Last Saturday, a group of 70+ women who are incredibly important to sewing in the Pacific Northwest gathered for their annual meeting.
If you’ve attended the Puyallup WA Sewing & Stitchery Expo, you know these women. They are the tireless volunteers who are the heart and soul of the Sewing Expo and the real secret behind it’s success!
We met in a beautiful, multi-windowed room at Clover Park Technical College. The warm, clear Fall sun streaming through the windows did not produce the best lighting for pictures, unfortunately. I’m including them anyway, though, because I know you’ll enjoy seeing the faces and places!
The theme was Hats Off to Sewing and most attendees were jauntily wearing lovely hats. The tables were decorated with adorable hats and we took home sweet little favors like a hat pincushion and hand felted brooch. Goodies! Always a welcome sight at any meeting!!
Ever-supportive Coats and Clark donated a spool of each of their newest threads, Eloflex and Secura, for each attendee, too. Of course, you’ve heard me crushing on Eloflex – if not, click here. But, you really need to check out the amazing Secura, too!
Another welcome sight was the exquisitely delicious meal that was served by the Clover Park Technical College Culinary Arts Program. Wow, it was soooo good that I’d love to know where these future chefs will be working once they’ve graduated!
I was extremely honored to join the Clothing & Textile Advisors of Washington as their Keynote Speaker and had such a wonderful time with everyone! They asked that I speak about Social Media and how it has and will continue to change and inspire the sewing community. A subject I love and was thrilled to share about with these wonderful ladies!
Do you volunteer your time in the sewing community? Your state may not have a program like the CTAs, but there are always opportunities to inspire, teach and share with other sewists and quilters. The CTAs give and receive the valuable benefits of sewing in every hour that they volunteer and learn a lot along the way, too. It’s what I call a total win-win that we can all enjoy!
If you’re in the state of Washington, you can click here to find out more about the Clothing & Textile Advisor program. You’ll find pages for several of the county groups on Facebook, too. If you’re in another state or country, try searching online for volunteer sewing opportunities. There are plenty out there and I’m sure you’ll find a great fit for you and your interests and skills. Spreading the superpower of sewing is a terrific way to make a difference in your community and, if the CTAs are any example, you’re going to have a great time!
Sewing with joy,
I happened to find your blog on Rhonda’s Creative Life and recognized the CTA initials from a trip I made to Puyallup to the Expo several years ago. They were a very hard working, helpful group at the show. It looks like they had a fun Annual Meeting. We have a similar group in Mississippi called Master Clothing Volunteers. We teach sewing classes in our counties for 4-H and any other group that requests it. We are a much smaller group than the CTAs, but still going and would love to have more members. If anyone from Mississippi reads this and wants to know more they can contact their county MSU Extension Service. We had our Annual Meeting this past weekend also and had a fun two days learning new things.
How wonderful, Carolyn – thanks so much for your comment!! I hope you make it to Puyallup again soon!