November General Meeting & Challenge Winners

We had a great time at our General Meeting,  it was so fun to see what everyone made with their "ugly" fabric - I think some of us had more of a challenge than others! 

Here is our first winner, Lynda, with a little dress. The yellow floral was her challenge - but I think it was sweet to start with!

The next Winner was Mary, whose challenge fabric wasn't so ugly to begin with! Lucky girl! She made up a darling mother/gramma  & daughter apron set.

Other entrants were Marilyn, who wow'ed us all with her details like embroidery and pin-tucking on her pillowcase and apron.

And lastly, me (leslie) with my "Angry Birds Blouse"

(which looks like it which adds about 20lbs!)

Our Fabric Challenge winners each won a copy of the ASG cook book "Sew Delicious" 

Yum!

AJ may not have entered the ugly fabric challenge - but she did win the door prize for the evening!

The new quilt store in Logan, My Girlfriends Quilt Shoppe, donated a Gift Card, sweetly packaged with a FQ. I told AJ when she's ready to spend it to gimme a holler - I'm definitely heading up with her!

The store and website are delightful - and they've already added an expansion. 

Thanks Kris for supporting our guild! You rock!

*edited 12/3 to correct challenge winners

General Meeting & Elections!

Tonight is our General Meeting and Elections!

This is gonna be a fun night! 

Want to learn more about your serger? 

Tamra will be presenting "Creative Serging" to take you beyond seam finishing!

There will be refreshments, door prizes and our Ugly Fabric challenge will be judged-

and it's all free!

If you are not a member but have ever been curious about ASG and live in the area now is a perfect time to check us out!

See you there!

Invisable Zipper Video Tutorial

Mostly used in dresses and skirts, invisible zippers are inserted directly into the seam making them, well, invisible in the finished garment.
Invisible zippers can be intimidating, but this video tutorial below by Sue Terpin of Connecting Threads has clear directions for installing an invisible zipper quickly and easily!

Lapped Zipper Video Tutorial

 A lapped zipper has a fold of fabric that completely covers the teeth and zipper pull, and is commonly used in skirts, dresses or even home-dec applications.

Looking for an easy peasy way to install a lapped zipper? 

Check out the tutorial below by Sue Terpin of Connecting Threads! 

Join Us For Make a Difference Day!

You can make a difference for abused children.

Saturday is Make a Difference Day, a national day of helping others. 

If you live in the Ogden area, I hope you will consider joining the Ogden NG as we gather at the Newgate Mall to make quilts for the Childrens Justice Center. These quilts are given to children for comfort while they are interviewed and given medical examines, and they are then theirs to keep.  

Tamra has been heading this up for around ten years! Thank you Tamra, for getting us involved in such a worthwhile and local cause.

 Please check out  The Childrens Justice Center website for more information on how they make a difference everyday in the lives of abused children.

Please. If you can, just stop by, it doesn't cost a thing except a few moments of your time.

Annual Retreat Recipes

 There were several requests for recipes from our Hideaway valley Retreat - especially the Ducle de Leche bars - so I am posting these recipe cards below, they should print 4x6. Enjoy!

 

Dulce de Leche bars:

These are a wonderfully gooey treat, and sooo easy to make. Perfect for the upcoming fall season!

Oatmeal Cinnamon Craisen Cookies:

These are my very favorite cookies. ever. I have a hard time finding the cinnamon chips sometimes, but these cookies are worth the hunt!

Tortellini Summer Salad:

Another simple recipe - and a great way to use up all the zucchini in your garden! I made a double batch for the retreat.

Mikells Yummy Tummy Cookies:

These are the cookies that Mikell (the Retreat owner) had made and brought to us. Everyone loved these cookies, and she was kind enough to share her recipe. This makes a really large batch.

Simple French Seam Tutorial

Why french seams you ask? Don't you have a serger?

Why yes, I do have a serger - And yes, it works and yes I can thread it.

But certain times I just prefer to use a French seam to finish my seams.

For example:

• I like to use a French seams where a hem may be visible - like on the ruffled neckline and sleeves of a peasant top.
• When I use a narrow hem, and I hem all my pieces before construction. (If I used serging construction then the serged seam allowance would go all the way to the edge and would really be visible & ugly. )
• For something heirloom quality
• If I want to make a tiny baby garment - less irritating on delicate skin
• When I want the inside of a garment to be as pretty as the outside. 
• With thin, delicate fabrics where you wouldn't want raveling to occur
• On sheer fabrics where you could see the finished edge through the fabric.

I use French seams to completely construct a peasant top, no serging at all. It might take me a little bit longer than if I constructed the garment using a serger but I feel that the end product is worth the investment in time, both for the quality and the beauty of it. 

French seams can be seem intimidating if you haven't tried them before because sewing them goes against everything you know -  what? wrong sides together, huh?...  but once you sew one you'll be amazed at how simple it is. To help you along there is a tutorial I've made and posted below.  So give it a try, and feel fancy!

Somethings to know before you begin:

Sewing French seams can require a tiny bit of math to make sure your final seam allowance is correct.

 In the examples below I have a total seam allowance of 1/2 inch, so my first stitching line is 1/4 inch and my second is also 1/4 for a total of 1/2 inch seam allowance.

If I were using a pattern with a 5/8 inch seam allowance I would place my first stitching line at 3/8 and the second at 1/4 for a total of 5/8 inch seam allowance.

below I am using a straight stitch foot, a 1/4 quilting foot works great for French seaming too.

Step 1. Place fabrics WRONG sides together and sew using a 1/4 seam allowance

Step 2. Trim seam allowance to about 1/8 inch, careful not to trim too close to stitching

Step 3. Press the seam to set the stitches

Step 4. Open fabric and fold RIGHT sides together at the seam (your raw edge is now inside your fold) Press.

Step 5. Sew another seam, using a 1/4 seam allowance along the folded edge.

 (this seam encases the raw edges you sewed earlier)

Step 6. After pressing the seam to set the stitches

press your fabrics open

Step 7. Press the French seam to one side (usually the back)

and you are done with this seam!

See how nice it looks in a finished garment?

can you even see it? look close!

Ta Da! No raw seams!

Tutorial Originally posted 2/21/10 by Cherry Bubbins

Welcome to the American Sewing Guild Salt Lake City Blog!

What is ASG?
The short of it:
A rockin' awesome sewing group!

The long of it:
 The American sewing Guild, or ASG, is a national organization with Chapters all across America. "We" happen to be the SLC chapter - but don't let the name fool you, we cover most of Utah! Our chapter is sub-divided into smaller Neighborhood Groups (NG) that meet monthly. In addition to our NG's we also have General Meetings where the chapter as a whole gets together, plus other events, classes and retreats.
 What do we do when we get together? We sew! Or we talk about sewing, learn about sewing, show off our sewing... you get the idea. It doesn't matter what you sew, what machine you sew it on, or how well you sew it, there is a place for you here.

Wanna hang out with us? 

Of course you do! 

You can find out the when's and where's here: Utah NG Meetings

 I know, some of you are thinking "what about me? I don't live in Utah!"

Don't despair - as I mentioned earlier, ASG is a national organization. Chances are, there's a chapter near you. Now, I can't promise you they will be as rockin' awesome as we are here in the Beehive State, but as a whole, fabric lovers are just cool people, so I think you'll be glad you joined! 

Why a blog?

The short of it:
Because we're a rockin' awesome sewing group!

The long of it:
To provide consistent posts about happenings around the chapter so you can stay up-to date on NG activities, special events and elections.
 In the near future we'll have posts with tutorials, free patterns and links to resources along with  interviews with members, retailers and other awesome people. While you're surfin' see what our members are up to with links to their own blogs, websites, and Etsy stores.