Sewing and Quilting Activities

Reasons to love sewing bags and quilts

I have had a lot of fun quilting and bag making. It really is a multi-dimensional passion: you can spend hours in quiet contemplation, allowing your thoughts to wander – or you can spend your time inviting others to join with you, or joining others as they build relationships over the quilting frame or side by side in class with their sewing machines.

I have read that there are three kinds of learners: visual, audial, and tactile. To this list, I would add social; and the authors of Women’s Ways of Knowing might add ‘silence’. I think that well-rounded quilters and sewing hobbyists are all of the above.

I just think it’s all fun, and I’m having the time of my life in quiet reverie, designing new patterns, making them, sharing them, meeting others, finding out what’s new in the textile world, discovering new sewing techniques and gizmos and touching everything as I go!

So I invite you to explore this site and its sister site, Make Bags With Brenda.

Here’s what we have for you

Show ‘n Tell

Need some ideas?  Show ‘n Tell shows you what others have done with ABQ patterns, and when you’ve finished a project using one of my patterns, you may enter our monthly draw. The winner receives a free pattern of her choice.

• Browse the main page, where you’ll find all show ‘n tell projects for the current month
• Or look back at previous months and years
• On each pattern page at the bottom is a gallery of show ‘n tell entries for that particular pattern

Recommended Resources

You’ll find some sewing resources here.

Online tutorials and classes

At Make Bags With Brenda you will find blog tutorials to build your skills and classes to make projects. Some are free and some are paid; some are text and some are video.

They are all thorough and easy to follow, and if you have any questions I love to hear from you, so don’t hesitate to email me, or contact me on facebook.

Live classes, workshops, presentations, and retreats

I love to teach and give presentations in person, and throughout the year I do so at shops, guilds, shows, and retreats.

Round Robin project for groups or guilds

Here is a fun round robin quilt project that is suitable for guilds or quilting friends. We successfully ran this some years ago in our local guild, and those who participated enjoyed it immensely.

Do you belong to a guild?

If you like quilting and sewing, a guild is a wonderful way to share your hobby. It’s a nice social outing, and it’s a way to absorb new skills and pass on your knowledge to others. If you don’t belong to one, I highly recommend joining.