LANCASTER QUILT SHOW - BUS TRIP

Do to unforseen circumstances, plans for this trip have been cancelled.  1/6/13
I am considering organizing a bus trip to the Philadelphia Quilt Show for Saturday, March 16th, 2013. I need at least 25 people seriously interested in going. If you are interested, please contact me by February 1 at my email margefuller@yahoo.com

Thank you.

Marge Fuller

Crafty Stitchers support Pike County Safe Haven

Wednesday, December 19, was open house at Pike County Safe Haven in Milford, PA.. Carol Haas, Gigi Lamanna, Vickie Kraus and myself, members of Crafty Stitchers neighborhood group, met together and delivered personal care bags we had made at one of our meetings. The bags were filled with personal care items donated by our group. We also donated a few blankets made by Carol, toys, clothing and food items. We had a chat with the staff and enjoyed refreshments provided by them. After Carol and I left Pike County Safe Haven, we made a quick stop at the new Beary Patches Quilt Shop in Milford. It was a very pleasant afternoon.

Marge Fuller, Crafty Stitchers NG

The Sewphisticuts go MaDD!

The Sewphisticuts go MaDD!

 The energy and camaraderie that I’ve come to expect at an ASG Sew-In was evident at the recent Sewphisticuts-sponsored Make a Difference Day event held at the Poughkeepsie Plaza Mall on October 27th.  This neighborhood group has sponsored an annual MaDD event since the group’s inception six years ago.  The event is open to both ASG members and the community at large.  The Poughkeepsie Plaza Mall has generously found space for our use for the past several years, and Sew ‘N Vac always provides tables and chairs.  The event is open to all ASG members and the public.

One of the many hats made that day

This year’s project was fleece hats and scarves to be given to Hudson River Housing.  Past year’s projects have included flannel pajama pants for the children’s cancer ward at Westchester Medical center, anti-ouch pouches for breast cancer patients at Benedictine Hospital in Kingston, pillow cases for area shelters, and baby bibs and blankets for the Young Mother’s program at the Poughkeepsie Children’s Home.

To make our membership stand out this year, Veronica Hill suggested we wear T-shirts with a slogan.  Maura Kristofik thought of the slogan “I’m Making a Difference today.  Sew can you!”  Joan Gadonniex digitized the slogan for embroidery machines adding “Hudson Valley NY Chapter Make a Difference Day” and the ASG logo.  Mary Dubois donated T-shirts and Connie Pennisi picked them up.  Linda Clark and Joan (I think?) handled the embroidery.  What a team effort!

Judy in one of the embroidered T-shirts

Cutting out more hats and scarves

Fourteen ASG members and 10 people from the community including 6 students (4 girls and 2 boys) from the Friends of Rachel club at Arlington High School pitched in to complete 171 hats and 59 scarves for a total of 230 items!  Ann Bierce did a great job of teaching some of the students to use a sewing machine while Mary Stiegler helped the boys cut out hats and fringe scarves.  Linda Clark showed her usual poise by doing a video clip for the Poughkeepsie Journal in a single take, while Connie Pennisi focused on her sewing for the photographs that were published in the next day’s paper. 

(Sue may not look it, but she really was having a good time!)

A good time was had by all and the Sewphisticuts thank everyone who participated for their contribution to another successful event. 

Some of our young helpers

Peggy Norton

Hudson Valley Chapter 2^nd VP  

T-shirt Challenge at October Meeting

The October meeting of the Garment Gals will feature the results of our t-shirt challenge.  In the June meeting we discussed and showed techniques for constructing a t-shirt.  In September's meeting Bonny showed the construction of a t-shirt, using an X-large size t-shirt as material.  She deconstructed the t-shirt and remade it to fit her.  Both sessions were intended to give members information necessary to construct our own t-shirt.  At the October meeting we will see the results and hopefully many varied and attractive garments.  We will also be looking to help make adjustments for those not happy with the fit of their t-shirt.  Since many will be doing this for the first time, we will go over any techniques about which members have questions.  At the end of the day, we hope all will be comfortable in the process of making a t-shirt.
Also we plan on hearing the topic for the month, making underpants.  Pat will give us tips and techniques to aquaint us with sewing lingerie.

Cutting, cutting, and more cutting.....that's what everyone did at the Sew-phisti-cuts meeting Wednesday night at Hobby Lobby.  Several ladies rolled in enormous amounts of fleece which everyone then proceeded to cut into appropriate-sized pieces for hats and scarves.  

All of this is preparation for Make-A-Difference Day, which falls on October 27th this year.  On that Saturday, members of the chapter will gather at an empty storefront in the Poughkeepsie Plaza to assemble all those fleece pieces into warm hats and scarves.  The finished items will then be donated to Hudson River Housing for distribution to those in need of warm accessories for the winter.

Here are two pictures of everyone hard at work - some folks are a little camera shy and didn't want to look up.....or maybe they were playing it safe; those rotary cutters are sharp!

Annual Meeting

Although the calendar says September, Christmas was on our minds at tonight's meeting.  The theme was Christmas gifts, with each person bringing along instructions or samples of quick and easy items to make for gifts.  With the holiday season approaching faster than we realize, we can all use some fresh ideas for crafted items to give away.

Strawberry sachet

  Pat brought samples and a pattern for a strawberry sachet that can be filled with your choice of dried herbs and spices.  Great for scenting dresser drawers, linen closets, stored suitcases, or just freshening the air.

Peggy showed us some slippers made from old jeans and a storage box that is stiffened between the fabric layers with cardboard from cereal boxes and the like.  Great way to sew green!

If there's a pet on your gift list, how about an ribbon-covered elastic collar to dress them up for the holidays?

Slippers from old jeans

Pet collar

Storage box

Connie brought along a clever traveling jewelry tray.  It appears first as a flat piece of padded fabric with ribbons at the corners.  But bring the corner ribbons up to tie together, and it forms a tray to keep your jewelry organized when traveling.

Maura brought a pattern for a quick knit cap that can be made in sizes from infant to adult, and easily embellished or personalized for the recipient.

Linda contributed a stack of magazines with many quick and easy ideas for all sorts of gifts for all occasions.

We had some items for show and tell, ranging from t-shirts and dresses to quilts and wall-hangings, "tablecloth" skirts, handbags and a little stuffed house-mouse.

In other news:  the location for our Make-A-Difference-Day program is still up in the air but will be announced soon.  Some exciting news had to do with the upcoming Annual Meeting scheduled for November 4 from 12 to 4 at Arbor Ridge in Hopewell Junction.  The cost is $30 and includes a sit-down dinner.  There will be several choices for entrees, including a gluten-free one.  If you have dietary restrictions, please indicate on your registration form and Arbor Ridge will accommodate you.  The featured speaker is Gretchen Hirsch, author of Gerties' New Book for Better Sewing.  She will present a brief trunk show and program.  Lots of prizes are up for grabs, so plan on attending for a chance to snag some swag!

2012 Dutchess County Fair - ASG Booth & Member Ribbon Winners




Linda Clark, Mary Steigler, and Marilyn Martin pose in our fair booth.


This year's Dutchess County Fair offered the Hudson Valley NY ASG Chapter an opportunity for a booth in the Arts and Crafts building to highlight who we are and what we love to do.  So not only did we have samples of items we have made in the past at our famous Sew-In's, projects done with the Neighborhood Groups, and community service projects, but there was also a table set up with a couple of sewing machines to encourage fair goers in the youth categories to stop by and try sewing a Halloween bag. 

 

Marilyn assists one of our young participants.

 

SUCCESS!!

  

Two more young participants...













I hear that we were such a huge success that we have been asked back next year!   

Now on to our Ribbon Winners.....

Teddy DeLorenzo won 3 Ribbons for her beautiful and whimsical witch; First Place in Embroidery, Best Senior Article, and Chairman's Choice Award. Isn't she just amazing!  

She wears the traditional pointed witches hat and cape, carries a spell book and a handmade broom.  Her hair is made of yarn.  She sewn, glued, and embroidered, Hair made of yarn. She wears a lined skirt made of squares sewn on-point. There is also  shirt, vest, belt, bloomers, petticoat, stockings, and shoes. She was dressed on dowels and glued to a stand. Body was made and stuffed.

Teddy's Inspiration: "I like a challenge!"

Peggy Norton won 2 Ribbons for her Toile jacket....First Place and Chairman's Choice Award.  Check out how she fussy-cut her patch pockets and front pieces to match the print when it was completed!

Judy Longacre won

First Place Ribbons for each

of these items;

child's jumper embellished with

handmade piping, black crepe

6-gore skirt (with flipped up

bottom), and pillow with

ruched edging.



Her zip up jacket below made in batik fabrics also won First Place.

 Mary Steigler won 2 First Place Ribbons for her teddy and sock monkeys....aren't

they just so cute??!

1H12 HV-ASG Community Service Projects

Dear Friends,

It is just amazing how many of us volunteer in various ways as well as utilizing our sewing skills in projects that benefit our local communities!  Some of these activities are ones that our Neighborhood Groups are involved with directly, and some are not.  But I would like to share with you some of the details compiled by our 2nd Vice President, Peggy Norton as she prepared the most recent report sent to American Sewing Guild National for our first six months in 2012:

Projects = 1 lap robe (local VA hospital), 6 pair of curtains to replace those destroyed by Irene damage (church), nursing home bed pads, clothing repairs (school), drainage bag holder for cancer patient, 224 chemo caps (hospitals & individuals), 23 quilts of various sizes (local family shelters), 22 small tote bags/8 large tote bags(local family shelters), and 150 surgical pillows (hospitals),

Total hours spent = 1680

Aren't these just awesome numbers?? Each participant should recognize how much their efforts, no matter how large or small, helps to make our community a better place for everyone.  Many kudos to each of you!!

If anyone is interested in knowing more about some of the on-going projects, check out the Neighborhood Groups link at the top of the page,  for a group near you.  Also, Charity Chics meet on a regular basis with their sole focus on community service projects.
Can't make a regular meeting?.....ask about projects you can work on at home.

A typical walker bag

A few "Sew-phisti-cuts" were around for last evening's meeting - not all of us are on vacation yet!  Our agenda for the night was community service, and although we had originally planned to do lap blankets, we had decided at a previous meeting that we would do pillowcases instead as there was more local need for those.  Upon further research, Connie found that there was even more need for walker bags, a small tote that fastens over the bar of a walker, enabling the user to carry things along more easily.  So, flexible as we are, we switched gears to make them.
Thanks to some ladies who did prep work, we had a large stack of pre-cut fabric ready to sew.  This helped much, since only five of us were able to make it to the meeting.  After a little tutorial for those not familiar with the pattern, we sat down to sew.  Averaging almost two bags per person, we ended up with nine complete bags in about an hour and a half.  I forgot to take pictures, but here's a picture from the pattern directions of what we made.

We had a brief show and tell, and saw a lovely wedding quilt from Mary, a couple of pillowcases from Sue, some shirts and shorts from Maura, and a bolero-style shrug from Peggy.


There is no meeting next month due to our usual August break.  Like the old song says....see you in September......when we start thinking of Christmas and gift-giving with our program of sharing quick gift patterns/ideas for the holildays.  Bring samples!

Charity Chics and Quilting schedule for July

 

Thursdays in July:   (all meetings will start at approx. 9:30am)

5th -- Quilting Group at Fishkill Town Hall - bring your own project cancelled due to holiday

12th -- Charity Chics at Hughsonville Firehouse - project tbd

19th -- Quilt Group at Fishkill Town Hall - bring your own project

26th -- Charity Chics at Fishkill Town Hall - project tbd cutting knits and woven fabrics for banadana chemo caps...contact Mary DuBois (me21dubois@aol.com) if you plan to attend
                                                                                   

Please contact Andrea Diamond (adiamond625@aol.com) if you plan to attend any of these meetings.  (Due to summer schedules & vacations, there could be last minute changes.)

Sewing Room Tour and Potluck

Enjoying a delicious dessert after our meeting

About four years ago the Sewphisticuts started a tradition of holding their June meeting at a member's house for a dinner meeting and tour of the sewing room.  Each person volunteers to bring something for the dinner, from appetizers to desserts.  We have all had a great time sharing our creative spaces, showing off home-dec projects that could only be shared in photos, and enjoying our culinary efforts.  Yesterday's meeting was held at Maura's; after a brief business meeting, we sat down to a tasty dinner with home-made strawberry ice-cream and cheesecake for dessert.  Delicious!

We discussed Make-A-Difference-Day plans for this October 27th.  Maura will contact Kim at the Poughkeepsie Plaza to see if we can get a space reserved for our group to sew there as we did last year.  The plan is to make hats, scarves and possibly mittens as well out of fleece to donate to the homeless shelters.

Our next meeting is in July, and although originally we had planned to participate in The Blanket Project, we realized there was not a strong local need for lap blankets.  We decided to sew pillowcases again, since we know of a local shelter that will always put them to good use.

Mary's quilt

Upcoming meetings: September will be a sort of Christmas gift exchange, with each person bringing a sample of an easy-to-sew gift along with copies of the directions to share with everyone.  So everyone will go home with directions for a number of new gift projects.  Our October meeting will be used to prepare for MADD, cutting fabric, perhaps partially sewing some items, etc.  November's meeting will be a tutorial on proper pressing techniques, and December will be our traditional holiday dinner meeting.

The points look offset but really do all meet in the center!

Spring is apparently not a productive time for many of us sewists - maybe gardening and just the nicer weather keeps us away from our machines.  However, a few people had brought along some show-and-tell items.  Judy had completed a number of home-dec projects and brought along pictures of the valances and chair seats she had worked on.  Mary brought a quilt that showcased an interesting technique for cutting and sewing triangles so that they look like offset centers, but aren't!   And Connie showed her completed quilt top from a block-of-the-month club that she started at the Quilted Bear Den - absolutely fabulous! I was so busy admiring it that I forgot to take a picture, darn it! 

Garment Gals Schedule

The Garment Gals Neighborhood Group plans to continue meeting thru the summer, but a  poll will be taken at the June and July meetings to determine attendance for the next meeting.  Please know that the projects identified below are tentative and could change according the membership discussions/wishes.  Please contact Judy Longacre for questions regarding topic or meeting changes.

June 19 - T-shirt challenge.  We will have a session on making a t-shirt.  We will discuss stabalizing shoulder seams, making a no-ripple hem, neckline finishes, and any other techniques used to make a good looking t-shirt.  The challenge will be decided upon that day, but most likely will be to have each of us make some form of t-shirt and present it at some specific Garment Gals meeting (to be decided upon by the group).

July 17 - "My biggest mistake and what I learned from it".  Hopefully you still own it and can show us how you overcame the problem, or didn't, but learned from it.

August 21 - Linings.  We will need to pin this down a bit.  Skirt, pants, jacket - all have a lot we can talk about, but we may want to focus on a limited amount.

September 18  - Placement of plaids.  Bonny once volunteered to talk on this subject and we hope she is still willing.

October 16 - Underpants.  Several people were interested in this topic, but we will have to have someone willing to show us some lingerie sewing techniques.

November 13 (2nd. Tuesday) - Belts and perhaps other accessories.

December 18 - Pot luck lunch.  Topic, if any, TBD, but fun and non-stressful.

Quilting Group & Charity Chics Group - June Meeting Schedule

7th - Quilting - Town Hall - 9am (bring your own project)

14th - Charity - Firehouse  9:30am (project tbd)

 21st - Quilting - Town Hall - 9am(bring your own project)

28th - Charity - Town Hall - 9am (project tbd)

Contact Andrea Diamond if you have any questions.

New Interest (Neighborhood) Group forming - Machine Embroidery

Are you interested in Machine Embroidery & would like to join others who also have this interest?  Come join us on Friday, May 25 at 10:30AM at Style Fabrics in Kingston.

We'll be discussing such things as time and date of future meetings and who'll be the new group leader.  Also, what would you like to see happen in this group?

No need to worry about bringing machines on Friday.
Hope you are as excited about this one as I am!

Linda Clark

Christmas in July Sew-In

Making a hanger sachet

Now they just need closures!

The inside is as pretty as the outside.

Peggy's flowers embellishing her denim jacket

So we jump ahead now to our May meeting (April meeting had to be canceled) and the hanger sachets we made.  Peggy N. had made these before and brought one as a show-and-tell many meetings ago.  Many people liked them, so Peggy graciously consented to lead us through the steps to make one.  Armed with our fabric and sewing machines, we spent about an hour making them.   The design is similar to a clutch purse;  the flap would go over the lower rung of a plastic hanger and fasten to the body of the sachet to hold the whole thing on the hanger.  The bag of the sachet would hold the potpourri, which could be enclosed in a mesh bag if you wanted.  Peggy also pointed out another use for the sachet could be to hold personal items when traveling;  it could be hung inside a garment in a hotel closet to be fairly unobtrusive.  Whatever the use, it was a fun way to use up some fabric remnants and be creative.  As you can see from the photos, the group has a great sense of color and design.  All that's needed to finish them off are buttons and ribbons to make the closures.

Oooooh....sparkly!  Trim for a blue silk dress

On Saturday, May 5th, a number of chapter members had traveled to New York City to meet up with members from the Maryland chapter for a shopping day in the garment district (or Fashion district, as NYC labels it).   It was an orgy of feeling fabrics, touching trims, getting ideas and dreaming of beautiful garments to be, if we only had more time/money/space!  There were wonderful bargains to be had, and some of us found exactly what we were looking for.  In Peggy's case, it was these crocheted flowers to finish embellishing a denim jacket.  In Maura's case, it was some rhinestone trim to punch up the neckline of a silk dress, made with fabric purchased on the chapter trip two years ago.  Linda found feathers and some fabulous fake snakeskin in lime green;  Ronnie bought some gorgeous orange silk, and many of us bought fur pom-poms at Pacific Trimming for......cat toys!

Fashion trim or cat toy?

Gail Yellen's Embellishment Class & Trunk Show

Pop-up Sew In

Do you need some time to work on those unfinished sewing projects?  Here's an opportunity to come by, spend as little or as much time as you want to get them completed and meet new sewing friends!!  Members and non-members are all welcome!  All the details are below....

April/May Charity Chics & Quilt Group activities

May 10 - Charity Chics meet at the Hughsonville Firehouse  TBD
May 17 - Quilt Group at Fishkill Town Hall 

May 24- Charity Chics at Fishkill Town Hall  TBD 


April 12 - Charity Chics meet at the Hughsonville Firehouse  9:30  Continue to work on kids quilts

April 19 - Quilt Group at Fishkill Town Hall  9:00  Bring your own quilt project 
(Andrea not attending this mtg, but the room is available for anyone who wants
to meet this day.  The first person in must go thru the lobby to access the downstairs.)

April 26 - Charity Chics at Fishkill Town Hall  9:30AM 

We will be working on a number of steps to make chemo caps, so you will have a choice.  

Choose the activity you would like to participate in from the list below and bring the appropriate supplies; 

• Cutting chemo knits -- Scissors or rotary cutter and board.
• Cutting chemo cottons -- Rotary cutter, ruler and board
• Serger needed to serge the cotton triangles
• Regular sewing machine to sew knit caps, put the caps together or work on tie back caps.
•  
• There is also some binding to do for the quilts. 

Contact Andrea Diamond if you have any questions.

You really can sew a zipper that is invisible! March Garment Gals Meeting

Zippers were the topic of discussion in March. We learned all about different zipper techniques from Joan Gadonniex, Judy Longacre and Danielle Rudi.
Joan began our program by instructing us on the several different types of invisible zipper feet and how to use those feet to sew a zipper that well, actually ended up being invisible!  One use for an invisible zipper, besides insertion  in a garment, and one that most of us had never considered, was to use it in pillow covers.  Joan showed us one she had made, and actually had difficulty in finding which side the zipper was on!
Judy showed us a Lapped Zipper Technique.  Her detailed instructions made it seem doable, even to those of us who are often reluctant to insert any kind of a zipper in a garment!
We finished with a presentation by Danielle on Fly Front Zippers.  Again, her step by step presentation, using jeans she was in the process of making, and ones that she had completed, helped those of us who thought we might never attempt making anything but an elastic waist pair of pants!
As an offshoot, she also made many of us consider sewing a pair of jeans which is a project that many of us have felt intimidated by. In fact, we have talked Danielle into doing a jeans making workshop sometime in the near future.

What's been happening at the Garment Gals?!

Garment Sewists,  lots has been going on at the Garment Gal meetings this year!
In February we had an interesting and informative program about Peggy Sagers' Patterns. The presenter was Bonny Carmicino who had recently attended a workshop/program with Peggy Sagers herself.
Did you know that if you are interested in sewing the most current styles, Peggy Sagers Patterns are the way to go? Peggy purchases the latest designer garments and dismantles them, figuring out how to present them as patterns we can use. Hard to find patterns that fit? These patterns have great lines, include separate bust sizes and are designed to fit "Misses" and "Women" sizes.
Peggy Sagers Patterns are all designed to be used with the newest fabrics that are available. For examples, her patterns for knits now incorporate the different characteristics of various knits.
There are a few things to be aware of with her patterns. Her pattern cover photos show the "hipness" of the design but not necessarily the details. Her "flats" are sometimes not very good, and there may be little errors, like her notches do not match.
But as Bonny said, If you think before cutting, "the potential for amazing pieces is there".

The finished product

Wednesday night's NG meeting was a productive one, with many members bringing along their machines to create a sewing needle organizer.  With some quilted fabric, binding and some vinyl strips, we sewed a roll-up organizer that has individual pockets to hold all those little packets of machine needles in one place.  Using the clear vinyl to make the pockets allows you to see all your needle packs at a time, making selection much easier.

We also welcomed Pat, a visitor (and we hope a new member!) who is returning to sewing after being away from it for a while.

Next month, Linda C. will share her knowledge and experience of fabric embellishment through fabric painting and stamping.

Bonnie Hunter's Workshop - It's Here!!

Cathedral Star workshop with Bonnie Hunter

Members complete quilt for Leukemia & Lymphoma raffle

Have you heard about the quilt that Andrea Diamond and other members of the Charity Chics neighborhood group have been making for this year's Leukemia & Lymphoma Society fundraiser?  Well here it is!!  It's completely quilted and the binding attached....and we are so excited!   

This pattern is called  "Mariner's Star" designed by Judy Neimeyer.

Closeup block details.

                                               Quilting detail...........

The quilt will be on display at the April 14 Walk over the Hudson fundraiser http://www.cfhvny.org/page10005463.cfm

Raffle tickets for the quilt can be purchased directly from Andrea Diamond,  Cathy Anderson atThe Quilt Basket in Hopewell Jct,  Diana Louie at The Village Fabric Shoppe in Red Hook, or Style Fabrics in Kingston.

For more information regarding the local 2012 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society activities taking place between March 8 and May 13, 2012, please see  http://wch.mwoy.llsevent.org/melodymordock

Upcoming meetings for the Sewphisticuts: (subject to change based on members' availability)

March 13:  how to sew a sewing tools organizer

April 11:  fabric painting and stamping
May 9:  coat-hanger sachet

June 13:  annual sewing room tour (Maura's house this year) and pot-luck dinner

July 11:  blanket project for community service

For our February meeting at Hobby Lobby, members were asked to bring along sewing tools that they found indispensable along with items that weren't originally meant to be sewing tools!  This group proved to be as creative in their "re-purposing" as they are with fibers, from using hardware store washers as pattern weights to office supply store index tabs as stick-on seam guides on a sewing machine.  Tiny scissors and seam rippers of several sorts seemed to be the most popular favorite item of the group;  does that mean we all do a lot of reverse-sewing?

3Q2011 Charity Chics projects delivered



Have you ever wondered what the Charity Chics have been up to?  Well here are some photos and a rundown of the some of the items delivered between Oct 1 and Dec 15, 2011.  Many of you have assisted in this productivity by sewing chemo caps and pillows on your own at home.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone for their efforts!!  The total numbers are as follows:

240 chemo caps for local chemo patients,  140 pillows for surgical patients in local hospitals and over 12 quilts to local family shelters for mothers and children.

Baby quilt with frog appliques.                                     Pinwheel childs quilt

                                 boy's sports quilt                               Crayon Box design by Bonnie Hunter - twin size

Scrappy blocks & piano keys - twin                                           Scrappy blocks

Each of these oversized/reversible tote bags contains a twin size quilt and was delivered to the shelter for each of the mothers.