“Mrs. Eileen has had a wonderful impact on my life. I have been taking lessons and sewing with her for almost ten years now (since I started at age eight) and she has taught me so many valuable skills. She has stuck with me and always encouraged me to pursue projects I may not have thought I could have accomplished on my own. I have had the pleasure of working as her teaching assistant for the past two years and this opportunity has helped me grow both in my sewing and communication skills. Mrs. Eileen is constantly patient and understanding with the kids we work with and creates a fun learning environment for everyone involved. She has been a hugely influential part of my life and inspired me to continue to follow my passion for sewing.”

“My daughters have taken classes from Sew Creative for the past three years. What goes on in that shop is a beautiful thing! Ms. Eileen has been gifted with a unique talent. She is able to take a room full of novices and intricately organize them on various projects so that each student is reaching their fullest potential. She earnestly encourages, helps mend mistakes with a smile and celebrates accomplishments – big and small. Inside that shop, the students gain wisdom above that of how to make a button hole or add a zipper. They learn patience, perseverance, kindness towards others, and a spirit of enthusiasm that rivals that of any team sport. Sewing is a life skill that I am thankful my daughters will be able to carry with them forever.”

“I always identified as a creative, but sewing taught me to hone that energy into a process. When I started at Sew Creative (which was, at the time, housed in the back corner of the local Hancock Fabrics) I found a medium that was fluid yet demanding, freeform yet technical. Eileen taught us how to operate and care for a machine, read and execute patterns, and how to initiate and complete a project. With those skills came a sense of responsibility and purpose that was monumental in shaping my creative growth. For the first time in my life, art seemed viable and possible. Now on the far side of an art degree, I still attribute much of my growth to sewing. Though I use fibers in an entirely different way, the initiative I learned to harness in Queen’s classes still sparks at the face of a challenge. What she really taught us was not how to sew, but how to problem solve. That in itself is the core of being an artist, asking yourself a question you don’t yet have the answer to. That can be daunting, but Eileen taught us to brave the challenge.”