Sunday, April 3, 2011

This and That

I've been back from Ottawa, aka Nana Heaven, for a few days now.Of course, I can't resist showing you my favorite of the hundred or so pictures I took while I was there.




I don't have a new garment to show you but I have a Chanel type jacket in the works. The pattern is chosen and altered, the jacket is cut out but not the lining, and I'm trying to decide on trims. I'll have more on that in a couple of days.

I just thought I'd tell you about a sewing group I've helped to organize and that I'm mentoring.Our small community is near a large lake ( Grand Lake ) and has a much larger population in summer than the rest of the year.Among the permanent residents is a fairly large group of retired people like myself who have time on their hands. There is a well equipped community hall about a mile from my house and I thought I'd try to persuade people to come and sew with me on Thursday afternoons. We've been getting together for about two months now and I'm very happy with what is transpiring.

There are about 12 regular ladies who are taking advantage of the chance to sew with friends and neighbours and who really seem to appreciate any help that can be given. We will soon be joined by a former Home Economics teacher who will be very welcome to help with instructions or just give a helping hand.

This week we only had five sewers who all wanted to make the cardi that I showed you here. I copied a couple of sizes out of newspaper ahead of time and after measuring everyone, they were ready to go.



So far, many of the ladies have made the Fleece Tied Blanket that I showed here and they were thrilled with their results. They all made Hair towels like this one . That was a popular project.



Some weeks, each member has a project of their own or someone needs help with fitting issues or pattern alterations.

It really makes me happy to see how everyone seems to enjoy these afternoons.
And I have to admit that I love stepping back into my teacher shoes.

I hope you had time to sew this week.

More later from


6 comments:

Jenny said...

What fun! I wish I could find something like that here. Maybe I could start something up after my kids are a little older and at least in school. :-)

Claire S. said...

What a great way to spend an afternoon - if only I lived closer (or was home more often)! :-)

By the way - I want to try the binders that came with my vintage machines and would like to attempt to make it myself.

I've been racking my brains for ages now trying to remember where in the world I've seen a tutorial for continuous bias. Of course, I couldn't remember what it was called, only that it was from a small square piece of fabric and magically made yards and yards of bias !

There it is, sitting right on your blog - so, thanks for posting today !!!

gwensews said...

I love sewing groups! Yours sounds perfect. You are fortunate to have a nice place to meet. Your little grand-daughter is adorable!

Irene said...

What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Some people just need a little encouragement to get going on projects. Getting together and knowing that someone will be able to help, should problems arise, must make sewing a lot more fun.

Ann Made Studio said...

Oh your Grand daughter is adorable.
It's amazing how these little ones can melt our hearts :))

What a super idea ~ your sewing afternoons sound like a perfect way to spend time with
nice people doing something fun.

Sewingadicta said...

What a beautiful way to spend your time, do it with people with similar hobbies, how fun. Your little princess stole my heart ...