COMING EVENTS

---------------------------------------------

ANNUAL MEETING *

of the

Sarasota/Gulf Coast Florida ASG

on

November 14, 2008

9:00am—3:00pm

at

Mission Valley Country Club

Mission Valley Blvd.

off Laurel Road, Laurel, FL

Speaker:

NANCY NIX—RICE

Image & Wardrobe Consultant

Author of “Looking Good”

The APRON Challenge

will be held during the luncheon period.

(More details below.)

Tickets:

(includes luncheon)

Member — $35.00

Non-Member — $40.00

The Apron Challenge!

We challenge each of you to make an apron to show at the annual meeting. It can be any kind: a barbeque apron, a tea apron, a practical kitchen apron, a short gardening apron (with or without pockets), a holiday apron, an apron with a favorite sports/ hobby theme or any other type of apron that you can use. It can be one that you made previously or recently. It will be fun to see how many different aprons that we will bring and show during our annual meeting luncheon.

There are many patterns out there or perhaps you have an old one at home. Add a few personal touches and, voila!, you will have an original!

Good luck and happy sewing! ….Your ASG Board

ANNUAL MEETING FUN1

Door Prizes! Whoopee!!! Ladies, lets have some fun at our Annual Meeting! Please bring with you a door prize: either something you do not need or want (sewing category or other) or anything else.  E.g. stationary you are not going to use or sewing books. Do not make it expensive. Just some item someone else might like to have. We will have a drawing. The more of you who participate, the more door prizes we will have to distribute. It would be great if everyone went home with a prize!

Until then..

Judy Applestein

NANCY NIX - RICE

Speaker at Our Annual Meeting

Nancy Nix-Rice is an image and wardrobe consultant with a life-long background in home-sewing. Former award winning retailer and educational director for Baby Lock, Nancy is author of the image classic:

“Looking Good” (Palmer/Pletsch). She has just filmed the video titled “Looking Good Live”. We are looking forward to learning more about her work at our annual meeting on Friday, November 14^th!  Nancy Nix-Rice has listed a few things for us to think about in answering the question, ”How can you predict, before you sew, which projects are winners?” It’s easy if you focus on one concept: Points of Connection.  The more common characteristics between you and the garment, the more harmonious the effect. You can create connections of color, body shape, scale, texture, and dozens of other characteristics. Part 1: Color was covered in our July-August issue on page 13. Part 2: Fit, Fashion and Your Figure was covered on pages 5 and 6 of our September-October issue.

Part 3: Sew Slimmer

Are you a 95 percent-er? That is, are you among the 95% of American women who would like to be at least a few pounds thinner? Well, the clothes you sew can easily trim away 10 or more visual pounds instantly. Here are just a few tricks to try.

#1 - Use color to balance heavier areas. You don’t need to dress in head-to-toe black. Use a darker, duller neutral (brown, navy or gray are as slimming as black) on areas you’d prefer to minimize.

#2 - Sew “columns of color”. If your pants and blouse match, a viewer’s eye will move easily up and down, skimming away extra pounds. Add a contrast jacket for interest, but leave it unbuttoned to avoid breaking the column.

#3 - Taper. Not too much, of course. A gently inward slope from the hip to the hem of the pants or a straight skirt elongates your lower body. And taller equals trimmer every time.

#4 - Find a flattering hemline. For pants, the longer the better. Hem the back to cover the point where the heel meets the body of the shoe - even longer if the heels are high. Have the fabric graze the top of the shoe in front, with the very slightest break.  For skirts, be sure the hemline hits at a narrow spot on your leg. Just below the knee and below the full part of the calf are good spots for most women. Also be sure the length of the skirt exceeds its width, creating a rectangular proportion.

#5 - Scrutinize the sleeves. Too long sleeves look dumpy. A short sleeve should end higher than the fullest point of the bust. A long sleeve should just cover the wrist bone. Pushing up a long sleeve is another way to lift and slim the look, while creating a casual vibe.

Sleeve width is important, too. Often in sizes above 12, sleeves seem to be graded proportionately fuller.  Tapering the sleeve a half inch or so creates a sleeker look and allows some daylight between your arms and your body, avoiding a “blocky” appearance.  #6 - Support the shoulders. Even now, when a more natural shoulder line is in fashion, most of us need some gentle padding to keep our garments hanging gracefully. A little more shoulder can balance broad hips, a rounded tummy, thick upper arms or a full or low bust.

Use these tips to update existing garments or incorporate them in new sewing projects. Either way, get ready for the question, ”Have you lost weight?” This article was written by Nancy Nix-Rice, 1512 Ann Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63122.

1st ANNUAL RETREAT

Registration Deadline FEBRUARY 1, 2009 - $100.00 DEPOSIT//Balance due March 25, 2009