Wee Care Sew Much

Do you have Wee Care and Christmas ornaments for Trees for Troops ready to bring to SAGA Convention? Wee Care Sew Much chair, Marlene Mehn, will be there ready and waiting for your donations.

One Week until the SAGA Winston-Salem Convention

So, only a week before the SAGA National Convention classes begin! Are you anywhere near ready?

Yes, I know you have tons more things to get done before you even start to think about packing but I hope you have checked your class supplies, completed your Design Show entries (only joking-you can work on those a few hours more) and are actually aware that it is only a week away?

Okay, so you are planning the family’s meals for the week you are gone and doing the laundry and everything else you have to do to make sure that your husband and children survive without you, but believe me, they will survive. Maybe they will appreciate you a little more when you return (well for the first few days at least).

Whether you are a First Time attendee or have been many times to Convention you will have a great time. You will meet and make new friends and renew old friendships. You will be tired and mind numb after several days of classes and events. You may even wonder if you will ever finish the class project, but hopefully you will enjoy yourself enough to want to attend another Convention-they can be addictive!

Just to help you when you are putting your Convention items together, remember:

1.       Basic sewing supplies

2.       Special class supplies

3.    Your sewing machine; feet; bobbins; power cords; foot pedal

4.       Wee Care  and Trees for Troops items

5.       Name labels for the raffle tickets

6.       Something to write with and on

7.       Your kit fees (cheques or cash maybe in separate envelopes ready to give to the Teacher's Angel in each class).

8.       Money for market

                                        

9.       Design Show entry

                                     

10.       Show and Share entries

11.   Your chapter raffle basket

                                

12.   Camera

13.   A few changes of clothes

14   Maybe some underwear

15.   Maybe some makeup

16.   Definitely yourself!

Don't forget your Wee Care and Trees for Troops Ornaments

Don't forget to bring some Wee Care items and ornaments for the Trees for Troops to the SAGA National Convention in Winston-Salem.

You can find ideas for both is back issues of SAGANews as well as on the SAGA website , Facebook pages and this blog.
                                          


All donations qualify for a special raffle ticket that can be placed in the box to win the Wee Care basket.

Wee Care items will be donated to local hospital NICU's.

Trees for Troops at St. Louis

Here are some photos taken of the Trees for Troops donations at the SAGA Retreat in St. Louis.

There were lot's of different designs, techniques and fabrics used.

Well done ladies!

And it is never too late to start making some ready for donation at next year's Convention in Winston-Salem!

Look in the soon-to-be published next issue of SAGANews for some great quick and easy ornament ideas!

Essential Items for the St. Louis Retreat!

It is not long now before the second SAGA Retreat of 2017 in St. Louis, Missouri! I will be busy working taking photos and such for SAGA and SAGANews at this Retreat and hope to see many of you as I walk around the classes each day!

I know many of you have attended SAGA Conventions or Retreats before, but it never hurts to be reminded of some essential items that you will need and may forget to pack (Note to Past President, Lisa Hawkes, who forgot to read item 5 before she left for Bedford Glen!).

1. Basic Sewing Supplies

2. Writing materials and tools.

3. Name labels for your raffle tickets (or I will have some you can use :) )

4. Tote bag (especially useful for market).

5. Sewing Machine-If you are taking machine classes and don't forget the power cord and foot; machine presser feet; needles; bobbins; manual; wheels to get it to and from class.

6. Chapter raffle basket.

7. Wee Care items to donate and your ornaments for Tree for Troops!

8. Table favours-if your chapter offered to donate them.

9. Any pre-class homework?

10. Light and magnification.

11. Spare glasses.

12. Camera

13. Your Retreat Contest entry-Accessory.

14. Your Artisan card.

15. Name Tag (if you have one).

 
16. A smile and money for market!

Trees for Troops

Have you made an ornament (or two, or three) for the SAGA Trees for Troops?

If so, don't forget the deadline of October 15, 2017 is approaching.

Trees for Troops Tree at Valley Forge 2016

 
Details of where to send your ornament are in the latest SAGANews, Volume 37 Issue 3.

The Cretan Stitch

Today, Lisa Hawkes, SAGA President, takes us through the dynamics of using an embroidery stitch for smocking as you work on your Trees for Troops Smock-Along.

In the Trees for Troops Smock-Along, clue number two is stitching a row of the Cretan Stitch. The Cretan Stitch is an embroidery stitch originally from the island of Crete where it is used to decorate women’s skirts. It was adapted for smocking and gives lovely results. Below I will take you step by step through the Cretan Stitch.

Come up in the valley between the first and second pleats just beneath the cable stitch on row 7.

Insert your needle from the right to the left through the first pleat to get into starting position.

Move down to row 8 and over 1 pleat. Take a stitch on row 8, keeping your needle horizontal to the pleating thread.

Move back up to row 7 and take a stitch in the next pleat.

Continue across the row. That’s it – it is that simple! There are a few things to notice:

1.       There are no level stitches in the Cretan Stitch.

2.       Each stitch goes through a new pleat and each stitch only goes through one pleat.

3.       On each stitch you alternate between rows.

4.      You can make sure you are doing it correctly by using the cable row to guide you. Each Cretan stitch lines up with the same cable stitch. On row 7, the Cretan stitch lines up with the down cable of the cable stitch. On row 4, it lines up with the up cable of the cable stitch.

If you have questions, just ask on our facebook group page – I will be checking there. SAGA offers a wonderful correspondence course on the advance stitches if you would like to learn more about these and other smocking stitches. You can read about our courses under the education tab on our website.

Happy Smocking!