Sharing pictures of what we are creating

Got a picture of the blankets, quilts or shawls you or your church group have created?  Send it to methodistsinmission@gmail.com and I'll try to post it to the blog.  Please share your name, and/or the name of your church, and any other info you may have about what you are bringing, such as the name of your sewing group, or any special story about what you've made, or what it means to you to be able to give to someone in need through our in-gathering.  Thanks!

Sewing machines...old and new!

When I was about five, and happily modeling every pair of shorts and tops my mom sewed for me, I very much wanted to learn how to sew.  My parents gave me a small, light brown, metal Singer sewing machine, Model No. 20, Made in Great Britian (pictured above is the box it came in).  I can't say that I remember producing much from that tiny machine, but it now sits in my sewing room, reminding me that once one finds a passion in one's life, it can provide a lifetime of pleasure and adventure. 

Having started off with a Singer at such a young age, quite naturally, when I bought my first machine, it was a Singer.  My daughter learned to sew on it, and she inherited it when I fell in love with another brand, Janome.  She still sews with that Singer, which is now 29 years old.  A friend introduced me to Janome, around the time I started a sewing camp for girls at Camp Mechuwana in Winthrop, Maine.  Through generous donations from local businesses and churches, I purchased 12 Janome Sewist 521 machines for the sewing camp.  They are excellent for beginning sewers, easy to use and easy to clean.  Myself, I own a Janome Sewist 625E, a wee bit of an upgrade from the 521, and perfectly adequate for all my sewing needs.  I purchased the Janomes from the Fabric Garden, a wonderful shop in Madison, Maine.  Every now and then, I window-shop for machines, just daydreaming about the fancier ones.  But I love the one I have right now, and if it does as well by me as the old Singer, I am surely blessed.

What is your sewing story?  Did you start at a young age?  Who inspired you/taught you to sew, or did you self-teach?  What is your favorite sewing machine brand?  Feel free to share with us about your sewing plans for a blanket, quilt, or shawl for our in-gathering worship Saturday, June 15th at Gordon College in Wenham, MA.

Quick 'n Easy Lap or Baby Quilts

I've been teaching sewing to girls at Camp Mechuwana, a Methodist camp in Winthrop, Maine, since the summer of 2006.  No sewing skills required, and we provide the teachers, the machines, the fabric, and the fun begins!  For each item the girls learn to sew, they make one to take home and one, or more, to give to missions.  A friend and colleague of mine, and a skilled sewer, was one of my counselors one summer.  She suggested we teach the girls to sew baby quilts for Project Linus.  I thought to myself, how do you teach non-sewers to produce a quilt in only one week?  Indeed, since we also make rice bags, tote bags and pillowcases, in addition to swimming, boating, crafts, and campfires, how could we even find the time to make quilts?

It is amazing what a good quilt pattern will do to simplify the process of producing a sweet lap/baby quilt.  My friend said she had a great pattern that would produce enough squares for 3 quilts simply by folding the yardage for each quilt and making 2 rotary cuts.  I watched and marvelled.  The girls produced some beautiful quilts, and we prayed over the quilts at the end of our week, before sending them off.  Recently, I went digging for that pattern in my sewing camp pattern binders, and it simply would not surface anywhere.  I knew it had come out of a Quiltmaker magazine, and I knew it was likely from that first summer, 2006.  Eagerly, I searched the Quiltmaker website, only to find they keep issues available dating back to 2008.  So, with much gratitude to Google, I went looking for the quilt, knowing only the pattern's name-"Super-Sized Nine Patch" (designer, Anita Grossman Solomon). Hallelujah, this is the site at which I found the pattern:  http://www.ashevillequiltguild.org. Do you have a favorite, easy lap/baby quilt pattern you'd like to share?

So, now I'm busy making three baby quilts for our Annual Conference in-gathering of blankets, quilts, and prayer shawls at worship Saturday, June 15th at Gordon College, Wenham, MA.  And, if time allows, I'll pick out fabric for three lap quilts for adults.  The pattern is wonderfully versatile.  I love to lay out the squares, then switch them around, to see how the colors fit together in each quilt.  What are you or your church group making for our in-gathering?  With six weeks till we gather, there is still plenty of time to create!