Come Stitch With Me

I like to listen to sewing, business and self-improvement podcasts while I work in my studio. Some people like to have the TV on in the background, I’ve always preferred to listen to the radio (or a CD, audiobook or Pandora). One of the podcasts in my feed from is The Minimalists, a couple of guys who share their transition from successful corporate types to small business owners pursuing their passions in a much different environment. While I’ve yet to meet a minimalist quilter (we ALL have a fabric stash!),  some of what the guys discuss in their podcasts is spot on.

Is what you’re currently doing in your job and life feeding both your passions & needs, plus adding value to those around you?

Surprisingly, yes. I take cherished mementos that people give me and turn them into something useful (quilts and memory pillows). I share my love of sewing with kids to teach them how to be a little more self-reliant (and help get rid of some of my mega-stash).  In my day job, I get to to run a sewing club, make things for the school and bring my dog to help encourage students to read.

Do the things you currently own and the relationships you are currently in bring pleasure and joy to your life?

This is an area in which I need to do some SERIOUS work – especially with my stuff. Decluttering is my focus for the first half of 2017.

Are you willing to walk away from it all if it gets to be too much?

YES!  I think this was the hardest lesson for me to learn. Financial security to me always came in the form of a steady job with benefits.  This need for security caused me to stay in one position FAR too long.   Eighteen months ago, I left a job (with no immediate job in sight), because the work environment I found myself in made me miserable. Preserving my health and sanity were my priority. Everything else took a back seat. Yes, I did find another job that was a better fit for me. Becoming debt free and having a substantial “go to hell” fund are goals that will hopefully mitigate any future need to remain in a bad job environment any longer than absolutely necessary.

After four years in business, I thought about shutting down the sewing biz and returning to “hobbyist” status.  Nope.  I enjoy the entrepreneurial side of things too much. Time for a REBOOT. I made some changes in how I run my biz, scheduled some “sew for me” time and decided it was A-OK to keep running the biz on a part-time basis.  After all, very, very few people in the industry are full-time crafters.

On a lesser scale, I’ve become a firm believer in taking down time to reboot as necessary. It is vital to refill my bucket on a regular basis because the day job tends to take so much out of me. Not complaining, but it’s simply the truth when you work at an urban, high-poverty school.  Students come to us already 1-2 years behind academically and lack the home training to know how to behave in school. Actively managing all that behavior, plus trying to bring our babies up to grade level can leave one drained at the end of the day. And that drained feeling affects other areas of my life – my home, relationships and sewing biz. So yes, I’ve learned to step back, say no (politely) and take some downtime to REBOOT.  The truly critical things will get done and the rest is really not that important after all.

Create a Look-Book or Project Inspiration Notebook

Student engagement in the sewing process is higher when they have a say in the project(s) they are making. Scour your sewing, quilting, and home magazines for beginner friendly  sewing projects. ‘Tween and teen magazines are also another source for project inspiration.  Clip the pages that interest you and place them in plastic sleeves. A pretty, 3 ring binder is a great place to store the kid-friendly projects you saved. You can also create a Pinterest page with pins of the craft projects you see online, but be sure to print out the instructions for favorite projects just in case the project disappears and you are left with the dreaded 404 page error.  My students love to flip through the “The Notebook” for ideas. That’s how our current mini-cross body purse class came about.

If you are teaching in a shop, try to match the desired project from the “Look-Book” to a pattern the shop already has on hand. Or, find a freebie version available online that you can adapt. Or write your own pattern. I’ve done some variation of all three, depending on the project. I guess it’s because of my day job, but I make every effort to model ethical and responsible behavior with regard to copyright laws. Yes, I do try to minimize expenses in my kid’s sewing classes, but sometimes parents have to buy a copy of a magazine because the project selected was not one of the projects available for a free download. It’s simply the right thing to do.

Best advice:  take your time and keep it simple!

1.  Let students watch you sew on a project for a few minutes at the beginning of class.
2. Before taking that first stitch, introduce students to the parts of the sewing machine. Have them label the parts on a separate handout to keep in a sewing folder for future reference.
3. Stitch on paper first – without thread – so they get used to the feel of the machine. Lined notebook paper or free online printables are excellent for stitching practice. Make sure students can follow a straight line, pivot (make a 90 degree turn) and follow a winding path before threading the machine.
4. Demonstrate how to thread the machine – both bobbin and top thread. Then, unthread the machine, hand students a spool of thread, an empty bobbin and a threading diagram copied from the machine manual. Let them try it.
5. Leftover charm squares work well for practice fabric. Let students use a die cut machine to cut 5″ squares from donated fabric yardage. They can stitch around 3 sides using a 1/4″ foot, making tiny treat bags. Use pinking shears to finish the unsewn edge, then tie the bag closed with ribbon, baby rickrack or a small piece of fabric.
6. A travel pillowcase makes a great first project. Try the hotdog method of pillowcase construction with a French seam finish.   This requires a  1/2 yard of fabric for the pillow case body and 1/3 yard for the cuff, plus a 12″ x 16″ pillow.  (Hint: Wal-Mart has travel pillow inserts in the fabric section.)