A Sewing Miscellany

I've been roaming the 'Net, searching for solutions to some sewing problems, and, as usual, I have found interesting tangentially-related resources. Too good to forget about, but without an underlying theme, I submit some more links for your amusement and edification.

• Vintage Sewing Reference Library:

  Vintage Sewing Reference Library, Inc. offers free online access to public domain sewing books....Most of the books published at VintageSewing.info include detailed instructions on how to (fit a pattern, insert a zipper, make a bound buttonhole). If you are creating a garment for a specific year, go to the long table of contents for the books for that year and you will probably find it listed; otherwise, do a search for (fit pattern, zipper, bound buttonhole) and see what turns up.

• The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Quilters' Collective History.

  Gee's Bend is a small rural community nestled into a curve in the Alabama River southwest of Selma, Alabama....After the Civil War, the freed slaves took the name Pettway, became tenant farmers for the Pettway family, and founded an all-black community nearly isolated from the surrounding world....The town's women developed a distinctive, bold, and sophisticated quilting style based on traditional American (and African American) quilts, but with a geometric simplicity reminiscent of Amish quilts and modern art. The women of Gee's Bend passed their skills and aesthetic down through at least six generations to the present.

• My New Slipcover: One woman's step-by-step account of slip covering a couch. She provides excellent photos and enough detail to make the page serve as a tutorial.
• Sewing.org Sewing Enthusiast Page. This is a directory of free sewing projects, patterns and directions. The Home Sewing Association (HSA) is a not-for-profit organization that represents members from every facet of the sewing industry. Our goal is to Get People Sewing!
• Free Quilt Patterns. Looking for some inspiration or your next quilt project? You'll find it right here...There are 1017 different sites linked below and they ALL offer FREE QUILT PATTERNS!! That gives you thousands of free quilt patterns to choose from!