ASG Sewing Inside the Loop Group - asgsewinginsidetheloopgroup

We had a great ASG Neighborhood Group Meeting today. Thank you Joyce for presenting such a wonderful program on Texture Magic.

Our group held a sew-in to make blankets for needy children.

We need volunteers to present programs for July and October. Please pick any topic that interests you
and share it with our group. We will not have a meeting in August as many of us will be going to the
ASG National Conference.

1) February 11: Sew-in to make Clicker Bags (Bring your sewing machine with Red Thread)

2) February 23-26: Annual Sewing Retreat at Camp Allen

3) March 10: Field Trip to Fabrics Etcetera/ Sew Contempo/Super Joanne's. We will carpool

4) April 14: Sew-in for Blanket Project

5) May 12: - Texture Magic: Joyce

6) June 9: Marilyn will present a program

7) July 14 - TBD

8) August 16-20th: National ASG Conference in Houston

9) September 8 - Terry West will present a program

10) October 13 - TBD

11) November 10: Quilt Festival Show and Tell and holiday sewing ideas.

12) December 8th - Holiday Party.

VIEW SEW AND TELL PHOTOS LOWER ON THIS FRONT PAGE.

Notes from Inside the Loop Group January 14, 2012

by Phyllis Finger, Group Leader

We had a wonderful meeting with some faces we haven't seen in awhile. Good to have you back
Maryanne, Reba, and Spring.

Phyllis reminded the group about the upcoming ASG Retreat at Camp Allen, and about the ASG
Creativity Contest using the Simplicity ASG Patterns. The details can be found in the Notions magazine
which is available online at ASG.org.

A contribution was made from the group Kitty to the Monsanto Family Scholarship Fund at the
University of Houston in memory of Bonnie's husband Carlos. There will be a memorial service for him
at the J.D. Bruce Religion Center Chapel next Saturday at 10 a.m.

Our sewers have been very busy. Phyllis pinned her first quilt together. Martha wore a denim jacket
made from Barb Callahan's Deco Jacket she made from recycled Jeans. She had been very busy cutting
all the ASG clicker bags. Nancy made quilts for Project Blanket, a tea wallet and Kwik Sew Pattern 3624.
Barbara has been working on the Sew and Tell Magazine for the Houston Chapter and made flannel
blankets for the Project Blanket Charity project as well as clicker bags. Reba made the Blue Bonnet
clicker bags and finished some beautiful " quilt as you go" blocks. Joanne showed us the cute cupcake
hats she made for her grandson and daughter-in-law and a doll she made to model the baby hat. She
also made a Locker Loop trivet and won a book. She modeled the jacket she made from Kwik Sew
3462. She is the second person this year to say that the sleeves in a Kwik Sew Pattern ran tight so you
might want to check this before sewing with that brand of pattern. Joyce serged bags from the Ready
Set Serge Book by Georgie Merlot as shown on Sewing with Nancy, with her grandchildren's names
embroidered on them. Forgive me if I forgot to write down anyone's Sew and Tell. I get so interested, I
sometimes forget to take notes.

Lorianne Reeves presented a fabulous program on what makes a good fit for garments, how she drapes
a pattern on an individual which is then used to make block patterns, and how to use commercial
patterns with your block patterns to copy design details. She also presented a show and tell of some of
the beautiful garments she made from her blocks and answered many questions from the attendees.
Lorianne teaches workshops to make the individually fitted patterns at Fabrics Etcetera in Webster on
Bay Area Blvd about 1 mile East of 1-45. You can register for the workshops by calling Fabrics Etcetera
at 281-338-1904.

Little helpful nuggets:

Free telephone number information directory: 1-800-FREE-411

Good web sites: craftgossip.com for craft tutorials including sewing and quilting

pinterest.com is an online bulletin board (search for DIY & Crafts, sewing, quilting etc.)

The show and tell photos from the December meeting have been added.

You can download these photo attachments or simply view them by looking in the November 2011 album lower on this page.

Attachments:

Notes  from the ASG Inside the Loop Group 9/10/11
By Phyllis Finger
Administrative:  Phyllis passed around the calendar for the rest of this year and next and asked people to commit to presenting a program or recruiting someone to present a program for a particular month.   We are good through next April.
Sew and Tell:
Phyllis told us about her trip to the Greater Houston Quilt Guild show and some of the demos she saw.  She recommends looking up the 10 minute quilt block on UTube.
Joyce recommended the Trumpet Skirt pattern from Mekong River Textiles.  It has gores and godets and whips up on the serger in no time.  She had a really nice rayon print that hid all imperfections.  She only puts elastic in the back and she added a zipper.  She said if you use a good rayon and hang it up, the wrinkles fall out of it.  She doesn't recommend cutting it on the bias because she has a skirt that kept "growing" even a year later.  She also talked about the pattern,  A Little Something Jacket:  She needed to remove extra width from the side seams.
 Vicky showed us a cute scrap quilt she made.
Reba showed us a quilt also and everyone oohed and ahhed over the beautiful colors.
Amanda showed us her dress in progress with a lace overlay.
Terry warned us about Kwik Sew Pattern 2759 saying there is not enough ease in the sleeves.  We all liked the blouse she was wearing with the chevroned front in the striped princess-seamed style.
Joanne showed us an Owl made from the fabric scraps she picked up at last month's stash sale.   She also show some dolls she makes.  We all liked that she had used the paint stik ideas inspired by Joyce's program last month. 
Program:
Vicki demonstrated how she makes her tote from scraps of quilting Fabric.  Her version of the tote was based on the  County Tote designed by Kimie Leavitt which is published by Indygo Junction. She has made the tote many times and has come up with additional hints for making the pattern. She cuts a piece of plastic canvas about the size of a baseball or playing card and uses that over her scraps so she can cut them with a rotary cutter or a scissors.  She uses Pellon fusible batting to make the bag a bit stiffer.  She also separated the bottom piece of the tote into two halves so when you box the corners and they don't meet up exactly you can adjust the bottom seam. She makes the binding strip  out of bias-cut fabric so the join is clean. She just used straight handles and puts interfacing on the inside, and she said to remember to fold in the small edges. She covered a piece of cardboard to place in the bottom of the tote so it would stand up better.  Joyce recommended using plastic canvas instead of cardboard so you don't have to worry about the bottom getting wet.  I think the addition of some pockets on the inside and a zipper on the top would make it a really cute purse.
Marilyn brought the door prize and Terry won it.  Terry West will be leading the group next month as Phyllis will not be available.   We need a new program for next month as Margaret will not be available to demonstrate her Turkey Centerpiece.  Please let Terry know if you can present a program to the group next month. 
This was our last meeting at Bayland Community Center.  After the meeting Phyllis and Terry retrieved the contents of the display case from the hall.  If you had anything in the case that you want returned, please let Terry know. 
The next meeting will be at the Freed-Montrose Library, 4100 Montrose near Richmond.  Joyce and Amanda volunteered to carpool for anyone needing a ride from the Bayland Park area.  The library does not open until 10 A.M. so if you get there early, you can buy yourself a cup of coffee at the Kraftsmen Bakery right next door.  The entrance to the parking structure is on the Colquitt side.

American Sewing Guild Sewing Inside the Loop Group meeting 7/9/2011

Notes by Phyllis Finger

NEWS:  We had wonderful attendance with 15 people signed in. I mentioned the schedule for the rest of the year and received acceptance for the idea of having Lorianne Reeves talk about adjusting patterns in January 2012.  I reminded the members to register on the asghouston.org website to attend the Linda Lee Workshop and Lectures September 16^th and 17^th.  Vera and Jennifer will be attending the ASG Conference in Los Angeles the week of August 19^th.  The Cotton Patch Fashion Show will be held in Fort Bend County August 27^th.  I hope some of our garment sewing members will enter. Nancy Abrams told us the Quilt Guild of Greater Houston will be having their Quilt Show September 9^th and 10^th in Stafford.  You can come to our Neighborhood Group meeting on September 10^th and then go to the Quilt Show.  If you took Project Linus kits home to sew and completed them, you can take them to Quilters Emporium, 11925 Southwest Freeway, in Stafford.  Marilyn moved and needed to decrease her stash and brought boxes of fabric.  It was decided that everyone who took fabric would contribute whatever they thought was appropriate to the group so we would have a sunshine fund.  Thank you ladies, we now have $23.00 for the fund.  Anyone who wants to bring items to share with the group and help us earn a little for our “kitty” is welcome to bring fabric, patterns, books, etc. to each meeting.  Just know that whatever is not taken must be returned home with you as we have no storage.  The money will be used for greeting cards, meeting supplies, or for the holiday party in December.  Phyllis Tucker won the door prize this month, so she will bring the door prize for next month.

HOLIDAYS IN JULY PROGRAM:  

We had a combined show and tell with holiday gift sewing suggestions round robin. 

Here are the suggestions and Sew and Tell items that the attendees made or intend to make:
1. Curling Iron Cover
2. Express Style Totes from Nancy Zieman's Sewing Express Book

3.  Sew Sweet Satchel from Clover
4. The Zip Away Tote  from http://craftyady.blogspot.com.
   The tutorial is at: http://www.box.net/shared/co7pb53eqa
5.  Kid's tote bag to hold a coloring book and crayons using quilter’s cheater cloth
6. Scarf made from a tie as show in Altered Couture Magazine, May-June 2011 p.13.
7.  Baby onesies with appliqued ties and bow ties for new little boys and knitted sweater and blanket
8. La Fred Athena blouse made with pink linen and lined with cotton organdy
9. Steering wheel cover
10. Pot holders
11. Snappy bags
12. Wedding Quilt with pictures on white fabric made with micron pens.  The white fabric was ironed onto freezer paper.   The alternate blocks were nine patches.
13.  Reversible placemats usable for different holidays.
14.  Christmas tree napkins
15.  Gift Bags
16.  Sachets with lavender picked from a lavender farm
17.  Cloth purse with Ghee's pattern and hardware
18. Spa towel set
19.  Slippers as shown in Sew Stylish, earlier shown in Threads
20.  Covered hangers
21.  Remote control holders.
22. Butterick Pattern 3345 View D Jacket
23. Project Linus quilt tops

24. Sewing Websites with lots of free holiday projects from the bookmarks of Phyllis Finger

http://www.allfreesewing.com

http://www.babylock.com/projects/

http://www.berninausa.com/news_detail-n392-r0-i1924-sUS.html

http://www.brother-usa.com/Homesewing/DesignStudio/Projects/ProjectList.aspx?cat=160

http://www.craftbits.com/sewing-crafts

http://craftstew.com/sewing/free-clothes-patterns

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SewingGiftsOnTime/links/

http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/us/507.htm

http://www.marthastewart.com/sewing-index

http://sewing.about.com/od/holidaysewingprojects/Free_Holiday_Related_Sewing_Projects.htm

http://sewing.craftgossip.com/

http://www.retrosewing.net/

http://whipup.net/2010/10/04/bags-bags-bags-roundup/

 

Nancy Abrams sent this to me after the meeting: “I used this pattern to make Valentine’s slippers for my sisters and girlfriends, using heart print flannel with grip tight fabric (has little rubber dots for traction) for the soles. The rag finish edges makes it really easy – no turning inside out. You do need to use a walking foot to sew all the layers without shifting.   http://www.makeminepink.com/pink-slipper-project/rag-slipper-instructions.pdf”

Our program for August 13^th is Paint Stix.  Joyce James suggests everyone bring a small piece of fabric if they wish to “play” with the Paint Stix.  She was wearing a top that she had painted and beaded and it got me very excited about the next meeting

 

 

 

Dear friends, you surprised me with the generous gifts and kind words.  I cannot thank you enough and I've already been to Jo-Ann's to spend my gift card (there are no Jo-Ann's in WY to my knowledge!!).

Thank you also for bringing the nice lunch which I ate with too much gusto but enjoyed very much.  Thanks for some of the leftovers too, I ate them in between packing boxes and it was great to not have to stop and cook or fix a sandwich or cut up some fruit, etc.

I will miss you all but I will stay in touch and hope you do also, either on email and/or Facebook.

And now to the meeting:

We had some show and tell:

Martha brought several snap bags she made to show us what we will be making as gifts for 2012 conference attendees.
Reba brought a pair of one-seam pants she made with elastic waist and a Winnie the Pooh quilt, more cool ties, plus little girls' white Easter dresses.
Terry brought her finished minky blanket with a matching pillow and some cool ties.
Nancy brought some more cool ties and a patriotic style quilt top for Project Linus.
Joanne brought some samples of her scrappy flowers, clothespin dolls and scrappy dolls she has been making for medical helpers.
Phyllis T brought two fleece quilts.
Phyllis F brought a printout of a "periodic table" of sewing terms she found on www.scientificseamstress.com.

Terry brought the door prize, won by Vera.  Thank you to Joanne for coming back and taking pictures.  We have missed you.

We then sewed Project Linus quilt tops with 9.5 inch squares I had put into kits--several of you found missing squares, thank you for just fixing the problem and making do!  My mind has been discombobulated lately!

Phyllis Finger, as your new leader, made some announcements and I suspect you will be challenged on a monthly basis by her leadership!  I know I have left you in great hands.  Please give her your support and contact her at Phyllis.Finger@yahoo.com.  She also has a blog--http://travelsandstitches.blogspot.com/

I love you all, please stay in touch with me and you are all welcome to visit me in Lander, Wyoming.  My new address is 200 Sweetwater, Lander, WY  82520.

Mary

Announcements:

Saturday, July 2--new sewing show on PBS, Channel 8 called "Sew It All".

June 11--Houston Chapter Sew-In at HEB on Bunker Hill to do Cool Ties.

May 21--Louise Cutting workshop.

August 27--Cotton Patch Show

Leadership needed for this group!  Yea!  Thank you to Phyllis Finger for stepping up to lead the Saturday group.  Terry West will be her back up and Marilyn Fireman will be Terry's back up.  Thank you thank you thank you.

My last meeting to be leader will be June 11 and we are going to do Project Linus quilt tops.  I will bring fabric and you please bring your machines and notions.

The rest of the year is planned so please be supportive to Phyllis during our transition.  I am actually leaving in August so I might see you a few times after June 11.

Show and Tell:

Nancy Abrams brought the cutest toddler short sleeve shirt  (with buttons!)  in a UT orange fabric; Nancy also brought a dozen finished Cool Ties and 6 more Turtles for the Paul Newman camps.

Terry brought an almost finished baby quilt she is making out of minky.

Sylvia brought a nice print drapey jacket she made from a Butterick B5498 pattern.

Joyce brought her "muslin" of a Peggy Sayers shirt/blouse she is making for herself.

Vera and Jennifer brought a casserole carrier they made as a wedding shower gift.

Phyllis talked about the Wearables Group she is attending in Webster.

Program:

Phyllis Finger led us to make "snap" bags and did a great job!  Several little bags were completed and several were almost done by the time the meeting was over.  See our website for a picture of the bags and some candid shots!  Thanks Phyllis for your help and preparation for the meeting.

Other:

Terry won the door prize brought by Sylvia.

I took a couple of notes that say "piecesbewithyou.com"  and "stitchinsis.com"??   Check them out!

See you on June 11!

Happy Sewing!
Mary

Our room at Bayland was moved again but we managed to do ok.  A newbie to our group, Amanda, came and we think had a good time.  We are a friendly group!  Hope you come back soon Amanda!  And welcome back to Carol Molina who came with Robbie.

Announcements included the Retreat, April 1-3 at Camp Allen, Louise Cutting on May 21 and charity Sew-Ins at HEB and Fabrics, etc. on June 16.

We thanked those who attended the Fashion Show and who helped with the Stash Sale.  It was a big success.


Show and Tell:

Robbie brought several sock dolls she has been infatuated with lately and they are so cute!  (She gets the sox from her husband's drawer!)  Robbie brought two books, Stray Sock Sewing, and Threads-The Basics and Beyond--the second one showed her how to develop a passport book showing samples of her machine's stitches, embellishments, etc.  She is still working on the fabric book.

Nancy brought her finished Fat Quarter jacket which is reversible in batiks.  She brought a Valentine bag she used as a husband gift and a Texas Sue pocket tote bag.  She also brought a nine-patch quilt top she made in memory of a friend's recent passing.

Reba brought a clothes hanger bag and potholders out of her famous yellow fabric--I hear tell she still has some of that fabric left....yellow anyone??

Vickie brought a new blouse with contrasting facing (due to running out of orig. fabric--a great idea Vickie).  She also brought a Quillow--a quilt in its own bag.

I brought two life-sized American Indians made by Jeannie Bynum, with help from Martha and others.  They were used as decor for the ASG Conference in 2009 in Albuquerque.  I was given them because Jeannie no longer wanted them.  The detail, bead work, costumes are amazing and include headbands, long feather headdress and a leather tomahawk and "fur" wraps to name a few.

Program:

Our program was to sew turtles, pillowcases, and/or cool ties and troop totes.  Nancy brought a finished turtle and several extra patters and Juanita brought extra patterns and lots of fabrics.  We completed 13 cool ties with another dozen almost done and Reba almost completed her turtle.  Juanita says Houston needs 5,000 cool ties this year and we have less than half ready, so several of us took fabric to make more.  More of this sewing will be done at the Sew-Ins on June 16.

Freda won the door prize brought by Mary due to Sylvia's absence.  Sylvia and Freda will bring door prizes in the future.

Our next meeting is on Saturday, April 9.  It is our annual field trip.  We are going to the Texas Art Asylum and to High Fashion and then to have lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant.  I will send more details later about when and where to meet, about possible carpooling, etc.  In the meantime, here are some links and remember we will NOT be at Bayland that day.  Happy Sewing!   Mary

Texas Art Asylum | Cool Stuff for Creative Reuse | Houston
www.texasartasylum.com
The Texas Art Asylum specializes in items for creative reuse. Part craft store, part thrift store, part salvage yard and part antique shop, the inventory is varied and ever-changing. There's nothing like it in Houston!

Location   ocation  
1230 Houston Avenue
Houston, TX, 77007
Hours  
Tues - Wed:   10:00 am   -   6:00 pm
Thurs - Sat:   10:00 am   -   8:00 pm
Sun:   1:00 pm   -   6:00 pm

Parking  
Street
Parking Lot
Phone  
713.224.5220
http://texasartasylum.com/blog

High Fashion Fabrics
3101 Louisiana St.
Houston, TX 77006
713.528.7299

High Fashion Home
3100 Travis St.
Houston, TX 77006
713.528.3838
www.highfashionhome.com

Normal Business Hours:
Mon-Sat:   10 am - 7 pm CST
Sunday:   12 pm - 6 pm CST

Thank you to those who attended yesterday.  Bayland was a mad house and parking was horrible and they changed us to a room that precluded sewing on our machines!  BUT we prevailed and had a great meeting and ended up getting much accomplished.

Welcome to Nora Cannell, a long time ASG member, who attended our group for the first time.  Thank you to Vickie for encouraging her to come!

Announcements included information about the February 12 Fashion in the City Show to be held at the Hess Club.  I was able to collect monies for 7 of us to have a table and hopefully we will have 3 more join us so let me know if you have decided to go so I can put you with our table.  There is still time for you to enter a garment, see the ASG Houston website for details.  The deadline has been extended.

Thank you to Marilyn and Reba who offered to help me at the Fashion Show with the Stash sale.  I will need you on Friday, Feb 11 to collect fabric from storage and deliver it to the Hess Club and at the actual show--the sale will be closed during the actual show and lunch.  More details on this later.

On Saturday, January 15, there will be a Sew-In at HEB at Bunker Hill from 10 am to 4 pm.  Fabric will be provided for you to assist making cool ties, tote bags and pillowcases.  Please just show up and bring your machine and notions.  If you want to bring fabric of course that would be great.  I plan to be there!

Show and Tell:

Sylvia brought her three jackets made from Butterick 3345, View D--one of black and white linen, another of batik with trim, and a linen with vintage lace trim.  All three were beautiful and stimulated much conversation.

Reba also brought her three jackets made from a LaFred Athena blouse pattern--a beautiful organza with French seams, a green linen with embroidery, and a denim jacket with channel stitching and patch pockets.  Great job Reba!

Terry brought some Christmas items she made during the holiday break--gift bags out of felt and embellished with rick rack and pom poms and more.  Terry also showed the almost completed placemats she is working on for her sister's birthday.

Nancy Abrams brought several gifts she received during the holidays--a scissors charm and a tote bag made of placemats.

Marilyn brought another fleece bolero jacket she made from McCalls 6209.

Program:

Reba brought copies of instructions for everyone for the Circular Vest/Shrug.  We took each others' measurements and several of us cut our fabric.  Nancy had a tissue paper pattern that helped a lot.  It was fun having all this hands on in a small room where everyone could get in a word or ten!  We paid no attention to the people looking in the glass door to see what we were doing!  Thank you Reba for doing the program!

Door Prize:

Sylvia won the door prize brought by Nancy--a strawberry shopping bag, a pincushion (Simplicity 2990), button pins and a finger pin cushion.  Great gifts Nancy.  Here is the site for the strawberry--http://www.ikatbag.com/2010/04/strawberry-bag.html
Silvia has to be very creative in March!

Other:
 
We will NOT have a meeting on February 12 since that is the day of the Houston Chapter Fashion Show.  So, we will see you there or on March 12 when we will have a Sew-In to make cool ties, tote bags and pillowcases and/or the Turtle Pillow (charity project for 2011).

Ladies, we forgot to talk about a challenge for 2011.  Some ideas from you would be appreciated.  We will discuss again in March.  Thanks!

Mary

These events have been entered on our calendar.  Choose the "Calendar" tab at the top of the home page.


ASG SEWING INSIDE THE LOOP GROUP CALENDAR FOR 2011
Bayland Community Center
6400 Bissonnet
Houston, TX 77074
Second Saturdays, 10am-12pm
Contact: Mary, 713-995-9350

January 8
Circle Jacket/Shrug Sew-In  (Reba)
February 12
No meeting—attending Houston Chapter Fashion in the City Show
March 12
Community Service “Turtle” Pillow Sew-In  (All)
April 9
Field Trip to Texas Art Asylum and High Fashion and Lunch
May 14
Leather Sewing Sew-In  (Joanne)
June 11
Community Service Project Linus Sew-In  (Mary)
July 9
Holidays in July Gift Ideas  (All)
August 13
Paint Stix  (Joyce James)
September 10
Friendship Bag Sew-In  (Vickie)
October 8
Turkey Centerpiece  Sew-In  (Margaret)
November 12
Quilt Festival Quilt Show and Tell  (All)
December 10
Holiday Party/ Challenge Due  (All)

CHAPTER EVENTS:

JAN 1        Auction Baskets due to Martha
JAN 15  Community Project Sew-In @ HEB Bunker Hill and @ Clear Lake
FEB  12   Houston Chapter Fashion Show-Fashion in the City@ Hess Club
APRIL 1-3  Houston Chapter Annual Sewing Retreat, Camp Allen, Navasota
MAY 21  Louise Cutting
JULY 11  Community Project Sew-In @HEB Bunker Hill
AUG 19-21  ASG Conference Los Angeles
AUG 27  Cotton Patch Fashion  Show, Fort Bend County
SEPT 1-30  National Sewing Month
SEPT 16-17  Linda Lee
NOV 3-6  International Quilt Festival, Houston
DEC 3     Houston Chapter Holiday Party

I just read the info about ASG's fashion show this upcoming February.  The deadline for entries is January 4th and it will be here before you know it!

Attachments:

Our turnout was great and included two guests/members, Alice Chow and her daughter Erica Lin.  Erica is an ASG young superstar and we were so happy to have them both at our NG.  Thank you to our regulars who made them feel welcome!  Please come back again Alice and Erica!

Patty Lieb brought refreshments of chocolate cookies and cranberry bread.  Both were delicious and baked  by her chef son.  Thank you Patty!

A special thanks to Joanne who took another set of great photos, managing to make us all look good.  Please let her know how much you appreciate the work she does for us on Shutterfly.  She also makes sure the newsletter gets our pictures.

Freda brought the door prize which Nancy Abrams won.  The prize included an embroidered vintage sewing machine on linen fabric.

Show and Tell/Quilt Festival Buys:

Joyce brought fabric, purse making items, patterns, told us she bought a smart iron and more.
Margaret showed a pink minky "wacky creature" stuffed toy she made plus a tote bag and a felt turkey decoration that we loved.
Phyllis F. brought a scrapbook fabric tags book and a purse she crocheted.
Reba brought new fabric, a bias ruler, a quilt she had finished and she wore a circle jacket made of fleece.  We will do this jacket/shrug in January.
Nancy brought turkey fabric, a special sewing machine screwdriver and a small shoulder purse she made.
Terry brought some poodle fabric, Japanese fabric, iron on ribbon, bobbin storage gadget and wore her new swing jacket. She also showed her purse with removable handles.
Sharlyn brought "quilting" socks, travel scissors, a quilt book by Cynthia England, paper piecing kits, blank bibs, and quilt patterns and more.
Bonnie showed her "Aloha" breast cancer survivor t-shirt, a tool to open jump rings, and her fav Block Party Maxine pillowcase kit plus two table topper kits.
Joanne wore a crinkly jacket she bought at QF; she showed Misty Fuse, Fiddlesticks ( you will have to Google it), cording, towel fabric and several things she made--a purse with a surprise pocket, a black and grey knitted afghan she made for her son and daughter-in-law.  She also had some leather bracelets she made.  She will do a leather class for us in 2011.
Marilyn showed a crinkly jacket she bought at QF and showed a Sandra Betzina top she made plus her finished reversible fat quarter jacket and her Hanukkah placemat.
Vickie brought a large quilt she recently completed, it was called an almanac calendar quilt and was about 72x80 in size.
Mary brought some tea towels with cute sewing sayings on them, plus some "yardstick" printed trim.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Our Holiday Party will be December 11 at Bayland at 10 am.  Please bring a brunch dish to share and a drink.  I will have coffee too.  I will bring plates, napkins and plasticware.  Bring your three jackets out of one pattern to complete our Challenge for this year.  And bring a wrapped gift so we can do some fun swapping--$10 value.  (Also, if possible, bring your completed placemats so we can get a group shot.)

I am still working on our 2011 calendar and will send it under separate email so watch for it in the next few days.  Happy Thanksgiving to you all and Happy Sewing over that long weekend!

Note:  The Houston Chapter Annual Meeting is Saturday, December 4 at Jersey Village Community Center.  Please plan to attend this 30th birthday party of the Houston Chapter.  Attending will be a panel of  several long-time members, plus past board members and YOU!  Many plans have gone into this party and all you have to do is bring a dish to share (no desserts, we will have a birthday cake).  Wear your holiday clothes if you want and come celebrate!  Out of over 450 Houston members, surely we can have 100 attending!

The following announcements were made:  The Annual Meeting is December 4; we will celebrate the Houston Chapter's 30th Birthday and the Blue Star Quilt will be raffled that day.  Please plan to attend this event, information will be published in the next newsletter you receive.

February 12, 2011 is the ASG Houston Chapter Fashion Show at the Hess Club--please put this on your calendars.  More information will be in the next newsletter.  It will include vendors and a stash sale.  I am collecting any donations you have for the stash sale.  Thank you to Joanne and Patty and Barbara Lindsay for stash goodies so far.

Our November 13 meeting will be about your goodies found at the Quilt Festival.  We will also plan our year for 2011 and plan for our December Holiday Party.  In November, please also bring your finished placemats and fat quarter jackets.

December 11 is our Holiday Party and the month your three jackets out of one pattern are due.  Party details TBA (see above).

Show and Tell:

Marilyn brought her origami jacket and 17 Shirley Adams books--sewingconnection.com is the link.
Reba brought her "Cotton" theory quilt she made with the Sassy Sewing Ladies group.
Joanne wore a purchased t-shirt which she embellished with ruffles; she also brought some appliqued and embellished tea towels she is making for her Japanese daughter-in-law.  She showed her tagging tool which helped her with the ruffles and she showed us again her supply of foldover elastic  (eBay--search "foldover elastic",  Seller is "Hobovian".)
Phyllis Finger brought a crocheted Swiffer cover that is washable and made with acrylic yarn. ( Hope she makes each one of us one for a present!)
Nancy Abrams brought her "witches feet" embellished tea towel.  Check out website "flamingotoes" for pattern.
Patty wore a black and white tweedy jacket she made from a See and Sew pattern, she cut it out using the selvedge for the jacket opening.
Robbie brought two books--"One Yard Wonders" and the new book from patternreview.com (or Amazon)--"1,000 Sewing Tips".
Sylvia brought a purse made of cat fabrics and embellished with trims.  Sylvia designed the cat fabric herself!
Phyllis Tucker brought a Sandra Betzina tote bag she made of a Scooby Doo fabric for her daughter.
Vickie brought her completed fat quarter jacket!

Program:

Nancy Abrams brought her expertise and patterns for making a "gift package" placemat.  Most of us sewing got a real good start or finished our placemats.  Please bring them to the next meeting so we can get a group picture!  Thanks to Nancy for all the patience and the preparation.  And thanks to Nancy and Phyllis Finger who later worked on written instructions (forwarded to you in a separate email). Awesome job ladies!

The door prize, brought by Robbie, was won by Freda.  It included a sewing machine organizer that hangs down to hold your notions, etc.

Gardening Basket:  thanks to everyone who brought things for the basket, we have a real good start.  Try to bring what you promised next month as we'd like to check this off our "to do " list before the December holidays.  If you did not promise anything, please bring something for the basket anyway if you have not already.  I will try to remember to bring the basket and everything we have to the next meeting.

For November, please be prepared to give out ideas for 2011 and volunteer for leading a project.  I have already renewed Bayland for 2011 Second Saturdays but I have asked for a different room that always has tables set up to make it easier for us but not promised on that....

Happy Sewing!  And don't forget the Quilt Festival and if you want to help man the ASG Booth, contact Marilyn ASAP as she is coordinating workers.

Mary

Joanne mostly followed the directions that can be found at:  http://brassyapple.blogspot.com/2010/04/ruffle-me-uptshirt-refashion-spring-top.html

Attachments:

Phyllis Finger kindly documented Nancy Abrams' program on making gift package placemats.

Attachments:

Nancy Abrams will be showing us how to put these placemats together.

Attachments:

Ladies, we had 23 attendees yesterday!  I am so happy!  Thanks to special guest Suzy Seed, President of the Houston Chapter, coming and showing us the Blue Star quilt that someone will win on December 4 at the Annual Meeting.  It is a beautiful King Size quilt and just as beautiful on the reverse.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Besides the Blue Star Quilt project (ticket sales will go towards ASG charities--such as 4H, HCC scholarships, and our Community Services--which consist right now of pillow cases, troop totes, and cool ties) we are also working on:

Visiting Hancock's on Bissonnet on Sept 18 and Sept 21 to talk up ASG with the customers, do some sewing (Martha will have pattern for Vera and Jennifer's scissors holder) and we will have handouts for the Hancock customers.  Come and be part of the talk!

Marilyn Fireman has graciously volunteered to head up as coordinator of volunteers for the Quilt Festival.  If you want to work at the ASG Booth at the Festival and get in free, please contact Marilyn directly or me or Suzy.  The booth will be set up with machines and you can help teach others to sew on troop totes, pillow cases, and cool ties.  And you can visit the festival and go shopping after volunteering!  See you there!

Our NG will be responsible for preparing a "Gardening" gift basket for auction at the February ASG Fashion Show at the Hess Club.  We are asked to fill the basket with new appropriate gifts and have it ready no later than January 1.  Jeannie Bynum, the Hospitality Board Member of the Houston Chapter, will then cellophane wrap the baskets in time for the show.  I would like our basket to be turned in before the December holidays so we can then check it off our "to-do" list!  Here is what you offered to do (I am SO HAPPY!):

  Margaret--apron; Sharlyn--bluebonnet seeds; Joanne--flower pincushion, flower wine stopper and seed packets; Patty--garden gloves; Joyce--fabric liner for the basket; Vickie--gardening book; Marilyn--gardening book; Nancy--visor; Reba--small shovel; Sylvia--TBD; Mary Haper--TBD.  Anything you can think of to add to the basket would be great--please ensure there are several handmade/sewn objects.  We want our value to be way over the $25 minimum required!!

Speaking of the February Fashion Show (check out the Houston ASG Website for all chapter events), the show will have a stash sale, vendors, lunch, and of course a runway with a show.  Stay in touch for more details.  And if you have stash to donate, please bring to our meetings and I'll start collecting them.

As  you may know by now, the ASG Conference in 2012 will be held in Houston August 16-19 at the HiltonAmericas near the GRBrown center.  Stay tuned for ways you will want to take part in this showcase for Houston!

Put December 4 on your calendars for the Annual Meeting which will be the 30th Anniversary of the Houston Chapter.  It will prove to be one of the best events for our chapter and it is the chapter's event FOR YOU!

SHOW AND TELL:

Nancy Abrams--Pillow case out of very cute Santa fabrics and a  placemat which looks like a birthday package.
Brenda--Star quilt she made at a Time Treasured Quilts class; plus a large star which is the beginning of a new quilt.  Beautiful colors and work!
Margaret--denim purses, red fabric gift bag.
Alice--fat quarter jacket and a hobo quilted bag.
Joyce--showed us a new knit fabric now carried by Hancock's and a pattern she is planning on using.
Marilyn--red wrap blouse in a knit fabric, pattern is Betzina, Vogue 1164; Marilyn also mentioned Jo-Ann Fabrics new coupon book is out.
Martha--Gold Asian deco jacket she designed.  Very classy.
Patty--black and white "chenille" jacket.
Joanne--pink powder puff she "recycled" into a pin cushion; paint chip necklace (featured on Craft Gossip and her blog).
Terry--tailored shirt with buttons down the front.
Silvia--black and pink quilted purse with lining and trims--a Christmas present (WOW!) for her sister in law.
Mary H--"postage stamp" tiny quilt,  "passport/name tag" purses.
Reba--wore the lovely pink outfit she showed us last month.

PROGRAM:

Martha and her Famous Fat Quarter Jacket--Martha brought many samples of lined and unlined fat quarter jackets which we tried on to find out what size squares fit best.  Those were very helpful and many a jacket disappeared into the ladies' room with helpers attending!  Although the jacket can be confusing, Martha was very patient in helping everyone who needed help and in the next few months we hope everyone who finishes a jacket will bring it for Show and Tell.  Hopefully Joanne got some good pictures of the fun.  Thank you Martha for your smarts and patience and talents!

NEXT MONTH:

October 11 is our next NG; Nancy Abrams will show us how to make a placemat that looks like a package--she showed us a Christmas one earlier this year and brought a birthday one yesterday, so there is some choice of fabrics.  We will let you know what to bring soon.  This will be a sew-in so plan on bringing machines again.  Also, lots of Show and Tell--with the holidays coming, I know  you are ramping up your productions.

We did not have a door prize drawing as Robbie did not attend, so next month we will do a drawing.

Happy Sewing!
Mary
P.S.  And thanks Nancy and Joanne for bringing snacks and Joanne for taking pictures.

We had a great time at our meeting.  We missed you if you did not attend!  Robbie Brewington brought a plethora of snacks--healthy and sweet.  Thanks Robbie!  Your treats will be hard to beat!

We had two guests, Sylvia Bernicchi who is a friend from Red Hat and  Beth McMillon  who is new to Houston and ASG.   We hope you both will come back every month.  Spring Shah came by with some patterns from her stash.  Joanne was back from her surgeries and took photos which we should see soon on our Shutterfly site.

We talked about needed volunteers for National Sewing Month as we will be doing demos and talking up ASG at Hancocks on Sept 18 and 21.  I still need volunteers please!

Announcements included that the latest newsletter is out and is a great edition; also we have quilt donation tickets for sale.

Show and Tell:

Marilyn--black and white jacket, Butterick B5498, a blue fleece shrug (project for 2011????).

Robbie--dark green georgette  California jacket with serged edges; Robbie also showed some fabric she had sandwiched, quilted and shrunk and which she will use to make a jacket.  The California jacket is a possible project for 2011, don't you think???

Nancy Abrams--Betty Boop fleece pullover, tiny frilly skirts for her young nieces which were a big hit; links following: 

http://crafterhours.blogspot.com/2010/04/dresden-plate-skirt-tutorial.html AND  http://www.scribd.com/doc/27949873/Pebbles-Skirt-Tutorial

 Reba--showed a pink outfit which included pants, jacket, top, shell, etc.  A really nice matching set and creative uses of running out of the primary fabric!

Margaret--showed many purses she is making for her church bazaar.

Joanne--a wine bottle cover with matching coasters, necklace of beads threaded by a stretch fabric; Threads bias jacket, and a pink Elvis top and appliqued towels.  She got a lot of sewing done while recuperating didn't she?

Beth-- zippered pouches in denim and lace and an unusual tote bag with bell pulls; one link follows:  http://tipnut.com/makeup-bags

Program--Denim and Lace:

Gertie--embellished a denim jacket with lace "diamonds".
Nancy A--denim skirt with lace trim and a selvage edge.
Reba--denim vest with lace and embroidery.
Robbie--denim sleeveless jacket with lace accents.
Marilyn--denim girl's dress and jacket with lace applique.
Mary-denim with red lace fabric tray.
Joanne-scrappy flower pin made of denim & lace

A lot of creativity from one little phrase!

Bonnie brought the door prize which Robbie won.  I am sure Robbie will come up with something very cute and handmade next month.

Next month:  Fat Quarter Jacket sew-in by Martha Ramey.  I will send out information on what fabric to bring in a few days--the title may be a bit misleading I am finding out--sometimes you have to have more than fat quarter pieces.  September 11 is our next meeting at Bayland.

Happy Sewing!
Mary

Saturday's meeting was very productive; most of you have seen the group photo of our "steering wheel covers".  The selection of fabrics and colors were beautiful and wide-ranging.  My cover was too small for my car because I used too wide of bias tape and and I am in the process of redoing mine.  I cannot wait to use it!  Thanks to Gertie Delburn who helped us with much patience to do this project.  She was prepared with patterns and verbal instructions (over and over and over!!).  Great job Gertie!

I will try to post more pictures on our Shutterfly website soon or will ask Joanne to do so.

Reba brought the door prize, beautiful embroidered napkins which Bonnie won.  Hopefully Bonnie will have time to make something for next month (hint, hint!).

Announcements:  Jo-Ann discount cards will be mailed to you if you are a paid up member of ASG.  Watch for it in the mail.  Our Sewing Inside the Loop group collected $17.00 for the Make A Wish sewing room that ASG National is sponsoring.  Thank you all for helping.

Show and Tell:

Reba brought her finally finished "quilt from heaven"!  She did her own machine quilting and we thought it was beautiful even if she didn't!

Margaret brought a brown tote bag she had finished from last month's meeting; she also brought a child's smocked dress, an apron made out of washcloths and hand towels for her grandchildren.

Gertie brought an afghan she made long ago of pieces made on a flower loom.  We all remembered the technique.

Terry wore a new blouse she made that had a flattering waist insert.

Nancy turned in 12 more troop totes and wore a beautiful linen blouse she made with hidden buttons.  She also showed a purple dress with butterfly detail she made for a child.  But her hit was the tote bag she made which folds up into a strawberry and has a cord to hang on your purse instead of take up room IN your purse.
Here is the web address for instructions:  http://www.ikatbag.com/2010/04/strawberry-bag.html

Robbie--well, Robbie made a big statement--she is going to retire all store bought clothes from her wardrobe (except maybe her shoes!), so she modeled a jacket, top and pants (she said she made her bra but we didn't look!).   Robbie and Carol travel a great distance to attend our meetings and we are so happy to have them!

Sharlyn came too late to sew but turned in a bunch of troop totes.

Mary Dunigan brought a framed needlepoint.  It brought to mind to some of us past projects just like it--crewel, embroidery, needlepoint, etc.

Other:

We had a young guest, Susanna Urias, who was in the building and decided to attend our meeting.  We made her welcome and offered to help her sew on her machine if she would bring it to a meeting.  Come back Susanna!  We'd love to see you again.

We missed Joanne's attendance.  She is recovering from knee replacement and doing well.  Next month she should resume her photography duties and hopefully if she gets to sew during her recovery, she will have some Show and Tell.

Our next meeting is August 14 and we are doing our own thing--except it must be something with denim and lace.  I know you are already thinking about what to do--I can't wait to see what shows up.  Bring your machines and fabrics to work on; maybe you can be enough along on the project to finish it at the meeting--if not, you can work on it and bring it finished in September.   In September we are doing a fat quarter jacket with Martha Ramey--I believe you need 12 fat quarters, so be on the lookout for fabrics during the next few weeks.

Happy Sewing All!
Mary

We had a big turnout last Saturday despite missing some of our most-regular members.  Four new ladies came, one, Charlotte Pfiffner from the NW side and three guests.  Here is how the guests found out about us:  our dear Martha was in Hancocks one day and ran into two different women, Margaret Schueler and Ruth Greene.  Martha told them about ASG and our upcoming Saturday meeting.  One of those women brought a guest, Brenda LeSage--thus we had 4 new attendees.   We are hoping they will become new ASG members as they seemed to enjoy us as much as we enjoyed them!  In all we had 15 attend!

We collected monies for participation in the Make A Wish donation ASG is making.  We will combine our collection with other Houston NG's and that money will go to HQ to help set up a sewing room for a deserving girl.  See the ASG National website for further details.

I distributed copies of our calendar, attached here also if you need an updated copy.

Freda gave a demo about making a tote bag using a grocery bag as a pattern and approximately 5 fat quarters.  Several ladies cut out patterns and fabric and Freda gave each of us copies of the directions.

Reba won the door prize which was a banner of little flags made of red/white ticking and denim and mounted on a rope.  I enjoyed making the banner and I hope Reba enjoys using it or passing it on to a friend or relative.

Show and Tell:

Martha brought several new jackets and a denim vest with denim fringe.  She also brought two felt Christmas stockings she is working on and they are very detailed with cutouts, sequins and beads, etc.  Marilyn brought a crocheted baby blanket and Bonnie brought two new books.

Brenda showed us her "carpet" bag made of various scraps, including leather, from upholstery samples.  Ruth brought a set of aqua crocheted "yo-yo's" she is working on and plans to use to decorate a top.

 Joanne brought her latest jeans purse which she did differently by using jeans with strategically placed rips and holes and using pink lining that shows through the holes.  Joanne was also wearing a bias blouse she made out of an owl print.  She brought a necklace/accessory made of a t-shirt, a  new "bag with a secret" and a book of 1,000 artisan textiles which has photos of work by our member Barbara Kile.  Joanne has been recuperating from surgery so she has had extra time to be creative.

Reba wore a beautiful white vest made of white denim which she embroidered lavishly.  I brought a cotton print windmill tote I finished last month plus two art deco jackets, one in a "Route 66" cotton print and one in a dark blue silk.  I also brought the quilt I just finished for my niece Rachael who is getting married on June 26th.

Our next meeting is July 10 and will feature Gertie Dilburn helping us make steering wheel covers out of quilted fabric.

Please remember I will be headed to Wyoming and Idaho (for the wedding) for the next few weeks and will send out our next notice very late--so put on your calendar July 10 and bring at least 1/2 yard of quilted fabric (to match your car???), fleece or insulate fabric plus your machine and notions.  If something changes, I will let you know.  Have a wonderful Fourth of July!  I will be in a little Wyoming town that day watching an old-fashioned parade, complete with fire trucks spraying us with cool water!

Happy Sewing!

Mary

We met to sew red, white and blue quilt tops for Project Linus.  Several ladies brought fabrics and some cut, some sewed squares and strips together.  Joanne got a photo of our almost completed tops.  If you still want to do one, just bring it next time.  Thanks to all those who donated.  And to Reba who turned in more troop totes!

Announcements:

The latest newsletter is out and there are more Sue Hausmann tips in it, plus information about the Cotton Patch Show.  ASG Houston is asking for more recipes, cooking and sewing stories/tips for our future chapter cookbook.  The newsletter is on line  and will be in the mail next week.  If you want to get it faster via email, let me know and I'll get you on that list--every time we do not have to mail a newsletter is more money in the coffers for our programs such as retreat, Sue Hausmann, annual meeting, etc.

We discussed our options for our June and July programs and decided that in June we will do a tote bag led by Freda;  in July we will make steering wheel covers led by Gertie.

Show and Tell:

Joanne wore a new jacket with a back yoke plus showed us her knitting for an afghan she is working on for her son; she also showed an owl eyeglass case she made from felt and her new lining in her jeans leather purse.

Gertie brought a blue all handsewn large quilt she worked on from 1991 to 2009; she also showed us her quilted steering wheel cover and talked about a blanket she gave a woman friend who is expecting a fourth baby girl.

Marilyn brought many jewelry pieces she had made ranging from earrings and bracelets to necklaces and wire wrapped pins.  She had attended the bean show to add to her stash.

Terry wore a knit shirt she made from a Sewing Workshop pattern, plus a pair of tweed pants with a back zipper which fit her perfectly.

Reba brought two finished windmill totes out of batik fabrics.  She wore a pair of crop pants and a jacket to match she recently completed.

I brought my new mini-iron for which I made a finger protector; a Sue Hausmann fabric tray, and some sample Project Linus quilt tops.

Some of us had attended the Sharpstown Middle School Community Schools quilt group's dedication on Friday, May 7.  The young girls presented a quilt they had designed and sewn for Project Linus.  Gertie, Mary Dunigan, and I attended this gathering for the second year.  It took less than 45 minutes of our time and we were  thanked profusely for our attendance and support.  My husband Rod attended also and got some good pictures which I plan to share with the school and the community center in Sharpstown.

I won the door prize brought by Freda--a lovely embroidered bowl and saucer.  The amount of work, design, and thread she used is really impressive.  The bowl is a park scene with a swing from a tree, birds and birdbath, cats, a gazebo, trees, park bench, wrought iron gate, patches of flowers and landscaping.  It will be difficult for me to top this door prize next month!

Our next meeting is Saturday, June 12 at Bayland.  As soon as Freda lets me know what we need to bring, I'll let you know.

p.s.  Joanne had her achille's surgery yesterday and is home recuperating.  We wish her a quick recovery.

Happy Sewing!
Mary
P.S. There is a new Goodwill store going in on Hillcroft at South Braeswood, right near ASG HQ.  How great is that?

Several of our members attended the Houston Area Fiber Artists' Style Show and Sale.  See pictures below.

About 12 of us met at Sew Crafty on a rainy Saturday morning.  We took a short tour and I think we were most impressed by the upstairs cutting and sewing areas.  The personnel at Sew Crafty were very accommodating and we ran into Abby Wright of HQ who was teaching a class.

Some of us made purchases and then we went to Carter and Cooley restaurant right down the walkway and had very good deli food.

Terry West modeled  a new "Very Easy Vogue" knit top that we liked--that was it for Show and Tell. (Our "official" photographer, Joanne, couldn't attend so we don't have a photo of it - bring the top again next month, Terry!)

Nancy Abrams brought a complicated pattern quilt square for our project for next month--Project Linus quilt tops out of patriotic and/or red, white and blue fabrics.  Thanks Nancy for the kick start!

Terry turned in 4 completed troop totes.

Robbie Brewington, whom we met at the retreat, joined us and brought along a friend, Carol Molina.  A couple of members that we don't get to see often enough attended - Alice Anjo and Barbara Rogers.  Sharlyn Fritz from the former Monday group also attended.  We hope Sharlyn will continue attending our meetings!

We are looking for programs for June and July because there has been a lack of interest in our planned program- the duct tape dress forms. 

If you have any ideas or wants, please email Mary back ASAP at mary.haper@haper.org as she needs to report our plans for the newsletter by Saturday, April 17.

We had a great turnout on Saturday.  If you missed it, you missed a lot.
 Every one of us finished or almost finished a scrappy flower pin with
 Joanne's great instructions and generous supplies of fabric, buttons, glues,
 decorations and even pin backs.  Hopefully Joanne got some good pictures
 too!

 Several women we have not seen in a long while showed up--DaNell Wilkins and
 Alice Anjo--we were so glad to have you attend.

 Freda won the door prize brought by Bonnie.  We had coffee and some cookies
 and lots of good chit chat in between Show and Tell and Joanne's program.

 Show and Tell:

 Joanne--jacket with large flat appliqued fabric flowers and a tiny jeans
 purse with a zipper; she has entered the latter in a contest.

 Mary--Easter vest from a kit but I added lots of extras such as eyes on the
 bunny and a pink jeweled nose, floppy ears and buttons on the flowers and
 the entire vest was lined and quilted.  Only problem is I made it too
 big--but I am going to wear it for Easter anyway!

 Reba brought two embroidered red, white and blue designs on 9 1/2 " squares
 for future use in a Project Linus quilt (we will do this program in May).

 Marilyn brought several items--knitted scarf, beaded jewelry (she reused
 some bracelet beads) and several yarn type belts--all in beautiful turquoise
 and blue colors.  And in case you didn't know turquoise is the color of the
 year and Marilyn's favorite color.  (And my second wedding dress was
 turquoise so you know it's my favorite color too.)

 Bonnie brought a current issue of Piecework magazine which included an
 article on tiny looms and loomettes--both of which she happened to have
 bought at the Salvation Army for 30 cents.  The weaving technique was very
 interesting. Thanks for a look at the past and present Bonnie!

 Nancy Abrams brought a cute vase with crafted button flowers.  She also
 brought two Easter hot pads and a swiffer duster cover she made.

 DaNell brought her sewing kit in a square that holds many needed notions in
 one pouch.  DaNell also was wearing a denim long top which she had decorated
 with yards of needle tatted trim she had made on a long trip.

 Vera told her story about the patches she has been sewing on scout
 uniforms--and that Jennifer negotiated payment for--kudos to them for
 realizing the value of sewing for others!

 Alice showed her tote purse made of strips of fabric on clothesline cord and
 sewn together; she also brought a quilt top she just finished of cute
 umbrella fabric.  Alice also brought a book for grabs and embroidery threads
 to share.

 Freda brought some vintage items, such as pin cushions and a special
 measuring tape.  She also brought gifts of needlework bookmarks for each of
 us.

 Thank you to Nancy Abrams, Reba, Gertie, and Mary Dunigan who all brought
 finished troop totes.  Nancy finished at least 30 and I know Reba has done
 that many also.   (I turned these totes in to Juanita yesterday afternoon
 and she was very pleased.)

 Our next meeting will be a Field Trip to Sew Crafty on Saturday, April 10.
 My daughter will be in town visiting with her husband and two of my
 grandsons, so I do not know if I will attend, but I'm sure one of you will
 volunteer to take the lead if I am absent.

 Since the second Monday NG at Bayland has disbanded, some of these members
 will start attending our Saturday group; I know you will welcome them and
 make them comfortable.

 Thanks Joanne for another fabulous program and thank you for sharing so much
 of your stash with us!

 Happy Sewing!
 Mary

We had a good turnout and were able to cut fabric and sew Troop Totes.  Thank you to those of you who took some home to finish.  Please bring the finished ones to our next meeting.

Veronica Cox, Neighborhood Group Coordinator, was our guest.  Joanne brought some snacks plus the door prize which was won by Bonnie.

Announcements included the upcoming Sue Housmann trunk show on March 7, the Retreat (March 26-28), and the HAFA Fashion Show.  I hope you have already sent in your reservations for Sue and the Retreat--it is not too late so do so today!  Joanne has access to HAFA tickets, that show is April 17.

Our Show and Tell included:

Terry brought a cute brown dress with border trim and a beaded bracelet she made.
Veronica showed a small red-headed doll with shapely legs--I think that is Veronica's trademark!!
Joanne brought a shoe bag she found at a sale which looks like a tiny pair of pants.  She brought her Aretha-inspired knitted hat and a supply of her scrappy flower pins--something we are going to make at our March 13 meeting.

We will send out another email before the next meeting so you know what to bring for the scrappy flower pins--they will not require you bring your sewing machine, only scissors, needle, thread and some scraps.  More about that later.

By now you should have already received an email with a link to the photos Joanne took at the meeting.  Joanne does a lot of work on our photos and our Shutterfly site, please let her know you appreciate her efforts.

See you on Saturday, March 13.  And if you do not have a copy of the year's schedule, please let me know.  And on the other hand, please let me have some feedback on occasion.  Thanks!
Mary

Below is a link for Joanne Carpenter's debut on HGTV's That's Clever that aired on January 12th.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64hFSUpW96Y

(Copy and paste the link to your browser's address window, if necessary to open the link.)

Also visit Joanne's blog at http://justaspotforjoanne.blogspot.com/

Joanne will be demonstrating how to make a handbag from jeans February 5, 2010 for the Wearables' Group.  Wearables meets at the Bear Creek Community Center at 10 AM.  Guests are welcome to come and visit.

Announcements:

Barbara Crawford is coming to Houston end of January--email Janelle Archer for questions--or contact me and I'll get you to Janelle.

Sue Hausmann is coming March 7 for a trunk show at Jersey Village.  Check the ASG Houston website for information.

Retreat will be March 26-28 at Camp Allen in Navasota.

HAFA is having a Fashion Show on April 17; Joanne will have a table, please contact her for tickets.

"That's Clever", an HGTV show, is showing Joanne's Pink Poodle project on Tuesday, January 12 at 6:30 a.m.  Please give it a watch or record it.  Joanne was filmed at her home about three years ago and has been waiting all this time for her segment to air!

Phyllis Finger mentioned a Yahoo site, called "Sew Its For Sale" on which you can sell or buy sewing items.  Check it out.

We wrote down our estimated community service hours for 2009 and it was suggested that from now on (due to our ageing memories!!), we record this information monthly when we sign in for our regular NG meeting.  Great idea--no more guesses plus will make it easier to report to ASG.  I have made a column in the sign-in book to remind us each month.

Show and Tell:

Joanne brought a car bib I gave her for a gift; she brought a really cool handbag she designed from a pair of real leather black jeans; she also brought a necklace made of a man's tie and buttons, a name tag holder she received from a HAFA event, and modeled her latest jacket--a black and white part wool Safety Pockets pattern.  The fabric was similar to what you would get with a Nuno felting technique (see January 2010 Threads for info on Nuno felting).

Phyllis was wearing a warm knitted hat she made for herself.  She showed a drawing by her young granddaughter depicting Phyllis teaching her sewing during her holiday visit to California.  What a nice drawing Sydney!

Reba brought a stack and whack quilt she recently finished and had quilted by her Katy friend.  It was large and had beautiful muted colors.  Reba also showed her gray wool jacket that was perfect to wear this cold cold day.

Freda brought a credit card holder she embroidered by machine and a circular cape she said she made 35 years ago.  Reba was a good model for the cape and thus Freda presented her with the cape as a gift.  (I don't think any of the rest of us could fit in it anyway!)  We discussed how the January 2010 Threads issue has this same cape pattern as a  "new" project.

Terry brought a fleece jacket she made with a special type collar that folded back and formed warming pockets for your hands; she was also wearing a knit top she made.  She showed the reversible tree skirt made by her sister that had vintage buttons on one side.  Her "handmade" gift she received from her niece was a small felted ball Santa.  Terry carried her things in a Christmas fabric patchwork tote she found unfinished in her Christmas decorations and decided to finish it to use during the holidays.

Mary--I brought several sewing books I received for Christmas plus a "sewing" whimsical watch.  I also received a "quilting" watch.

Planning for 2010:

  February 13--Troop Bags Sew-In  (Reba)
  March 13--Scrappy Flower Pins Sew-In   (Joanne)
  April 10--Field Trip to Sew Crafty in the Heights and lunch together
  May  8--Patriotic Quilt Squares Sew-In  (Mary)
  June 12--"Duct" Tape Dress Forms  (Marilyn/Mary)
  July 10-- Continuation of June's program
  Aug 14--Denim/Lace Recreations Sew-In  (all)
  Sep 11--Fat Quarter Jacket Sew-In  (Martha we hope)
  Oct 9--Holiday Package Placemat Sew-In  (Nancy Abrams)
  Nov 13--Quilt Festival Show and Tell  (all)
  Dec 11--Holiday Party--Jacket Challenges due  (all)

Gertie brought the door prize which was won by Joanne--it was a stacked storage container for beads or other notions.  Cool!

See you on Saturday, February 13 to make the troop bags--ASG will furnish the fabric and cording, but you are welcome to also bring your own fabrics to donate to the cause.

We held our holiday party at the community center.  We ATE and played gift exchange.  Photos have been added below.

We had special guests--the leader, Nancy Maranto (our Cool Tie specialist) and several of her Sew Fitting NG members came to join us since their meeting will fall on Thanksgiving....and we also had Martha Ramey who is always a delight to have around--she is such a sewing "challenge" to us!

Gertie brought delicious pumpkin bread and arranged for coffee to be brought into the room--and then she won the door prize that Reba brought!  All good deeds get rewarded, right?

Announcements:

We talked about upcoming events--the December 5th Annual Meeting at Jersey Village Community Center--bring a covered dish with its recipe and your election ballot if you have not mailed it already--and if you need a ride, call me.   Sue Hausmann coming in March, Barbara Crawford coming in January and Retreat in March at Camp Allen.  In January our meeting will be "Jump Start Holiday Gifts", elections, and planning for 2010.

And our own NG Holiday Party--which will be held Saturday, December 12 at Bayland.  I will bring plates, napkins, plasticware, etc.  Everyone will bring pot luck food and your own drink, plus a $10 wrapped sewing gift to exchange.  We would also like to collect non-perishable food for the Houston Food Bank and/or a Toy for Tots and/or a gift for the Women's Center--I will make sure these donations get to the charities.  Do what you can but of course donations are not required to come to the party!  I would make a suggestion that your gift can be something you have sewn if you like.

Program/Show and Tell: (have we been sewing and spending or what???)

Joanne showed us her two "circle" shrugs/wraps--a blue knit type fabric that she closed with a scrunchie, and one made from some Indian bedspread fabric--it was trimmed in fold over elastic which Joanne buys on ebay and loves to use--this particular one was very decorative.  She also made several rosettes of fabric but in the center of each she put some old jewelry pieces--brooch type, rhinestone dangle, etc.  She also showed us a turban, two scooter bags she made for herself, a rhinestone zipper she got at Quilt Festival, and some "sewing theme" fabric, also from the Festival.   Her blog is:   http://justaspotforjoanne.blogspot.com/

Patty Lieb wore a flowered vest which she had lined in a lightweight fabric and wore with a purchased t-shirt that matched perfectly.

Gloria Kohnen, one of our Sew Fitting guests, brought a gorgeous turquoise (my fav color!) silk and nylon organza bolero made partly with a felting technique--very beautiful and very unusual.  She plans to add fabric rosettes and beading on the cuffs.

Nancy Maranto brought a purchased bog-type jacket that she had embellished with giant shiny beads.  Very colorful!  Nancy also brought a bag of fabric cut for cool ties--and Vera graciously took them home to sew.  Thank you Vera!  And thank you Nancy for coming!

Vera brought a recycled jeans project--a tote bag lined with a Texas motif fabric and with several hidden pockets--and don't ask about the zipper fly pocket (we had fun with that one!)!  I thought it was interesting she and Jennifer (not present) used seam strips from the jeans as the straps.

Phyllis Finger took several classes at the Quilt Festival, one of which was embroidery Shading and Blending with Thread and she passed around a sample she was working on.  She also brought some quilting books and a jelly roll of Cherrywood fabrics.

Frieda brought several embroidered bowls--one in a Hanukkah pattern and one in a daisy or sunflower with separate leaves.  She uses these with glass bowls set inside them and gives them as gifts.  Frieda also passed around her photo album with pictures of the many thread bowls she has made.

Martha had on a purplish pinkish fat quarter jacket (another sewing challenge for us??) which was reversible.  Martha offered to show us how to do it and Alice mentioned that she gives instructions on this jacket in Alice's  blog of December 2008.

Reba brought two quilts she made for her twin great grandsons, Max and Jack,  who are 18 months old.  One side was sail boats and the other a children's print.  She had it quilted by a member of the Houston Quilt Guild.  Reba also brought silk thread and other goods from the Quilt Festival and she carried her long-ago-made jeans tote bag (back when a lot of us recycled--before it became popular!).

Gertie, who said she visited every single booth at the Festival, brought a new needle threader and a "snag-away" gadget for knits.  She also brought two small stuffed toys and a counted cross stitch she is working--both retrieved from that stash we all had/have "stuff to do after we retire"!

Nancy Abrams wowed us again with some innovative Christmas placemats--shaped and designed like a present with the napkin as part of the ribbon on the package!  She used fabric she had bought on one of our field trips this year.  Nancy also showed a child's dress she made for a small relative and she plans on making two more, one for a 3 month old baby.  The fabric was black corduroy and it had tiny embroidered flowers throughout.  Perfect for holiday portraits!

Terry wore a shirt she made from a Burda pattern; she brought two pumpkins she made of fabric which had felted stems.  She also brought some placemats in Fall colors and quite a few patterns she bought at Festival--including one for making elephants out of yoyos.

Nancy Donaldson showed some quilt tops she is making in wide strip patterns and talked about her students at Bellaire High School and what type of fabrics they like and want. She is going to make up a list of needs and let us know so we can make some stash donations.  All in the name of encouraging these young sewers--future ASG members ya'll....Nancy also brought three publications--Quilts and More Magazine, Winter 09 issue; books--Crazy Shortcut Quilts by McManus and Raffuse, and Kaffe Fossett's Quilts in the Sun. 

Alice showed her tote bag she made for carrying her knitting and talked about tiny quilts made at the Alzheimers booth at the Festival--some are made to be wall-hangings.  Alice told us about the class she took called "Let Me Surprise You More" where they made a sashed scrappy quilt top called "The Best is Yet to Come".  It was in pink fabrics coordinated by the instructor and cut in advance of the class and the design looked kinda like a sun or starburst.  Her blog is:  http://aliceanjo.blogspot.com/

I brought a vest I made myself for Halloween and another Halloween one that reverses to a turkey print for Thanksgiving.  I showed my gadgets from the Quilt Festival--an acrylic press (instead of using your fingers), a point turner, and a pair of reverse tweezers and a pair of tiny scissors.  I also brought an apron I made in an elephant print for a gift for my mother's caregiver Maxine.  Maxine LOVES elephants!

We met at Bayland. We had one new guest, Gail Shores, a friend of Mary Dunigan (a relatively new member).  Joanne brought some cute mini brownies and muffins decorated for Halloween.  We bought coffee from the Community Center which was very convenient--we did not have to bring coffee supplies, etc.

Discussions were held about our plans for the next three months--in November we will have Quilt Festival Show N Tell, in December a Holiday Party--we will swap/steal gifts valued at $10 or less, gifts should be related to sewing.  In January we decided to do Gift Ideas as we can bring what we received during the holidays. 

Mary Dunigan brought the door prize and it was won by Reba McCoy!

Show and Tell:

Joanne showed her black sweatshirt jacket called "YAARN" which included yarn, pink fabric knitting needles and Halloween embellishments.  She also brought some scarves she had knitted in bright colors and good "yaarn"!

Gertie brought a darling red sweatshirt decorated for Christmas--she had embellished it with some plaid fabric and red heart buttons.  A Christmas yo-yo wreath was also shown--it was made on a wire frame.  Gertie also showed a tote bag--for the ASG 2010 Community Project.

Mary Dunigan brought some pencil decorations she makes for her daughter who is a teacher--Mary provides something every year for her daughter's students.

Patty Lieb brought her pink sweatshirt jacket with trim, a cloth bag to hold earrings and a hanger cover and showed us a black denim jacket she made and a ruffled blouse that she said was a challenge to make.

Marilyn brought her turquoise sweatshirt and asked for help in determining what type of trim to use.  We, of course, all had our suggestions and techniques to share!

Phyllis Finger gave a report on her recent visit to Keepsake Quilting store in Vermont.

Our guest Gail brought several outfits she had made for her granddaughter's American Girl doll.  They were very cute and are not Christmas gifts--just gifts for the child to get now.  What a treat for that girl!

Mary brought a Zuca rolling bag which not only is colorful and has a sturdy sit-on seat, but wheels that light up!  Not to mention tons of zippered places, net bags and storage and best of all easy to roll and go up stairs.

Note on the 2010 Community Project--ASG will be making tote bags for the soldiers.  These bags will be forwarded to a group who will fill them with items the soldiers need.  ASG is only sewing bags.  And at the Quilt Festival I believe over a 100 were sewn by visitors to the ASG booth.  The bags must fit a gallon size plastic zip bag.


Our next meeting is Saturday, November 12 and we will have Quilt Festival Show and Tell and we will plan our Holiday Party.  If you have not been to our meeting in a while, please come back so you are part of the planning.

We met at Bayland Community on Saturday.  Veronica Cox, who is the new ASG Neighborhood Group Coordinator attended our meeting.  She brought along a very large gorgeous blue quilt being donated by a Crosby quilt group to a good cause (can't remember what cause, sorry!).  Joanne took a very compromising picture of Veronica lying next to the quilt!  Veronica announced that ASG Houston will be making a blue and white quilt next year as a fund-raiser and each Neighborhoodl Group (NG) will be asked to make at least one quilt block (6", 8" 10" or 12").  When the quilt top is ready, then the Crosby group will put it together and quilt it.  This will be a project for 2010 and I am sure we will hear more about this project later.

We also discussed the ASG 2010 project--"U.S. Troops Drawstring Bag".  More about this to come.

We were happy to see Marguerite Corbello who has moved to Iola, Texas but wanted to see us her sewing friends.  Marguerite has a brand new granddaughter, Gabriella, so I bet we will soon see some cute little outfits for her and her big sister (matching outfits???).

Two other guests attended our meeting and joined ASG!  Welcome to Gertie Delburn and her friend Mary Dunigan.  Mary won the door prize which was provided by Judy Chang several months ago.  Gertie saw our flyer on the Bayland bulletin board and contacted me directly.  She also attended the Second Monday NG on September 14.  We are delighted to have new members!

Other announcements:  The Needle Nosh group will be meeting Second Wednesdays at Time Treasured Quilts.  ASG Houston produced approximately 1,000 pillowcases and they are still coming in!  Several hundred went to Albuquerque's Ronald McDonald House  and several hundred went to the Ronald McDonald House in Houston.  More will be given to a women's center in Houston.  The Cool Ties project, which is headed up by Nancy Maranto who is the leader of the NG in the Spring Branch area, is making progress and continues to request our support.

Show and Tell:
Annette Barker showed her quilted jacket which had a base of a sweatshirt.  Nancy Abrams modeled a white blouse in a pattern she has used many times and showed us a cloth birthday gift bag she made; Nancy also has been turning in pillowcases at every meeting!  I was able to use several of her pillowcases on Monday, Sept 14 at our table at Hancocks.

Bonnie showed/wore a purple linen "safety pocket pattern" jacket with hidden pockets.  Joanne showed us her Japanese styled Western/Texas red jacket which she wore on her Hawaii trip.  She also showed us the blue satin jacket she designed and made to wear at her son's wedding in Hawaii.  (Pictures are posted on her blog.)  Joanne also showed us her leis made of ribbon and we think we want to learn how to make them--they would make great inexpensive trim--they are made of grograin ribbons.  She also had some fabric she bought at Walmart in Hawaii to show us.

Reba brought some placemats she machine quilted and napkins to match.  Then she proceeded to cut up a beautiful ultra suede lavender skirt to make napkins rings.  Of course the skirt had a 19 inch waist and came from a resale shop, so none of us could wear it anyway!

Terry West came and put on her Minnie Mouse Disney ears and showed us her entire Disney wardrobe--blouses in reds, whites, and black prints--all to go with one pair of black pants and a purse she made that had a "Parisian" theme.  Terry missed one of our meetings because she was "Disney-ing".  Terry covered her hanging blouses with a cloth bag, similar to an upside down pillowcase which we really liked.  It had a drawstring at the bottom to protect the clothing.

Bonnie did a detailed recap of Conference and told us about the various classes she took and showed us her class projects, some of which were completed (not many of us can say that :-) ).

We ran out of time to work on our sweatshirts and I apologize for that.  So please work on them this month and bring to the next meeting.

Our next meeting will be October 10.  Program will be Favorite Notions and Gadgets and Holiday Gift Ideas.  We will also make Joanne's grosgrain ribbon leis--a supply list will be sent to you later.

We had a wonderful meeting last Saturday, very productive, fun and sharing.  And part of that came from old friends and some new ones who were attending the group for the first time--Kathy King (whom I met over an email), Judy Chang (who came to the Monday group because she saw the bulletin board notice at Bayland) and Judy's friend Mary Li.

We talked about the two sew-ins happening on Saturday, June 20, one in Pearland and one in Jersey Village.  I asked everyone to look at the ASG Bayland display and the bulletin board notice and noted the display has room for more items.  I will make sure we get a pillowcase for it for sure.

Show and Tell:

Kathy King told us about patternreview.com and how helpful she finds the site; Kathy began sewing out of necessity because she is very tall.  We welcomed her ideas and participation.
Patty Lieb brought a gorgeous yellow pique (sp?) jacket with separately attached appliqued flowers.  Patty does beautiful work and it is always a treat to see her latest creation.  This one was like a lemon chill or a lemon ice cream!
Reba wore a Threads magazine bias blouse and showed us silk tank-type tops she made and a wool jacket.  Reba's enthusiasm is contagious!
Joanne brought a beautiful brown jacket that had a matching brown tank.  The fabric was very unusual and saying it was "brown" just does not do it justice.  She also brought several Threads magazine bias blouses she has made plus a  purse she made from PURPLE recycled jeans.
Phyllis Finger brought a purse she made that has a large koi fish appliqued on it; she also made her granddaughter a two piece outfit with lots of ruffles.
I brought a canvas purse organizer and wore a Threads magazine bias blouse previously made by Joanne.  I had added blue ruffled trim to the arm and neckline.  I subsequently went home and made two more bias blouses--you can tell I'm just a basic seamstress but I have fun and love it!

Our program was the Threads magazine bias blouse.  Joanne led the project with samples of each step available to us plus she had a flexible ruler to help with cutting out the necklines.   Thank you Joanne for going to so much effort for all of us.  We got a photo of many of us who had our blouses sewn enough to try on--at least six of us got to that point and several more were almost there!

We also had a swap of patterns, fabric and magazines which was fun and simple--put it all on a table and share/trade it with others, no strings attached!

Judy Chang won the door prize--a small quilted bag and a book on organizing needles.  Judy will bring the door prize for the next Saturday meeting in July.

Next month, on July 11, we are going to watch serger videos at my house as Bayland is NOT available to us in July.  In August we have no meeting as we hope everyone will attend the Cotton Patch show on Saturday, August 8.  For the Fall months, we will be back at Bayland.  I will send out information about the video meeting about a week before.

We had a wonderful time on Saturday--but we sure did miss some of our "members"!  What is that old song "come back lady, come back".  Whoops, just might be showing my age--if there even is a song like that!  Come back ladies, we need your expertise and ideas and sharing!

Nancy Abrams brought delicious chocolate chip cookies.  Joanne brought the door prize, which I won and it included two nice books, one on jewelry making and one on applique.  She also included a cute pincushion that will be a perfect accessory for the display we are working on for the Bayland glass shelves!

Vera and Jennifer led our project, which was a padded scissors' case.  I did not know until I made mine that it will actually hold several, if not 3, pair in different sizes.  Thank you to Jennifer and Vera for getting the patterns for us and cutting out our flannel pieces; we appreciate the work for sure!  Joanne, who is our resident photo guru will be sending you some pictures, if you don't get them, let me know.

For Show and Tell Nancy Abrams brought a darling quilt with a monkey on the front which she made for a 4  year old friend; Nancy also made herself a compartmentalized over the shoulder bag for traveling this summer and she brought more pillowcases!

Joanne brought a blue/green striped bias blouse she just made from instructions in an article in the current issue of Threads magazine.  Luckily, it did not fit her, so she gave it to me and I subsequently took it home and found some perfect trim in my stash.  It is one comfortable top, I've worn it 3 times this week!  Joanne also was wearing her second version of the top which fit her nicely. She also showed us her latest owl purse and a jacket she made at one of the ASG classes recently held.

Bonnie brought a cupcake pincushion to show and donated her scissors' case for the Bayland display. Thanks Bonnie!

Barbara Lindsay promised to give me a teapot, matching cozy, teacup w/saucer, and an ouch pouch for the Bayland display--she already delivered these to me at the Monday group meeting.  Thank you Barb!

Joanne has offered one of her decorated shoes for the Bayland display (and I forgot to collect it last night at the HAFA meeting)!  Darn!   those socks!

A guest of Nancy Donaldson's, Susan, showed us one of her crocheted blankets.  We always love to have guests at our meetings.  Thanks Nancy!

I brought some BBQ aprons I've been making for the son and son in law and grandsons, plus a little girl's apron that turned out cute, but my pieces d'resistance (I used to know French...) were the auto/car bibs/aprons I am working on for toddlers and adults who eat in the car.  My husband has a brand new Red Truck so I already made some for it so we can keep it clean.  What's the use to have a car if you can't eat in it without making a mess??  Anyway, I'm looking for a cute name for my creations.  If you have one, send it on!

Our plans for June and July were discussed, but now they are changed because I met with the Bayland directors and they ARE able to accommodate us in June but not July.  So in June we are going to do a fabric swap, similar to what we do at our Holiday Party.  More details will follow.  In July, we will get a video from ASG and the consensus was to get one on serging so that is what I will do, location TBA.

We had a wonderful time on Saturday--but we sure did miss some of our "members"!  What is that old song "come back lady, come back".  Whoops, just might be showing my age--if there even is a song like that!  Come back ladies, we need your expertise and ideas and sharing!

Nancy Abrams brought delicious chocolate chip cookies.  Joanne brought the door prize, which I won and it included two nice books, one on jewelry making and one on applique.  She also included a cute pincushion that will be a perfect accessory for the display we are working on for the Bayland glass shelves!

Vera and Jennifer led our project, which was a padded scissors' case.  I did not know until I made mine that it will actually hold several, if not 3, pair in different sizes.  Thank you to Jennifer and Vera for getting the patterns for us and cutting out our flannel pieces; we appreciate the work for sure!  Joanne, who is our resident photo guru will be sending you some pictures, if you don't get them, let me know.

For Show and Tell Nancy Abrams brought a darling quilt with a monkey on the front which she made for a 4  year old friend; Nancy also made herself a compartmentalized over the shoulder bag for traveling this summer and she brought more pillowcases!

Joanne brought a blue/green striped bias blouse she just made from instructions in an article in the current issue of Threads magazine.  Luckily, it did not fit her, so she gave it to me and I subsequently took it home and found some perfect trim in my stash.  It is one comfortable top, I've worn it 3 times this week!  Joanne also was wearing her second version of the top which fit her nicely.  She also showed us her latest owl purse and a jacket she made at one of the ASG classes recently held.

Bonnie brought a cupcake pincushion to show and donated her scissors' case for the Bayland display. Thanks Bonnie!

Barbara Lindsay promised to give me a teapot, matching cozy, teacup w/saucer, and an ouch pouch for the Bayland display--she already delivered these to me at the Monday group meeting.  Thank you Barb!

Joanne has offered one of her decorated shoes for the Bayland display (and I forgot to collect it last night at the HAFA meeting)!  Darn!   those socks!

A guest of Nancy Donaldson's, Susan, showed us one of her crocheted blankets.  We always love to have guests at our meetings.  Thanks Nancy!

I brought some BBQ aprons I've been making for the son and son in law and grandsons, plus a little girl's apron that turned out cute, but my pieces d'resistance (I used to know French...) were the auto/car bibs/aprons I am working on for toddlers and adults who eat in the car.  My husband has a brand new Red Truck so I already made some for it so we can keep it clean.  What's the use to have a car if you can't eat in it without making a mess??  Anyway, I'm looking for a cute name for my creations.  If you have one, send it on!

Our plans for June and July were discussed, but now they are changed because I met with the Bayland directors and they ARE able to accommodate us in June but not July.  So in June we are going to do a fabric swap, similar to what we do at our Holiday Party.  More details will follow.  In July, we will get a video from ASG and the consensus was to get one on serging so that is what I will do, location TBA.

Let me know what I forgot to say!
Happy Sewing as Jennifer always says!

We had our last meeting at Faith Lutheran and several parishioners in the office commented on how glad they have been to have us around.

For Show N Tell, Alice brought a reversible tote made of colorful canvas, a bed size bound quilt, and her Manhattan bag--made from fat quarters.  Phyllis Finger brought Joanne a special book about making unusual slippers.  Nancy Abrams brought some more pillowcases and later on emailed a photo of her St. Pat's Day decorated shoe--very green!  Joanne modeled her fleece jacket in black and neon green print--perfect for that cold rainy day!  Barbara Lindsay brought some pillowcases also.

We discussed some upcoming events, the ASG Houston Serger class on April 4, the Cotton Patch Show, the Summer Sewing Camp which needs volunteer sewing teachers for the kids.

Our program was Fabric Art Shoes and Joanne did a great job of showing us samples, providing Mod Podge and other tools to work on the shoe(s) we brought.  I'm hoping some of the shoes make it back for Show N Tell in a month or so!  Thank you Joanne!

A special announcement was made by Charlie Barker, Annette's husband,  in regard to Paws for Pancreatic Cancer--a dog walk scheduled in Hershey Park on May 9.  Charlie was asking for donations for the silent auction--deadline is April 20 and the theme colors are purple/white.  Charlie is fighting this cancer himself and is doing well.

Annette brought the door prize and Joanne won.

Next month we are having a Field Trip to Sew Contempo and Little Stitches and then will have lunch together as a group.  More details to follow.

On May 9, we will be at Bayland to make scissor cases with Jennifer leading the show.

We collected 9 more pillowcases, so our total so far is 58!  Please make plans to attend the Pillowcase Sew-In on June 20 in Jersey Village.

Let's get to sewing so we have lots of Show N Tell for May!

Mary  

I will be bringing the supplies.  You just need to bring your shoes, fabrics and any trims.

Joanne Carpenter
jokittens@gmail.com



Covering and/or decorating shoes


It’s fun to decorate your old shoes to match an outfit or handbag.  If you’ve made the garment, you can use the leftover fabric to create your matching shoes.

You can decorate a shoe or shoes just for fun, not for wearing.  In that case, the shoe doesn’t even have to fit you.  It can be in any condition.  I used a boot as part of a Halloween centerpiece once.  I’ve also made pink poodle high-heeled shoes just for the fun of it.


SUPPLIES:

Clean shoes
Fabrics and trims
Doo-dads, beads, gee-gaws, old earrings, etc. (for garnishing)
Mod Podge
Glue gun and glue sticks
The Ultimate Glue – strong glue that dries clear
Small Brush
Pencil
Alligator clips
Cup of water
Paper to stuff shoes or shoe trees
Paper to cover work surface
Bowl with ice water (for treating glue gun burns)


First, clean the shoes and let them dry. 

Stuff the toes with wadded up newspaper or use shoe trees.

Choose your fabrics - The easiest fabrics for covering shoes are lightweight knits that can stretch to go around the shoe.  The next best are lightweight fabrics.  The worst are heavy fabrics that are hard to glue down.

To use one fabric: drape some fabric over the shoe.  Cut out a generous piece of the fabric around the shoe.  Starting with the toe, apply mod podge with the brush.  Smooth fabric onto it and apply mod podge on top of the fabric.  Continue around the shoe.  It will be necessary to trim the fabric and make notches as you work.  A pencil with the lead broken off can be used to push the fabric around the edges.

To use more than one fabric:  start with your bottom layer, apply mod podge and continue with other layers. 

To help secure the fabric in difficult places, you can use some hot glue.  Use hot glue sparingly since it leaves lumps.  A dot of hot glue holds the fabric in place while the mod podge dries.  Alligator clips work well to hold the fabric around the open edge of the shoe.

Apply more mod podge all over.  Mod podge also serves as the topcoat to seal and protect the fabrics.

Next, choose your trims and other garnishes.  A dot of hot glue works well to hold a garnish in place while the Ultimate Glue or mod podge tries.

If a glossier look is desired, spray the completely dry shoe with a spray-on shiny topcoat.

Joanne Carpenter will present a program on decorating shoes.  She will show how to cover shoes with fabric and embellishments to match an outfit or handbag.

Attachments:

This was our first meeting at the Bayland Community Center.  It is a wonderful space. Member should arrive by 10 AM since the parking lot fills up quickly.

I have added photos of last weekend's retreat to the pictures section.  The Inner Loopers in attendance included Alice Anjo, Joanne Carpenter, Mary Haper, Jennifer Kelley, Vera Kelley, Bonnie Monsanto, Martha Ramey.  I hope I've remembered everyone.

Many board members also were present:  Suzy Seed, Janelle Archer, Gwen Singleton, Mary Haper, Lou Scanlon,  Jeannie Bynum, Juanita Bynam, Martha Ramey.  Again I sure hope I have remembered everyone.

Thank you all very much for the card you sent when my Dad passed away.  We all thought we were ready, but it was still difficult when it happened.  Support from friends has helped my family get through this sad time.  Thanks, again.

 

Marguerite

Mary's recap:

Wow, we had great attendance for our elections and planning for 2009.  Thank you all who made the effort and you all were on time!  How wonderful for me!

Items discussed included the upcoming ASG Retreat (Jan 30-Feb 1).  I am going for the first time and looking forward to it.  We also gave out the ASG bookmarks, which are not great, but the best we have right now to give out to ladies we meet at Hancocks and Jo-Ann's, etc.

We discussed our meeting place issue--Faith Lutheran has to do repairs on their school due to Ike and so will be using the conference room on some of the Saturdays we meet.  So we discussed Bayland Community Center as an option and it was agreed that it was a good location.  I subsequently visited Bayland and paid our deposit and got some of our Saturday dates.  At the end of this recap, I will list where we are meeting when, so put it on your calendars so you don't go to the wrong place.  The Bayland rooms are straight ahead if you walk in the front door, however, you can park in back and come right into the room also which would be a shorter walk for some of you needing that.

We discussed elections and the following changes:  We will have  Leader, Vice-Leader, Photo, and Coffee persons.  We will no longer have a Swap Box, Pattern Box, or Sunshine.  We can swap when we want, give away patterns when we want and send out get well, etc., cards when we want since we are all adults and know what we want (well, most of the time, eh?).  I was selected Leader and Coffee person and Joanne was selected Vice (goes with her well, don't you think??) and Photo.  Thanks for the confidence in my leadership--this will be my third year leading this group.

Here are the results of our Brainstorming Planning for 2009:

February 14--Pillowcase sew-in with kits/fabric provided by ASG Houston.
March 14--Fabric Art Shoes art-in rescheduled from IKE--to be led by Joanne Carpenter.
April 11--Field Trip--suggested places included Glicks, Sew Contempo, Quilter's Emporium, and Lil Stitches.
May 9--Scissors Case sew-in by Jennifer Kelly, plus TBA nursing home project.
June 13--Muslin Transformation and Fabric Beads art-in by Alice Anjo.
July 11--Free For All by Barbara Lindsay--bring your excess stuff to swap and share.
August 8--No meeting--we are going to the Cotton Patch Fashion Show in Fort Bend County.
September 12--Sweatshirt Jacket sew-in--bring your shirt, your books, your gear and we will help each other make them.
October 10--Notions and Gadgets BEFORE the Quilt Festival, which has new dates this year-Oct 15-18.
November 14--Quilt Festival Show and Tell
December 12--Holiday Party

The door prize(s) brought by Barbara Lindsay were won by Barbara Rogers.  Barbara R. also brought some great cookies (I call them wedding cookies) and Alice brought some fruit and dip and a Kings Cake--but she forgot to stick the baby in--a good laugh for all.

Show and Tell:
Alice--is teaching a knitting class in a school, she needs yarn and knitting needles, she showed us a knitted bookmark she was going to teach the kids.
Mary--showed postcard photo of a dress made only from dress labels.
Phyllis T.--showed us a long sleeved pullover top made from an old quilt.
Frieda--made embroidered shopping bags as Christmas gifts and she made some from fat quarters.
Jennifer--showed the scissor's case she received that she will demo in May for us.
Joanne--was wearing a cute jacket she made with black and white and red cat prints--on her way to the Cat Show.
Nancy Abrams--a kitchen towel "dress" made by her mother received many oos and aahs--see photos.
Barbara Rogers--gave herself an embroidery machine for Christmas so she showed us her samples.

If anyone has any corrections or changes or add-ons to this recap, please reply to all.  In the meantime, here is our schedule:  Don't say I didn't tell you!!  I just love you gals.  Best to you in 09!  Mary

February 14--Bayland
March 14--Faith Lutheran
April 11--(FIELD TRIP)
May 9--Bayland
June 13--Location TBA
July 11--Location TBA
August 8-- (COTTON PATCH)
Sept 12--Bayland
Oct 10--Bayland
Nov 14--Bayland
Dec 12--Bayland or TBA

We celebrated the holidays at Mary Haper's home.  Members brought an item for a salad buffet and something for the Houston Food Bank.

We had a "chinese fire drill" gift exchange that was loads of fun.  Each member brought a wrapped sewing-related gift and drew a number.  Number 1 chose the first gift.  Number 2 could choose a new gift or "steal"  Number 1's.  Each gift can change hands a total of 3 times and then is frozen. The exchange continues until all have gotten a gift.  Number 1 gets the last laugh - she can choose any gift that is not frozen.

Our photographer, Joanne Carpenter, was unable to attend due to illness.
All attendees had a wonderful time!  Thanks to Mary for hosting the event.

We had 12 members and one guest at our 11/08/08 meeting.  Barbara Lindsey brought her friend, Pat.

Mary Haper was unable to attend so Joanne Carpenter led the meeting.  Joanne told everyone to start thinking about which position they would like to hold for the next year.  We need a leader, co-leader and coffee bringer.  Barbara Rogers has volunteered to bring our swap box.  Joanne said that she would be the photographer again.

Alice Anjo announced that the ASG Houston annual meeting will be held on December 6, 2008 from 1:00 - 4:00 PM at the Jersey Village Community Center.  The admission is an unwrapped toy.

We discussed our holiday party.  We will have our annual gift swap- a sewing related gift or goodie from our stash, with a minimum value of $10.00.  Each member will draw a number for the order in which to select a gift.  The gift can be stolen 2 times so that it will be in no more than 3 people's possesion.  Joanne volunteered her home for the party.  The final decision will be made when Mary returns from Wyoming.

Our program was "finds" from the Quilt Festival plus show and tell.  Alice Anjo made a bog jacket from cool distressed denim.  She took classes at the festival from Phillipa Naylor and Krystal Wick.  She showed us book by Krystal on fabric beads, rayon African fabric and some lavender-infused fabric.


Barbara Rogers bought a book by Carol Doak on paper piecing, printer fabric and fabric organizers.

Marguerite brought in a 2004 copy of Sewing Savvy that has instructions for the traveler's shoe bags.

Barbara Lindsey bought a pointer stick for turning corners.  She also made credit card cases like the ones that she saw on an episode of Martha's Sewing Room.

Terri showed us a bag she made.  She bought a Charm Party Bag pattern, interchangeable bag handles and a book, "Stray Sock Sewing."

Reba bought silk thread and beautiful lace.  She showed us a handbag that a friend made for her.

Joanne bought a chenille jacket kit, a cocoon jacket pattern, some buttons and 108" wide batik fabric.

Vera told us that ASG had a last minute booth at the Quilt Festival.  ASG had not planned on manning a booth this year.

Nancy Donaldson showed us some flower pin cusions that her students made.  She also will be making "quilt in a cup" projects with her students.

 I have added a pdf file.  It's in right hand column, at the bottom.  This guide was distributed at the Fashions from the Cotton Patch Show. 

On September 13, 2008 I will be doing a program on decorating shoes.  First, I started making just a decorative shoe- unwearable, but centerpiece material.  See show and tell photo from last meeting.

Since then I've been decorating my shoes to wear.  I'll add photos soon.  Now, I see decorated shoes everywhere!  Here is a link to a website where you can design your own Keds:  http://www.zazzle.com/kedsstudio.
 
I've covered a pair of my old clogs with black and pink polka dotted fabric to match some of my jackets; a pair of loafers with black and white herringbone knit,; another pair of clogs with cat fabric.  Now, I have a brilliant idea of turning a pair of clogs into cowboy boots.  (Yes, I own a lot of clogs.)

Start deciding what you want to do at the meeting.  First off, select the shoe(s).  Knit fabric is the easiest to work with.  Collect trims, gee-gaws, etc. to complement them. 

I use modpodge with a brush.  Sometimes a little hot glue is necessary, too.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera for this event.  This event was held on our regular meeting day.  Those attending from our group:  Mary Haper, Joanne Carpenter, Marguerite Corbello, Alice Anjo, Jennifer & Vera Kelley, Terry West (and husband).

 I just added my photo to my name on the list on the right side of the page.  If you have a shutterfly account, you can add a photo to your profile.  Go to my shutterfly, profile and upload a photo of yourself.  That way we can put a face with a name.

I will keep working on this site.  I haven't figured out how to add photos to the profiles of non-shutterfly members.  This is a new service from shutterfly and it still has kinks. 

Let me know if you don't want to be on the list.

4/19/2011 11:41:03 AM - 000040970905
Hello Ladies, I wanted to let you know about a few updates going on in
the Houston Chapter:

We are going to concentrate on doing Cool Ties for Houstonians who do
not have air conditioning.   The goal is 5,000 cool ties so if you have
time, please make some--even if you get them done and they still need
the Soil Moist, turn them in and we will get them filled.  We have a
long way to go to meet Houston's need.  Several in the chapter,
including Juanita Bynam and Nancy Maranto, are working very hard to get
this project done.

So, we no longer will do pillowcases or troop totes.  However, we are
going to do lap blankets for LBJ and Ben Taub hospice patients--36x30 is
the size and they can be simple fleece or other fabrics.  The key is
warmth for those who get cold getting treatments, etc.  More info will
come later, but if you have fabric and want to make some blankets, go
for it.

By now you should have received an email from ASG National about the
sewing classes that will be offered on line!  This is a first and
everybody is really excited!  In addition, the national
newsletter--Notions--will be on line.  If you are not getting these
emails from National, please let me know or someone at National because
it means they do not have your current or correct email address.

If any two of you want to co-lead when I leave, give me a call and we
can talk.  Several NG's do it this way so the burden is not so great on
one person.

8/21/2008 2:32:35 PM - 000063605169
Congratulations, Joanne, on the award from The Cotton Patch Show!!!

8/1/2008 2:52:01 AM - 000063605169

7/30/2008 8:09:29 PM - 002023401742

I love the idea of our own website. The pictures look great.

Thanks,

Marilyn