Connecting Threads…Connecting Hearts!

I recently sent out an announcement to a very long list of sewers who had responded to me at the e-letter I wrote when I was the editor of Sewing Savvy magazine. Thank you to those who have responded to my recent e-mail and visited this blog and/or my website—http://www.joyofsewing.com/. I have had some lovely e-mail and guest book responses at my website from several of you and it's nice to know I've been missed.

Unlike that e-letter, which was sent automatically from the company that published the magazine, I post this blog personally—when I feel I have something to say about sewing, life, or just whatever. My goal is to write something at least once a week, but you know how life can sometimes get in the way of the best-laid plans! So, if you really want to read my blog when it's fresh, be sure to subscribe to an RSS feed—look to the right, just under my photo and copyright for your options for subscribing to the blog posts and/or comments. Once you sign up, you'll get an e-mail each time I post something new. Otherwise, you'll need to remember to check back every week or so to find out what's new!

Comments and Questions?
Have a comment or a question? I encourage you to click on "comments" (in pink) that is at the end of every post. I'll try to respond if you take the time to communicate with me this way. I loved hearing from my readers with responses, questions, and suggestions and I'd like to keep that going here if possible!! You can also e-mail me at barbara.weiland@yahoo.com if you wish.

Start Them Sewing Young
I've written about teaching young ones to sew in my previous e-letter and have had great responses from readers. "Each one teach one" is a great motto for any month of the year, but particularly during National Sewing Month. I was tickled pink to hear from my friend, Elfrieda Snow, last week about her granddaughter's prize-winning quilt.

I met Elfreida and Reg when they lived in Newfoundland and owned a fabric shop there. I visited several times as a Palmer/Pletsh instructor to deliver sewing seminars in the shop in the early 80s. Elfrieda and Reg were great hosts! Now they live outside of Toronto, close to their children and grandchildren, and I hope Stan and I can visit them sometime when retirement means we can travel more. I caught up with them through another reader, whom I had met at one of those seminars—this internet is such a wonderful tool for reconnecting broken threads of friendship.

Anyway, back to Mia and her first quilt! Here's what Elfrieda wrote:
"Mia learned to use the sewing machine at the age of 3. She began by sewing squares together. Once that was completed we went to a local Quilt Shop, Andjareena's in Trenton, where she chose the background and border fabrics. Mia completed her quilt just after her 6th birthday and then entered it in the Belleville Fair. At the Fair she was awarded 1st prize in the Junior Quilting category and she also received the 'Judge's Choice' award.

Mia's smile says it all, don't you think? It's truly priceless! Way to go Mia! Keep up the good work!! I can't wait to see what you stitch up next!

Special Offer for National Sewing Month
This is a repeat from an earlier post as I want to make sure readers don't miss it this month while we're celebrating sewing all month long:
Check out my patterns at www.joyofsewing.com
There, you'll find my popular totes, a few quilts, a great little jacket, and some fun placemats to sew for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Send an order with your personal check or money order (US funds only), between now and September 30th, and the shipping is FREE . Yes, you'll need to use snail mail to order. Print the order form, or just write one out on your own. Offer is valid for orders with postmarks through the end of September 2008!

Something From My Sewing Room
In the last post, I shared a photo of a display box featuring the vintage sewing tools in my collection and I promised to include close-ups in future posts. Here's the first one—I call it WHOOOOO Sews? It's a dear little tape measure.

Word Games

My life is all about sewing and writing about it. As a writer,I'm always intrigued by the way other writers put words together. While we were on our boating vacation in August (see August posts for more details and photos), an article in the Sunday paper caught my eye and I decided to give writing poetry by crossing out the words in newspaper articles a try. If you like word play and word games, you might find this section interesting. If not, see you in the next post!

Here are the poems I came up with by following the directions to cross out all text except the words I wanted to make my poems. This article appeared in the August 24, 2008 issue of The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA).

Late to the Game
sticking out your tongue
saying "ahhh."
a dog-eared file…
your medical chart
a quaint remnant!
"The Doctor Goes Digital"
a painful struggle.
(written from article: "The Doctor Goes Digital")

The Next Big Deal
Peddling something…
A more healthful alternative
Stop smoking
Career changes
Turkish coffee
sure has worked…
Drink more often
Grounds into brew...
Natural...
Flavorful...
Healthful...
Social
(written from article about an internet business built around selling accoutrements for Turkish coffee as a more healthful alternative to smoking, overeating, and stress)

Theroux Retraces Steps
Escape the music of metropolitan life...
enthusiastic traveler with feet on the ground.
First-ever trip…thinking about the past
Looking back…catching up.
Self-discovery...
a somewhat grumpy ride.
Anything possible on a train...
an intrigue,
strangers' monologues,
exile from life,
wanderlust in the soul and
places no tourist would think of going

(written from "Theroux Retraces Steps He Took to Travel Classic")

Big Island Small Surprises
Such a "wow" factor…
big vistas,
mountain ranges,
wild expanse,
island-studded,
hidden gems!

(written from article about Vancouver Island)

Until next time,
Keep sewing and smiling!

"If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies."
Moshe Dayan