Below them is a long table with eight state-of-the-art Baby Lock and Bernina sewing machines, and a large table with chairs that does not quite hide a side alcove full of pattern books and fabric.
This is where Half Moon Bay resident Tracy Evans hopes that “someone who has never sewed before, falls in love with it and becomes passionate about it. To really love the art of sewing … to ignite a love of sewing.”
  
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“This is the gift of time to yourself, to play with what you’re creating,” said Evans, who says sewing combines an end product you make and the fun of seeing it take shape.
While the machine hums, she pointed out, participants can give free rein to creativity and self-expression through a lost art that, due to the economy, is returning to mainstream culture.
Growing up in Southern California, Evans admits to having “always had a passion for making things.” Eventually that passion took her to study fashion design at Brooks College in Long Beach, and then into her own business of costume design, creating old-fashioned country dresses for girls and women.
But the advent of punk rock and fashion icons like Cyndi Lauper “stole my thunder,” she said, as the old-style dresses fell out of favor. She focused on marriage and starting a family, only occasionally sewing household necessities like curtains or table linens.
Four years ago, her husband’s work brought the family to the Bay Area, and Evans discovered a nook in San Francisco which provided sewing machines and a place for customers to bring their own projects. That, plus a Cañada College sewing class, “rekindled my passion for sewing,” and she set about fulfilling it.
So she developed Sew La Vie, where she plans to hold informal classes where sewers can bring in projects, use the machines and sew together.
“I always loved teaching,” she said, “but this is more about people and having fun.”
As soon as school is out, she said she’d like to hold classes for all ages. Though she is still working out the details, she plans to customize them depending on how many people, of what ages, sign up.
Machines and patterns will be provided, and Evans will offer help. She said fees would be $25 per lesson, and $10 per hour for use of the machines, with free instruction.
“You can go as fast or slow as you want” in learning to sew, she said.
But doing it together is the crux of Sew La Vie.
“It’s about giving ourselves time, and it’s about other people,” Evans said. “When you’re in a group sewing, the process is pleasant but it’s also the company.”
Sewing, once a mainstay of home life, is a lost art, Evans said, but added that it’s a terrific way to rediscover creativity and save money.
“It’s an opportunity to learn about something you can love doing,” she said.
“We’re in an era of mass production, where we’re being told what we’re supposed to be enjoying,” said Kerri Lake, another sewing fan who helps Evans. “But we each have our own imagination to bring.”
And, “In this economy, we’re back to an era of making our own things, and basic mending,” said Evans.
Sewing together also meets a basic need, she added. “There is such a disconnect in our daily lives,” she said. Beset with daily obligations, “For women, it’s hard to get together and do things with your friends. This is finding a way to reconnect, another outlet for discovering our own enjoyment.”
Sew La Vie can be reached at (650) 276-3456.
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