August 2023 – All about linen

In the sunny heat of the summer, what better to wear than linen? But when there aren’t any local sources where you could touch the fabric, where do you go? Well, you could order online, but then, how do you know what you’re getting?

This month, our guest speaker Maureen from fabrics-store.com which specializes in linen walked us through the choices available on their website. She talked about the different weights of line fabrics and showed us how they look made up in patterns both familiar and new to us. Maureen also explained how to care for linen before and after it’s sewn up, and helped us get comfortable with ordering online by supplying us with nice big samples of the various weights.

(We don’t have any pictures of the actual presentation as it was on Zoom so we had the room darkened. Luckily, there also aren’t any pictures of our mad dash just before the meeting to get all the technology working just right. It was funny, though.)

Toward the end of her presentation, Maureen shared a discount code just for our chapter members. That’s one of the perks of being a guild member. Just sayin’ 😄

Anyway, if that’s something that appeals to you, join us – we meet on the second Saturday of every month, at 1500 Blairs Ferry Rd in Hiawatha. (Yep, we rent space in the church. Come on in!)

Sew & tell

Once Maureen finished her presentation and answered all our questions, it was time for show & tell – the part where we get to ooh and ahh over our members’ latest creations.

Beth showed off two cloth books, a Christmas-themed pillow case, the Sailor Top from a pattern by Fancy Tiger Crafts), and even the first garment she ever made – a dress. Here she is holding up one of the cloth books and a brightly colored apron (from a Paisley Pincushion pattern).

Then Virginia showed us a size 2T dress, made using McCalls 6017. Isn’t it adorable?

Next up was Tammy, one of our prolific sewists, who told us all about the denim duster coat she made for her brother, the dinosaur dress she sewed up for her granddaughter (pattern M6831), a colorful linen skirt from NL6271, a fabulous lacey T-shirt from B5418, a floral jean jacket from B4741; and a giant dog cot she made for a local veterinarian clinic.

Check out Tammy’s jean jacket and dinosaur dress above; T-shirt and skirt below.

And here’s Phyllis with two knit tops in soft blue-green tones. At least one of them is from the Pamela’s Patterns T-shirt, and there’s a pleated back involved there too, even though photographic evidence doesn’t show it.

Donna, another one of our profilic sewists, brought more than a baker’s dozen to show us. Twelve reversible placemats, a large Millefiori quilt, and two tops. Here’s a good look at her color-blocked top with a rounded hem, with the quilt and placemats playing a supporting role.

Then it was time for yours truly to stand up and show off the one and only project that got done this summer. (I’m just going to say it right here, it feels really weird to have one finished item for the show & tell when you’re following someone who made, like, fifteen.) Anyway, here’s me, Alex, wearing the drapey rayon top from Burda 6695.

Next up was Elan who showed off a table runner top with squares from the All Iowa Shop Hop, a knit top with contrast flange shoulders, a sleeveless top she copied from a store-bought one, and a dog coat made of plaid fleece, modeled by her very friendly and pettable dog Arrow.

And rounding out this month’s show & tell is Vicki, with her T-shirt and sweatshirt, both up-cycled using the Tabula Rasa T-shirt/Tunic pattern from Fit for Art.

And that’s all she wrote for this month’s meeting.