A beautiful, Lotus decal, Singer sewing machine from the 1930's. I was fortunate to buy this a few years ago, and recently found a beautiful treadle cabinet for this machine.
Aurora made her dress for the first day of school. I think she was only 7 years old at the time. She has an unusual talent.
Laura's Sewing School both at Arlington Town Day.
Netta has been making sewn pottery with clothesline wrapped in strips of fabric.
Frances loves her new pillowcase.
Sophia and her mustache pillow. All her own idea. We made the pattern together.
Umbrellas! I made both and have the kits and patterns available.
Sherry copied the image of the painting, her friend made, onto fabric. Then she made a bag in colors that complement to the painting and included the painting in a panel on the side of the bag.
And iPad cover and a GPS case that I designed and made.
The girls both made blankets in a class together.
This is a quilt I made for my friend's daughter.
This is a bag that I helped the student design and make.
This lovely tuffet is made out of 64 strips of fabric. It's a beautiful project and it's fun to make.
Shelley had a quilt that was falling apart. She decided to cut it and make two pillows out of the parts of the quilt that were still in good condition.
One of my favorite students, Betty. I taught her how to sew and knew her for at least 6 years. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2015.
Susi is making buttonholes in her camp shirt.
Sherry found an art print in Maine, and she was inspired to re-create it out of wool and needle felting.
Here is a photo of Sherry with both her work and the print that inspired it .
While Norma is not in this picture, she made this bench cushion and the bolster pillows at each end.
Ruth made this jacket out of silk dupioni. The buttons are made out of the same fabric.
A local Brownie troop came and made some little drawstring pouches.
Sherry is always good for fabric art. She did a fiber version of a photograph in which she captured a hummingbird in flight.
Jeanette (on right) and her daughter, Stephanie. Steph is wearing a lovely dress that Jeanette made from a home dec fabric.
Alex is 9. He made this zippered pouch for his mother, for her birthday. He's been sewing for 6 months and has made even harder projects than this. His second project was plaid PJ pants.
Marcia made this Dress Form Collage quilt in a workshop we had with Donna Girard. The pattern is designed by Laura Heine.
Hi, this is Laura Wirkkala.
I have arrived in Ashland, WI, after spending several decades in the Massachusetts.
I have loved living in Arlington, MA. I've have met so many wonderful people from teaching in this community. Unfortunately, I can no longer afford to live in the Greater Boston area. So, I have returned to my home town of Ashland, Wisconsin. (I arrived on April 2nd, exactly 34 years from when I arrived in Boston.)
I still have a good number of friends/connections here, on the south shore of Lake Superior. And, it was through a friend, that I found my new storefront!!!
The new address is 400 Main St W, Ashland WI 54806
It was occupied by Solstice Clothing for the past 12 years. They own a building down on the lake, west of town, and will have that as their Primary location.
My new space is wide open, light, airy and well lit. It will suit my purposes very well. I have a lot of plans to offer even more things than I did in Boston. I will keep people up to date through my newsletter, as well as on my Facebook page.
I can start moving in on June 1st. And, will try to open for classes as soon as possible. I will have an Open House to give people a chance to see the space and meet me.
I have put the address down below, and will try to get the map link to work better. Good thing my sister was a web designer. She gets me out of technical trouble. I will set up online teaching as soon as I can. And, together, we will find a format that works for us.
The new address is 400 Main St W, Ashland WI 54806
It was occupied by Solstice Clothing for the past 12 years. They own a building down on the lake, west of town, and will have that as their Primary location.
My new space is wide open, light, airy and well lit. It will suit my purposes very well. I have a lot of plans to offer even more things than I did in Boston. I will keep people up to date through my newsletter, as well as on my Facebook page.
I can start moving in on June 1st. And, will try to open for classes as soon as possible. I will have an Open House to give people a chance to see the space and meet me.
I have put the address down below, and will try to get the map link to work better. Good thing my sister was a web designer. She gets me out of technical trouble. I will set up online teaching as soon as I can. And, together, we will find a format that works for us.
I will miss being in New England. Yet, it is nice to be much closer to my family.
Please check the Facebook page for updates. Thank you.If you'd like to take a tour of my old space in MA, I have made a video so you can see the changes to the school.
In person classes will be limited to…
Adults and youth who have can show proof of vaccination against Covid.
You may ask why so limited? Laura has an autoimmune disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis. To control the condition, she takes a number of immune suppressant medications. This puts her at high risk during the pandemic. This is a non-negotiable situation. Please respect that and we appreciate your understanding.
We are going to try to offer instruction to those who cannot attend in person classes.
1. Laura has a YouTube channel called SewInGenius
A good number of videos on how to make PPE are already loaded on the channel.
We are trying to upload videos on a regular basis, now that we are resuming classes.
These videos are a way to communicate basic sewing techniques. The following are already uploaded and available to watch:
How to wind a bobbin
How to thread a sewing machine
How to clean out the fuzz under your throat plate, and oil the bobbin area
How to sew a pillow cover with an invisible zipper
How to sew a button on a blouse/shirt
How to make shirring with elastic thread
And, there are more, but this is just a little teaser.
2. We are exploring formats, such as Zoom, Livestreaming, and Pantheon or Vimeo. We will send out announcements of our offerings via email and on our facebook page.
In person classes will be limited to…
Adults and youth who have can show proof of vaccination against Covid.
You may ask why so limited? Laura has an autoimmune disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis. To control the condition, she takes a number of immune suppressant medications. This puts her at high risk during the pandemic. This is a non-negotiable situation. Please respect that and we appreciate your understanding.
We are going to try to offer instruction to those who cannot attend in person classes.
1. Laura has a YouTube channel called SewInGenius
A good number of videos on how to make PPE are already loaded on the channel.
We are trying to upload videos on a regular basis, now that we are resuming classes.
These videos are a way to communicate basic sewing techniques. The following are already uploaded and available to watch:
How to wind a bobbin
How to thread a sewing machine
How to clean out the fuzz under your throat plate, and oil the bobbin area
How to sew a pillow cover with an invisible zipper
How to sew a button on a blouse/shirt
How to make shirring with elastic thread
And, there are more, but this is just a little teaser.
2. We are exploring formats, such as Zoom, Livestreaming, and Pantheon or Vimeo. We will send out announcements of our offerings via email and on our facebook page.
