ANYTHING SEWS

Judy Lehmann (941)924-1057 JudyLehmann@verizon.net

3rd Saturday, 9 - 3pm

Bring a bag lunch and beverage to all meetings.

Sew Worth It -  5567 Palmer Crossing Circle, Sarasota, FL

Our March meeting had to be rescheduled to the end of March; most of the group was able to attend and we worked on those pesky UFO’s. At our April meeting, we had a demo on the use of Texture Magic /Heat ‘n Shrink. This product can be stitched to the back of your fabric; then you pass a steam iron over it and it shrinks….like magic, and you have swirls and ridges, and texture in your fabric. Some of us used silk fabrics, and others used cotton. All came out beautifully. Van showed us how to do different designs to create different textures, such as free motion, grid designs, concentric circle flowers, and narrow rows of stitching. Then we made purses from the "new" textured fabrics! What fun!

March/April 2012

The December meeting was catered at Sew Worth It, and the group did their traditional Brown Bag Gift Exchange, to the delight and merriment of all. The half-circle napkins and the 10-minute (Tubed) table runner were very popular this year. In January we wanted to make something for the "significant other" in our lives; an oven mitt and apron decorated for Valentine’s Day was in order. Then in February, we did some community service for Cyesis, who was looking for some small quilts for outside and naptime. So using a quickie pattern, we made 10 quilts for them.

January/February 2012

Only about half of our group was able to make our November meeting; however, those of us who could get there had great time. Some of us made Barbara Van Buren's Holiday Toilet Seat Cover. It is quite lovely, with the paper piecing bow on it! The rest of the group worked on their own particular projects; everyone trying to finish up those Christmas gifts. Judy Lehmann called us from North Carolina to say “Hello.” Our Christmas Party will be highlighted by our annual “Brown Bag Exchange” and a catered luncheon. From all of us to all of you: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! Be Safe and be happy.

November/December 2011

In September, we did a Pin-Tuck Pillow with Van Withey. We learned how to make 1/2” pin tucks and then we stitched them down in two directions to make an interesting texture. We added some welting and some coordinating fabric strips and quilted a flange at each end. They were spectacular when finished. Many of our members donated items for the library displays for National Sewing Month. Thanks to Eva and Elsie for arranging those displays. In October, we had a small turnout. About half of our members were attending another event held by one of the fabric stores. Those of us at the meeting worked on UFO’s and happily finished up some items that had been languishing in our sewing rooms awaiting completion. We are looking forward to the “Holiday Toilet Seat Cover” which has been postponed to November 26. Anyone interested in at-tending this possibly historic event should contact Barbara Van Buren for a supply list. PLEASE NOTE the date change for the November meeting due to a conflict at our meeting place.

September/October 2011

Our June meeting was very productive, with a great assembly-line of turtle makers. We finished several from other groups who ran out of time, and added an additional 18 to the total handed over to Eva Winter, Community Service Chairperson, to be forwarded to National for the Annual Conference. These hundreds and hundreds of turtles from all across the country for the kids at the Hole-In-The-Wall Camp should bring lots of smiles and comfort to the recipients. See the next page for our July project for the Cyesis Program. For our Christmas in August, everyone was invited to bring in ideas and/or suggestions for Holiday gift giving and decorations. The group responded with a plethora of items with patterns and instructions to share in the coming months. With all the Christmas in July events in the area, there should be a lot of creativity in the minds of our members; and once we all get together and start talking, lots of things happen. In September we will begin our “1 yard of fabric in the paper bag” gift exchange. You put 1 yard of fabric (Christmas or other) and your name in the brown paper bag and seal it. Then you leave your bag on the table and take home someone else’s, make something using the fabric, and bring it back to the December meeting for the gift exchange. This is always lots of fun and full of surprises!

At their July meeting Anything Sews had a great time, and performed community service at the same time. They made “Let’s Make Believe” tunics for the kids at the Cyesis Day Care Center. Cyesis is the Greek word for pregnant, and it is the name of the center that provides day care for the children of teen aged mothers so they (the moms) can finish high school. Sonia Azar, our liaison with the program, joined us. She was overwhelmed with the efforts and accomplishments of the group. We completed fifteen tunics, with an additional ten forthcoming. Everyone brought something for the project, including fun fabrics, trims, and other embellishments. Make believe you are a princess, or a frog, or a frog princess, or a an astronaut, or a sheriff, or a cheer-leader or a …..

July/August 2011

Our April meeting was led by Donna Lundquist, who demonstrated how she makes those wonderful quilts for which she is noted (all donated to charity). What a good time realizing that we don’t need “squares”, just pick up any strip of any color and start sewing. Donna’s mantra that day was “it doesn’t matter” what color, size, thread, etc. And she was right!. They all turned out great. Thanks Donna.

In May, we made placemats which Helen Hughes had shown us at a previous meeting. Thoughtfully, she had left us a sample, and with each other’s help (we’re good at that), we figured it out and made quite a variety: some patriotic, some Spring colors, some children’s. Another great time, proving we can all get through a few bumps in the road.

In June, Van Withey directed us as we worked on the famous “turtles”, turning out fifteen of them and having a lot of fun doing it. We also finished up some that were cut, but not sewn, from some other NGs, labeled them all and turned them over to Eva Winter to send to National.

In July, Anything Sews will be making “dress up” clothes for the children at the Cyesis Group here in Sarasota. It will be fun, quick, and easy—a great summer project, plus helping others at the same time. The tunics are similar to the pillow-case dress, only simpler (no side seams). Please join us, and if you do, please bring any embellishments/trims/whatever you might have around to create a costume. These are to be costume-type tunics for the kids to wear to make-believe they are a princess, or an astronaut, or a cowboy, or a scientist. Great to be a child…..

In August, Anything Sews will have Christmas in August. Bring in one or two holiday ideas. We will discuss and share ideas, so we can get an early start on the Holiday List. Heads-Up for September: bring in your 1-yd of fabric for the Holiday Gift Exchange.

May/June 2011

Our February meeting was great, making Batik placemats with Van Withey as the leader. What a wonderful collection of colors, and each combination more beautiful than the next. The results were amazing, knowing that they were all made from the same pattern and yet each one was different. Several of our members decided to make an additional set in different color tones to “match their dishes”. In March, we shared several apron patterns. Everyone contributed their thoughts and suggestions, with lots of variety and great ideas for trying new styles. I think we all now have some thoughts for the “perfect hostess gift” that can be made ahead of time and grab as you go out the door for dinner at a friend’s. I hear that aprons are really back “in” now, and they are fun to make!

March/April 2011

Our January meeting was lots of fun, though it had most of us muttering to ourselves. We did fig-ure it out and were quite pleased with the results of our efforts on the Smart Bag #509, a bag with exchangeable exteriors. I think the stars were out of alignment that day, as we all seemed to struggling (not blaming the pattern, just things not working for most of us). C’est la vie! At our February meeting, we made Batik Placemats, led by Van Withey. In March, we will do an apron exchange. Bring your favorite apron, or apron pattern and pass it around and share ideas, embellishments, whatever. Aprons seem to be “in” again, so make a great gift for someone special. Our April project will be led by Donna Lundquist; we are planning to make her famous “scrappy” quilt. May is “Turtle” month for anyone who wants to make one, and UFO’s for the rest.

January/February 2011

The annual meeting was in November on our usual meeting day. Several of our members attended the meeting, and others had a sew-in for UFO’s at the usual time and place.

November/December 2010

Our August meeting was great fun. We made quilts for the Promise Group to provide a comforting welcome to families who are struggling to stay together. We presented a total of 8 quilts to Pam Rosenberg to take to her group that is providing housing for “adopted” families.

In September, Van Withey brought in her own design for a small bag. Each member was given a pattern and instructions and asked to make a small purse and provide feedback on the instructions: the good, the bad and the ugly. Comments were very helpful, as Van is working on making the patterns available for sale in the near future and wanted to know if the directions are easy to follow. Each member made a bag and got a pattern to keep. What a variety, since they were not told what type of fabric to bring or for what it would be used.

October will be the Expandable Expo Bag lead by Pam Rosenberg. Supplies are: 1 ¼ yd. of double-quilted fabric, 6 yds. of webbing for straps, vanishing marker, ruler, matching thread, sewing machine and your usual sewing supplies. Also, if you haven’t brought in a plain brown bag with 1 yd. or more of fabric (putting your name inside the bag) for our gift exchange, please bring it this month and take another one home with you.

Judy Lehmann

September/October 2010

July/August 2010

In April we had our measurements taken to determine sizes for making the Louise Cutting blouse or jacket. Marie Putnam and Alberta Kodydek were very helpful with this. In addition, while some were being measured, others were working on UFO’s (never a shortage, is there).

For our May meeting, we used the measurements and patterns we purchased to make the blouses. What a variety we had, and each one looked very nice. Most of us had done clothing construction years ago, so this was a great re-entry project.. There were several calls for more of this type of project.

Judy Lehmann

May/June 2010

The February meeting was led by Dana Smith, as she helped us navigate through the directions to make the Shelley Bag. It went well, and all turned out really well, with almost everyone getting theirs completed that day. Thanks, Diane (and she said she didn’t know how to teach! It must be that we are such wonderful students, ha ha.)

Two of the Shelley Bags Made by Anything Sews Members.

Picture contributed by Judy Lehmann

In March, we all brought in UFO’s and there were plenty of them.  It was great to work in our friendly, helpful atmosphere. If you’re stuck on something, it seems that someone is always there with an answer or a suggestion.

Judy Lehmann

March/April 2010

In December we had our Christmas Party, with the wonderful ideas and creativity shown in the gifts we made for each other from the 1-yard exchange. This is a very talented group. Great job, everyone!

In January January, some of our group took the bus tour to the new Sew Worth It shop in Ft. Myers. It was a fun trip and great to see all the new fabrics (irresistible). Then back to our regular shop for an afternoon making the Snap Happy Bag, with instruction from Shirley Spisak. What a great, quick and easy project, and we just keep thinking of more ways to use the bags!

Judy Lehman

January/February 2010