Did you know that Friday, October 3 is National Denim Day? Orchestrated by Lee, the jeans company, it’s designed as a fund raiser for breast cancer research. The plan is simple—donate at least $5 to this effort and you then wear your jeans to work on that day.

For me, since I work in my home office, almost everyday is denim day, with sweatpants day in between! But I do plan to make a donation for this worthy cause. For more information on National Denim Day, see www.denimday.com

Research from Cotton Inc. shows that the average American owns 9 pairs of jeans! Seems a bit excessive, but they also say that worldwide over 94% of the people own at least one denim item. So, everyone loves denim!

Just check at your local fabric store and you’ll likely see umpteen kinds of denim—not only the traditional blues, but also black, multiple colors, and multiple variations—some with stretch, some distressed, others shot with metallic threads.

Whether you’re sewing a new denim item, or recycling one of those 9 pairs of jeans, here are some handy hints for sewing:

• Use a denim or jeans needle with a sharp point to penetrate the dense fibers
• Finish the seams with serging or zigzagging to prevent raveling
• Pre-wash the fabric, as denim shrinks repeatedly
• For more hints, see Denim Blues, a Sewing & Craft Alliance Guideline

If you need ideas for denim projects, check out the following free projects on sewing.org, from a jeans skirt to a fun organizer:

From Simplicity – Make a Jean Skirt or Tropical Jeans
From Wrights – Elegant, Dressy Cargo Jeans
From Coats & Clark – Denim Organizer

Remember, sign up to wear your jeans to work on Friday and donate to a very worthy cause!

Not only is this my first blog entry for sewing.org, but it’s also the first blog I’ve ever written! I’m one of those semi-techno-phobic folks who still doesn’t feel the need for a cell phone most days of the year. But, now I’m a blogger! I love writing, so am looking forward to the adventure.

I’ll be chatting with you regularly about new things in the sewing industry, including some books, products, projects, etc. and helping to answer any questions you might have on techniques or most anything else. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll try to find out for you from my industry contacts, so let me know topics you’d like included.

By way of background–As many of you know, I was the editor of Sew News for 19 years, and now do freelance writing, editing, designing and tours for companies in the sewing, quilting and crafting industries. I work from my home office outside Portland, Oregon, and share the space with our three dogs (Riley, Buckley and Frankie). We just adopted Frankie from the local shelter–he’s a spunky two-year-old black lab! My husband Keith is an assistant manager for Home Depot, so we’re forever doing some home improvement projects it seems. I’m really good at the destruction process and am quite skilled with a crowbar.

I write for about 14 different magazines, and on topics from A to Z–a challenge I enjoy immensely. In addition, I work with the American Sewing Guild to offer tours to Hong Kong, and to the Northwest. (If you’re interested in the tours, check out www.asg.org and click on “Sew Much Fun tours.” The registration deadline for the ‘09 Hong Kong adventure is October 20, so you have time to find a friend to room with and hopefully join us.) I’ve been to Hong Kong 16 times, so am pretty familiar with the alleyways and street markets burgeoning with fabrics.

In addition to those adventures, I also teach classes, at some local stores and also at an occasional national show or ASG chapter. I try to keep busy, but also focused on things related to sewing and the sewing business.

I look forward to hearing from you and coming into your sewing room or computer room, if they’re not one in the same, on a regular basis. Blog on, as they say…