March Meeting--Bag Sewing, Space, Free fabric

This Saturday is our first full sewing meeting of 2015.  We will be meeting from 10:00-4:00 at Westover Library and the focus of the meeting will be bag sewing.  In the past, we've tried a group project picking one pattern for everyone to sew.  This time I thought that we could go with a theme rather than a single pattern.  We have a lot of members that have sewn bags and are willing to share their knowledge about sewing with zippers, piping, closures, bag hardware, etc.  Get to know your neighbors at the meeting or ask someone for help.  If your bag pattern has a technique that we can't find help for, then that would be a great topic for a future guild tutorial.  I'm looking forward to seeing what we can make together.

This is my Noodlehead Poolside Tote
I love my poolside tote. Thanks for a great pattern noodlehead!!


The Westover Library space is limited.  We had incredible attendance at our January planning meeting and look forward to seeing how many people can attend our bag sewing meeting.  We have three suggestions to help with the space limitations.
  • Sew with a buddy--bag sewing requires more pressing breaks and pinning breaks than chain piecing.  Some of us tend to socialize more than sew at these meetings anyway.  So why not pick a friend to take turns sewing with?
  • Come prepared--table space will be dedicated to sewing machines, so picking out a pattern, cutting your fabric and pressing interfacing before Saturday would be best.
  • Bring some handwork--if you have a knitting project, some hexies to sew or a binding to stitch down, bring it along in case there isn't sewing space immediately open.  Most members can't stay for the entire meeting so space will open up.
Please still come to the meeting.  We all want to see your lovely faces and your show and tell projects.  This will also be an excellent test to see if we can continue to keep the Westover Library on our list of venues.

The business meeting will start at 1pm.  Please get your lunch by then so we can start on time.  Show and tell will follow the business meeting.  I ask for no sewing machines during show and tell so all members can be heard.  Handwork projects are perfect for this.

There are a few other new things that will start this Saturday.
  • Suggestion/volunteer box--we didn't get to discuss charity sewing ideas during the January meeting, so suggestions regarding charity projects would be appreciated.  Concrete suggestions for affordable meeting venues for 35-40 people will also be greatly appreciated. 
  • Free fabric box--If you have fabric that you won't use, please consider bringing it to a meeting for other members.  I'll be cleaning out my stash and putting a lot of fabric in the box for this Saturday.  I will also test out bringing the box to every meeting for all members to add to and choose from as the year goes on. 
Lastly,  fabric stamping supplies will be available on Saturday in case you want to make a label for your bag or for a quilt. 


Please sign up below (or send an email to dcmodquilts@gmail.com) to bring irons, ironing boards, a sewing machine to share and/or snacks.