A sewing bee (for birdie)

Home Ec Workshop turns out to be a really wonderful place. I knew I liked the yarn and fabric, and Codi, who I've met through Rebecca, always seemed very warm and friendly. But when I hauled my sewing machine in at 10:45 a.m., there must have been 15 to 20 women sitting in a big circle, knitting. Two guys were behind the counter, cranking out the lattés and cappuccinos and the conversation was flowing. I was a little stunned at the numbers and the energy in the room, but stunned in a good way.


My work buddies, Anne and Sondra, arrived and we got to sit along the same side of the room. Here’s a shot of us at our sewing machines.

There were six women in the class—the other three were grad students/young moms. It was fun to chat as we shared the cutting tables and truly fabulous industrial iron. It’s always fascinating to see the way fabric choices change a project. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of everyone’s bag, but here’s a shot of Anne, me, and Sondra with our nearly completed Birdie slings.
We didn’t quite finish in class, but got close.

Codi's personality is perfect for her business—she loves what she's doing and seems to thrive on all the people around her: she helped when we needed it and stood back and let us go when we didn't. She's seemingly never ruffled by customers or chaos: when we didn't need assistance she'd go out to the front room and chat with people in the shop and answer their questions. Once she brought back an adorable three-week old babe named Archie for us all to admire. Here she is helping Anne (who needed very little help, of course).


Paul ended up having to go back over to the lab, so I sewed until he got home at 7 and finished it up. It’s a big bag—I imagine it more as a summer bag (you could put your swimming suit and sunscreen and a small towel in there). It might also be a nice overnight bag or extra bag for traveling.







The fabric is Amy Butler’s Nigella, American Jane’s mini dot in green and Heather Ross’s Mendocino (which is my favorite—it’s kind of a little secret that there are mermaids and sea turtles and squid languidly swimming inside of my bag).