Dear students,
I’m so glad things are returning back to normal after the ice storm, and we can be back in the sewing room again together! There’s lots of exciting news to announce as we look forward into the new year!
Giving Back and Lots of Camps
The next in our series as Jolene’s Sewing School looks back over the past fifteen years!
During my early years of opening Jolene’s Sewing School, we did lots of camps! For every holiday I would host day camps – MLK day, Presidents’ Day, you name it, we had camps in the morning and the afternoon! At Christmas I hosted workshops on the weekends in November and December where people signed up and made up to give gifts for their family. One year I did something called Moose on the Loose, where we made a different moose-themed gift each day – that was tons of fun!
In other camps, we made stuffed animals, bunnies, skirts – all kinds of things. I discovered a lady who sold patterns, called Carol Zoo, which made it easy for students to create a piece in only three hours. They were super cute and super fun! I also discovered a simple skirt pattern that students loved.
I also believe in promoting service and community-building, teaching students the value of giving back to others. Because of this, I’ve also held Giving Camps over the years, like this one where we sewed stockings for troops overseas. We’ve made teddy bears for the police department, pillowcases with Girl Scouts troops and for women’s shelters, and items for the Dougy Center for grieving children. Our most recent event several years ago was sewing NICU blankets at the local library, where we had over 25 people come!
When regular classes began filling up, and I worked every weekday, I stopped doing as many camps and just continued regular classes on those days. Instead, I’ve continued summer camps every year, where we still make many fun stuffies, skirts, and lots of other adorable things. One year we even held a “stuffy reunion camp,” where students brought stuffies from previous camps and spent time together!
What’s your favorite item you’ve made at camp? I’d love to know!
Speaking of Camps…
Camp List for Summer 2024 is coming soon!
If you have any suggestions or ideas of what you or your child wants to make, send it my way!
Spring Closures at Jolene’s Sewing School
Please mark your calendars – the Sewing School will be closed for Spring Break on March 25-31st! Contact me with any questions.
Class Openings in 2024
Classes are really filling up in the new year, but there are still some spots left. Check out details about open classes here on my website!
Happy Sewing!