Me-Made May, Museums, and Homemade Inspiration

 Well, we're halfway through #MeMadeMay! How are you doing? We'd love to see your photos and read your comments!

It's also time to make summer plans. When the weather is awful or uncertain, museums are a great antidote for heat, humidity, and rain. If you're in the DC area, we have a lot of exhibits related to sewing, so take advantage of these opportunities! Even if you don't live near Washington, DC, many of the exhibits offer virtual tours and even lectures. 

The DMV:

• Irresistible: The Global Patterns of Ikat. Through June 8 at the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum. 
• Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction. Through July 28 at the National Gallery of Art. 
• Pattern and Paradox: The Quilts of Amish Women. Through August 24 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. You still have time to register for the lecture on May 23!
• Sewn in America: Making, Meaning, Memory. Through December 31 at the DAR Museum. They're also offering Unfinished Objects (UFO) Craft Circles. Check the site for dates and to sign up. 
• UFO Craft Circles (in-person at 3pm) and Tuesday Talks (available via Zoom or in-person at noon EST). Check out the schedule here. 

Beyond DC:

• Weaving Abstraction in Ancient and Modern Art. Through June 16 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 
• Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams. Through July 14 at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
• Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion. Through September 2 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• Dress Up. Through September 2 at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Hallyu! The Korean Wave is also on exhibit here through July 28. 
• Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style. Through July 8 at the de Young/Legion of Honor Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA. 
• Korean Couture: Generations of Revolution. Through October 13 at the Cleveland Museum of Art. 
• The Museum at FIT always has exhibits. Check this link for current and upcoming offerings. 

Passport Needed (or just membership):

• From the Heart to the Hands: Dolce & Gabbana. Through July 31 at the Palazzo Reale.  
• The Biba Story, 1965-1975. Through September 8 at the Fashion & Textiles Museum, London, UK. If you sew with vintage patterns, you might have one of hers in your stash. 
• NAOMI: In Fashion. Opens June 22 through April 6, 2025, at the Victoria & Albert Museum, South Kensington, UK. Free virtual talks are scheduled for members. Incidentally, there is a 3-day workshop on creating a couture cocktail dress in quarter-scale. This would be SO MUCH FUN!
• Barbie: The Exhibition. Opens July 5 through February 23, 2025, at The Design Museum, London, UK. 

Neighborhood Group Inspiration:

Check out Shenandoah Valley Girls in Berryville on Wednesday, May 22, as they offer a 1/2 day workshop on the All Dunn Designs Strip & Serge Top! This workshop was taught at

 the last two ASG Conferences and ASG members get a 15% discount on the pattern. 

The Springfield Sharing Threads and Kingstowne Clothiers have focused their sewing plans on fitting. If you're interested in learning more about fit and desire a supportive and encouraging community of sewists at all levels, join us at our monthly meetings! 

Our newest group, the Woodbridge Sewcial Club, alternates its offerings at the maker space in their local public library. Every other month, they will hold a sit-and-sew (or sew-in) where sewists can bring their machines and projects and get expert assistance. The alternate meetings will feature a presentation on some sewing related topic. 

Bothered by distractions? Need to get away to sew? Check out our upcoming "Taste of Retreat" scheduled for August 24-25 at the Hyatt House, Dulles, Sterling, VA. This mini retreat is modeled after our popular Winter Retreat every January in Winchester, VA. The cost is only $100 for this two-day retreat and you can stay overnight with hotel rooms that begin at $99. Overnight parking is $10, but there are no parking fees for daily attendance. Attendees are responsible for their own meals and drinks.  

Contact information for Neighborhood Groups.

Current meeting locations and agendas for Neighborhood Group Meetings may be found here (email contact information above if no group is listed). ASG members have access to GroupWorks where additional details may be found.