Sewing Bee Benefits!
I am very fortunate to be part of a Sewing Bee, a group of 6 women. Previously, some of us knew each other as friends or neighbours and we all had an interest in art or crafting. However, the person who connected all of us - Jen - suggested to us back in November 2016 that we get together on a regular basis to sew together. It was a brilliant suggestion - and as I hope to describe in this post, it has brought us lots of enjoyment, but so much more as well. Jen says that she knew that we all “liked to do creative things and the fact that it was pulling together a group of people I like but don’t necessarily see in the same room. We come from different areas and have different skills to contribute, share and learn from”.
In terms of our set up, we keep the same group of six people, partly for the practical reason of fitting round the one table, but also to maintain a consistency to our relationships. For people who are very different, we have gelled well as a group, and we really have a laugh together. It is hard to believe that we have been meeting together for nearly ten years. We have borne witness to so many of each other’s life events, some of which have been marked through sewing projects (such as these wonderful leggings sewn by Isobel for her grandchild). We were so relieved to see each other following the covid lockdowns, and with 3 medics in the group, we had some interesting discussions on this. It has been wonderful to see one member, Ruth, go on to study textiles and printmaking at the University of Dundee.
One of the most satisfying aspects of Sewing Bee is it provides an opportunity to share ideas and collaborate. Everyone comes with different skills and knowledge, and we often problem solve different challenges together. Over the years, one Bee has taught another Bee how to make chalk bags for the mountaineers in their lives; sharing the satisfaction of creating your how bias binding for trimming different projects; and some of the Bees are now learning how to knit socks, but to me this seems an impossible task!
However, it is the thoughtfulness of the Bees which have most impressed me over the years. They have been so supportive during some incredibly challenging times, and they have also shared their professional knowledge at points, which has been extremely helpful. However, they have been so generous with their practical sewing skills too - most recently, they have done fantastic work fixing or replacing zips for jackets donated to local charity shops so that they can be sold; and check out these sanitary pads which can be hand washed and are destined to be transported to Ghana! I feel very fortunate to be connected to such a brilliant bunch of women (and sewists)!
