Amanda Blake Soule to be guest of honor at inaugural SEAM meeting!

Well hello and Happy New Year!

I apologize in advance: this post is most definitely geared towards locals (or those who are local-ish) and is bound to make lots of you out there jealous!
























Perhaps you've notice a little something new in my sidebar lately...

A little pincushion-y something?

Now that 2012 has rolled around, I am so excited to announce the culmination of a project I have been working on for the past few months with some of my colleagues...

It is my pleasure to announce a new group called S.E.A.M.

S.E.A.M. stands for Sewing Enthusiasts and Artists of Maine.

It's a new group I have started, along with my good friends Abby at Fiddlehead Artisans Supply in Belfast and Mary at Z Fabrics in Portland.

SEAM is for anyone who loves fabric and sewing. It's a bit like a guild, and yet very different at the same time!

Where guilds are generally geared towards quilters, SEAM is open to anyone who is enthusiastic about sewing in general.

You could be a quilter, a seamstress, a maker of bags, a cranker-outer of soft toys, or all of the above!

And unlike a guild, SEAM is free to attend. We don't have officers and dues to pay: we're keeping things simple and open to everyone. If you are someone who likes sewing and/or someone who likes fabrics, you're already in SEAM!

SEAM will meet bi-monthly at one of our three shops.

And speaking of meetings, the very first meeting will be held here at Alewives on Saturday, January 21st at 4:00 pm with a very special guest of honor...

























We are certainly kicking things off with a bang: our very first guest of honor will be none other than Amanda Blake Soule, author of the popular blog Soulemama! For anyone who has not yet heard of this amazing lady, here are some words from Amanda's publisher...

Amanda Blake Soule is a crafty mama of five. Her days are spent in her hometown in Maine plotting ways to avoid laundry, dishes and mopping in favor of knitting, sewing, baking, playing with her children, and visiting the beach.

Amanda created SouleMama.com in early 2005. Since then, she's shared her adventures in family, craft, thrifting and life nearly each day. She is now joined by her husband Steve, a.k.a. Soulepapa. Amanda is also the author of The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections and Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures. Her third book, The Rhythm of Family: Discovering a Sense of Wonder Through the Seasons was written with her husband, Stephen, and was published in the Summer of 2011.

The meeting will take place at 4:00 pm on Saturday, January 21st at Alewives Fabrics in Nobleboro (directions available here and phone number available here).

A small warning for anyone visiting Alewives for the first time: sometimes GPS systems do not work very well in the area, but we are very easy to find by following the written directions on the website. Also, we are very good at taking phone calls and "talking people in."

Anyone is welcome to attend this meeting and there is no charge for attendance.

The meeting's agenda includes:

• A casual meet & greet and book-signing with Amanda (copies of Handmade Home and Rhythm of the Family available for purchase at Alewives, or bring your personal copies and have them signed). We are keeping things decidedly low-key! Amanda will be around to mix and mingle with attendees and sign books as well. Feel free to ask her questions and share your inspirations with her!

• Show and tell. Bring a completed project you'd like to share so we can all "ooh" and "ahh" over it. It could be a garment, bag, quilt, tablerunner... anything you have stitched yourself! If you don't have a completed project you'd like to share, bring a project that's still in the works. Or, bring your favorite book, piece of fabric or even your favorite sewing gadget and tell us all about it!

• If you have a handwork project, please bring it with you to work on as we all chat. This can be knitting, embroidery, crochet, applique, paper-pieced hexagons, nearly anything you'd like. (To keep things simple, portable and at a dull roar for this first meeting, we won't be doing any work on sewing machines, but in the future we would love to hold special meetings where members can bring their machines and stitch the day away!)

• Please feel free to bring food and drink to share if you feel so inclined! Alewives will be providing some light refreshments for all to enjoy.




















Remember, ANYONE is welcome to attend this meeting. There is no fee for attendance and we don't require that you be a "master" seamstress or an "amazing" quilter... just someone who likes fabric, sewing and/or the writings of Amanda Blake Soule!

This first meeting is sure to be a hoot: if you are able to come and visit, we would love to see you there!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask away.

Next time I'll be back with something locals and non-locals alike can enjoy, I promise!

XO,

Rhea