Grand Rapids American Sewing Guild

08/18/2026

SEW...what are we doing in August?

ROADTRIP-Kathy Veenstra's Fiber Artist Schoolhouse-Studio

Kathy is a fiber artist who expresses her creativity with fabric. She has also renovated an old one-room schoolhouse into her studio, a creative space to share with others and display her fabulous work. Kathy has invited us to visit the schoolhouse in August. She will share her renovation journey and talk about her work.
Her famous-to-us-multi-dimensional creation of Bud, the goose, following John, the husband, around the farm is only one example of Kathy's work. We'll have the opportunity to see more at the schoolhouse.
Our August meeting is a road trip to Kathy Veenstra's Schoolhouse/Studio. Here's everything you need to know...

DATE: Monday, August 24th
TIME: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
WHERE: 1310 133rd Ave., Hopkins 49328
CONTACT: JoAnn Hyde - 269-370-3388
BRING: brown bag lunch and beverage
RSVP: to JoAnn by email or by calling her at 269-370-3388 no later than Thursday, August 20th.

And...here's the last (but very important) detail. There's a lot of space in the Schoolhouse. But, it is not unlimited. It will be helpful to Kathy (JoAnn, too) to have reservations. SEW...please RSVP to JoAnn by email or by calling her at 269-370-3388 no later than Thursday, August 20th.

08/13/2026

Thirty members attended the annual GRASG picnic. It was a happy event reconnecting with sewing friends after having not met over the busy summer. The picnic project produced a lot of very cute fabric baskets. Three sizes and two different designs were offered. Kits were provided for wheelchair and walker bags for members who wished to participate in a service project. A total of 12 service projects were completed.

Sewing machines were packed up late afternoon in anticipation of the wonderful potluck dinner. There is never a shortage of food and oh so much variety! Dinner offered another opportunity to visit with friends before announcements and Show & Tell demanded attention.

Prizes were awarded to a few members who participated in the survey. The drawing awarded the following:
· Anne Hutchinson - 1 year membership
· Barb Marconi - Fabrications gift certificate
· Karen Conober - Gall Sewing gift certificate
· Nancy Fritz - Field's Fabrics gift certificate.

Show and Tell featured some outstanding fiber art creations and reconstruction projects along with several quilts. Several of the Fiber art displays will be shown in the outstanding 2027 Fiber Arts Show at the Art Center of Battle Creek in February.
Show & Tell project photos are on the Photos page of GRASG.org. www.GRASG.org/Photos

Clean up and loading cars was done plenty early to get everyone home safely in the daylight. Thanks to Marlene and Rita R for all their hard work organizing and providing all of the supplies needed and to Rita B for scheduling the beautiful space at 1st Presbyterian Church in Hastings for this delightful event.

08/05/2026

GRASG August Picnic is almost here!!!

WHERE: First Presbyterian Church, 405 M-37, Hastings, MI 49508
WHEN: Tuesday, August 11, 2026, 1:30 PM
WHAT:
1:30 p.m. Set Up and Catch up with your sewing friends after the summer off.
2 p.m. Instructions / Demonstration for Sewing Projects:
Fabric Baskets (See supply list on the GRASG calendar)
Community Service: Wheelchair Bags for Hope Network
5 p.m. Potluck Dinner - Table service & bottled water will be provided.
After dinner: Show & Tell

We are looking forward to seeing you.

If you have not already RSVP'd. please do so soon.
RSVP @

Please let us know if you plan to attend the picnic on Tuesday, August 11 at First Presbyterian Church, 405 M-37, Hastings, MI 49508. Set up begins at 1:30 p.m Itinerary: 1:30 p.m. Set Up 2 p.m. Instructions / Demonstration Sewing Projects (baskets and wheelchair bags) 5 p.m. Dinner - Table service....

06/11/2026

SEWING COSTUMES
Claudia Lee, Costume Designer

Claudia Lee, Costume Designer at the Performing Arts Center at Paw Paw Public Schools, presented to GRASG members on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. She has worked with directors, helping select shows, casting roles, setting schedules, preparing budgets, building her costume crew, designing, constructing, dressing, and preparing for “Show Time”.

Her costume display was TOPS! She intrigued the entire audience with beautiful, colorful costumes she has made for the Paw Paw Performing Arts Center. Willing and eager GRASG members agreed to model the costumes from numerous shows. This definitely was a meeting not to miss!

The business meeting quickly discussed the June 12 Planning Meeting, Spirit Awards, Picnic and a couple of Sewing events coming up in the community. Samples of the sewing projects for picnic were displayed.

Show and Tell was not to be missed as several people dazzled members with their unique and creative makes. Check out the photos of all the beautiful creative costumes and Show & Tell displays at www.GRASG.org/Photos .

06/04/2026

If you like THEATRE & SEWING, you won’t want to miss the next GR American Sewing Guild Meeting.
Claudia Lee, Costume Designer at the Performing Arts Center at Paw Paw Public Schools, will be speaking to GRASG members on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, 6:30 PM at the Northview Senior Center, 5255 Grand River Dr. (Note: the DAY is different than our regular meeting day because of a scheduling conflict with a Senior Center event.) Claudia has worked with directors, helping select shows, casting roles, setting schedules, preparing budgets, building her costume crew and of course, doing the fun stuff: designing, constructing, dressing, and preparing for “Show Time”. She will share her process for developing her amazing costumes. You will even be able to see her handiwork firsthand from Joseph's Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat to Monty Python's ethereal Lady of the Lake, to the enchanting Nemo and Dory.
We love visitors! If you are not a member, and like theatre and sewing, please come join us. Visitors are invited to attend two free meetings to experience the American Sewing Guild and see if GRASG is a good fit for you.

05/13/2026

May 2026 – GRASG Meeting
Carol Schut from Lakeshore Sewing presented about Machine Embroidery, with an emphasis on stabilizers. It was fascinating the direction machine embroidery has taken, with all the freestanding and tiling options available today. Hours, lots of thread and stabilizers later, these new embroidery works of art are formed. For stabilizers, the new wash away stabilizers are way better and water soluble than those of the 90s. Thanks Carol, for a very interesting presentation. The visual aids were fascinating.
Show and Tell had two items from the Challenge, a new quilt idea, a new jeans creation, an ‘I can do’ book and a very unique purse made from a stuffed hand puppet. Are we creative or what?
Hop on over to the Photos page of the GRASG website to see more pictures of this great meeting. www.Grasg.org/photos

05/06/2026

GRASG – Meeting May 12, 2026
Next week’s meeting is pretty important!
• It will PROBABLY be THE LAST DAY you can sign up for the September Sewing Retreat at Camp Geneva on Lake Michigan. It's a beautiful place to sew, visit, hike the trails and check out Lake Michigan. There are only a few spots left. Come prepared to save your spot before it is gone for 2026. (See GRASG.org for more info about Retreat.)
• It IS THE LAST DAY you can donate socks for the In the Image Sock drive for the Fall Back-to-School shoe giveaway. Get your socks now. We are behind last year’s donation, so get your socks now and bring them to the meeting May 12, 2026 at the Northview Senior Center.
• It IS THE DAY that Carol Schut, from Lakeshore Sewing, will present on Embroidery Stabilizers. Stabilizers play an important role in how the end result of your embroidery project looks. And surprisingly enough, stabilizer is also important for all those decorative stitches on your machine.

See you at the meeting! (We LOVE visitors. If you are interested, come and see what GRASG is all about. You will be happy you did!)

04/16/2026

The April 2026 GRASG Meeting was dedicated to the “Inspiration” Challenge and a lot of news. Many members took the challenge to sew something that inspired them. Some challenges were projects that had been started many years ago or were inspired by a memory of someone or something from the past. Other challenges were inspired by sustainability or community service. With SEW many projects to see, go to the GRASG website. Checkout the whole story, including the news, on the GRASG home page. Photos are on the Photos page of the same site. Come take the challenge with us at www.GRASG.org

04/02/2026

It's Time!!!!!
GRASG CAMP GENEVA SEWING RETREAT

SAVE THE DATE: Sept. 28,2026 - Oct. 1, 2026 for the GRASG Camp Geneva Sewing Retreat. Start thinking about it now. Check your calendar. More info at the April Chapter meeting. Be ready to sign up to hold your spot at the April meeting.