Everyone needs a challenge now and then

Our topic this week was "Challenges" and only five brave souls decided to deal with it.  (For those who couldn't make the meeting - only teasing!)  Rosealice couldn't be there but weighed in with the challenge of making placemats look nice, so she wondered if perhaps a program on that topic would be a help.  Peggy brought along the undies she made by copying her favorite pair.  Since that style was no longer available, she drafted a pattern from an existing pair and made some new ones.  She said the most challenging part was figuring out how to attach the fold-over elastic.  Pat stated that her challenge was dealing with attaching bindings around curves and creating mitered corners.  We talked a bit about our experiences with those and gave her some techniques to try.  Kathia's latest challenge was that she learned to knit.  She was working on a christening blanket and doing a creditable job dealing with seed stitch, garter stitch and stockinette stitch.  Maura brought along her challenge which was a length of peacock-patterned embossed vinyl that she hopes to turn into a purse.  Several members suggested using a leather needle and perhaps investing in a teflon machine foot to make sure the vinyl doesn't stick.

In October the East Fishkill Library will display work from ASG members for the month.  If anyone in the group has items they would like displayed, bring them along to the September meeting for collection or contact Maura to make arrangements for drop-off.

There is no meeting in August.

Two possibilities have arisen for November's program: placemats or a car trash bag (see picture here).  Please contact Maura before the end of July to express your preference so that program planning can begin.

Car trash bag project

Enjoy some photos of the Show-and-Tell members brought.  See you in September!

Bolero from scuba fabric

Reflective patches added to denim vest

Zippy bags!

Small quilted table mat

Kindle holder

Bag with pleated pocket

Beach bag

Stretch denim capris

Tee shirt

Sewing Room Tour and Dinner

 Last Wednesday the Sewphisticuts held their annual sewing room tour and pot-luck dinner.  This year, Peggy hosted the group again since she had redone her sewing room since the last time the group had been there.  Her upgrades were part of some other renovation work throughout her house, so her revamped sewing room now includes an air-conditioning system, beautiful new floor and new lighting overhead.  She re-arranged some furnishings in the room and turned a former cornice from her dining room door into a shelf with pegs for hanging tote bags.  The group also enjoyed delicious food in the new (one year old) sunroom.

The only business conducted was a discussion of what to do for the July meeting.  The service project of sewing for Days For Girls was discussed and the decision was to postpone it until members have had a chance to try some of it since the sewing requirements are quite exacting.  Instead, the July meeting will be a combination of advice-seeking and advice-giving,  as members are encouraged to bring along their sewing challenges.  These might take the form of a project idea that you want to try but are not sure how to start, or one you attempted but have been stuck on, or one you successfully completed. 

And we had some show-and-tell:

Tonya showed one of her bags.

Maura made a tankini for her daughter.

 

An Alice-themed bag by Tonya

The inside of the Alice bag

Pat's zippy bags

Pat's nifty window pouch

Ronnie's embroidered snowflakes on a light strand

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Ronnie's embroidered tote bag

Identical dresses in 3 sizes for her granddaughters.

Minnie Mouse dress

Dress by Ronnie for her granddaughter

One of many dresses Ronnie made for her grands.

Pillow Talk

 Our May meeting was dedicated to service sewing:  we would make post-surgical pillows for patients at local hospitals.  We reversed our usual order of things and did Show-and-Tell first so that we could then go straight through with our sewing until the end of the meeting.  After Show-and-Tell, we got a nice assembly line going.  Connie had cut out the squares ahead of time, so we were able to pin in labels, sew, turn, stuff and close up about 30 pillows in an hour.  Nice work, everyone!

Peggy's crazy-quilt zippy bag

Peggy's large tote bag

A lovely little bag by Pat

Tanya's Zombie bag

Sue's thread-painting project

Maura's jeans:  classic on left, pull-on stretch on right

Everyone hard at work making pillows

Going Crazy, part 2

On Wednesday night, the Sewphisticuts continued their topic of Crazy Quilting by trying to make their own crazy quilt pieces.  Most used the flip-and-sew method, attaching one piece at a time in such a way so as to cover some of the raw edge of a previous piece.  One of us used the fusing method for a small item with correspondingly small pieces.   By the end of the night, the group had a couple of pieces finished, or nearly so.

Four different takes on crazy quilting

 During the business part of the meeting, we decided on a slight schedule change for our calendar since we had nothing planned for the May meeting (left blank originally in case we had to cancel a meeting through the winter).  After some discussion, the group decided to move the July program up to May, so next month we will be sewing post-surgery pillows to donate to the local hospitals.  In July, we will probably be making personal hygiene kits for donation to Days for Girls (click on the name to open the link for more information).  So next month will be another "bring your machine" meeting, either sewing machine or serger.

We also had some Show-and-Tell.  Pictures follow.

Peggy's bag

Maura's fleece sweater

Maura's Moto jacket

Connie's quilt

A memory quilt from Connie

Judy' s vacation slacks: she's prepared to overeat!

Judy made a belt.

 

Cotton shirt from Peggy.

Peggy's convertible bag/backpack