Between the drop-in sewing nights and the enthusiasm of everyone involved, we managed to finish three amazing baby quilts for the raffle last Saturday night.

Thank you so much to everyone who participated – this never would have happened without the help of our members and customers contributing their fabric and time. One woman even mailed in her quilt blocks when she couldn’t make it in person! It was so great to see the community come together over the group project, and we managed to raise $485 to donate to the Partners in Health organization to help with the Haiti Relief effort. A special thank you goes out to Linde and Shannon, who were a huge part of getting the quilts finished on time.

I recently joined the online sewing community called BurdaStyle. The site is free and provides ideas and inspiration for the budding seamstress, designer or clothing admirer. Members can upload/download copyright free, printable patterns that are modern and most importantly, possible to create! Choose from novice to expert based on your experience level, then post photos of your creations for everyone to see. On my first visit to the projects page, I even spotted an old friend from grade school who posted photos of this adorable yoked button down shirt she just made!

The tutorials section contains a wide range of advice; from tying the perfect bow, to drafting a simple skirt pattern, to sewing your first t-shirt. It’s empowering to exchange information and creations with people who share a similar passion and now there is a great online space to do it. I noticed there are over 200 Burda Style Sewing Clubs that exist for people to make clothes, meet up and motivate one another with a different pattern project each month….any interest in meeting here at The U.C.C, say, during our Sewing Club night?

images from Burdastyle

A big THANK YOU to everyone who came out last night to make quilt blocks for our Quilt for a Cause! The UCC is in the process of making some community-sewn baby quilts to be raffled off during our next Knit and a Movie night, Feb. 27. All proceeds from the raffle tickets will go to Haiti relief charities. Raffle tickets are currently on sale in the store, $5 each or 5 for $20. You can purchase them in person or over the phone.

If you couldn’t make it last night, don’t worry…we’re having another drop-in sewing night next Wednesday, Feb. 17th from 6-8 during our Sewing Club night. So if you can, stop by and make a quilt block for a great cause.

I love this pattern because it’s simple enough for a beginner seamstress and a unique and modern design you can make over and over again! Here are some photos from last night’s class, taught by Shannon Richards who also designed the pattern.
Her next class is Garment Alterations, a 2 part class starting Monday March 15th from 6-9pm.

We’d love for you to lend your hand and creativity to the process. Finished blocks can be dropped off up until February 21st, or you can work on the project in our studio for free. Stop by after work for one of our drop-in group sewing nights, bring in fabric to swap with others and be a part of a fun project for a great cause (The American Sewing Guild has offered to dedicate their meeting this week to working on the quilt!). We’ll provide you with the pattern and one common fabric for each quilt block – the rest is yours to choose!

The raffle drawing will be held on February 27th, during Knit & a Movie Night. 100% of the proceeds will go to Partners in Health: Stand With Haiti. (you don’t need to be present to win, but it will be a lot of fun!)

The quilt block on the left was created using a string block quilt tutorial from one of our favorite crafty quilt blogs, Film In the Fridge!

Shannon Richards taught her laminated cotton Cosmetic Bag class this week. Students learned about bag construction, sewing on zippers and working with tricky fabrics. Look out for the Pleated Clutch class in February!

Christine Haynes started off the new year by teaching two sold out Intro to Sewing classes this month. Congratulations to our newest seamstresses!

If you got a new sewing machine over the holidays, now is the perfect time to bring it into our studio, take it out of the box and learn to use it! We offer private lessons, which allow you to learn on your own machine, on the skill or project of your choice. We are very lucky to have Shannon Richards of Muse handmade as our private sewing instructor. Start off the new year by learning a new skill and come to our free sewing club nights once a month. You’ll be a modern seamstress in no time!