What’s Sewing On . . .December 2023

Featured ~ Pamela Klingensmith

Hello Sewers! It has been a whirlwind year here at A Notion to Sew. In a nutshell: my hubby retired in April, we traveled back east to look at possibly moving across country, our daughter offered to buy our house in Utah after her house sold, her house sold very quickly and we kicked into high gear to vacate our house, we were in our new home in the eastern U.S. by early July, and the rest of this year has been spent updating, upgrading, and changing parts of our new home to make it our own. After 23 years in one place, I thought our roots were in Utah, but I was wrong. 🙂

I closed my Etsy shop in mid June. I still have some inventory from the shop, so if you are in the market for bag making hardware, patterns, or Riley Blake fabric, send me a message and I will rummage through the boxes to see what I have in stock (all items are new and in unopened original packaging). You will receive a discounted price on your purchase as well.

Needless to say, I have not accomplished much sewing this year. But I do have a few life photos to share with you:

October was a gorgeous month to spend apple picking and pumpkin patch visiting in lovely Harford County Maryland. Above photo – our granddaughter is the navigator as her grandpa provides her wagon transportation to the pumpkin patch.

One of my most favorite sights is the barn quilts in this area of the country.

We live in a small town, but we are blessed with a great Bernina dealer nearby. I did manage to take a rope bowl class and I sewed up this beauty for a gift. Of course, after I filled it, wrapped it, and shipped it, I realized I forgot to snap a photo of the entire bowl! This is a close up of the exterior and the upper braided rim.

Here is a shot looking down inside the rope bowl. . .

I also managed to embroider the table runner from the Kimberbell October ME Time kit.

There are several quilting/sewing machine/fabric stores within an hour of our location. This is a quilt store between Gettysburg, PA and Chambersburg, PA. Why would you not want to stop at a store with that huge, colorful barn quilt on the side of the building!

Here are a couple photos of President and Mrs. Eisenhower’s home at Gettysburg:

Thank you for hanging with me in my social media absence. I appreciate all of you.

Unknown's avatar

Published by Pamela Klingensmith

Sewing is my passion and I always have a notion to sew, but sometimes I get distracted with other crafty endeavors. I share my creative accomplishments (and sometimes failures) here on my blog. I am a licensed Martha Pullen beginning sewing instructor and serger instructor. For 5 years, I taught new owners how to use their Bernina sewing machines at my local Bernina dealer, and for 2 years I taught serger project classes at my local Baby Lock dealer. These days, my professional time is spent retailing handmade purse and bag making supplies and patterns. I also sell a small selection of fabric as well as my handmade bags and purses. "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." Prov. 16:9

6 thoughts on “What’s Sewing On . . .December 2023”

  1. Glad to know you are ok. I actually was worried about you. I searched and searched for some word on you. Look forward to hearing from you in the new year!

    Like

    Reply

    1. I am so touched by your comments, Vicki. Thank you for reaching out. Yes, I will definitely be more active on the blog in 2024. So many plans!

      Like

      Reply

  2. Thanks for the great tips. I don’t consider myself an “accomplished” sewer in any type of sewing, so I am always looking for learning opportunities of all types.

    Like

    Reply

  3. Welcome to the East Coast! I live in Rockville, Md. Despite the popularity of sewing, particularly quilting – our local fabric stores are struggling. My quilt guild has a yearly field trip to Pennsylvania to visit several fabric stores.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thank you for the sweet welcome. I am not too terribly far from Rockville. Perhaps there will be a time in the future when we can meet up for some sewing/quilting fun. I met a kind viewer (from You Tube – Hi Rachel, if you are reading this) while I was shopping at my local Bernina dealer just two weeks after we moved here. She recognized me from my YT channel and I have enjoyed chatting with her. There are so many kind people in the sewing community. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

      1. I have lived in the Washington metro area all my life and I can tell you that the best way to be a part of the sewing community is to join a quilt guild. I joined the Needlechasers (based in Kensington, Md) in 2016 because they were so friendly to prospective members. My sewing background included dressmaking, bag making and sewing cloth dolls. So quilts were a new adventure. The Needlechasers guild meets twice a month – with a guest lecturer and a Sit and Sew. There is as a strong emphasis on teaching with monthly Sit and Sew events where we make charity quilts, bags and other projects either for charity or to sell at our quilt shows.
        I hope this gives you an idea about what to look for if you consider joining a quilt guild.

        Like

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.