Sunday, August 28, 2011

Part of the Community

Today I was honored to be a volunteer at Future Craft Collective's 4th annual clothes swap (http://futurecraftcollective.com/2011/08/clothes-swap-and-book-swap/).  It was held in the cafeteria of the school where I work.  I got there first thing in the morning to let volunteers in to get set up and then I returned when the event was just getting under way.  I set up my sewing machine not at all sure of what I was expected to do.  Something along the lines of "Kids will bring things to you and they'll have ideas for what you should sew."  Well, I sat next to a lovely lady named Cynthia and we waited for whatever was to come.  And, boy oh boy, did it come!  Children have the most amazing and creative ideas (and so do their parents!!).  I made some minor repairs, sewed hearts on many T-shirts and pants, and created A LOT of really cool bags (my fave was an adult blue jean flared skirt that I stitched closed across the bottom, and then used pieces cut from beige courderoy pants to create a wide shoulder strap...I have to say, it was pretty freakin' awesome!).  I loved, loved, loved talking to the kiddos about what I was doing, explaining why I was turning something inside-out, why I was pinning it, why, why, why.  I was blissfully exhausted when I stopped sewing 90 minutes after the initial 2 hour volunteer commitment I had made.  My fingers were actually slightly numb at the tips from all the vibration, I was starving, I really needed to go to the bathroom...and I was very, very happy.  What a spectacular community event!  Thank you, Future Craft Collective, for being so amazing!

Inspired by the lovely back gates at the Zilker Botanical Gardens.

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