We had a nice group this morning at our meeting.
A few reminders: April 25 is the community sew day at Long Leaf Park, details were in the newsletter that Babs sent recently. Time is 10-2pm at Shelter #5. We need many hands to get some bibs, aprons, and port pillows completed. There is a job for all and there will be kits available to take some home if you can only stop by. Bring a machine if you are able.
We talked about those of you taking the pants class from Pamela having a hard time finding appropriate fabrics. I looked up a few online sources and found the following: Melanated Fabrics in Atlanta has navy stretch twill for $12/yd Also, they have stretch corduroy, very tiny wales that would work. Stylemaker Fabrics in Seattle has Soft stretch bottomweight suiting fabric and Swift midweight stretch denim and Cone Mills slub denim that would work (all about $15 yard) Core Fabrics has some stretch denim that works Mood has some Theory stretch twill Fabric.com has stretch twill, you will need to look at the different types listed as some are 5-10% and others are 10-25% Melanated Fabrics and Stylemaker Fabrics would probably test the stretch percentage for you if you called or emailed them as they are both smaller independent shops. Let me know if you find anything. Dellaine is also checking with Vogue fabrics about the one we discussed at the meeting.
I will need someone to lead the June and October meetings as I will be out of town for those. Please let me know if you can help out one of these months. We will also be working on going to a similar model for meetings as the day group has done; with a different person doing the discussion each month. You can definitely choose a topic that you know a bit about or try one of the ones we have listed on our calendar. I am hoping to find someone other than me to also lead the meetings beginning in January, 2023. If you would like to do one of the months left in 2022, let me know, or if you are interested in leading in January, 2023, that would be great too!
Karen has finished her Jules tunic and was wearing it today (I forgot to get a picture, sorry) and it looks so nic eon her. Definitely a nice style for her and she chose perfect drapey fabric. I shared the muslin of my tunic and I am not happy with this design on my body. We discussed some ways to make it fit better, and I have a few ideas to adapt it to make it more Me. That’s always our challenge when making garments, isn’t it? Figuring out, why it doesn’t work, and then making the fix needed to get it right. I actually enjoy the process (although, getting it right the first time is nice too!)
Ellen shared some fun fabrics and pattern combinations she recently purchased. One is a wild colored scuba knit and the other is a very soft and drapey knit with an almost tie dye effect. Can’t wait to see what she does with them.
We had a surprise visit from Carol Burchill today and she looks and feels great! Thanks for coming to the meeting and hope to see you more! Kendra came by and dropped off 100 port pillows! since she couldn’t be with us next week. Penny also brought over some completed aprons and some that are cut out for the sew day next week.
Dellaine is getting ready for our serger demo next month, if you haven’t let me know you are coming yet, please do so soon so she can prepare. I will be sending out a list of items needed a couple weeks before our meeting so you can prep.
Claire has been working on her tunic as well, but had to take some time to spend with her daughter as she is moving to Australia in a few weeks!
We talked about printing patterns that you buy as a pdf file. If you don’t want to print the pages and tape them together, a couple other options are to put the file on a flash drive and take it to the local copy shop. They will print it for you and it will all be on one or two sheets of thicker paper. Then just cut the pieces apart as usual and sew! Another option is to use a company called pdfplotting.com They offer a printing service for pdf patterns and it is very reasonable. Plan to have them print a few at a time at least as the shipping cost is the same for several pages as for one or two pages. They will come on a large piece of paper as well, rolled and in a tube. Cut apart and start sewing. Their cost is only a couple dollars per pattern, the copy shop will be about $5-6 per page. So, if you have a few days to wait, online is the cheaper alternative. They do have a quick turnaround. Be sure to do black and white, color is more expensive either way.
We talked briefly about sleeves and fitting. Most of seem to agree that we like a looser sleeve fit so you don’t feel constrained and can move around. The one thing I know is that the sleeve pattern and the bodice pattern must go together. This means that if you want to use the sleeve pattern of pattern A on the bodice of Pattern B, you must reshape the armscye from Pattern B to the shape of pattern A. That way, the new sleeve shape will work on your pattern. Also, if you want to make your garment sleeveless, you will need to raise the side seam under the arm about ¼- ½” depending on your preference and also shorten the length of the shoulder seam so that it does not extend beyond your shoulder bone for a better look. You can also eliminate a set in sleeve seam and make your garment a dolman sleeve by joining the two pieces together.
Happy sewing!
Jean
Hi all,
We had a very fun meeting. A few of you are well on your way with a great fitting muslin/final of the Jules Tunic. This is the pattern many wanted to sew together.
We talked about some fitting issues and how to fix them. This is all a learning process and it starts by actually sewing up a test garment. Yes, it takes more time; but in the end, you will have a better fitting pattern to make your final garment from out of the nicer fabric. And, you will be happier with the results and want to make more!
If you still need help, bring in your muslin or your pattern and we will try to work through your issues with you. This is what we are here for.
Our March meeting will be held on Monday, March 21, from 10-:30 -12:30 at Coastal Sewing on Kerr Ave.
We will begin our meeting with a short demo/request from Julie Brewer. She would like to share a quick project we can help her with, using our knit scraps. She will tell you more at the meeting.
Let’s talk about some of our favorite patterns. Bring in some of your favorites – you know – the ones you make over and over when you need a new garment and you know this pattern always works! How do you change it up? Or do you always make it the same way. Simple changes can really change the way an item looks, no need to purchase multiple patterns.
Also, at this meeting, Dellaine would like to discuss her upcoming serger demo. Please bring in any techniques you would like to learn about, problems you are having, and she will use these ideas to develop her serger demo if possible.
For our fitting discussion this month, we are talking about necklines. Do you have a favorite? Do you know how to copy your favorite neckline? Bring in a RTW garment or one that you have made/plan to make that has a neckline you like. We will talk about the ways you can change it up so that all your tops will fit you well and be comfortable.
Whew! Sounds like a full meeting, but don’t forget show and tell! One of ouor favorites!
Happy sewing and I’ll see you on Monday.
Jean
Recap of Fashionistas meeting, Monday, February 15
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a new FaceBook administrator.
And we are ALWAYS looking for our VP who is willing to position. Call Babs to discuss 201-240t it’sand it certainly is
Our next meeting will probably be at Long Leaf Park and it will be a combined Day Group/Fashionistas meeting. Keep an eye on your email to find out the details. It will be great to see each other again!
The retreat beginning on March 22 has 9 members signed up. Nearly all of them will have been fully vaccinated by the time they arrive but we will be following the same pandemic protocols we to help set color and Ellen liketo use Purex Color Booster.
The conversation evolved into cleaning methods for our machines. Ellen likes a good make-up brush as well as the “Quilt in a Day” Machine Cleaning Brushes
Others use paintbrushes and computer vacuums.
We talked about how our habits have changed over the last few months. Many of us are sewing more to fit up all the time at home.
Ginni’s nieces and nephews have been producing plenty of babies to keep her busy with crib quilts.
Arlene has been working on a shirt made from her bargain finds. It will have the front panel of a man’s dress shirt on the back so it has decorative buttons. It looks terrific so far but she said she can’t remember which pattern she was using so the sleeves may prove to be a challenge! And oh…she found some wonderful lilac fabric that she LOOOOOVES! Cant wait to see what she sews.
Bev is busy with tops and she’s adding doilies and painting. There are dragonflies! Looking forward to seeing them finished! She also showed us some blocks she made in a class she took on-line on curved piecing. She’s been busy!
Ellen has been beading and if you have seen her work you know how time intensive that is…beautiful things! She also to some time to adjust the hems of her sweatpants that were in need of some help after all the walking she’s been doing.
Penny is the Quilt Top Queen and you can see several of her finishes on our FaceBook page.
Babs has been paper piecing for gifts and finally made one thing for herself that she will plan to use to pack up for retreats.
Claire had her husband help her adjust her dress form by wrapping her in duct tape and then she placed that on the form and filled it in where it was needed. A hug test from her other half confirmed it was more like her now. She also shared a colorful quilt top she had finished and bound.
I’m having trouble posting pictures here so I will send them to Kendra to put on our web page and I will post them on our FaceBook page.
Enjoy the warming weather and hope to see you all soon! Babs
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Our Day Group had quite a lot to share so we decided to put it all in an email to the membership.
As Ginni steps away from the position of Chair for the group Penny Schmitt led the meeting this month. She and Jilll Corwinn will be co-chairs now.
Marty Ford gave a talk on needles and thread and left us all with some new knowledge and things to consider when starting any new project. I was surprised to learn how much I didn’t know. Thanks for a very informative talk, Marty!
We also heard of changes to our budget from our last cab meeting. The most significant change will be an increase to our marketing fund as we seek ways to increase our membership and make more people aware of our guild. We are creating a trip-fold brochure that will be specific to our guild, it’s activities and charity work. And we plan on distributing at farmer’s markets and other events around our area.
The retreat committee will be meeting on March 8th at Bab’s house to begin a search for our new location. If you have any thoughts you would like to share re: any aspect of our retreats please let us know before our meeting.
Committee members are: Babs Fullerton barbarafullerton@mac.com;
Molly Bigelow weezyb@att.net; Ann Carbone carbone.ann@gmail.com; Ellen Sadler. elsbelles13@gmail.com
We are still looking for a president to assume leadership in 2023. At some point in the next few months we will need to make a decision on whether or not we dissolve the guild. At that point we will begin to spend our money to fund more charitable work so we leave no funds behind. Please contact a CAB member if you are willing to take on this role.
The Day Group’s April meeting will be held at Long Leaf Park and we will have a Community Sew Day. Our last one was a bit confusing so this one will have sign up sheets for sewing, ironing, cutting, etc. We will work on two projects and make it a very productive day for those charities, look for details closer to the April 25th date.
During Sew & Tell I showed some door banners that I have been making and talked about how I came to choose my newest one which is of the Ukrainian flag with the word “peace” in Ukranian. It was designed by Berene Campbell and you can read about it here:
https://happysewlucky.wordpress.com/2022/02/25/peace-for-ukraine/#more-3403
She’s a fantastic paper piece designer and is committed to seeing that her art is used for good. My “Hello Friend” pillows that many of you have seen was designed by Berene as well as the “Love” & “Hope” banners and my “Sew Like a Boss” bag. I consider myself a super fan of her designs.Her instagram is @happysewlucky and she can be found on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/happysewluckyshop?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=1159576111
While speaking of Etsy I had seen a suggestion of a way to support makers in Ukraine while making a living will be challenging if not impossible. If you go to Etsy and search for "downloadable patterns" or “PDFs garment patterns" or "Paper piecing digital files" or the like you’ll get a page with listings filling that broad request.
Find where you can FILTER the results. Click on it and scroll down to location.
Click on location and choose custom. Type in Ukraine and click on show results.
I used the paper piece example and got mostly the woman that I have purchased patterns from this week because…well…algorithms. Anyway, the choices yo see now should all be from makers in Ukraine. It’s a great way to support them and you may just find a very wonderful human as I did. The site I have purchased patterns from, Sasha’s Quilts and can be found here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SashasQuilts?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=966502953I am also following her on Instagram now and she posted today a note of gratitude for all of the support she’s getting from around the world and that she has designed a Ukrainian flag design herself that will fund charities for the refugees. Her Instagram is @sashasquilts.The fund raising pattern can be found at: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1188312967/rise-of-freedom-pdf-pattern-paper?click_key=664219795950c30c0251d5226e77164e99d998b9%3A1188312967&click_sum=27c04f73&ref=shop_home_feat_1&sts=1
Other designers promoting thoughts and care for Ukraine are offering free Sunflower patterns. Sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine and if you haven’t heard the wonderfully deviant story of the Ukrainian grandmother suggesting Russian soldiers put sunflower seeds in their pockets you must google it now.
Here are two designers that offer the free sunflowers.
Sunflower paper piece design by Quiet Play:https://payhip.com/b/mvbVk
Sunflower paper piece by Quilt Art Design:https://drive.google.com/file/d/12-9SE9_NMpswMLFaFxIZ0HZ4Hod0aj-R/view?usp=sharing&fbclid=IwAR3aA1WQEfPHkoPpVYBQ44fOS0swLyLPFsbENtGnONq3MPEVdzmTw53sZ-E
Sending peace and sunshine out to you all and hope to see you sooner than later!Bab
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