Local sewing group gathers to make clothing for homeless children in Brevard and beyond
By Angela Bozorth
For Hometown News
BREVARD - For the past 15 years, one Brevard-based group has shared a common desire to connect with its community through needle and thread.
"We teach one other different things, and we all just enjoy sewing," said Marsha Lufton, a three-month member of the Melbourne Seaside Stitchers, who has been sewing since the age of 5.
However, the 25-member group, which meets twice a month, doesn't sew simply for themselves. Its members strive to help others throughout the world, as well as on a local level - most recently, a group of homeless children in Melbourne.
While group leader Shirley Muzzy of Melbourne and co-leader Sharon Dow of Malabar assist the group in making cancer caps, lap quilts and day gowns for patients of local hospitals, additional projects are also added such as the exquisite, one-of-a-kind Christmas stockings for clients of the South Brevard Women's Center in Melbourne and the Space Coast Early Intervention Center in Melbourne, as well as for men and women, serving in the military, through the Brevard-based program, Operation America Standing in Support.
While they have spent the past few years creating dresses and shorts for children in Haiti, group members recently decided to initiate a project a little closer to home by providing clothing for local children in need.
Earlier this summer, members, who are from all over Brevard, began the process of selecting patterns, gathering quality fabrics and supplies, then carefully cutting, stitching and pressing clothing for children, ranging in age from 5 to 7.
Two times a month, the ladies work and laugh and enjoy one another's company at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Melbourne.
Each member handles her sewing machine like a pro. Most said they were taught how to sew by their mothers, and the average age they first began sewing was about 7.
As the summer draws to an end, more than two-dozen charming outfits for both boys and girls have been completed, with custom accessories such as handmade totes. The clothing will soon be dispersed to children in need at four Melbourne-based elementary schools.
"This will become an ongoing project," said Ms. Muzzy, who also makes doll clothes for children at the South Brevard Women's Center.
While the project is still in the beginning stages, the ladies said they are looking forward to adding it to such ongoing activities as creating placemats for the Brevard branch of Meals on Wheels and hygiene bags for The Daily Bread in Melbourne, as well as hosting food drives for the South Brevard Women's Center.
Ms. Muzzy and Ms. Dow, along with the rest of the ladies of the group, openly welcome others interested in sewing.
The Melbourne Seaside Stitchers meet the first Monday of the month at 9 a.m., unless it is a holiday, at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 12 E. Ave. A in Melbourne.
For more information about Melbourne Seaside Stitchers, contact Shirley Muzzy at (321) 254-2206 or shirleymuzzy@aol.com.