creative team: hand sewing

The Creative Team concept is my baby.

(read more about it here)

Having a creative community, even if small, has always been key to my happiness.  I was lucky to grow up with parents and a pile of siblings who encouraged and shared the joy of MAKING, moved on to find university and laboratory life beautifully creative (though I was deep into the joy of science rather than craft then), and when I chose to stay home with my new little girl, Audrey, having projects kept me (relatively) sane, desperate to have one thing--or a lineup of them--in my life that could be started and finished and turn out practically perfect.  Such a contrast to the ever-changing, never-finished  queue of dishes or laundry or young beautiful child souls!  I have always liked to rope others into trying things with me, whether it be the one fellow mother/student sharing hours within the cinder-block walls of married student housing on the University of Utah campus making cloth quiet books for our one-year-olds, or the eight friends (who only started two fires between them) who split the cost of mail-ordering supplies to try our hand at the art of pysanky (Ukrainian beeswax resist egg-dyeing) around my wide pine table in Nashville.  Creativity is a joy that loves a good show-and-tell.  It is always extra lovely to someone to share a new project and ideas with.  A group is even better!  I hope that by forming our Firefly Creative Teams we give you the chance to find friends who love what you love, and can support you in your creative journey.

When I was deciding what to choose as the emphasis for the first season of the Arts & Crafts team, I never strayed far from hand sewing.  Sewing is a great skill to have.  It can be applied to a vast array of mediums, is often just as practical as it is decorative, and is one of the most portable projects.  I always like to have a hand sewing project tucked into my purse or backpack to pull out when I am waiting through yet another horseback riding lesson or watching children at the park or catching up on television (I try to limit but I do love my DVR).  

The hand sewing team will be meeting on Thursday afternoons in our new studio at The Thought Lot, 37 E Garfield St in Shippensburg, from 4:30-6:00 pm for eight consecutive weeks beginning October 4th, 2012.  Skipping Thanksgiving ;).  All materials are included in the $120 tuition (including a fully-stocked, frankly-adorable hand sewing kit and a set of my original patterns), and team size is limited to 8, so I and my helper can give you adequate attention and needle-threading help.  This team is appropriate for grades 3-12, and adults who don't mind sharing a space with children are welcome to join us as well.  Besides having creative fun with linen, cotton, and wool felt, my goal is that each team member really learns to sew.  We'll start with learning the basic stitches in two-dimensional work 

and move on to applying those stitches to make practical additions to their sewing kits (needle books & pincushions),

 turning first-week embroidery into lavender sachets,

 and moving onto more detailed projects and more decorative stitches.  These little animal + habitats, for example,

will be perfect treasures to save for holiday giving...if you can stand not to keep them yourselves!  They're very popular at my house ;).

 I favor small sewing projects.  Besides having a penchant for gifts that fit nicely in my hand,

wee projects are easily completed in an afternoon, and all fit together on one table for group making.  We'll do most of our work with 100% wool or wool blend felts.  This dense material is perfect for holding small stitches (cheaper craft felt tears too easily), and the non-fraying edges are easy for beginners to work with.  It also feels fantastic in your hand and comes in a gorgeous array of colors.  Working with beautiful materials makes the whole process more of treat.

I have developed a curriculum that builds sewing skills in practical applications.  Both new beginners and experienced hand sewers can be content with the same starting projects, as all of them can be transformed to more advanced projects with further embellishment, and I'll have a pile of extra patterns that quick stitchers can move onto if they have extra time.
 

Besides the wool felt work, we'll experiment with cotton jersey reverse appliqué, apply our new skills to make a variety of accessories from cuffs to headbands, and do a woven fabric project to learn how to mind our seam allowances.  I'm guessing a seasonal project or two will sneak in, too!

I hope you'll join us.  The creative juices will be flowing; I'm smiling in anticipation as I write. ("thoughts as thick as fireflies, all shiny in my mind!")

Registration details (both mail-in & electronic) may be found on the right side bar.

Best,
Valerie