From the Newsroom

Many of you have heard me talk about Nicole Sauce and her “Living Free in Tennessee” podcast. I’ve been listening to her podcast since about episode #8—she’s up to episode number one thousand and something now—and have also been to the Spring Workshop she holds every April at her homestead in Tennessee. I will present the Member Webinar on April 21 at 6 pm Central time:

You can attend the webinar even if you are not an LFTN member. The cost is $35. I’ll be talking about clothing care, mending, basic sewing skills, and other topics that are relevant to homesteaders, but you’re welcome to join even if you aren’t one! See you then!

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ABC News posted a very interesting article on its website the other day about the increasing need for skilled sewists. And the article included a mention about Nordstrom:

To address a worsening labor shortage, the fashion industry is looking to create a new generation of master tailors.

Nordstrom, North America’s largest employer of tailors and alteration specialists, teamed up with New York's Fashion Institute of Technology to launch a nine-week program in advanced sewing and alteration techniques.

“Customarily, tailoring has never been part of the American skill set,” said FIT instructor and Broadway costume builder Michael Harrell, who teaches the course.

The fashion institute received 200 applications for the inaugural cohort of 15 students, who started in October and received certificates of completion in February, said Jacqueline Jenkins, the executive director of the school's Center for Continuing and Professional Studies.

The hands-on training was designed to prepare participants to work at Nordstrom. The luxury department store chain employs 1,500 people to provide tailoring and alternations, from hemming jeans and repairing rips to fitting suits and reworking evening gowns.

Ten members of the first class were hired or are in the process of being hired, Marco Esquivel, Nordstrom’s director of alterations, said.

I mentioned this to DD#2, who is a buyer at Nordstrom, and she said that it sounds like it has been a very successful program. I hope it continues to grow.

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I ended up not teaching my mastery class yesterday; one student had to cancel due to a funeral and the other one never showed up. I ran some errands and was home by noon. I could have worked on the rental house painting project but I didn’t want to change my clothes. (I know that sounds silly, but I have days when I have to change outfits a couple of times and it gets tiring.) I worked on some sewing projects. The second half of the Rosebud Quilt Coat collar is done:

Now I just need to finish the assembly.

The husband came home around 3:30 pm, so we went into town to pick up the Jeep. It is back to factory condition and the shop detailed the interior, too. I am glad to have it back and I hope that nothing else happens to it.

I have some paperwork to attend to first thing this morning and then I am going to finish the painting project.