LIHU‘E — Ryana Terao, 8, had already developed an interest, but waiting for two years was just too long.
“She picked up the interest when I took part in the Quilt of the Month program and started sewing,” said Billie Terao, Ryana’s mother. “I’m glad they started taking 8-year-olds because originally, you had to be 10 years old to take the sewing class.”
Erika Hessheimer, the manager of the Singer store in Lihu‘e waived that requirement, and on Wednesday, three 8-year-old sewing enthusiasts silently worked on their individual projects.
“When I was young, I wanted to sew,” Hessheimer said. “Then, when I got older, I lost that desire. When I got a little older, I wanted to sew, again, and I learned. It’s always good to get the children when they’re young.”
The children are part of Singer’s Summer Sewing Class that Billie Terao relates to the days when young girls would attend sewing classes at homes of seamstresses and other sewing instructors during the summer months.
Jaeda Vega, another of the 8-year-old students, was working alongside her 12-year-old sister, Kendra.
“This is the first time they’ve ever sewed, and because Erika allowed the 8-year-olds, they’re sewing together,” said their grandmother who watched the developing quilts take shape.
Singer’s sewing class is three weeks in duration with the class meeting twice each week at the store, Hessheimer said. During the class, the students produce a pillow, a 9-Patch Surprise quilt, and close off the class by creating a handbag.
“They learn a lot of sewing techniques,” Hessheimer said. “During the first week, they learned how to make a buttonhole. They’ll learn about elastic, and a lot of other good sewing techniques. The idea is not to get the students bored, but to keep them excited about sewing.”
As the students worked through their individual quilt pieces on machines at the Singer store, a surprise popped up when the students discovered they could enter their projects in the crafts section of the upcoming Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau Fair.
“When Ryana finished her first project, she had a big smile on her face and she said, ‘I feel like a champion,’” Billie said. “She and I do crafts together, and now, she’s learning to sew, so being able to participate in the Farm Fair is exciting.”
Visions of a blue ribbon popped up in another student’s mind, Juliah Peck, also 8, who quickly raised her hand in response to the idea of entering her quilt in the Fair.
Hessheimer said the summer sewing class is only one of a variety of projects Singer shoppers can engage in.
In addition to the Quilt of the Month program that Billie Terao is engaged in, a program she read about in The Garden Island, Hessheimer said there is a Block of the Month program where shoppers create a quilt block that will eventually end up in a quilt destined for military personnel stationed overseas.
Another shopper offered up the Scrap Therapy program that meets and gets rid of the overflow of scrap pieces at the store, and in order to provide even more variety, Hessheimer said there is an Embroidery Club for those interested in that area.
“Whenever I get stressed out, my husband tells me to start sewing something,” said LuAnne Smith, one of the Singer staffers that was helping the young class. “Sewing is good therapy. And, it’s cheaper than a psychiatrist.”
Smith said with the economic hard times, more shoppers are turning to sewing as a way of getting back to basics.
“The beauty of sewing is that these young students will keep their projects for a long time,” Smith said. “And they’ll learn about sewing.”
Hessheimer invites people to stop in and sign up for the store’s e-mail newsletter that offers the starting dates and times for the various classes and programs offered by the store.
Online Video
Visit us online to watch video footage of these young stitchers threading the needle.
Stay awhile; TGI posts many videos on various events around Kaua‘i!
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com
