Third Block of the Mystery Sew Red Sew-Along from Ellen March

We are so excited to hear about all the people who are participating in the Mystery Sew Red Sew-a-long! Thanks so much for joining us for the release of the third block!

All About Ellen

Ellen March started sewing at age 8. Growing up, sewing was always a big part of her life. Her grandmother was a seamstress by trade and her mother made all of her Halloween costumes, formal dresses and endless hair scrunchies throughout her school years. Since her mother and grandmother were such accomplished sewists, Ellen was always intimidated by having to make everything perfect. She began teaching herself to sew instead of following their guidance and found methods that made it easier, faster and more fun. 

At age 16, Ellen appeared in the educational film "Picking Your Patterns, Fabric & Notions," still available and used by home-ec teachers nationwide. She loved combining her love of sewing with her love of the stage and theater, never thinking that she would end up doing just that for her career.

After college, Ellen dabbled in theater costume design, winning an honorable mention in Los Angeles' Backstage West Garland Awards in 2001 for costuming A Midsummer Night's Dream. She also traveled the U.S. selling original fashions—tops, dresses, skirts and bags—at music festivals and craft fairs. 

Luckily, Ellen discovered a job opening at Sew News magazine in 2004. They were looking for a graphic designer, which Ellen is not! So she wrote a letter to the editor-in-chief, pleading for any kind of job with the magazine. It took 4 months, but Ellen was finally hired as the editorial assistant in 2005. Four years later she became the editor-in-chief and manager of all three sewing titles (Sew News, Creative Machine Embroidery (CME) and Sew it All) and is the host of the PBS series Sew it All. (Contact pbs.org to find air dates and showtimes.)

Ellen & Sew Red

Ellen was thrilled to be asked to be a part of Sew Red. A vegetarian since age 13, Ellen tries to live a healthy lifestyle and is passing that onto her son (who is also a vegetarian, for now). Learning that sewing can help lower blood pressure was an eye-opener for Ellen, and she passes that info on to the readers, viewers and fans of Sew News, CME and Sew it All as added benefits for beginning and continuing the hobby. She contributed the Panel Maxi Skirt, which is a favorite design of hers because it can be sized up or down easily, showcases coordinating cotton fabrics and looks great on kids and adults alike.

Ellen & the Sew-Along

Ellen wanted to feature machine embroidery in her block as an homage to Creative Machine Embroidery magazine. Of course, she still kept it simple and affordable by using easy piecing techniques and fabric scraps from her stash. 

We absolutely love the design and can't wait to get started!  Follow the link to the SewNews blog to get started on this month's block!