June Meeting: END of Month, JUNE 27

 

Hello all! So sorry for the delay. Details now on our June meeting -- NOT June 9.

We will be meeting at Gallery Stratford on Sat June 27 at 1 pm. Please note on the FB post, or via email, if you will be coming so we can let the Gallery know numbers.

We will be getting a tour of the new "Made in France" exhibit at the Gallery, led by the Curator of the Fashion History Museum, Jonathan Wolford. This is one of their pop up exhibits in the area (another is up at Castle Kilbride right now) More info to come shortly.

This will be followed by a hangout in the park above the Gallery - near the Bridge to Nowhere. We may be right at the bridge or across the street where all the tables are, but you will definitely see us if you just want to join in for that part!

May Meeting: Our Social Fabric

 

Join us next week for our May meeting of the Guild! We'll be welcoming MaryAn Webb from the Vancouver based organization Our Social Fabric. They are Canada's leading non-profit fabric store, where donated fabric and fibre arts supplies find new life. MaryAn will be sharing the story of how OSF was founded and their mission to make creativity more affordable for Canadians, while keeping textiles out of the landfill.

She'll be joining us over Zoom, but we will meet in person to hear her presentation, followed by our regular business meeting and Sew & Tell. See you on Tuesday!

Tues May 12, 7 pm

River Gardens Retirement Residence, Celebration Room

10 Romeo St N.

All Welcome! Non-members $5 at the door

April Meeting: Movie Night + Annual Swap!

 

Movie Night! Fabric & Pattern Swap Party! April's meeting is going to be a lot of fun. Join us for a viewing of Advanced Style, a film about women of a certain age who have maintained their unique and showstopping style as they aged. Enjoy some popcorn and drinks while we watch together.

After the film, we will be having our fabric, pattern and notion swap. We'll lay it all out prior to the film and then do our swapping afterward. Bring items in good condition -- if you can mark the fabric with approximate size and substrate, that is always appreciated too. Remember to take anything that you brought home with you again if it doesn't find a new home.

Tues April 14, 7 pm

River Gardens Retirement Residence, Celebration Room

10 Romeo St N.

All Welcome! Non-members $5 at the door.

March meeting: Jonathan Walford of the Fashion History Museum

 

Looking forward to our March meeting, where we will hear from Jonathan Walford all about the Fashion History Museum! From their history, to key pieces in the collection, to the future of the Fashion History Museum, we will learn so much about this exciting organization. Please join us for a fascinating evening together. 

All Welcome, non-members $5 at the door. 

Tues March 10, 7 pm.

River Gardens Retirement Residence, Celebration Room

10 Romeo St N., Stratford ON

February Meeting: Sewing Lingerie, with Emerald Erin

 

Our February meeting is nigh! Join us next Tuesday Feb 10 at 7 pm at River Gardens for a hybrid meeting! (If the weather turns awful again we will move to Zoom only but will let you know early).

Longing to learn about sewing lingerie? Join Canadian expert Emerald Erin as she joins us on Zoom from Trenton, Ontario to talk to us about running a lingerie business, shares tips & tricks for creating personalized lingerie, and discusses fabrics and notions that will make your projects a success!

All welcome - please let Connie know at membershipsgg@gmail.com if you will want to attend via Zoom.

January Meeting: Jason Baerg, Cree-Metis Fashion Designer & Fine Artist

 

Join us on Zoom for a very special meeting! 

This month only, our date has been changed to a Thursday so that we can partner up with the Ottawa Garment Guild to bring you an exciting speaker. 

On Thursday January 8, 7 pm, we will welcome Jason Baerg to a joint Zoom meeting. Jason Baerg is a Cree-Metis artist and fashion designer originally from Saskatchewan. He is currently based in Toronto, where he teaches at OCAD, creates work for exhibitions in his art studio, and runs Ayimach Horizons, his fashion house. His multidisciplinary career is fed by both his Metis heritage and his queer identity. His fashion has been highlighted at many Indigenous Fashion Weeks over the past few years, most recently during NYFW, and at Santa Fe Indian Market. We are thrilled to have him joining us to speak on his fashion house, his collections and what drives his creative expression in textiles. You really don't want to miss this! 

Members will receive an email with the Zoom link prior to the meeting. If you are not a member and would like to join us, please send an email transfer to membershipsgg[at]gmail.com with the $5 drop in fee and your name so that we can send you the link. 

December Meeting: Holiday Social

 

It is holiday time again & our December meeting is coming quickly! On Tuesday Dec. 9, 7 pm, we have our holiday get together, with Potluck and Penny Auction 🙂 We are also planning on dressing up a bit for a "Holiday Frocktails" evening, so wear your holiday gear if you can

Please bring some finger food with you (we do not have places to heat things up so make it buffet style).

Bring along a small gift (unwrapped) of something nice that you might like to receive (not expensive). It doesn't have to be sewing related - wine is always a hit 😉 We will be putting all the gifts out on a table and you can buy 10 tickets for $5 and put a ticket in each bag for the gift you would like to win. You can buy as many tickets as you like!

We will have a short business meeting (and maybe a little holiday fun), our regular Sew & Tell, and our 50-50, and then enjoy some socializing, snacking, and auctioning. Everyone welcome, guests too, $5 at the door.

November Meeting: Member's Corner

 

Join us Tuesday Nov 11 at 7 pm for a lightning round of member presentations! Up your sewing game with tips and tricks from your experienced fellow members. We'll be learning about: 

• Hong Kong seam binding/lining combo
• Magical Mitred Corners 
• Perfect Waistband Elastic Insertion
• Sewing onto Solubles 

Get inspired, learn something new, have fun with fellow sewists! What more can you ask? 

All Welcome, non-members $5 at the door 

Tues Nov 11, 7 pm
River Gardens Retirement Residence, Celebration Room
10 Romeo St N., Stratford ON 

(parking at the corner of Romeo and Delamere, across from the Country Club)

October #POM

 

Inspired by our October speaker, Caitlin, this month's #SGGPOM challenge is Frankenpatterns!

Make something using 2 or more patterns that you have taken parts from to make a new whole. Bring it to the November meeting to share at Sew & Tell -- and be sure to let us all know which patterns you started with. If you have frankenpatterned something in the past, you could show that off too. Have fun!

October 2025: Creating a Dream Wedding Outfit

 

October 14 is our next meeting, featuring our very own Caitlin Keelan! We will get to hear how Caitlin went about sourcing multiple fabrics from unusual places, and did some frankenpatterning to come up with her dream outfit for her recent wedding. Those of you who were at the June meetup got a preview of this exciting presentation. Now we'll hear & see the full story!

As always, everyone is welcome, visitors $5 at the door.

Tuesday, Oct 14, 7 pm

River Gardens Retirement Residence, Celebration Room

10 Romeo St N., Stratford ON

September #POM

 

We are reviving our #POM (Pattern of the Month) challenges this year. For our first one, the challenge is Quilted Garments or Accessories!

Either make something this month, inspired by our meeting, or bring something you've made previously, to share at our October 14th meeting. It can be patchwork or whole cloth, just has to be quilted (usually three layers stitched together somehow).

September 2025: Sandra Thomas' Quilted Garment Trunk Show!

 

And the new season begins! 

Join us Tuesday September 9th, 7 pm for a dazzling trunk show of quilted jackets and vests, made by Sandra Thomas, quilter and couture trained sewist... modelled by our members! 

Enjoy the start of our season with some relaxed and inspirational makes -- maybe you'll want to dig into your scraps after this one! 

All welcome, non-members $5 at the door. 

River Gardens Retirement Residence, Celebration Room

10 Romeo St N.

Stratford ON

Membership is $40/year for ten meetings, if you'd like to join us for full benefits. 

May Meeting: WonderFil Threads

 

Join us on Tuesday May 13 at 7 pm as we welcome WonderFil educator Kate Marra, sharing tips on the many threads and notions available from WonderFil -- a 100% Canadian company based in Calgary! We will learn more about their products that are relevant to garment/fashion sewing and hopefully be inspired to Shop Canadian 🙂

This presentation will be held over Zoom, but our regular meeting and Sew & Tell will follow. Hope to see you all there!

Tuesday Mar 13, 7 pm

River Gardens Retirement Residence, Celebration Room

10 Romeo St. N., Stratford ON

ALL WELCOME! Non-members $5 at the door

April Meeting: Claire Upcycled & Annual Swap!

 

Join us next week, Tuesday April 8 at 7 pm for our Earth Month Celebration meeting! (River Gardens Celebration Room, 10 Romeo St N.) Visitors welcome, $5 at the door, as always!

We will hear from Claire Upcycled, a Stratford based company with international reach. Claire will share some info about her process and her eco fashion, gender-neutral, streetwear upcycles. She will also share a bit about running her business.

After Claire's presentation, we will be holding our annual Fabric and Pattern swap. Same rules as always: bring things in good condition, label the type of fabric and amount when possible, take home anything you brought that isn't claimed by end of night. We will be swapping following our talk, no grazing beforehand please, to keep it fair for everyone.

See you all there!

March Meeting CANCELLED

 

We are sorry to announce that our March meeting has been cancelled due to illness.

 We will move our swap to the second half of our April meeting, following our guest speaker. We are sorry for the inconvenience but want all our members staying healthy! 

(Photo credit) https://www.vecteezy.com/free-png/cancelled-stamp

February 2025: Deb Cooke: Sewing for Fashion Dolls

 

Barbies and Beyond! Are you ready for some tiny delights at our February meeting? 

SGG member Deborah Cooke will be regaling us with her expertise on sewing for Fashion Dolls of all kinds. Did you know that there are many varieties of fashion dolls all with their own quirks? Deb will be taking us through the variations and all the gorgeous miniature couture she's made for her dolls over the years.

Tuesday Feb. 11, 2025, at 7 pm

River Gardens Retirement Residence, Celebration Room

10 Romeo St N., Stratford ON

ALL WELCOME! Non-members $5 at the door.

January 2025: Anne Whalley, the Pattern Whisperer

We are thrilled to welcome Anne Whalley to the Guild in January for a talk on Personal Style, Pattern Choices, and Sewing Plans. This will be a hybrid meeting, with Anne zooming in to us from Australia -- but we will meet in person and have our regular meeting and Sew & Tell afterward. 

Anne is an expert on personal style and wardrobe planning, especially from the perspective of the home sewist. She will provide guidance on ways to identify our own style, and how to match this up with sewing patterns and fabric to maximize our efforts in the sewing room. Don't waste time and effort -- learn what will suit you before you sew! 

Tuesday January 14, 2025, 7 pm

River Gardens Retirement Residence, Celebration Room

10 Romeo St N., Stratford ON

ALL WELCOME! Non-members $5 at the door

 

December Meeting: Holiday Social!

Our December meeting is coming quickly! On Tuesday Dec. 10, 7 pm, we have our holiday get together, with Potluck and Penny Auction 🙂 

This means, please bring some finger food with you (we do not have places to heat things up so make it buffet style).

Bring along a small gift (unwrapped) of something nice that you might like to receive (not expensive). It doesn't have to be sewing related - wine is always a hit 😉 We will be putting all the gifts out on a table and you can buy 10 tickets for $5 and put a ticket in each bag for the gift you would like to win. You can buy as many tickets as you like!

We will have a short business meeting, our regular Sew & Tell, and our 50-50, and then enjoy some socializing, snacking, and auctioning. Everyone welcome, guests too, $5 at the door.

November Meeting: Sewing With Boning

 

We are excited to welcome local sewing star Linda Sparks of Farthingales Corset Making Supplies to our November meeting! Linda is an expert in the area of historical and corset sewing, with a business that has been supplying sewists since 1998.

What Linda doesn't know about boning isn't worth knowing! She'll be sharing lots of information with us on all aspects of boning - from which type is the best for your project, how to use various types, tools and techniques you might need and more - and this is not just about corsets. Boning can be helpful in many sewing situations, and Linda will share how boning can be incorporated in your contemporary sewing projects to make them the best they can be. 

Join us on Tuesday Nov. 12, 2024 at 7 pm for her presentation and our regular Sew & Tell time. We meet at the River Gardens Retirement Residence, Celebration Room at 10 Romeo St. N. (please remember to sign in and out at the entrance). 

Everyone is welcome - if you aren't yet a member, drop-ins are $5 at the door. 

October Meeting!

Our next meeting is next week!! Join us for an introduction to Projector Sewing, by our very own Laura Van Niejenhuis Have you ever been curious about how in the world projector sewing works? Come on out and find out more!

Topics covered will include:

Selecting a projector for your space, high ceiling not required!
Basic setup
Calibration - 2 methods with patternprojector.com or pdf viewer of your choice
Quick demo of pattern editing, making alterations and digitizing patterns

Don't forget your toonie for the 50-50 and your Sew & Tell items!

Tuesday, Oct 8, 7 pm

River Garden Retirement Residence, Celebration Room

10 Romeo St N.

ALL WELCOME, VISITORS $5 AT THE DOOR.