SEW WHO’S WHO?
January/February 2007
November/December 2006
By Shirley Mendolera
Typed from the Bradenton Herald by Shirley A. Mendolera from the original article written by Sara Kennedy, Herald Staff Writer Dated Tuesday, August 5, 2006 in the “Meet Your Neighbor” Section E
Sew fine, Marie Gartley Turns Hobby into Something Special. She began sewing when she was just a girl of 10 or 12 years old, and decades later, she’s still at it. Marie Gartley, a Bradenton leader of the sewing group Pins and Needles, thinks her longtime hobby is something special. “It’s fun because your creative juices flow.” Those who make their own clothing by hand are not slaves to the sameness and lack of originality that plagues shoppers who must buy read-made pieces from the department store racks, she said. “You don’t like to see 12 dresses in the stores of the same material” she noted.
Gartley enjoys organizing each meeting of the sewing group, where members hear a speaker discussing various topics, such as heirloom sewing or how to make items from natural linen.
Sometimes, they work on community service projects. “We bring machines and sew pillows for the breast biopsy group at Manatee Memorial Hospital,” Gartley said. Pins and Needles members also are proficient at sewing purses, quilts, grandchildren’s clothes, doll clothes and their own clothes, she said.
The library displays many of the items the women make as part of their community service projects – hats for babies, clothing and blankets.
Other meetings and workshops are devoted to more frivolous purposes; “One lady showed us how to make ribbon scarves, it was a very interesting project,” Gartley remembered. At one recent meeting, the topic was quilting techniques to use on wearable clothing, she said. “Everyone brings unfinished projects and works on them,” she said. “People bring their machines. Some of us have portables, so they’ll bring them and share. “We have a show-and-tell, so you can show everybody what you’ve made during the month. The people that belong sew anything from doll clothes to jackets, purses and quilts.” Sometimes, there are instructional workshops showing special pin-tucking patterns or complex sewing techniques. “We are very fortunate to have a lot of people in Florida that are very talented.
Sewing for family Gartley hails from Lake Ontario, near Rochester, N.Y., but has been living in Florida many years. She is married to Robert Gartley, and they have four children – two boys and two girls, all of whom are grown and live here. She also has nine grandchildren. Asked about her worklife when she was younger, she said, “I was just professional volunteer with four kids.” Gartley enjoys sewing for her family: A year ago, she made a Celtic heritage king-sized quilt for her son, who was celebrating a 25th wedding anniversary.
When she’s not sewing for herself or her family, she sews for the Manatee High School marching band. “Right now, the sewing table is covered with material for the junior drum major of Manatee High School marching band, she laughed. “I have made them for about 10 year, the drum major’s jackets. She said the drum majors wear red jackets that coordinate with the band’s blue uniforms. For the skirt, she uses a white polyester double knit fabric that can be easily washed. “Usually, I just do for one girl,” she said. My bill is a quarter of what they’d pay commercially, it’s kind of my donation to the band,” Gartley said. She also helps with uniforms for the Sugar Canes, the dance team that performs with the marching band, she said.
“I learned how to sew watching my grandmother; I’ve probably sewed for 65 years.”
About the Guild Gartley’s group meets the first Wednesday of each month from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. at the Manatee County Central Library, 1301 Barracarrota Blvd., Bradenton. About 35 belong to the group. It’s parent organization, the Sarasota/Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Sewing Guild, has more than 250 members, spread from Bradenton on the north edge of its region to Port Charlotte on the south, according to Evelyn LeVasseur, publicity director for the chapter.
In addition to the Bradenton group, the Sewing Guild has two groups in Sarasota, one in Venice and one special interest group in Venice that focuses exclusively on wearable art, said LeVasseur.
“We can go to any one of those organization’s meetings throughout the year, and we have chapter meetings several times a year, and an annual meeting coming in November.” Memorable events, Gartley said, she has enjoyed with fellow seamstresses include a Bernina fashion show staged by the entire chapter. Some of the members of the Sewing Guild also attend a national convention each year as well.
Marie Gartley
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