Upcoming Special Events
Scroll down to see details about these Special Events below:
- Public Museum Archives Tour: Wednesday, July 16, 2025 at 255 Washington St SE, Grand Rapids, MI
- Annual Picnic: Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025 at First Presbyterian Church, 405 M-37, Hastings MI.
- Sewing Retreat: Nov 4-6, 2025 at Camp Geneva, Holland MI
Details available: below (scroll down) and on GRASG calendar https://www.grasg.org/calendar/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Public Museum Archives Tour
WHAT: Tour items not usually on display at the GR Public Museum with optional Lunch following (Lunch afterwards)
WHERE: (TOUR) 233 Washington St. SE, GR (Behind the old museum building on Jefferson)
(LUNCH) Cherie Inn, 969 Cherry St SE, GR
WHEN: Wednesday, July 16, 2025 10:30am to Noon
COST: Members: $10 per person, Non-Members: $15
RSVP: Send Check & Registration Form to: Kathryn
Wylie,
1616 Woodlawn Ave., SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506. OR
give envelope with Registration Form and Check to Kathryn at a meeting.
LIMIT: 20 persons maximum (Get your registration form in now so you don't miss out! )
PARKING: On Washington, State and Jefferson streets, as well as, across the street from the
Archive entrance in the medical building parking lot.
WHAT YOU'LL SEE:
Textiles! Garments! Quilts! And so much more!
Our focus will be textiles, of course, led by Andrea Melvin, the very knowledgeable archive curator of Community Archives. Andrea will guide us on a tour of quilts dating to the early 1800's and garments depicting daily life from the incorporation of Grand Rapids to the present day.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
REGISTRATION FORM for GRPM Archives Tour:
NAME:___________________________________________PHONE #:___________________________________
EMAIL ADDRESS:______________________________________________________
Are you planning on attending Lunch at Cherie INN? YES NO
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual Picnic at First Presbyterian Church, Hastings
WHAT: Annual Picnic
WHEN: August 12, 2025, 1pm until 7:00
WHERE: First Presbyterian Church, 405 M-37, Hastings MI.
ACTIVITIES:
- This year Barb Wright and Jo-Ann Hyde will teach us ICE DYING. Fabric and dye will be provided. Members must bring a plastic container with a tight fitting lid to take the ice project home. The container may NOT be used again for food storage. (A plastic shoe box, ice cream tub, etc. are ideas for the container.)
-
We will have a POTLUCK DINNER together so bring you favorite dish to share. A fun time will be had by all.
----------------------------------------------
Sewing RETREAT at Camp Geneva Nov 4-6, 2025
WHAT: 2 days of Sewing, including lunch Tuesday & Wednesday, Socializing, and Shopping
WHEN: Nov 4-6, 2025. Starts 10am on Tuesday and ends 3pm on Thursday
WHERE: Geneva Camp & Retreat Center
3995 Lakeshore Dr N
Holland, Mi 49424.
COST: Members: $275 Double Occupancy Room
Credit Card Payment $283.44 LINK
Non Members: $335 Double Occupancy Room
Credit Card Payment $ 345.18 LINK
If paying by Credit Card, please print, complete & mail the registration form.
Cost Includes: 2 nights lodging, 3 days sewing and 7 meals
THINGS TO KNOW: 20 overnight registrations required before commuter price is announced.
LIMITED COMMUTER REGISTRATION OPEN: Please print, complete, & mail the registration form & payment. You will receive acknowledgement that your registration is accepted.
REGISTRATION: Money due by June 1, 2025 (No refunds after July 1, due to Camp Geneva's policy)
Mail Check, payable to GRASG, with Retreat marked in the memo to:
Nancy Bender
9401 W Garbow Rd
Middleville MI 49333
Questions: Call 269.908.0490
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PAST EVENTS
The Whole Scoop-Multi-Method Pants Fitting Workshop with Jen Stern Haseman
Jennifer Stern-Haseman, J. Stern Designs https://jsterndesigns.com/, taught a two-day workshop on how to make a pants pattern that will result in well fitting pants. In The Whole Scoop~ Multi-Method Pants Fitting Class, we started with the basic framework of Top-Down Center Out (described by R. Collins in Threads magazine #218) by creating a fitted non-stretch waistband that is used to fit a single-leg muslin. We proceeded to determine size and how much extra seam allowance to add to our patterns the first time around. We made one leg and were fitted . With instructions after fitting the first leg, we drew a pattern for the second leg and cut it out. Sewing was the easy part when we got to putting it all together for the second fitting.
Some of the things we learned were things that were mowt likely to be adjusted, like the position of the crotch curve. She showed us how to get it in the right spot using a fit adjustment that does not affect other vertical dimensions of the pattern, like pulling it up at the waist or pleating out excess vertical length.
Some people also needed to play with the ease along the leg, by adjusting both the side and inseam. We learned to keep every adjustment marked on the pattern right away.
What a great workshop!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Orphan Fabric Challenge
This challenge was open to ALL GRASG members and started in October 2024.
- Look through your fabric stash and find a NICE piece of fabric, between 2 and 4 yards, that no longer fits your sewing needs or wants but is just waiting for someone else to love it and turn it into something AMAZING! Come on. You know you’ve got at least one of these sitting around. The piece should be large enough to give the new recipient enough to work with –
- Put this lovely fabric in a brown paper bag. Turn down the top and staple or tape it closed. Put your name, email & phone number on the bottom of the bag.
- Bring your challenge fabric to the October meeting when we will play a fun game, and you will go home with someone else’s once-loved fabric.
- Between October and April, you are challenged to make anything from your new fabric: a garment, a quilt, a tote, a pillow… The options are unlimited. The ONLY RULE is that you must use at least 50% of your gifted orphan fabric in your project. You can add any accenting trims and coordinating fabric you choose.
Take your time. Let your ideas marinate. You have until our reveal party in April to finish. If you can’t be at the October meeting and still want to participate in this fun event, contact Nancy Prinzi, Nancy Bender, or Mary Stehouwer to exchange your orphan for another.
If you really want to challenge yourself, bring 2 or 3 orphans to exchange.
Please note: THIS IS NOT AN UGLY FABRIC CHALLENGE!!! The fabric you exchange should be something you would use; a nice piece but one that doesn’t work for you now.
UPDATE:
What an event this was. The stories and projects were priceless. It was especially interesting to see all the beautiful things our sewists made. To hear the challenges along the way with patterns, fabrics and other sewing stories was great!!!
RESULTS:
To see the results of the Orphan Challenge, check out the Photos tab on this website.
Garage Sale at Fulton Street Market
GRASG Rummage Sale
GRASG was honored to celebrate National Sewing Month by participating in the last Farmers Market Rummage Sale of 2024 season. Many members helped by donating, organizing, pricing, setup and take down, transporting numerous caroads of goods to the event and helped with the Make-it Take-it project. Thank you guild members for your help and support.
Tables were covered with fabric, tools, notions, patterns, craft jackets and partially finished craft projects, not to mentioned several sewing machines. Shoppers enjoyed rooting through the varied bargains. even though it looked like we had a lot left, we sold a remarkable amount of fabric at $! per yard.
Coopersville Quilt Show Road Trip
