Hopefully, you know by now that September is National Sewing Month. It was proclaimed as such by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 to recognize the importance of sewing to our country. Since then it’s been celebrated by stitchers around the country in various ways. The event is now co-sponsored by the Sewing & Craft Alliance (www.sewing.org) and by the American Sewing Guild (www.asg.org).
Guild chapters often have special events during the month, as do stores and quilting guilds–usually aimed at teaching those who may not share our love for this great hobby (yet!). You may even have been involved in events in your area.
The theme for this year’s month-long celebration is “Go Green! Sew Green!”–encouraging us all to be eco-friendly in our pursuit of sewing, and to give accolades to the companies that provide environmentally friendly products for us.
I realize that it’s almost the end of the month, but you still have time to do something meaningful and show your commitment to this theme. Whether it’s something as simple as showing a non-sewing friend how to sew on a button, or a little more complex like organizing a class for your guild on eco-friendly sewing products. Get involved!
What did I do? Several friends and I are working on napping quilts for kids in need using fabric from our stashes. They’ll be donated to the group in November, so we’ll be quilting up a storm in the next month now that the tops are done. I haven’t yet used any of the alternative-fiber battings–like those made from bamboo or corn, but I plan to try at least one for some of the quilts in the works.
For a list of celebratory ideas and a little more history of this event, visit www.nationalsewingmonth.org.