Happy Sunday everyone and welcome to NOVEMBER! I just wanted to pop in here and let you all know that I am still here. Life has been especially trying lately and I have been unable to be online much at all. I will be restarting the posting here in the community beginning tomorrow morning with Monday Announcements. In the meantime I just wanted to say that I’ve missed all of you and I’m excited to jump back in. See you tomorrow!

Good morning and Happy Monday sewing friends!! I don’t have much to announce today but I wanted to pop in and say Hi and wish you all a blessed week ahead. Today’s prompt is:Sewing Confession. I hesitated for half a second sharing this here because I want all of you to learn to sew CORRECTLY and not start out with bad habits. SO this is definitely one of those cases where I offer the proverbial “Do as I say not as I do” advice. Of course, I KNOW that everyone develops habits and shortcuts as they go along and we all develop methods that work for our individual styles. HOWEVER, learn the correct Way first. OK stepping down from my “sewing box” Again I hope you all have the best week ever! 💕

Hi everyone, Since I joined The Sewing Academy I’ve been having so much fun sewing. I’ve made 6 pillow covers, 75 coasters, 4 wheelchair/walker totes, a blanket, and 4 heat bags that I’m donating for people dealing with aches and pains. It’s been a busy stretch, and I’ve learned a few things along the way. Velcro has been my absolute worst sewing challenge of all of it. Rebecca recommended using a nonstick/vinyl needle for sewing on Velcro, and that made all the difference. I also used a walking foot and glued the Velcro in place first with an Elmer’s glue stick. That combination worked great. I did my best to stay right on that little bitty edge of the Velcro where there are no hooks or loops. Once I figured that out, sewing the Velcro got so much easier. I also had a nightmare experience with some cheap batting. I’m still finding little bits of cotton fluff in the studio where I sew. Never again. After that I tried needle-punched cotton batting (Warm & Natural). What a difference! I had read that needle-punched batting is supposed to make a stiffer finished product, but I didn’t notice any difference in the drape of the fabric. The needle-punched batting, even though it is mostly cotton, has a thin polypropylene scrim that holds everything together. From what I’ve read, once the item is quilted or sewn, the needle-punched batting doesn’t fall apart and bunch up into lumpy wads when it gets washed. I haven’t tested that fully myself yet—I’m just repeating what I learned while solving my own batting troubles—but so far I’m much happier with it. I also tried heat-erasable pens on fabric for the first time. They worked well for marking. For my next adventure I’m going to try making the toddler shorts/pants from the pattern Rebecca uses in her “How to Read a Pattern” videos. I want to follow along and see if I can make them. Happy sewing! Debra