We’ve made sooo many fish to give to the kitties in the past. Our first year they were bigger than some of the cats we made them for. LOL Each year we learn something new and are glad to be giving back to our community. A big thank you goes out to all of you that adopt and shelter pets in need. It is wonderful that we can be just a small part of that.
Set aside some time to come out Saturday, October 12, 2019 from 11am to 4pm to cut, sew, turn and stuff some beds and toys for our area cats and dogs.
If you are looking for some community service hours for school, this is a wonderful way to fill those hours.
Click on the SignUp Genius button to sign up for a fun-filled day!!
(Please use the SignUp Genius button on the right (or bottom) to save your spot!) 
Dear Friends,
We are celebrating 5 Years of Sewing for
Others! We have donated OVER 440 CAT & DOG BEDS, TOYS &
HANDKERCHIEFS in the last 4 years to animal shelters and rescue
homes.
Textiles by Tawny is hosting a fun day of sewing
this year. There will be patterns, threads and basic sewing supplies for you to
use.
Please help us continue this wonderful contribution to our furry friends. If you have a sewing machine, threads and basic sewing supplies, please bring them. (And Remember to MARK THEM with your name) ***We are also gathering clean/new pillows, clean t shirts and/or upholstery fabric.***
Come for an hour or all day!! Please BRING A LUNCH if you’re staying all day!
Ages 8 and Up and all skill levels are
welcome. Come have some fun, meet other people who share your love of
sewing and let’s make some cats & dogs really happy again! The doors
open at 11am. Can’t wait to see you there!
Look below for a list of items the shelter could use for a donation.
Please sign up on the right (or below) and click on the Sign Up Genius button to sign up. Thank you!
PLEASE SAVE THE DATE AND SIGN UP FOR SEWING FOR OTHERS!!
Saturday, October 12th, 2019 Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, 8600 Potter Rd, Matthews, NC 28104
This year I asked the Union County Animal Shelter if they had any donation needs. If you feel you would like to donate to the shelter during the Sewing For Others day, please feel free.
We will be at Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, 8600 Potters Rd, Weddington, NC from 10:30am – 4pm. All donations will be dropped off at the animal shelter the week following Sewing for Others on September 29th.
You do not have to be one of the sewists to drop off your donations (although you are more than welcome) . We will be sewing, cutting, stuffing and braiding, so there is something for everyone!
This is a great activity if you need community service hours for school!
If you have any questions, please feel free to shoot me an email and if you would like to sign up for the day please use the SignUp Genius button on the site. Thanks so much and hope to see you there!
Here is the Donation List for the Union County Animal Shelter
In the past 3 years we have donated OVER 275 BEDS, TOYS & HANDKERCHIEFS!! Â Please help us continue this wonderful contribution to our furry friends.
The Sign Up Genius is up and running. Â Take a minute to check your calendars and carve out a bit of time to sew cat & dog beds, stuffed animals & tug toys!
Don’t want to sew?! Â How about helping to braid and cut out handkerchiefs. Â All help will be greatly appreciated!
(Please use the SignUp Genius button on the right (or bottom) to save your spot!) 
Did you know that September is National Sewing Month? I think that’s cause for CELEBRATION! What better way to celebrate than by getting together to sew, learn a few new skills, sewing with old and new friends and most importantly, to give back to our community!
Textiles by Tawny is hosting Sewing for Others in celebration of Nat’l Sewing Month. We will be making toys, beds and handkerchiefs for the cats and dogs in area animal shelters and rescue homes. We will have patterns, fabric and stuffing for you to use.
If you have a sewing machine, thread and basic supplies please bring them with you. If you have any extra, clean pillows, clean t-shirts and or upholstery fabrics, please bring those also.
Come for an hour or come all day!! PLEASE BRING A LUNCH if you’re staying all day.
Age 8 and UP and all skill levels, including beginners are welcome. Come & have some fun, meet other people who share you love of sewing and let’s make some cats and dogs really happy again! The doors open at 10:30am!
10:30am-4:00pm
Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, 8600 Potter Rd, Matthews, NC 28104
As the Zentangle butterfly was coming together, I realized I haven’t used my twin needle in a while and thought I would share some information and tips. This needle is 4.0mm wide with two needles that are the same size. (Twin needles also come with a single needle and wing needle, used mainly for heirloom sewing.) I’ve chosen to use invisible thread but only had one spool. You can conquer this problem by using an empty thread spool and winding thread from one spool to the other. This saves money and time running to the store.
When you’re working with such thin thread it helps to have a thinner bobbin thread, so I grabbed my embroidery bobbin thread and wound a bobbin for this project.
Since the bias tape is 1\4″ wide, I used the 4.0mm needle. It’s always a good idea to lay the needle against what your sewing so that you can gauge which needle you will need. This bias tape was colored with Derwent pencils to match the butterfly and cut to 1/2″ wide before using the bias tape maker. The bias tape, after it was made, also has 1/4″ wide fusible strips ironed on the back. It allows you to adhere the bias tape before sewing in to the fabric.
Quick tips for using twin needles:
NEVER use your Manual or Automatic needle threader, if you have them. (It won’t work and may actually mess up your threader.)
If you can’t bypass your machine’s automatic threader, take the needle out and THEN press the button. Put the needle back in and hand thread each needle.
Sew slowly and take you’re time.
Don’t turn while the needles are down, this can harm you needle and even your bobbin case. Gently pivot while the needle is up.
Always make a test piece first. This will save you from having to rip out later.
Looking forward to finishing this for the Charlotte Quilters Guild Show in March, 2018!
Did you know that September is National Sewing Month? Â I think that’s cause for CELEBRATION! Â What better way to celebrate than by getting together to sew, learn a few new skills, sewing with old and new friends and most importantly, to give back to our community!
Textiles by Tawny is hosting Sewing for Others in celebration of Nat’l Sewing Month. Â We will be making toys, beds and handkerchiefs for the cats and dogs in area animal shelters and rescue homes. Â We will have patterns, fabric and stuffing for you to use.
If you have a sewing machine, thread and basic supplies please bring them with you. Â If you have any extra, clean pillows, clean t-shirts and or upholstery fabrics, please bring those also.
Come for an hour or come all day!! Â PLEASE BRING A LUNCH if you’re staying all day.
Age 8 and UP and all skill levels, including beginners are welcome. Â Come & have some fun, meet other people who share you love of sewing and let’s make some cats and dogs really happy again! Â The doors open at 10:30am!
10:30am-4:30pm
 Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, 8600 Potter Rd, Matthews, NC 28104
This lovely princess style dress was made with linen fabric, an invisible zipper and also the back was changed on the pattern so that it wasn’t so deep. Â Avy added specialty stitching on the sleeves and bodice of her dress using embroidery thread. Â It has a wonderful tone-on-tone effect. Â (Which is always hard to see in pics) Â Also check out the wonderful job she did on her neckline! Â This dress is NOT lined so that it works for all seasons.
After she made this wonderfully fitted (princess style) dress and wore it a few times, we talked about either making another dress or giving it a new look.  We decided on finding fabric to create an overlay!!
This it what Avy did!
This beautiful, fitted linen dress that she used her specialty stitches on the sleeves and bodice was transformed by adding an organza overlay skirt. Â She also made a fun lined, linen purse with specialty stitching to go with her dress. Â The green dress fabric that she selected will work with so many colors if she wants to change up her color palette. Â I was thinking something fun for Christmas in red?! Or maybe a shorter overlay that looks like a peplum?
It is fun to let your imagination run wild! Â Grab a piece of paper and draft a new look today!
Are you interested in Hand Stitching?! And want to be Creative?! Â Check out this hand stitching with muslin, fabric scraps and DMC floss. Â It’s really easy to get started and can be great for younger ones that maybe aren’t quite ready for the machine yet but want to SEW! Â This is how many young children started a long time ago. Â (I think it’s because mother’s needed a little time to get things finished, but you didn’t hear that from me!)
This is easier and more creative than an alphabet sampler from long ago!
Grab a fairly large piece of muslin (12″x14″) especially if pleating will be done. Â Pick fabric scraps from your stash and then find or pick up some DMC and a hand sewing needle. Â Straight pins help to keep the pieces on but aren’t totally necessary.
I started with folding a pleat across by hand and sewing a running stitch onto the pleat to hold it down. Â (I used only 1 strand of floss) Â And then pleating another one down the other way. Â Again sew it down with a running stitch.
Cut your fabric in shapes you like. Â I chose circles because I like them! Â I layered my shapes first and held them down with straight pins. Â This way you will know where the shapes overlap. Â (There is no need to do hand stitching under shapes. Â It creates bumps and why waste the time. Â 😉 Â Next week we’ll have the finished piece with some hand embroidery stitches to get you started.
