Coming and going, we had 18 folks at the Sew-Op today! We managed to get that special someone's quilt quilted last week, after several snafus of this was too short here and not enough of that there. This week, we're finishing up the binding and once the quilt has a label, it will be ready for its new home. As it is a surprise and a gift, we can't divulge too much more about it, but so many hands have touched it and worked it and made it its scrappy self that the receiver will certainly feel the love! Gloria's sister visited us today (all the way from Guatemala!) and we took a break from visiting to learn more about a recently acquired building on 1st Ave N near Woodlawn High School. We hope some sort of training facility or cultural arts center will make its home here, as the neighborhood could certainly use these sorts of community connectors.

Today marks a milestone for the Sew-Op. For the past couple of years, we have only met on Tuesdays. But today, we held our first class: Cutting Made Easy. We had one student and it was a leisurely session of measuring and talking and planning for the future. A member passed along a quilt pattern called "Bento Block Box" and because it required pieces ranging from 1.5" to 2.5" wide by 5" to 14" long, it seemed like an excellent challenge for our fearless student, Celeste. And because the block is meant to be made by many different quilters using many different fabrics, we decided that this could be the start of our next Opportunity Quilt. Make sure to check out our latest calendar of events and visit if/when you can! Happy sewing!

The 2nd Woodlawn Street Market was held on April 11th this spring. Bib & Tucker Sew-Op was open throughout the festival and we met many of our neighbors from Crestwood, Forest Park, Woodlawn and Eastlake. We heard more often than not, "I see your colorful windows when I drive past for work during the week and just wondered what you guys were - community center? Fabric store?" It was a great chance to field questions about the Sew-Op and we passed out over sixty calendars of up-coming classes, work sessions and open houses. We also offered more chances on our opportunity quilt, which we will draw a winner for the Tuesday before Mother's Day. 

As ever, the market offered members the opportunity to see what items sell better than others. We had pot holders, coasters, pillows, fabric bowls, felt cube rattles and "wild things" for sale and the most successful item by far was the "wild thing" made by the mother of a Sew-Op member. She used sock and glove remnants to created these exciting stuffed creatures, which are wholly individual from one another. The pursuit for the perfect, marketable item continues!