll make you smile when you spy it in your sewing room.

By LindaG | Posted in General Information, Sewing, Quilting & Embroidery Tips & Techniques, Sewing, Quilting, Embroidery & Craft Products

Sewing Retreats

November 9, 2008 – 5:06 pm

I’m writing this from Gleneden Beach, Oregon where I’m attending a week-long sewing retreat with 12 other wonderful women. We’re staying at a condo complex called Beachcomber’s Haven and we’ve come together the first week in November for a number of years–over a decade at least! We sew in the community room, affectionately titled The Sandbox.

We sew whatever we want, whenever we want–from before dawn to well after midnight sometimes. There are no rules…just great fun and lots of food! We take turns cooking dinners, but there are numerous snacks around the clock. Good thing we have fitting skills, as there are bound to be alterations needed after this week.

The comaraderie sewers have is incredible–and it’s instant. Sewing brings us together and keeps us together. Perhaps you’ve had the opportunity to be involved in something similar, whether you’re lucky enough to have an ocean view right from a well-appointed classroom or at a local venue, you can imagine the pleasure of a week of uninterrupted sewing time 24/7. It’s just so incredible what you can get done.

In addition to personal and gift sewing, we’re also creating a fabric gingerbread house for Habitat for Humanity. All the entries will be given to needy families at the holidays. We’ve bedecked it with pompom snow, rickrack trim and notions in the “yard.” Besides that, there’s some charity quiltmaking going on–I just completed my third top that will be quilted by another group of women, then donated to hospitalized children at the holidays.

I know you can’t all join in our great getaway, but do take some time of your own for some dedicated sewing. You need it and deserve it!

By LindaG | Posted in General Information