Springfield Sharing Threads Charity Sewing Project 2016

Tender Loving Care Ministries – Clothing for Children in Appalachia

Tender Loving Care Ministries, Inc. (TLC) is a private, non-profit, 501 (c) 3 charitable organization whose primary mission is to spread the love of Jesus Christ by ministering to the clothing needs of underprivileged children of the Appalachian Mountains—Southern Ohio, Eastern Kentucky, Southwestern Virginia and West Virginia. Poverty in Appalachia is extreme. Many children live
in conditions that border on those of Third World Countries. As a result, many children are socially and academically behind by the time they enter school. Between 75 and 80% of the children at these schools live in homes where the income is below the poverty level.

Things you can sew or make: Sizes 4 - 14 are the requested sizes

• For dresses, jumper & blouse sets, pajamas, and sweaters, you may use any pattern suitable for young children. Please use solid color or patterned fabric for dresses and jumper & blouse sets for girls; no pants for girls. Designs and fabric must be appropriate for young children. Tights or socks, undies, hair bow, bracelet and barrettes can be purchased to complete the outfits.
• Slips -any basic pattern, or request a pattern from TLC
• Pajamas for boys and nightgowns for girls are also useful.
• Quilts, blankets, afghans, and baby blankets are other items that can be made and donated.
• Knitted Mittens, Scarf and Hat with Pom-Poms, Crocheted Baby Clouds Poncho (Patterns available on TLC website, under the How You Can Help tab)
• Personal Care Kit Bag (12x18 drawstring bag) use this link for instructions.

ALL garments must be labeled with size. Labels should be made of fabric that can withstand
laundering and permanently secured to the garment; if you cannot attach a fabric label please pin a paper label with the size on the front of the garment. Please clip all threads.

Deadline for Distributions:

• Back-to-School Distribution is June 15, 2015 - SHORT SLEEVES on the garments (NO
• sleeveless dresses)
• Thanksgiving Distribution is October 15, 2015 - LONG SLEEVES ONLY on garments
• Coats, sweaters, ponchos and knit sets are shipped in the Thanksgiving distribution.
• Christmas Distribution is November 15, 2015 - LONG SLEEVES ONLY on garments

In order to meet these deadlines, I will need the garments three weeks prior to these distribution deadline dates. (May 25, Sept 23, and Oct 26).  I will collect garments at Sharing Threads meetings the third Wednesday each month.

Charity Sewing Day, Friday, April 22, 10:00 – 4:00, Richard Byrd Library, 7250
Commerce St., Springfield. Please bring fabric, sewing machines, basic sewing supplies.
For more information, contact: Martha Walker.

Fairfax Seams Sew Fun!

Debbie Tollin

Have you wondered what happened to the Couture Group? Well first of all, we changed our name, and secondly we lost our meeting place when G Street closed their Virginia stores. Changing our name, moving, sounds like we went into The Witness Protection Program. We haven't. We're still here.
Late last year, we decided to change our name for two reasons. Many of the groups had their geographic location in their name, and some people felt that the word "couture" could be off-putting to new sewers and/or potential new members. Our new name is: Fairfax Seams Sew Fun!
When G Street closed, we were at a loss as to what to do. We thought perhaps we could meet at a library or a community center. One day I was driving home from my errands and as I was driving past The Quilters Studio, ( 9600 Main Street, Fairfax, VA 22031, 703-261-6366 ) I decided to approach the owner, Kathye Gillette. She was so gracious and enthusiastic about letting us meet there. Although our name has changed, and we have new digs, our meeting day and time are the same. We still meet the first Friday of the month at 10:30. Please join us. Also, I urge you to visit The Quilters Studio. It's such a beautiful store, brightly lit, chock-a-block with drool worthy fabrics including some fashion fabrics and knits, books, and a wonderful array of notions. We meet in a beautiful classroom with quite a large capacity. Since we don't meet until 10:30 and the store opens at 10:00 that will give you some shopping time before the meeting. There are many restaurants within walking distance for lunch after, and AC Moore across the parking lot, to boot.
At our January meeting Kathye talked to us about renting their AccuCutter & Longarm Quilter, and the importance of using the correct thread. At our February meeting, Sheila Bohannan taught us how to match plaids. Some of our future meetings will be learning how to put in a fly front and selling our stuff on ebay or Sew It's For Sale. We'll have a scary fabric challenge and also we'll bring in some of the costumes we've made and talk about them.
We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting. 

Alexandria Seamsters Upcoming Programs:

The Alexandria Seamsters have some fun activities and programs coming up. We meet regularly at the Alexandria Burke Branch library (4701 Seminary Rd.) at 7 pm on the third Monday of the month. We would love to have you join us and participate in our neighborhood group. And always bring your show and tell items.
Here’s what’s coming up:

• March 21 - Making Pillow Cases for “Ryan’s Case for Smiles” 
• April 18 - Invisible Zipper and Hand Picked Zipper techniques 
• May 16 - Fabric Manipulation Techniques
• June 20 – Collar Types and Insertion

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Diana Warmann, the Seamsters Leader.

My Adventure with Butterick 5610

By Sondra Arnold

I bought Butterick 5610 about four years ago and began my search for a suitable fabric. I liked the look of the inky blue top on the pattern envelope but could not find a nice, slinky fabric of that color anywhere.
Every time I met with the Couture group at G Street Fabrics in Centreville I would scan the fabric selection (and not just the ones on the bargain table) but what I wanted was not to be found. Why is it when we imagine the perfect fabric for a project it often seems not to exist? As I usually do, I checked out the review of this pattern on the Pattern Review.com website. This is a resource I highly recommend!
As I looked over the reviews of others who had sewn this pattern, I saw someone had made it beautifully in a boarder print. Wow! I searched for this also. I found a wonderful boarder print but it simply would not work with the layout of my pattern. Well, no loss there as I made it up into a great tunic.
After these years of searching, I finally found something at Hancock Fabrics just a few months ago, not quite the rich inky blue color I hoped to find, but close enough! I bought a royal blue polyester with a slight texture.
At home, as I laid out the pattern, I cut the hem two inches longer and added an inch to the sleeve length. When it was finally stitched enough to try on, discouragement set in. The front hem drooped, the torso was boxy and baggy, and the pleats and yoke looked odd. I liked the length in back. Instead of trying to make the front the same level, I took this opportunity to shorten it to make a high low hem that is popular these days. Problem one was solved.
The pattern illustration looked shapely in the waist, but the actual pattern was not. Pinning it in did not look satisfactory. I laid a blouse I liked the silhouette of on the top, matched the underarm seams, and pinned to the outline. Success! Problem two solved.

I thought the yoke was cut and sewn precisely, but it did not look right. Were the pleats pulling the yoke down? I took it apart and stitched again; how frustrating that it did not improve. Usually I would quit at this point and stick the project in the closet to wait until who knows when to tackle it again. There were other projects to work on but I simply did not want to change the needle and thread and then have to change it back later. I decided to try again today.

At the last Seams So Fun meeting, I was reminded that in couture seamlines are thread traced. Instead of lining up the cut edges to sew a seam, the seamlines are matched up. There was the solution to problem three! How helpful these meetings are! By measuring the pattern I saw the yoke was one eighth of an inch or less off here and there, so I took in one area and let out another. I don’t think this would have shown in a print but a solid fabric shows it all. I was so discouraged when I first tried my top on, but by patiently working through each issue, I now have a fun top to wear.

President's Notes

By Kathy Wright

The annual Northern Virginia Winter Retreat at Winchester, Virginia was a resounding success. I want to thank all who came and enjoyed themselves. We had a full house. As I walked around among all the NOVA ASG members, I saw many representations of sewing styles. We had two junior members sewing like pros, having a good time. We had quilts, lots of blouses, coats, pants, skirts, pillows, purses, bras, Spring Fling door prizes, and an electric robot for a birthday present. As always, we had plenty to snack on in-between the great meals the hotel provided.

The Special Events Committee under Joyce Jones and Bonnie Firestone has been doing a phenomenal job planning the annual Spring Fling Luncheon. Therefore, I hope you have sent in your reservation to Karen Gilbert.

The 2016 Community Service Projects that the Neighborhood Group Leaders turned into me in January were great. We all had a variety of interesting ideas for giving back to our communities.

The Northern Virginia Chapter extends a warm welcome to all new members, and thanks those of you who renewed. And thank you to all who have joined our events.

Please note the dates for the upcoming CAB meetings, held at 11 a.m., Hancock Fabrics, 9160 Mathis Avenue, in Manassas: May 2; August 1; November 7.

Don't forget to Spring Forward your clocks by one hour on March 13, and enjoy a safe and happy Easter on March 27.

The next Leadership Luncheon will be held on June 11. And mark your calendars for ASG’s Annual Conference in Indianapolis July 7-11. Our Taste of Retreat will be held in August in Leesburg, and you will find more details in the next newsletter.

Please remember, September is National Sewing Month and now is the time to start advertising at the library, quilt shop, fabric store. Libraries in particular need a long lead time to set up a display, so please check with your libraries now to reserve space for books, quilts, clothing, anything that you think would make a great display.

And of course, don’t forget our annual meeting and elections, coming in October.

Happy sewing.

8th Annual ASG NoVA Spring Fling

Come and join us for

The 8th Annual ASG Spring Fling

with

Sarah Veblen presenting “Divine Details”

Saturday, March 5, 2016

11:30 am – 3:00 pm

Springfield Country Club

8301 Old Keene Mill Rd, Springfield, VA 22150

Seated Luncheon

Parade of Projects

Door Prizes

Cost $20.00 ASG members $32.00 non-members

Registration is now open until February 26th.  See registration flyer for details

Looking forward to seeing everyone at this dynamic luncheon.

Spring Fling 2016

Have you sent in your digital pictures to be displayed at the Spring Fling? Yes we all will be there and wanting to see what everyone has been working on this year. On March 5th, Sarah Veblen will be there showing us how to go from a plain white shirt to a shirt with a clever neckline or a lace detail. Sarah has published over two dozen articles for Threads and Sew News publications.