As the pandemic continues, two things have become worrisome for participants in Family and Consumer Sciences programming.  One worry is money as employment remains unstable and the cost of basic supplies is rising by the day.  The second issue is the mental health status of participants who have pandemic fatigue.   In order to address both of these issues, a year-long “Sew Smart” class was taught with the objectives of teaching people how to save money on Christmas gifts by learning how to make presents at home using items they may have on hand and to use Zoom as a platform for people to socialize and learn new skills to lessen the negative mental health effects of the pandemic while maintaining a Covid-safe environment for people to learn.

Starting in January 2021, Sew Smart was offered once per month in the evenings.  A supply list was sent with a Zoom link to participants for each class.  Together, each person watched a technique and then repeated the action to learn sewing skills such as applique, stitch-in-the-ditch, free motion quilting, adding lining to projects, installing zippers and much more.  There were 29 who participated in the classes.   Evaluation after the yearlong program showed that 100% of participants learned a new sewing technique they had never tried before.  74% of participants stated after the sewing classes they had improved mood and 100% of participants indicated they would be giving at least one of the items they made during the class as a gift during the holiday season.

Because of the great success of the Sew Smart class, a new 11-month sewing class is being started in January 2022 called Quilting Quagmires.  It will continue to support the objectives of saving money and promoting good mental health practices as the Covid numbers continue to rise in 2022.