Hi, my name is Ginny Stein and I am the NG leader of Hoopla Sisters, a machine embroidery group. As a young girl I had a grandmother, aunt and Mom who were sewists, knitters and crocheters. During the summers, my Mom taught me how to hand embroider and do crewel needlework. My high school graduation present was the best Singer sewing machine with all the cams which I had and used till 1992. Then I bought my first partially electronic sewing machine which had a display and 350 stitches and sewed over pins. I still have this Pfaff machine. In 2006, I attended a class to make holiday placemats and in the pattern there was some machine embroidery. This was just about the time the embroidery machines were starting to use USB sticks and not floppy discs. I was hooked and spent a month researching and testing machines to see what one I liked the best and who offered the best support and classes.
One day when I was at a local shop taking a class I noticed an ASG brochure at the store. I picked it up and a few days later called the ASG number on the back of the brochure who referred me to Becky Bieri who was then president of the Plano chapter of ASG. When I spoke with her, she said that the chapter did not have any group that was for machine embroiderers, but I could start a neighborhood group. So Hoopla Sisters (name chosen by the group) was formed in May 2014.
Hoopla Sisters meets the third Tuesday of each month at 10:30am at my home. We have about 70 women with all different brands of machines who follow the group and 15-20 attend each month. Our monthly programs are about machine embroidery techniques, designs and show and tell. We don’t bring our machines. At some meetings we have professionals in the field come and give demos and show us how to create one of their projects. We also have
hands-on classes and we go on “road trips” to various local stores to see what they sell and what classes they offer.
We have a lot of fun and everyone enjoys learning, sharing and helping each other. I have made many sewing friends in Hoopla Sisters and the Plano ASG and have learned a lot. For me it is always exciting to take an idea and create something to give as a gift or for myself and I think this is true for all of us. So come join us!
Examples of the embroidery work we do in our group meetings.
