Memories and Fabric Make Cherished Holiday Gifts.

I love to give and receive homemade gifts for birthdays, Holidays, and special events. As a matter of fact the gifts I treasure most are the homemade ones family and friends have given me. One of my most cherished gifts is a pillow that my sister Tonya made and gave me a few winters ago. That simply designed and constructed pillow touched me deeply… let me explain how mere fabric could mean so much. I was blessed with a wonderful father. He had an engaging sense of humor – always cracking jokes, playing practically jokes, laughing and making everyone around him laugh. He also loved to sing us silly songs. Using that sense of humor he would take songs and change the words, or he would take two songs and combine them. As kids we just loved those songs, and as adults we sang those songs along with him and laughed. He was a man loved by many. He was taken from us five years ago when he lost his battle with brain cancer. Our family truly misses that loving, funny man. His chosen profession was that of a paint contractor. Many times he remarked that, "everything he owned had paint on it". While pondering what meaningful Christmas gift she could make the family that would recall our father… that remark came to my sister's mind. So several years ago my sister took some our father's old painting pants and made us pillows as gifts for Christmas – on which she embroidered words from those silly songs of his. Words can't express much I love this special heartfelt, handmade gift.  Handmade items from our loved ones and dear friends are indeed the most treasured of gifts. This holiday season at my sewing school for children the students will have the opportunity make some of those treasures themselves. I am offering wonderful holiday gift workshops for kids ages 7 to 14. Children will select and make three to five items for gift giving, from 20 unique items – 15 of which are new this season! The items are ready to sew, allowing your child to make those three to five items during the three-hour workshop.  They then go home with handmade gifts guaranteed to touch the hearts of friends and family.  Those 20 gift items include; a purse organizer, soda or juice can cover, wallet, placemat bag, hooded fleece scarf, stuffed toys, purse, pincushions, book covers, everyday bag, headband and much more. I'm holding eight workshops in four days, two per day, on; November 13^th, 27^th and December 11^th and 18^th. Workshop times are; 9-12am and 1-4pm. Each workshop has room for just four students. The sewing machines and all sewing supplies needed to complete the projects are provided.  Children will have a great time while making gifts for family and friends. Workshops are filling fast, so call 503-804-7259 now and reserve a spot.   Happy Sewing, JoLene

Be sure to visit my website: http://jolenesews.com/

Autumn brings new kids sewing classes and an Open House

I love Summer with its warm sunny days filled with swimming, gardening, long walks, trips to the beach, sleeping in, Fairs to attend, and so much more. But, all good things must come to an end, and then better things follow… the FALL. I love Fall even more than Summer, with its bright Autumn colors as leaves change, cooler days, harvesting the garden, harvest festivals, and the children head back to school – but most of all I enjoy Fall because my sewing school starts back up for the season. I must say I have the best job in the world! Sewing is my passion and teaching it to others has become my second passion. What a great feeling it is to share with others something that makes me so happy – the vanishing art of sewing. I love teaching kids to sew. It brings me such joy as I observe each child as they gain sewing skills and grow in confidence. That joy is soon surpassed as I witness the look of excitement on the children's faces when their project actually turns out looking like it is supposed to. I am so delighted by the variety of personalities and talents of the children. Teaching children to sew is one main of the reasons I get out of bed each day. I openly invite all to attend my Fall Open House event. When: Saturday, September 11, 2010 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. at my home-based school: 6018 SE 56 Ave. Portland, Oregon 97206. Or another session may be arranged if you need.  Why:

• Meet me of course, and learn of my passion for sewing
• Learn about my sewing school and its classes, camps, events, and schedules
• See examples of my students hand work – from clothing to stuffed toys
• New students enjoy a free mini-sewing lesson and then they try out one of my sewing machines

 Sewing is more than something that is fun and exciting – it is an important life skill that you can rely on over the years. Teaching a skill like sewing makes me recall the often recounted saying, 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime'.  Happy Fishing (Sewing)!, JoLene

Be sure to visit my website: http://jolenesews.com/

The Cat, the Bug Bomb, and the Broken Leg – The Fall of a Sewing Teacher.

Once upon a time… well, that is how many stories start out, but this one starts out a little differently... Our cat is a house cat in the winter and an outdoors cat in the summer. This summer she has fleas, which she brought inside the house and shared. If you have ever had a flea infestation in your house you know how intense it can get, and fast. We tried to get rid of them by various methods, but they kept getting worse by the minute it seemed. As a last resort we decided to try bug bombs. We were making last minute preparations prior to heading out the door to the store before I set off the bug bombs… and as I was making my way down the stairs I slipped on the 3rd stair from the bottom. I soon discovered that one little misstep can change your world. There I lay sprawled out on the floor… with a useless foot, caused by the broken bones in my leg. My life changed in a flash - EMT's, an ambulance ride to the local ER, pain meds., an overnight splint, surgery the next morning, a walker, crutches, and nights spent in a hospital. Over a week has passed and I'm feeling better. As I mend now with a rod in my leg I face a long road to recovery and rehabilitation. I just wanted you all to know I appreciate your prayers and good thoughts in my behalf. For those you who are hearing of my fall for the first time, and those of you that are already aware of it – my summer sewing camps are still going to be held as scheduled, but many sewing classes had to be canceled.

• If you are already signed up for a sewing camp nothing changes – just show up on the scheduled date and time for which you have registered.
• If you want to sign up for a sewing camp you still can. Just go to my web site or call me at: 503-804-7259, as there are still camp openings.

I believe that challenges are put in our lives to make us better people and make us stretch ourselves to do and learn things we might not otherwise have had the opportunity to. I am up for the challenge – with a little help from my friends. I will be here for all camps and I will have friends supporting me to continue to help you. Have a great summer, and I hope to see you soon at camp. Happy Sewing, Jolene.

Be sure to visit my website: http://jolenesews.com/

Simple Alterations Breathe New Life Into Old Dresses

I have a granddaughter named Sariah. She would rather wear dresses or skirts (preferably skirts) than pants or shorts. Sariah outgrew all of her skirts, but she kept wearing them even though they were too small. It seemed that no matter where we hid them she would find them.

So, finally my daughter headed to the second hand store to shop for more skirts for Sariah – in her size. But she could not find any. For a few dollars she managed to find dresses that were too small for Sariah, but just right for altering… into skirts.

[caption id="attachment_557" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Sariahs new skirt begins"][/caption]   Here are the four finished four skirts (that were once dresses). I cut off the top under the arm holes. Then I zig-zagged the edges and turned the top edges over and sewed. [caption id="attachment_558" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Sariahs many 'new' altered skirts"][/caption]

After that put in elastic, and now Sariah has some smart and styling little skirts. I call the pink one her Dora skirt. I altered and sewed all these in one evening within a couple hours time.  You too can try this on special dresses that your child or grandchild outgrows and is not yet wanting to part with. This gives the garment one more year of wear, bringing your child one more year of pleasure. Write me and tell me of something you altered so you or your children/grandchildren could get a little more use out of them.  As Always, Happy Sewing, JoLene

Be sure to visit my website: http://jolenesews.com/

First-hand experience altering second-hand garment yields a fit.

My daughter is quite the second-hand shopper. She and I can go down the same store isle yet she will come out with several great things, and I come out empty handed. I have discovered that when you go on one of these second-hand shopping trips do so with something in mind and you will be successful. So with that said I want to share a story of one of my daughters shopping finds. Among the items she brought home from one such second-hand shopping trip was this skirt. [caption id="attachment_544" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The skirt before alterations"][/caption] As you see it is a newer style skirt with sequins on the front.  It was a size 10 and she wears a size 8 or smaller. Even though she is pregnant she figured she could get away with wearing it with a longer shirt over the top. (She is one of those that doesn't get very big during her pregnancies).  I picked the skirt and was admiring it. I noticed it looked quite small. It was then that we both realized that it was a child's size 10, not an adult size 10. We both laughed. That is what can happen when shopping second-hand stores. Often time you don't try them on or you get them home and something is wrong with them. But that is okay, because when you shop these kinds of stores you have to expect such things will occur. So, what does one do with an under-sized skirt. Re-donate it or alter it. My daughter decided to alter it for her daughter that is a child size 6x. Well, from a 10 to a 6 is quite a big size difference, but because of the style of this skirt it would not be hard to alter. So we decided to fix it.  I am going to show you how easy it is to alter this cute little skirt: First I cut off the waist band and cut the side seams off, leaving ¼ inch seam allowance. (I tried the skirt on the child inside out and pinned parallel to the seam and got a good fit. I also figured out how much to cut off of the top).

1. I sewed the sides together, and at this point you can zig zag or surge the edges if you would like.

I am going to show you how easy it is to alter this cute little skirt: 

1. First I cut off the waist band and cut the side seams off, leaving ¼ inch seam allowance. (I tried the skirt on the child inside out and pinned parallel to the seam and got a good fit. I also figured out how much to cut off of the top).

The skirt during the alteration process

2. I sewed the sides together, and at this point you can zig zag or surge the edges if you would like.

1.      3. Next I cut out a new waist band. I sewed elastic to the back, sewed the elastic waist band to the skirt, and then sewed the front waist band to the skirt.

4. 1.      Put in elastic. At this point I tried it on the child. You can shorten a little if needed, which is what I did. [caption id="attachment_546" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Alterations complete - the finished skirt!"][/caption]  

1.      5. Taa… daa… a skirt finished, not for the daughter, but for the grand daughter. I hope this helps you see that altering a garment can be relatively simple, and you might need to try it the next time your second-hand shopping finds you with an item that doesn't fit just how you thought it might.

 

As always,

 

Happy Sewing, JoLene

Be sure to visit my website: http://jolenesews.com/

Fond memories and handmade items are true treasures

I must miss the Idaho home of my youth, as this is the second time recently I have shared memories from my childhood there. Hope you don't mind my strolls down memory lane. When I was young I remember that church bazaars were a big thing. All the churches had them. It is one way they raised extra funds. The bazaars' were put on by their women's groups. I can recall those bazaars having the best food and every kind of craft you can imagination. They had quilts, toys, pot holders, baby clothes, and more… you name it they made it and sold it. A few weeks ago the mother of one of my sewing students brought in the cutest stitched toys which were handmade by her grandmother. She had originally intended these toys for sale in the bazaars, but of course these toys often ended up in the arms of her grandchildren. 

[caption id="attachment_538" align="alignleft" width="1024" caption="Grandma's homemade toy treasures"][/caption]

I think they are so cute – won't you agree? They are the Three Little Bears, a Bear and Mouse. These are such treasures!!! I think we are all of the same opinion that handmade gifts from the heart and hands of loved ones and friends, like these, are the very best of treasures. A few years ago I made the decision that I would only make homemade gifts as presents. I hope they become treasures like the toys made by this wonderful dear grandmother.  Do you have treasured gifts from someone special? Will you share with us the story behind your treasured gift?  As always, Happy Sewing, from JoLene

Be sure to visit my website: http://jolenesews.com/

16 Hands + 4 Sewing Machines + 2 Hours = A Baby Quilt Stitched with Love

Recently I had eight teenage girls from the youth group of the church I attend over to my house. They were there because they wanted to make a baby quilt for an expecting and slightly older friend.  Although most of them had never sewn before they were up to the challenge. I gave them pointers and they were off and stitching. What fun we had as they built the quilt.  As they only had 2 hours in which to complete this project I cut the fabric squares out ahead of time. They put their heads together and decided on a pattern and how they wanted the finished quilt to look. Having just four sewing machines on site these eight girls took turns sewing and ironing, and we the finished quilt in the time allotted.  The current trend quilting is to line the finished piece with 'Minkee', a very soft and luxurious fabric, which is perfect for baby blankets and quilts. After the girls left I put the 'Minkee' on the back, turned it, then sewed around the edges and… tah dah!... a baby quilt made by friends with love. The project was relatively quick and easy. [caption id="attachment_533" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The baby quilt love built."][/caption] What do you think? Cute Huh!!! Happy Sewing, JoLene.

Be sure to visit my website: http://jolenesews.com/