Southern Louisiana, July 2010 II
I am here in Louisiana learning more about the southern part of the state, talking to people affected by the oil spill, learning how The Sewing Machine Project can help. I am learning so much. I am in Terrebonne Parish, an area where most everyone either works in the fishing or oil industries. The oil […]
Southern Louisiana, July 2010
We are beginning a new project called SeaHope Partners. This arm of The Sewing Machine Project aims to help coastal residents affected by the oil spill in the Gulf. We have a couple of different ideas…both pretty exciting. For starters, we are working on a new product idea that will make use of recycled materials, […]
New Orleans Times Picayune June 6
Just returned from a trip to New Orleans. Our main work this time was with John Douthat from AllBrands, with the Adams Street Cultural Development Center and with Cherice Harrison-Nelson and the Mardi Gras Indians. John D. has been so kind and generous and I am honored that he has chosen to partner with The […]
New Orleans, May 2010
Next week we’re returning to New Orleans. When I was there in March I met a dynamic young woman–Nicole Chang. She is part of the Our Legacy program and is working on a new effort called DIVAS. This new group reaches out to high school girls in the New Orleans area, offering a creative sewing […]
A wonderful memory
I received a sewing machine in the mail last week and accompanying the machine was this letter: The enclosed sewing machine belonged to my sister-in-law, Wendy. For 2 1/2 years, Wendy fought the good fight in her battle with lymphoma of the central nervous system. I am working with her daughter, Molly, to find appropriate […]
I feel so lucky
I received a phone call this week from a woman who had read about the Sewing Machine Project in the newspaper. “Wow, I had a hard time tracking you down!”, she said. Apparently, she’d called the paper, called a collection site, talked with the reporter who had written the piece. Finally, my phone rang and […]
Wisconsin State Journal April 2010
A great SMP update appeared in today’s State Journal. The source of the 100 machines that they mention is All Brands in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Sewing Shares-Vision meets Reality
I visited the University Apartments on the campus of UW-Madison last night to see how their sewing classes were going. They are our pilot site for this program and what I saw still has me smiling. It is beautiful to see cultures and traditions blending as women learn new sewing skills together sharing their rich […]
In memory of a friend…
I received a donation recently with this letter: Enclosed is a donation in memory of my friend, Jeanne Miller, who died last week from metastatic breast cancer. She was an avid quilter and seamstress. We saw information about your organization on Sewing With Nancy and were impressed with your outreach. Please use the donation in […]
Thank you AllBrands!
Not that long ago I was contacted by John, the owner of All Brands, based in Baton Rouge, LA. Initially, we discussed All Brands becoming a collection site for machines and this, in itself, is a wonderful thing. We’ve needed a collection site in Louisiana and it’s wonderful having all of All Brands’ locations available […]
Cap Times March 2010
Dave Zweiffel called me while I was in Louisiana earlier this month and we chatted about what’s going on with the Sewing Machine Project. Here’s the article that resulted!
The Haiti shipment’s ready!
We’ve gone through all the fabric, we’ve safely packed the machines, we’ve loaded the pallets… The Shipment is ready to go to New Orleans and to Haiti. Thank you to everyone who made a fabric, clothing or machine donation for this first shipment!! We have had such generous financial donations as well and those are […]