August 2025 Sewing Meetings

Fairfax Seams So Fun 

Fairfax Seams So Fun will meet Friday, August 1, at the Chantilly Regional Library, 4000 Stringfellow Rd., Chantilly, from 12:30-3:00.  

Michele Parker will present information on the Stash Hub app. This sewing organizer app catalogs fabrics, patterns, notions, and more. We'll also discuss ideas to celebrate National Sewing Month.  Of course, be sure to bring your sew and tell.

Woodbridge Sewcial Group 

The Woodbridge Sewcial Group will hold a sew-in meeting on Saturday, August 2, at 10:30 am. We will also discuss an upcycle project for fall. Cornie has suggested a vest project made from your choice of upcycle materials.  Please bring your ideas! Do you have a vest or jacket pattern you like? Bring it for a sample pattern consideration! I love my quilt jacket coat pattern! It's a super easy 4-piece pattern, easily converted to a 2-piece vest just by eliminating the sleeves.  Maudine is leaving for Kenya mid-August so bring all your pillowcase dresses to the meeting.  Thank you, Maudine!

Sterling Sew N Sews

At the Sterling Sew N Sews meeting on August 13 at 10:00 am, Sandy will lead a gentle chair yoga session—ideal for quick stretches during long sewing sessions. It's the perfect complement to creativity: stitch with less strain and sew with more comfort.

Kingstowne Clothiers

Between Pattern Con 2025 and the Taste of Retreat this month, we're taking a break. We'll have great programs starting in September that will take us through the rest of the year!

Alexandria Seamsters  

The Alexandria Seamsters will meet at the Franconia Governmental Center, 6121 Franconia Rd., Alexandria, VA, on August 18, from 7 pm to 9 pm. The program will be on sewing tote bags, tool kits, sling bags, and so on. Marjorie B and Susan L will discuss fabrics, patterns, interfacings, notions, hardware, and sources for supplies. Please bring any bags you've made to the meeting.

Springfield Sharing Threads 

We'll meet at the Springfield Governmental Center at 6140 Rolling Road on Wednesday, August 20, at 10:00 am.  Despite the recent heat, the winter holidays will be here before we know it! Let's talk about easy gift ideas!  Bring projects, patterns, resources, and your handmade treasures for inspiration.  Don’t forget your Show and Tell!

Lansdowne Woods

Lansdowne is taking the summer off.  Next meeting is in September.

Shenandoah Valley Girls 

We'll meet on Wednesday, August 27, at 10:00 am at the Clarke County Memorial VFW Post 9760 in Berryville. Brenda Goodwin will show how to create fabric greeting cards. Use your creativity and fabric scraps to create one-of-a-kind designs. Get ready for the holidays!

Wearable Arts Group – Looking for a Leader

The longtime Wearable Art Group is seeking new leadership—and we’d love for it to continue! Whether you keep the name or change things up, Manassas offers a vibrant community of sewers ready to connect.

What a Neighborhood Group Leader does:

• Serves as the contact for members and newcomers
• Sets the pace and tone for meetings
• Shares updates with the board and communicates chapter news

Prefer to co-lead? Even better—share the role and have built-in support!
This is a great way to contribute, build community, and enjoy the creative rewards of involvement. Ready to take the lead? Let’s keep the art (and the group) thriving.

Check out the Neighborhood Group page for details on meeting locations and contacts. 

Spring Fling 2020: "Sew Your Own Path" on March 14, 2020!

Join us on Saturday, March 14, 2020, to hear Michelle Umlauf share her story on how she went "against the grain" to pursue a career in the sewing industry!

Michelle graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore County with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and spent nearly 20 years working for the federal government. With her husband’s encouragement and support, she made a major career change and is now pursuing her dream of teaching others how to sew, quilt and embellish. Michelle is a member of the American Sewing Guild. In 2014, she became the president of the Maryland ASG Chapter.

Michelle enjoys all types of sewing and likes to challenge herself with incorporating new techniques in her projects. She is partial to free-motion sewing, and using Sulky products has helped her learn and gain confidence in this skill. Michelle says that the book, Embellish Your Life with Sulky, is right up her alley. She hopes to inspire you at our annual Spring Fling!

In case you haven’t yet signed up for our March 14th Spring Fling or the workshop the day before, please remember to send your registration soon.
More things to do at the Spring Fling:

• Swap fabric or sewing supplies on our Swap Table  
• Participate in our fashion show 
• Channel your inner kindergartner and enjoy "show and tell"

You will have a great time & a chance to catch up with your sewing friends!  

The Registration Form is attached.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fez96nZgkqgWRyWxEk6BaCJ0h_vYG1AY
The deadline is March 2, 2020.
Mail your Registration Forms soon!

Northern Virginia Chapter Annual Meeting: Desserts, Social Media, Jacket Attack, and Show & Tell!

Presentations, Show and Tell, Trades, Voting, Drinks and Desserts at our Annual American Sewing Guild Northern Virginia Chapter meeting!

About this Event 

Join us on Saturday, October 19, from 1:30-3:30 pm for desserts and drinks (coffee and tea) at the ASGNOVA Annual Chapter Meeting.

We will be meeting at the First Presbyterian Church in Arlington. If you attended the annual meeting a few years ago, this is the same location.

Please bring your smart phones and your tablets or laptops! This is going to be an interactive session as we learn how to navigate Groupworks and Instagram! A subject matter expert will help you learn how to take photos, write captions, and hashtag your sewing projects so virtual and IRL (in real life) sewing buddies will ooh and aah over your beautiful creations!

You’ll learn how to follow others on Instagram, “like” and bookmark photos, use filters, and gain inspiration from fellow sewists through the Explore Tab.

There are some great and useful sewing videos on Instagram. Instagram is where the young and up-and-coming sewists are hanging out.

There are a couple of reasons why it’s important to document our sewing projects. First, if you’ve seen the sewing projects posted by inexperienced sewists, you know they are hungry for advanced sewing, quilting and embroidery techniques that will take their skills to the next level. Second, you know we HAVE those advanced sewing, quilting and embroidery techniques that we’d love to share with them---if they only knew we existed! That’s how we can transition their sewing from a solitary activity to one filled with a supportive network of sewists. This is where we have to be to grow our membership.

Stand by for the Jacket Attack! Not only will we learn technical skills, but we’ll have the opportunity to view—up close and personal—the beautiful jackets sewn over the past year in the various neighborhood groups. These range from the classic French–style jacket ala Chanel to the casual restyling and upcycling of sweatshirts plus everything in between.

Bring your show and tells, your items for trade, and things you want to give away! You’ll be able to pick the brains of members who attended the Sewing and Quilt Expo and those who were able to attend the ASG Conference in Boston! There will be lots to catch up on!

Here is another reason why you should attend the Annual Chapter Meeting. This is where we vote on the new leadership for the chapter and ensure we’re moving forward as an organization AND in support of our mission to recognize sewing as an art and life skill. “Many hands make light work,” “it takes a village to raise a child,” and “it takes two to tango,” all mean the same thing: we can’t do it alone. So, if you’ve been on the fence about serving in a leadership role (or leading in a servant role!), here’s your opportunity to throw your hat in the ring. You can vote at the meeting as an INFORMED CONSUMER because everyone there will let you ask any questions you need about the chapter positions. (If you can't attend the meeting, look for a ballot to come your way.)

Please RSVP so we’re prepared with plenty of desserts!

Croosh Deets:
What: ASGNOVA Annual Chapter Meeting
When: Saturday, October 19, from 1:30-3:30 pm
Where: First Presbyterian Church, 601 N. Vermont Ave, Arlington, VA (Ballston area) Enter the building from the parking lot entrance under the covered walkway. Go down the stairs to the Social Hall. If needed, an elevator is available from the entrance on the Carlyn Springs Drive end of the parking lot near the handicapped parking spaces.



What to Bring:
• Your smart phones (fully charged) and/or your laptops or tablets
• Your neighborhood group projects for the Jacket Attack
• Your show-and-tell items
• Things you no longer want (patterns, fabric, notions, and/or tools)
• Cool things you got or learned at the Sewing Expo or the ASG Conference

Before the Meeting: Download the Instagram app to your phone or tablet before the meeting so you can get started right away (Look for Instagram in the iTunes or Google Play Store)! You won’t want to miss this meeting!

Copying Ready-to-Wear - Program on Monday, May 20 at Burke-Alexandria Public Library

The Alexandria Seamsters will be meeting on Monday, May 20 at 7 pm at the Burke Branch of the AlexandriaLibrary (Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Public Library), 4701 Seminary Rd, Alexandria, VA 22304.

Jennifer will be leading our program that evening on Copying Ready-to-Wear.  

We’ll look at ways to copy a ready-to-wear piece. 

Each method used will accommodate progressively more difficult pieces.  

From being able to simply trace an outline and create a new garment to the steps it takes to copy a more complex garment, there are techniques and tips that will help you do that.  

This fits right into the current trend of "recycling" our clothes.  Instead of buying something new, take a favorite, use a piece in your stash, and have an old new piece!  This is a demonstration and notes will be provided.

If you have an article of clothing you would like to copy, bring it along and get some suggestions!

Also, bring your show-and-tell for all to see & enjoy.  

Hope to see you Monday evening.