Kid’s Classes Now Available

June 28, 2016

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

You asked! Classes are scheduled for the month of July, 2016. 

Location:  All classes will be held @ Stitch N Quilt in Mableton.

373

July 7th , 10-11:30 a.m. Crafty STEM/Electric Bracelet.  Learn about e-textiles/soft circuits as you make your very own LED bracelet.  You choose the color of bamboo felt, stitch your circuit and bling to your heart’s content. Class Fee:  $15.00, includes all supplies.  Hand sewing.

July 7th, 1:00-3:00 p.m. T-Shirt Pillows.  Become a part of the upcycling crowd as you turn one of your t-shirts into a pillow.  Note: this is not a class for absolute beginners. You need to be able to sew a straight seam without sewing your fingers together. Class Fee:  $15.00.  Kit Fee: $10.00 (optional, but provides your choice of fabrics and a 14″x14″pillow form.) Machine sewing.

July 13th – 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Snap Bags. Make & Take.  Come as you are and make your very own version of one of these clever snap bags which incorporates  metal tape measure pieces to make the bag “snap” shut. For kids and adults.  Class Fee: $10.00, includes tape measure parts. Machine sewing.

July 19th  & July 21st – 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Kids Quilt. Come view the samples on display in the shop and choose to make either a Windmill or a Simply Blocks quilt top. If you buy your fabrics at SNQ, the staff will precut all your fabrics so that you can start stitching right away. Class Fee:  $35.00  Optional Kit & Pattern Fee: TBD.  Machine sewing.

 

 

Celebrating small victories

June 24, 2016

Sometimes the only thing that keeps you going are those small victories – professional and personal.  My schCELEBRATEool district participates in a summer reading program where kids log their reading minutes in an online program. When school resumes (5 weeks from now if you can believe it!), I am going to make the BIGGEST.DEAL.EVER. about any kid who chose to participate.

Why? So far, only 10 kids (out of 1260) have logged minutes. Three kids have logged the lion’s share of total minutes recorded. It doesn’t seem like much when compared to some of the other schools in our district.

However – that’s okay!

  1. We are second in number of minutes recorded of the 8-10 surrounding schools.
  2. We are in the top 1000 schools nationwide for total minutes recorded.
  3. We’ve already surpassed last year’s record and the contest is isn’t 1/2 way through.

Of course, I want to see more participants and minutes on the scoreboard! 

BUT – I’m a realist.

A number of my students don’t have books at home.  A well-stocked, large public library is nearby, but many have transportation issues.  There are language barriers. High transience rates. Then there’s always the digital divide that means some students can’t read the thousands of free e-books available to them.

So every kid who participated will get something – a popsicle party once the contest is over. But my top 3 readers will get something extra, extra special – lunch with me and a book/magazine of their choice from Boomer.   Perhaps this will encourage even more kids to read next summer!

But one thing is for sure – we need to really ramp up the reading promotion this year.

 

Quilting Magazines – Where have they gone?

June 18, 2016

Normally, I conduct a major studio purge every June. I tidy up in between projects, but leave the major weeding (the official library term for culling old and no longer needed items) and reorganizing until I am off for summer break. I skipped last summer because I was in the process of changing jobs and needed to devote my energies to making that a successful transition.

Which is why I’ve found myself with about 18 months worth of old magazines to sort through this week. In the sorting process, I noticed a few titles missing – Cloth Paper Scissors Studio, Quilt Magazine, Sew Beautiful, KiKi Magazine, Quilty, Quilt It Today – and was surprised by the number of magazines originating from the UK in the pile. Curiosity got the better of me so, I donned my librarian hat and logged into to our school’s periodical subscription service to check the status of the magazines.

Industry consolidation and a shift from print to digital media are the two main reasons why you see fewer craft related titles at the newsstand.
Industry consolidation within the past 2 years:
F + W bought New Track Media.
Harris Publishing filed for bankruptcy. (Quilt Magazine)
American Crafts Group filed for bankruptcy. (The Quilter Magazine, Quilt It Today)

F + W’s portfolio includes the following quilting/sewing related businesses:

  1. Fons & Porter
  2. Keepsake Quilting
  3. QNNtv
  4. Martha Pullen
  5. Creative Crafts Group (McCall’s Quilting, etc.)
  6. Stitch Craft Create
  7. Interweave (Quilting Arts, Stitch, etc.)
  8. Sew News
  9. Sewing Expo consumer sewing shows

Probably not a complete list because I didn’t have a lot of time to search!

Basically, this leaves Meredith (BHG, American Patchwork & Quilting), Stampington (Where Women Create), Hoffman Media (Classic Sewing – sort of like the old Sew Beautiful), Taunton (Threads) and the British publishers as the competition to F+W.  There are a handful of small, specialty publishers such as Homespun (Primitive Quilts), but they serve highly specialized niche in the magazine marketplace.

It also makes me wonder how many additional titles in the F + W portfolio will eventually disappear as the editorial groups consolidate further inside of F + W (Interweave & Creative Crafts Group, especially).

So here ends your magazine publishing lesson for the day.  I am removing my librarian hat and donning my stitcher hat.  Needless to say, I will take a closer look at the magazines in the pile. Specifically, I’m hanging onto Quilt It Today, Sew It Today and Quilty (when Mary Fons was editor).