Uganda part 1- Jinja

We headed off for Uganda expecting the unexpected, but we didn't expect the unexpected to show up before we got there! We had a number of flight delays, changes, and cancellations, and at one point wondered if we would have to cancel the trip! We did finally make it, but we ended up at the Entebbe airport in the middle of the night when no one was expecting us, so we were fortunate to be able to get ahold of our hosts and get a ride to Kampala. Betty and Moses Odongo are a pastor and wife in Kampala and they were our host for the first couple of days. Of course, we missed the first 24 hours with all of our delays, but we did get to spend a day with Betty. That afternoon we headed off to Jinja where we would be part of a pastor's conference on purity and we worked with the pastors' wives. We knew that domestic abuse was widespread in Uganda, but we did not realize how far it went. Also, it is not illegal in Uganda to have more than one wife, so many men do. Believe me, the wives are not happy about this either.

The first few days in Jinja we stayed at a nice little guest house called "Cool Breeze" and we were actually surprised this trip to have some cool breezes in the mornings. June is definitely a better time to visit than March or April. This was a nice guest house for Uganda, but in the first room we had, the toilet didn't work and the room smelled. None of the windows would close all the way (mosquitos) but they did have wide mesh screens. We asked for another room the next day and they gave us a downstairs room. This room had a window that looked directly onto a mens urinal for "public" restroom use. Great. We also had no light in the bathroom, but I guess that didn't matter since we only had power for 2-3 hours each evening when they turned on the generator. Our room was also near the front porch, so it was noisy when people were talking outside, and the bed was a board with a foam pad on it. I was usually so tired at the end of the day that I didn't have any trouble falling asleep though.
During the day we attended and helped facilitate the Purity conference for the women and got to know some of these pastors' wives. There were also other women there from the different churches and it was nice to get to meet them. Most of these women were from cities although a few were from the villages. Many of the women spoke English, as it is the official language of the country. Most of the women from the villages did not speak English and spoke Lugandan instead. We had one woman who translated for us and it was great to watch her. She was very good.

On Sunday afternoon we worked with these ladies teaching them embroidery. They were very excited to learn it and many said they could and would use this skill to make items to sell to provide income for their families. It was such a blessing to be with these women.

Leaving on a Jet Plane . . .

Well, Ladies, I leave tomorrow morning, dark and early. I am so humbled and amazed at the support from all of the sewists out there. I am grateful for your support and prayers. I am excited for this trip and looking forward to whatever God has in store for us and the women of Uganda. We will arrive at night, and will stay with a pastor and his family in Kampala. The next day, Karen and I will go shopping for sewing machines and fabric to set up a couple of village women in their own business. (Of course, I may have to make a few fabric purchases of my own!)



On Thursday, we will be going into the town of Jinja which is right on the equator and the start of the Nile River. Karen and I support a child through an organization called “Compassion.” This child lives close to Jinja, so we are getting to actually meet him for a couple of hours on Thursday morning. After that, we will be working with a group of pastor’s wives and teaching on the topic of forgiveness.
On Sunday, we will be moving out again and this time, going to a town called Kayunga. From here, we will go out into the villages (Busanna and Kasana). This is where we will be doing sewing with the women. I am a little worried because I want to teach them to make school uniforms, but have had difficulty in getting enough patterns for both ladies in all the sizes. I guess I will also be teaching how to size up or down a pattern! I don’t know what materials they have available for tracing over there, but I’m pretty sure I can get ahold of wax paper, so that is what I am planning on getting while I’m there. We will be in the villages through Friday and leave on a late night flight.

I am so looking forward to seeing these dear women again and meeting new ones. And thanks again for all of your support and also to those who linked my blog entry to theirs. What a wonderful group of women we sewists are!


This is the Nile River - - -

Only a Couple of Weeks!

First of all I want to send out a big THANK YOU to all of you who have made donations to support my trip! Debbie Cook posted a link on her blog asking all of her readers to even just send $5.00. Well, lots did (and some donated more) and that really did add up! Thank you again! Tomorrow we are having a huge rummage sale at our church and the proceeds are going toward our trip. Please pray that we will raise the money we need because I am still about $1200 short, and so is Karen. Our trip is just a short time away - we are leaving on the 13th of June.

This is a picture of Kathy and me. I met Kathy on my first trip to Uganda. She lives in a small village called Kasana. She speaks more English than most of the women I've met there, but maybe she just has more confidence. Last spring she took Karen and I on a walk through the village, and when we got struck by a downpour, she ran us into her home. It is a mud and thatch adobe hut, and it was nice and cool inside. The whole hut was probably about 10 feet in diameter. She lives there with her husband and some children, but I don't think they are hers. She has a job selling some kind of porridge in the evening in the center of the village. For many, this is all they eat. They do grow some different fruit and vegetables there in the village, but I think most of it is sold in a nearby town. The only transportation you see there other than foot traffic, is the occasional bicycle. If someone wants to go into the town (about 15 minute drive by car)they either walk down the main road at the edge of the village or walk until they catch a boda boda. Bodas are motorcycle taxis. They are everywhere. Some people even take a bicycle taxi.

I believe that Kathy will be one of the women we will be setting up with her own sewing machine. She was one of the more adept last year and seems to have a "business mind." Of course, business in Uganda is nothing like it is here. I am anxious to go back and see the women we got to share with last year. Some of them were pregnant then, so we may get to see their new babies.

Thank you all for your prayers, support, and comments I have received regarding our trip this year. Gwen asked if I would consider to "open it up" to new people! Absolutely! We would love to have more people come. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, and feel that God has put it on your heart to serve these women in this way, please let me know and I can give you more details on how to get involved.

I would appreciate your prayers over the next few weeks that Karen and I would stay healthy, that we will have energy and compassion, that we will be well used by God, and have safe travel. Having rheumatoid arthritis, sitting still for more than an hour or two can be miserable. Our air travel alone is over 20 hours, plus we have layovers. I can almost never sleep on the plane, so I am usually a little wiped out for the first few days. I also need to return healthy, as I am having surgery as soon as I return. Pray for the women of Uganda, that they would have strength and faith to endure all of the struggles they face every day. They are always so inspired when they find out how many people are praying for them and helped to support us to get us there. They just cannot believe it.

Again, if you would care to support this mission, you can either send money directly to me through paypal or donate directly to International Messengers. My email is nwinning@gmail.com and International Messengers address is in my last post.

I did get this outfit finished and will be wearing it during my trip. I bought this fabric in Uganda last year. Actually, they would never make a dress out of this. It is too thin. They use a much heavier cotton for their dresses. They use this fabric for something they put on over their skirts, like an apron. I wanted something lighter weight because it is so hot there.

Uganda Update

I'm in the middle (or should I say late stages? ) of planning my trip to Uganda. For those of you who may be new to my blog, I will give you the background.
It all started a few years ago when I listened to a podcast of an interview with Sandra Betzina. She happened to mention that she had just returned from Ethiopa where she goes every year to teach women to sew. She didn't say any more about it, but, I thought "I wonder if that is some kind of mission trip." I also wondered how you would get involved in something like that and thought that maybe I would want to do it. A few weeks later I was talking to a friend of mine who had gone on a medical mission to Uganda. I was asking her about it and mentioned this podcast I had heard. She said she knew someone who could set up a trip like that and that we should come over for lunch that day since he was going to be there on a visit from MN.

Andy and I went to my friends house for lunch and talked to a man named John Pipes, who I had met once before. He used to attend our church a long time ago, but had since moved to MN. John works for International Messengers and does ministry in the villages of Uganda. I told him what I was interested in and he said, "You decide what you would like to do, when you can go, and I'll set up the trip." Wow! I think that was during winter and on my Easter break I was on a plane to Uganda with no one I knew meeting someone I had only met a couple of times before, to go to a country where most of the people don't speak English (even though it is the "official" language) having very little idea of what I'd be doing there.


There were some other college kids that we met up with, but they were doing a music ministry and I was the only one doing sewing. It was so fun and amazing and rewarding. I couldn't believe how appreciative the women (and men) were just over the fact that I had come. It didn't even matter if I had taught them anything or done anything, they were just excited that I was there.










The following year, I went again, and this time spent more time in the Village. I got to see some of the same faces as the year before and lots of new ones. Some of the women did speak limited English but they have such a heavy accent that I could not understand most of what they said! They asked me what language I speak. I replied "English." They said, "No you don't" It was so funny. They said they could not understand me either. That second year I took another lady friend with me and we worked with the women in the villages teaching them to sew on treadle machines and doing bible study in the afternoon. Here is a picture of the women in the skirts that they made:



























This year I have the opportunity to go again. I am very excited, but I'm asking for your help if any of you feel lead to do so. Our expenses this year will be much higher because of air fare. Our plane tickets alone are over $2700! This is what we will be doing.

It takes about 2 days to get to Uganda. The first day we are there, we will be shopping in Kampala for fabric and 2 sewing machines. These will be used in the villages. The next day, we will be traveling to Jinja, which is a much smaller town. It is on the equator and is where the "origin of the Nile" is. There is a pastor's conference that weekend on purity and we will be ministering to the wives. There are a lot of problems in Uganda with infidelity, domestic abuse, alcoholism, aides, and corruption as well as extreme poverty, yellow fever, and malaria. Here is a picture of one of the "classrooms" that we saw when we were in the slums of Kampala



























Last year one woman asked us what we would do in her position. Her husband has been having an affair with another woman, and now he has brought this woman home to live with him and the wife. He expects the wife to take care of the children and home as well as cook for him and his new girlfriend! I'm telling you, the situations they deal with are nothing like what we have here. One woman asked us if we could take a couple of her children home with us because she couldn't afford to feed all of them.
After the pastor's conference, we will be going into the villages for the next week. We will be teaching the majority of the women who come hand sewing and embroidery. The two machines we purchase will be given to two of the women who the pastor has chosen to start up their own businesses. I will be teaching them more sewing skills and helping them find a way to market what they make. They will pay us back with a small amount of money each month from what they make so that we can buy two more machines to get more women involved in the business of sewing,. At this point, I'm thinking school uniforms since there are millions of children there and they all wear uniforms. Most of the uniforms you see children in are worn, stained and falling apart. We still don't have all the details worked out on this yet.



Please be thinking and praying about whether this is something you would like to help support. All donations are greatly appreciated. There are two ways to donate. You could send a check to me directly at Nancy Winningham, 1430 S. Grand Street, Visalia, CA 93292. If you would like a tax receipt, you can send a check to International Messengers with a note that it is for me and the Ugandan sewing ministry. Their address is PO Box 618, Clear Lake, IA 50428-0618. You will receive a receipt that can be used for a tax write off. Thank you so much for your thoughts, prayers, and any support you can give. These women across the globe are grateful!

ETA: Debbie Cook suggested that use PayPal and I hadn't even thought of that. Thanks, Debbie! If you would like to support me by making a donation through PayPal, my email address is nwinning@gmail.com.

Performance Fabric

In August of 2009, I bought an length of "performance fabric" from Fabric.com
It is called Dryflex. 90% polyester, 10% lycra. It is print on one side and solid on the other. I bought it to make a tank top, just to see how it would work. The website said that it was breathable and moisture wicking, so I wanted to give it a try. 6977 At first, I had trouble getting my machine not to skip stitches (good thing I tried on a sample first.) I changed to a #10 jersey ball point needle and a narrow zigzag, and that worked perfectly.
The shirt pattern is New Look 6977. I have made this top before and it is pretty easy. What I like about it is that it has raglan sleeves that just cover the shoulder but are still as cool as a sleeveless top.

The neckline has a separate band that is stitched on and is gathered in the front with clear elastic. I couldn't find my clear elastic, so I cut an elastic hanger out of a cardigan and used it!
























I finished the seams with the serger and did the hems with the coverstitch machine.






















I never thought I'd be a fan of one seam pants, but I have to say, I've been loving these. I'll be glad when the weather cools down next week so that I can wear them one day. It was 96 yesterday and probably that again today.

New Pants - V1197

I just finished making these new pants and I really like them. They are not quite a legging, but they are not quite trousers, either. They are a slim pant. They actually look slimmer on the pattern envelope, so I'm thinking that maybe I should have made a size C instead of a size D. I will definitely make these again. There is no side seam,but there is a slit in the side. Super fast and super easy. These will work well with some of the longer tops I've been wanting to make.

Cutting Off Grain fabric

Elaray asked how I cut the pattern with it being so off grain. I thought that would be a good topic for a post since we all seem to run into that once in awhile.

Well, first of all there are 2 kinds of off grain, and this fabric was both. Sometimes a fabric is woven off grain (the lengthwise and crosswise threads are not perpendicular). The first thing I did was to cut a slit about 3 inches in on the fabric, and tear it from selvege to selvege. I then lined this torn edge against a vertical line on my cutting board, and lined up the fold along a horizontal line. This took some smoothing and weighting down the fabric. (If I had been using a cardboard cutting mat, I would have just pinned the fabric into shape.) Sometimes you have to stretch the fabric on the bias to make it straighten out, but smoothing it out usually works pretty well for me. That's when I took the picture in the last post, and you can see that this fabric is also printed off grain. I usually refrain from buying prints that are obvious stripes or checks unless they are woven into the fabric. Printed stripes and plaids are rarely on-grain. If you do get a fabric like this, you have to make a decision about whether to follow the print, or the grain. Well, I have mistakenly followed the print in the past, and the garment always seems to twist or not hang right. If the print is way off, and you follow the grain, it may look really wrong after it is made up. Sometimes it just depends on what you are making.

Fortunately for me on this one, at least the lines running the length of the fabric were pretty straight, so when I followed the grain, the print lined up. Also, the print is small enough that you could fudge a little if you needed to. Since this blouse has 7 vertical seams, I figured the off-print of the fabric wouldn't be that noticeable once it was made up. And if it was, oh well, not much I could do about it. I didn't even try to line up the print on this, but it looks like I did - now you know my little secret ;-)

I was looking at some of my patterns tonight thinking of what kind of skirt I wanted to make to go with this top. I originally was thinking about a bias cut skirt, but with this fabric being as unstable as it is, and the print being off, that might not be a good choice. I may go with a gored skirt for this one.

M6035 - the Ugandan way

In Uganda, you often see women wearing a skirt with matching top in African print. Well, I finished M6035 and will be making a matching skirt before I go. As I said in my last post, this fabric is thinner than what they usually use for dresses, but that is fine with me because it will also be cooler! This will also be a top that I can wear to work or even on the weekends and be comfortable. I must say that the fit is much better now, and maybe I should have just started with a 12. normally that is too big in the upper chest and back, but even though I made the sleeves bigger, they still bind when I reach forward. I would like to make it again with different sleeves. I do like the fit of this blouse now that I widened it a bit, lengthened the front, and only used 1/2" SAS on the vertical seams. For me - this pattern is a winner!





















I had problems cutting this out because not only is this fabric unstable (loose weave and hard to keep the lengthwise and cross grains perpendicular, it is also printed way off grain as you can see in the picture. funny, the vertical lines are straight, but the horizontal lines are way off.

Take two - M6035

Normally when something doesn't turn out the way I want it to, that's it, I'm done with it. I either give it away, throw it away, or hang it in my closet and never wear it. Well, I was encouraged by the great ladies on the boards at PR to see if I couldn't fix this blouse. First, I looked at those princess seams, and I found that I could let out about 1/8 inch in each one, which was a total of only 1/2" in the front, but it was enough to make the blouse more wearable. Also, I removed the armbands part way, added a 1" extension to each one, loosened the gathers, and refit the band. The arms are way more comfortable now and actually look much better.

I have also altered the pattern, so I'd like to try it again. I kept looking through my stash for what I wanted to make it out of and found some purple fabric that I thought would be perfect. It felt like a nice smooth cotton broadcloth. But then I prewashed it. Yikes! It is rough and heavier than I thought. I'm betting it is either Kona or Country solids from Jo Anns. Last year I made a blouse out of this fabric in gold, and although I like the blouse and the color, I never wear it because I hate the feel of the fabric.
The best blouse fabric I have ever used was this Japanese Cotton Lawn that I bought from Fabricmart years ago. I also bought a very similar lawn from Fabrics Fabrics in LA on a PR weekend that I love. I have bought other lawn fabrics online (they're hard to find in the stores around here) but have had varied results with them. That last pink and white blouse I made was supposed to be a lawn, but is actually thinner and sheerer than a batiste.


Well, I forgot all about this fabric. I bought 6 yards of it when I was in Uganda last year and at that time had planned on making a top and long skirt out of it for my trip this year. When I bought it they told me it was 100% cotton, but you can never believe anything any salesman tells you there. Most fabrics that I've purchased in Uganda feel as stiff as cardboard when you buy them, but wash up nicely. This one was no different. I couldn't believe when I took it out of the drier that it had NO wrinkles. This makes me wonder if it isn't part polyester. I don't really care and am glad for the no wrinkling since it will be packed and unpacked several times. It's thinner than some of the typical dress fabrics that they sell, so it will be cooler as well. I think I will make the next version of the McCalls blouse out of this fabric.
Hoping to get some sewing done today, but DH is getting ready to leave for a 5 day camping trip and then triathlon on Sunday. Our way-too-fat cat is going to the vet at 9. I have a hair appointment at 2 and meet with my trainer at 4:30. Busy day today, with weird gaps inbetween things. I'm sure I can squeeze some sewing time in :-)

McCalls 6035 blouse

Finished this princess seamed blouse (M6035) last night, but I'm disappointed because it is too small.
I was surprised when I cut it out because this is a multi- cup sized pattern, but the only piece that is different is the side front piece. Normally when you do a FBA on a princess seamed blouse, you increase the curve in the side front AND you lengthen the CF piece to accommodate the additional curve. This pattern does not change the CF piece for any cup size, so I found it extremely difficult to ease in the princess seam.
I'm going to try it again by widening the CF at the side front seam so as not to change the neck width or upper chest size. I am also going to add just 1/2" of length a the bust point to that same piece.



I think the fit is OK in the back. THe other problem is that the sleeves are too tight. Even though I made the sleeve bands a couple sizes bigger, they are still uncomfortable.

Stash Reduction - bit by bit

It is time to do something about my stash. First of all, it is a mess. Well, I guess it doesn't look that bad when I look at the picture, but things are on the wrong shelf, not folded right, and I have other piles of fabric on tables, in boxes, and in bins. This top shelf is supposed to be all jacket and coat materials


Shelf 2, knits and then some misc on the left stack.



This row is linens, rayons, and cottons





The fourth row is wools, blends, and bottom weights



There are some twills, denims, a box of linings, and who knows what else on the bottom.


I have all of my silks and silkies in another box




I haven't done any sewing in 2011 except within the last couple of weeks, but at least the following were made from stash
brown skirt
batiste top
Easter Dress









Grace's dress was made from new fabric, and even on sale, it wasn't that cheap coming out to over $15.00. A lot of my fabrics are woolens, wool blends, and coatings. BUT, I also have a lot of rayons, cottons, and other fabrics that will work well for summer. I am going to try to not buy any new fabric unless it is something I need for lining. In fact, I am going to keep track of garments made from new vs old. I'm going to keep at least a 2 old to 1 new and hopefully a much better ratio. I'm glad school will be out soon and I can do even more sewing. I still have this week on vacation and hope to get a lot done, although I have appts. every day this week and other things I need to get done. I WILL schedule some time for sewing each day!!

New Look 6891 - top #2

After loving Grace's top so much, I decided to make one for myself. I really like the top, but since I had to make some adjustments for myself (FBA and bigger in hips) I didn't want to use one of my "better" fabrics until I knew the fit was right. This is fine, but I can do some things better for next time. This fabric is a very thin batiste and very see through. For that reason, I'm wearing a cami under it. Good thing, because it is very loose in the chest - not the bust, but above that in the chest. I have this problem in a lot of blouses and on tanks or other tops that are open in the front, I have solved this by putting a small dart in the pattern piece (not the fabric) at the neckline about a 1/3 of the way down from the collar bone to the chest. There is probably a better way to fix this, but I haven't seen it addressed in any of my fit books.
Also, the next time I make this (for either her or me), I will raise the neckline a bit. it is pretty low and there is no leaning over in this blouse! Another think I will do is make this narrower in the upper back. Several reviewers have mentioned the same thing on this blouse, but I have this problem in most patterns as I have a narrow back. Apparently, so does my daughter because it fits the same way on her. Actually, I probably made it too big for her. The smallest size in this pattern is a 10, and according to the measurements, that would be her size, but in RTW I think she wears a 2 or some ridiculous size! LOL Anyway, she'll need the extra room once her tummy starts getting bigger :-)