Ready, Set, Sew!

Well, today was the very first day of sewing class and we couldn’t be more excited!  We have 10 wonderful ladies enrolled from 8th and 9th grade and even though we got off to a rough start as the “vintage” machines were not all cooperative, things are moving along nicely. 

The students started learning the different names and parts of the machine as well as how to thread it, how to troubleshoot, and how to practice sewing a straight stitch by practicing on paper.  Speed is a problem, though, as in their eagerness they are driving the sewing machines like they hope to drive a car someday: fast!  I had to get them to slow down a bit and after that things went more smoothly.

Check back soon for pics of their completed projects!

Moving Right Along…

Greetings!

Classes will be starting within the next month or so, and the general feeling is somewhere between glee (can’t wait to begin!) and nausea (are we really ready?).  Happily, the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh (Homewood-Brushton) has agreed to act as our host in conjunction with their TechGyrls program, and several students from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh have expressed interest in volunteering with The Urban Stitches Foundation.  Yea!

I met with the Youth Program Director at the Y for one last pow-wow, and she informed me that the classes will actually take place at George Westinghouse High School as opposed to the YWCA building as this would eliminate the challenge of transporting the students to the Y from school and back again.  I am strangely excited to be back in high school!  This should be fun!

Things are moving along very well and classes will begin on Tuesday, February 19^th.  The original date was early January, but I’m actually glad for the delay since we still have donations coming in (many thanks to everyone who has a hand in this as I most certainly could not have done this without all of you!), and the machines still needed to be cleaned and oiled.

However,  we are still in need of a few more sewing machines (we have 10 but would like to have a couple extras in case one goes kaput), and we could also use well more fabrics, patterns and supplies.  PLEASE spread the word!  Blog!  Tweet!  Shout!  Share!  If you know of anyone who might be interested in donating, please let us know.  You help is greatly appreciated!

Of course, we don’t know exactly what’s on the horizon, as the fledgling program is changing and growing as fast as I can type this post, but we are confident that all will go well and we are all so excited to finally bring The Urban Stitches Foundation to life.