Search Results for: sewing at Bishop maginn

Sue Silverstein picked the perfect day to be outside, drawing sunflowers on the pavement.  That’s what her classes were doing today, to show support for the Ukrainians.  Some of the students made flower pins with “Peace” written on them and they sold them for 25 cents each, raising $200 to donate to the cause.

I got to see some of the students from my sewing classes.  Flosade and Dah Blue drew this giant flower together using Ukrainian colors.

Hser Nay kept an eye on Zinnia while Jon and I drew flowers, talked to the kids, and took pictures.

The last time we were at Bishop Magin they had just learned that the school would be closing at the end of the year.  Spirits were low.  But today had the good feeling that comes from helping others.  The Theology teacher as well as the Art teacher Sue is determined to keep the school going, not giving up on the students or the good work they do for others.

I didn’t get this student’s name but we talked for a while, artist to artist.  She was blending her chalk colors taking her time to get it just right.  She said she does most of the drawing on an iPad, which is not unusual for kids her age.

I hope to get back to Bishop Maginn and do some more sewing if there is any interest.  It’s hard to keep up extra activities as the year comes to an end.  But even if we don’t sew, I’ll be happy just to visit with the students.  The Army of Good came through once again and raised the money Jon hoped to get for the last Prom.  There are no definite plans yet, but I know it will be a very special evening.

I’m thinking of the students in my sewing class.  The regulars like Paris, Hser Nay, Jayla and Natalia.  And the kids that came once to learn a little about sewing because they were curious.

I’m thinking of them because they’re the kids I know.   But there are over a hundred kids that go to Bishop Maginn High School and this will be their last year together.

That’s one of the reasons why the Prom is so important this year.  Not only will it be the last one for Bishop Maginn but all the kids will have the opportunity to go to the Prom, not just the seniors.

In a way, it’s a celebration of the whole school and the students and teachers who made it so special over the years.

But to make the prom possible Bishop Maginn is in need of funding. That’s why Jon came up with the idea of asking for donations from the Army of Good to help make the last Prom at Bishop Maginn a very special one.

The teachers at the school know how to throw a Prom and Sue Silverstein said it’s actually easier when there are 100 kids than when there are 50.  So they know what to do, now they just need to raise some money to make it all possible.

So if you’d like to help you can send a check to Mike Tolan, Bishop Maginn School, 75 Park Avenue, Albany, N.Y., 12202; please write “Prom Fund” on the check memo.

If you wish to send small contributions or prefer sending money online,  you can send them to Jon Katz, Bishop Maginn (Prom Fund) via Paypal, [email protected], or through Venmo, Jon Katz@Jon-Katz-13(or by check, Jon Katz,   Bishop Maginn Prom Fund, P.O.  Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

Thank you!

Last night Sue Silverstein called Jon and me and told us that Bishop Maginn High School was closing at the end of the school year for financial reasons.

As sad as it is, it’s not all bad news.  Sue will be teaching at a Catholic school nearby and many of the Refugee students will be going with her.  Some of them will receive a grant to pay their tuition.

The new school has more resources so the kids will have more opportunities.  Jon wrote about the move beautifully on his blog you can read all about it here. 

Mother Mary will be going to the new school too.  When Sue told us that Bishop Maginn was closing she sent me a text about Mother Mary.  She wrote…

“I am unbearably honored to have had someone buy this quilt for me and my kids. I will take it with me where ever I am. Just like high five Jesus (the statue of Jesus in the lobby of the school), it will keep us safe with the love from both of you and Mary who never fails me.  I am honored and humbled. “

Jon and Zinnia are invited to the new school and the refugee kids and their families will still need help from the Army of Good.  And I’ll go with them when I can.  There’s still the rest of the school year to go at Bishop Maginn so I’ll be back there sewing with Paris and Hser Nay and anyone else who wants to learn.

I finished sewing the blue lace on Mother Mary today. Now I just have to put the backing on her.

I’ll bring her to Sue at Bishop Maginn in two weeks after the Winter break.  So Mother Mary will get to hang in Sue’s wonderful art room at Bishop Maginn for a little while at least.  And I have no doubt that she’ll fit right in at Sue’s new classroom next year.

Jon and I are returning to Bishop Maginn High School today.  We stayed away for the month after the Christmas break because of the rising numbers of Covid.  But it’s safe again.

I’m not sure if they’ll be set up for sewing, but  I’ll be bringing some soft fleece fabric that Karen sent to me.  Maybe we can make it into a baby blanket or a scarf.

Sue said that the first weeks of classes after the Christmas break were some of the hardest days she’s had as a teacher.  But things are getting back to post covid normal now.

The last time I was in the classroom Paris, one of the students who has been learning to sew, showed me a painting she was working on.  It was a self-portrait of her head in her hands, grasping at her hair. It showed the anguish she was experiencing since the pandemic began.  Since then Sue Silverstein put together their annual art presentation that usually hangs in the Albany Plaza.

This year as well as last, it’s a virtual presentation.

The good part of that is that I can share it with you.  Just click here to see some of the wonderful art the kids in Sue’s class have been making.  Jon posted this earlier in the month and some of the art was sold to people who saw it on his blog.  Enjoy!

A few weeks ago someone sent me Christmas fabric for the students at Bishop Maginn to work with.  None of them showed any interest in it till today.

Today everyone wanted to make a Christmas Potholder.  With a few weeks of experience,  most of them were able to get a potholder done in one day.    I could really see how much they had learned.

Camela, the student who knew how to thread a sewing machine, but not sew, was back.  She had her potholder all pinned together and ready to sew, but decided she wanted to use Christmas fabric instead. So she began again, getting good practice in piecing it toghere.  She did a great job sewing it on the machine and when it came time for her to sew the opening closed by hand, Natalia helped her.

Natalia was so uncertain when she first started sewing three weeks ago.  Now she’s showing other students what to do.  She said she’s going to give her potholder to her mother for Christmas.

This is the second potholder that Jayla finished.  All the students are still having a hard time making the hangers.  I’m thinking of a new way of showing them how to do it for the next class.

When I got to Sue’s classroom, the sewing cart that Jon ordered was there. One of Sue’s students put it together and organized all the sewing tools in the drawers.  All the potholders in process were in one draw so it made it easy for everyone to find their work from the week before.

I’m going to try to get some loose balsam for the next class to make small sachets.  It should be something we can make quickly as a last-minute Christmas gift for those who want to make them.

She just stepped in and started helping. I asked her name and told her mine, but I’m bad with names and forgot it the next moment.  I didn’t think to ask again or write it down, I was too busy going from one person to the next, showing them how to make a potholder along with helping to untangle bobbins and re-thread machines.

Everyone did get a potholder started, including the girl whose name I’ll get next class.  She understood the workings of a sewing machine, but didn’t know how to sew.  Jayla was the only one to finish her potholder, the others put theirs away till next class.

I brought my Gees Bend Quilt book thinking some of the students might be interested in sewing what other quilters have done.  They were polite about it, pretending to glance through, but all they really wanted to do was make something.

I admired that, they know how they want to spend their time,  and they wanted to create.

I was once again struck by how the students help each other.  They’re ll eager to show someone else what they’ve learned and are just as easy in getting help.

They work around each other comfortably, a little sewing dance, as they circle and trade places to cut their fabric, iron and sew.  They are also  generous, passing scissors back and forth and giving each other time on the sewing machines.

I feel like I’m beginning to understand what they want to learn, by what they make.  Small simple things are a good place to start.  They also want to make things they can give to other people.

Sue Silverstein wanted to learn how to make a potholder too.  But even though it’s the lunch period, she was caught up in all the many things she does. So she was counting on one of the kids to show her.  Which they’d be happy to do.

The hour always goes too quick.

Next time we’ll get there a little early and I’ll set up the new sewing cart  and plastic bin for fabric, that we’re getting with some of the donations some of you have given me.  It’s much needed since there isn’t a lot of storage space in Sue’s classroom.  And  it should make things a little easier, to be able to quickly find what we need.

I think Sue will appreciate it for cleaning up too.

Debbie’s quilt is the last of the quilt tops that the kids at Bishop Maginn will be tacking.  Sue said they spend time after school taking the quilts and learning to sew on the new sewing machines.

Debbie’s quilt is 50 years in the making. She began started sewing the applique design and when she knew she wasn’t going to finish it, got some help from a friend who was a quiltmaker.  But that’s as far as it went, the quilt top sat in storage for years. Until now, when it has been reawakened and will not only help keep an Afghan Refugee warm this winter but bring a little beauty into their lives also.

Jon and I will bring Debbie’s quilt to Bishop Maginn this morning.  We’re going to help fill some of the Thanksgiving baskets that so many of you helped buy the food for (thank you!)  then I’ll teach another sewing class.

This afternoon  Jon and I drove to Joann Fabric in Glens Falls to get sewing needles to tack the quilts I’m bringing to Bishop Maginn tomorrow.

Sue Silverstein assured me that she has some students who love to sew and will be eager to learn how to tack the quilts.  I’m looking forward to going tomorrow and showing them how to do it.

When we got home from getting the needles, I went through one of the boxes of fabric that Jill sent me.  In the bottom, I found a quilt top.  Like the others, it had never been made into a quilt.  It had a couple of tears in it but they were in places where I could just cut the quilt and sew it back together again.

So this evening I put together one more quilt.  I have a feeling I’ll come across another quilt top at some point and be able to use up the rest of the batting.  Then  I’ll bring it to the kids in Sue’s class and they’ll know how to finish it off.

I slipped the gold stretchy band around the stack of Price Chopper gift cards that people sent to Jon and put them in the priority envelope addressed to Sue Silverstein.  She’ll distribute them to the families of the kids, who go to Bishop Maginn High School, and don’t have money for food.

I’d been thinking of what to use as a substitute for the 1/4″ elastic I need to make more face masks when I thought of the gold stretchy band.  It originally came from a pack of Carol Conklin’s note cards.  I saved it knowing I would use it someday.

So I messaged Carol and she told me she got them from Clearbags.  They had plenty in stock so I got a hundred- 14″ elastic stretch loops.  They’ll be here in a week.

But I offered to make a couple of masks for friends and now a week seems like a long time away.

So I was all ready to make some masks with ties (which I heard slip easily so resisted making them) when I thought of the sewing box of notions that Bev, from Carroll’s Trading Post left on the back porch for me.

I was already able to share some elastic from the notion box with my friend Emily who needed it to repair one of her Bellydancing skirts.  I knew there was more 1′ elastic in the box, so I thought I’d see if I could cut it down to 1/4″.

But as I was looking through it, I found a package that I hadn’t seen before, of 1/4″ elastic.

It seemed like a little bit of magic to me. Like that box of notions that will always have just what I need.

So tonight I’m going to make a few more face masks.  I’ll send the few off to my friends and have some for whoever else may need them.

And when I need to make more face masks,  I have about 10 more yards of 1/4″ elastic that I’ll be getting in about 2 weeks.