Hello Reader,

In my last newsletter, I wrote of the passing of my mother. I received many replies offering condolences and sharing personal stories of loss and healing.

I read every reply and was touched by the outpouring of compassion and understanding expressed in each one.

Thank you. ❤️

In that same newsletter, I asked if anyone knew of ways sewists and quilters could help those impacted by hurricanes Helene and Milton.

I received several replies to this query:

• Many people shared the link to Lo & Behold Stitchery. Their website has a hurricane page, but several links no longer work. However, a section in the middle of the article shares descriptions and links to larger organizations that provide basic needs and who they have seen actively serving in their community.
• There was also this insightful suggestion - "With respect to sewists and quilters helping those affected by Hurricane Helene, I've seen several posts that say now they need basic supplies for survival rather than quilts."
• The article Disaster Relief Needs Your Money Not Your Knits offers a thoughtful perspective on handmade items not being the best way to provide support.
• ​Keepsake_Quilting on IG isn't currently accepting quilt donations but will keep their followers updated on further developments and any additional ways you can help in the future
• I did not include quilt drives and pattern purchases that had deadlines that already passed.

Thank you to everyone who sent me information to pass along. I apologize for not getting the list out before deadlines.

American Sewing Guild

One of the responses I received for hurricane relief was:

The American Sewing Guild is a national organization. Their mission is to advance sewing as an art and life skill.

If you've been looking for a group to share your love of sewing with, I encourage you to take a look at the ASG website - https://www.asg.org/​

New members can join a local chapter or become a Member at Large.

Local chapters host meetings, social events, fashion shows, online meetings, and more and often host service projects for their community.

All members can access the free videos and files, attend the annual Conference, and take advantage of discounts and special offers available only to members.

Thanks I Made Them

As I was writing this newsletter, I learned about Bianca Springer - @thanksimadethem.

She has created some amazing garments from quilts and yo-yos but something else that jumped out at me was her reel about her pattern weights being chosen by the Atlanta chapter of the American Sewing Guild as favors for their annual meeting.

I thought this was a fun coincidence and wanted to share.

Sewing Machine Repair

If you use your sewing machine several hours a week, it's recommended to have it cleaned and serviced at least once a year.

If you sew every day for 2 hours or more, it's recommended to have it cleaned and serviced twice a year.

To keep your machine running smoothly between these times, most sewing machine manuals have a section on routine maintenance.

Even if you are faithful in routine cleaning and taking it in for regular tune-ups, more than likely your machine will need a repair at some point for something that is beyond your control.

Of course, if your machine is under warranty, you want to take advantage of that, but repairs can be costly and regular servicing can add up over time.

Have you ever thought about learning how to care for and fix your machines?

I recently came across the Sewing Doc Academy. They are an online full-scale learning center for sewing machine service, restoration, repair, troubleshooting, and all other aspects of home domestic sewing machines. They offer a variety of programs all focused on sewing machine service and repair.

While I haven't purchased any of their programs yet, there are several I'm interested in.

One of their goals is:

If you're interested in learning about sewing machine service, the Sewing Doc Academy offers a free custom learning plan.

You can also follow them on YouTube and Facebook.

Needles

In addition to the sewing machine manual, a great resource to gain a deeper understanding of common troubleshooting issues is this book:

I've had this book for several years, and have learned a lot about how my sewing machines work and how important needles are to achieving great results.

The author devoted 12 pages of the book to needles which includes many photographs about anatomy, the relationship between needle and thread, needle quality, and damaged needles.

Have you ever been sewing and one minute your stitches look fine and the next you notice skipped stitches?

Or you've been sewing without any trouble and then the thread keeps breaking?

When these things happen, I always rethread my bobbin and top thread.

If that doesn't work, I change the needle.

My mom used to tell me she could hear when a needle became dull because the sound it made punching through the fabric was different than when the needle was sharp.

Needles are important.

This Sewing Machine Needle Guide includes much of the foundational needle knowledge necessary to make informed choices about the needles you use and when to change them.

Finished Quilts

In my last newsletter, I wrote about working on a pickle quilt my mom had planned for my nephew.

I'm happy to say I finished his quilt as well as one for my brother that my mom had started.

My husband and I took a week-long trip to Massachusetts in mid-October to see the leaves changing (it was beautiful) and deliver the quilts in person.

Thank you to Jeanine for allowing me to use her Covered in Joy pattern for the pickle quilt.

Jeanine also gave permission to share the pattern if it's used for charity quilts. Click here to get it - covered-in-joy-charity-quilt-pattern.pdf​

My Brother's Quilt

Mom gave my brother a collection of fabric featuring biking and camping for his birthday in February and asked him for ideas for the quilt.

He told her he wanted large blocks so he could see the details of the fabric, and he wanted the quilt to be square so he didn't have to think about what side was the long one when he covered up.

I cut the fabric into 10.5" squares when Mom was still alive. She wasn't strong enough to get out of bed, so I also cut 2" squares so she could arrange them in a design on a travel ironing mat and pin them in place.

She hoped to get better so she could sew the big blocks, but she didn't.

After she passed, I asked him if he had an opinion on the quilting.

He asked for something that looked like bike trails but didn't want them to overlap.

The finished block size is 10" so I did straight-line stitching to keep the batting in place. Then I used a triple stitch to add random trails on the finished quilt.

I am so thankful to have the skills to finish these quilts, and it was wonderful to give them to my brother and nephew in person.

That's all for now. Until next time,

​

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