GREAT SEWING PARTNERS

April • May • June 2022

Volume 13 • Issue 2


News From Your President

Ladies of ASG I hope this finds you in a cool place. With the hot days ahead it is a good time to do some sewing with your friends inside with A/C. Our neighborhood groups are working hard to provide some fun and new ideas as programs for our meetings. If you are not attending, you have been missing out. Six months ago I became president and I had big ideas of what we could accomplish. It took a bit to get rolling. It was a big learning curve for me, but I do believe we are moving in the right direction. As you read the articles written in this newsletter, you will see the accomplishments achieved. Just think about what we do with more active members.  


My sewing room is less full of the trash items received that left as treasures for others. So I guess that's why "one woman's trash is another woman's treasure"  is a true statement.
Unfortunately, because of the Shop Hop in July our groups are not meeting. We do have a great event on July 7th which transforms a plain T-shirt to a fashion statement planned. Please sign up and be amazed at what you can do. Watch for the other events planned as I will try to keep you informed by email. I look forward to the second half of this year of being your President. If there is some idea or suggestion for our group please send me a note and share. I said from the very beginning that it is all about getting more members active and all sharing the joys of this great  group of ladies.

Cathy Dillard

Thank You to Those Who Have Renewed Their Membership

The timing of a generous donation of PUL fabric by Prym, a request for a national community service project for items for infants, and a notice of a need for baby items by “Greenville’s Gift”, an organization that provides clothing for newborns in need, resulted in 50 sets of changing pads and bibs sewn by the Upstate South Carolina ASG chapter. These items were presented to Marshall Tumbull of Greenville’s Gift, a non profit organization that presents gift bags to mothers of newborns in need. The gift bags contain a year's supply of clothing, blankets, and other items donated by groups and individuals in the Greenville, South Carolina area. The goal of Greenville’s Gift is to present nearly 3,000 bags a year to help families in need.

In addition to the baby items, we have our ongoing community service projects. So far this year the Upstate SC chapter has presented Children’s Hospital with over 100 surgery caps, the department of social services with over 80 pillowcases for foster children, and 20 tote bags for the women’s shelter.

 Our chapter tries to answer the needs of the community and often fill special requests such as fidget mats for Alzheimer patients, bereavement blankets for parents who have lost a child, lap quilts for possibly abused children needing lab tests, anti ouch pouches for breast cancer patients and cancer caps for women undergoing chemotherapy.

Our sewists are not only talented and creative, but generous with their time and talents.

If you would like to create a project for Community Service, please visit our Community Service Page. And if you need any fabric, contact Doreen. Here phone number and email are on our Members Page.

Jean Van Valin

thank you card from prisma

Tote Bags Donated to Gibbs Cancer Center

By Linda Patton

Twenty-eight handmade tote bags were donated to the Gibbs Cancer Center on Pelham Road by our chapter of the Upstate American Sewing Guild. The bags will hold blankets, books, bottled water or whatever the the patient may need as they sit long hours for treatment. The staff at the center were elated over our donation and could not thank us enough for our thoughtfulness and kindness. We shared a sample of an Anti-Ouch Pouch and reported our group would be making pouches for the center as well as more tote bags. All the staff that that we encountered asked us to thank all our members and said these gifts will be gratefully appreciated by the patients and by all the people who work at the Gibbs Center.

What's been happening in the neighborhoods?

The Latest from Asheville Feisty Stitchers: 

For this past quarter, our group has continued to hold regular meetings at the Asheville Cotton Company. We have welcomed guests and has added 2 new members to our group.
One of our highlighted events was in May. Guest speaker, Debra Bennett gave a presentation on repurposing t-shirts into keepsake quilts.   
However, we are also responding to some necessary changes in our schedule. Due to circumstances with our host, WE WILL NO LONGER MEET ON THE 2ND THURSDAY OF THE MONTH. We have explored other meeting options, but consensus is to continue our meetings at the Asheville Cotton Company on the 3rd Thursday of the month. This arrangement remains suitable for our host.

Making Plans for the Future

Our talent pool has become quite diversified. In addition, many of our members are exploring new ways for expanding their own sewing/fiber art talents, ‘sew’ we are sharing lots of information. Ideas for future presentations are in the making. Members are also stepping up to work on marketing strategies and developing/compiling a resource/reference guide for our group. Field trips and special reservation workshops are being planned for the near future. Still at the planning stages but of definite interest, we are working on developing a “Wearable Art Show,” and inviting artisans within the community to participate.
Our primary community service project remains with the Asheville Humane Society. This organization is so appreciative of our donations, and we are quite capable of taking many of our scraps/remnants & repurposing them to good use.
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of dreams…” [Eleanor Roosevelt] — this can be our motto, and we have just the right energy, creativity, and talent to make things happen. The excitement just lies ahead of us.

Cork, a Versatile and Sustainable Product to Add to Your Sewing Stash

By Jean Van Valin

A recent issue of Notions had an article about sewing with cork. While touring Portugal in April, we passed grove after grove of cork oak trees, and I was anxious to learn more about the product.

 

Cork has been used for over a millennium by Egyptians, Romans, and other civilizations as stoppers for jugs, soles for shoes, etc. And of course we are all familiar with the wine bottle corks. Portugal produces 100,000 tons of cork a year and 40 million corks a day — nearly half of the world’s supply of wine bottle stoppers. It is impossible to pass a store, gift shop, craft market, or tourist shop without seeing a myriad of items such as bags, purses, wallets, belts, jewelry, etc. made from cork. I have seen and used cork here, but I have not seen cork with the designs and patterns that are pressed on to the cork like what I saw in Portugal.

 

While cork is a sustainable product, it is not fast or easy to produce. Cork trees must be 15 years old before their bark can be harvested, and the best cork is taken from trees when they are 33 years old. The harvesting is done by hand by two men using centuries old techniques. Only the outer layer of bark can be harvested. The tree regenerates new bark, but it can only be harvested once every 9 years. The harvesting date is marked on each tree to keep track of the time.  The trees and this process have been protected since 1209. Cork oak trees live to be 100 to 200 years old.

A 200 year old tree, the oldest known cork tree in Portugal

A Rack of Cork Products for Sale in Portugal

A Purse I Made from Cork and Wool


Slash and Tie T-shirt Workshop July 7, 2022

More Info Go to Events Tab

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Echoview Fiber Mill Field Trip - July 14

More Info Go to Events Tab

 

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CAROLINA SHOP HOP

The 2022 Shop Hop event occurs between July 8-23. During this time, nearly all of our meetings are cancelled because this event is just too all-consuming for our wonderful shop hosts. For more info click here: https://carolinashophop.com/

Annual Meeting - November 5

Info Coming Later

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Beach Retreat - March 19-23, 2023

For More Info and an Application, Go to Events Tab

 

Got to this link and sign up.
http://smile.amazon.com/ch/80-0535262
Once you sign up, every tine you shop AmazonSmile, a donation will be made to our ASG Chapter.