About this episode
Get your stitch together for BlackTOBER! Check out the following classes and custom fabric options. Yes YOU can make a bra! Nikki G, Sewing my style Yes YOU can acid dye fabric for that bra! Deborah Grayson, @colorfulfindings Yes YOU can buy holiday fabrics with Black people on it! Queenora Renee Fabrics Support the Stitch Please podcast and Black Women Stitch Buy these amazing STITCH PLEASE pattern weights Made by Bianca Springer of Thanks I Made Them! 20% of September purchases will be donated to us! $15 to the Paypal account for a Black Women Stitch lapel pin! DM or email your mailing to address for free USA shipping. You can also use Cash App Sustained financial support also appreciated here: For as little as $2 a month, your Patreon support means a lot: Join here Patreon FREE SUPPORT Is also appreciated. If monetary support isn't possible, no problem! Please rate, review, subscribe to the podcast. Tell a friend to do the same! This really helps the podcast to increase its visibility. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Find out more about Najah Carroll on her website and on Instagram Join her newsletter to receive a free chapter of her ebook, Najah shares part of her story here: A few years ago, I "lost my sewjo" when life and work overwhelmed me all at once and activated my go-to coping skill: Strong Black Woman Survival Mode. I put my family and job ahead of my own needs, got real efficient at "running shit", and further away from my creativity. Garment sewing and writing stories about it on my blog had become my main self-care practice because it was freeing me from an adulthood of ill-fitting ready-to-wear (I am short and curvy) and fully engaged my brain and hands in something meant just for me. When I stopped keeping and making sewing promises to myself, I was determined to find out why and began a quiet journey of self-examination. I re-read the book by bell hooks that saved me in college, Sisters of the Yam: Black Women & Self-Recovery and began some much needed inner work and healing. The process is on-going. When the pandemic hit, I was triggered back into SBM mode. This time I recognized it! Those lost sewjo feelings were my call to action. I reached out to the sewing community, found out I wasn't alone and started writing, plugging holes in my self-care, and therapy-sewing my way out of the shadows. I called it my Sewjo Reclamation Project and immediately created my first sewing social media meme with an image from the movie, How Stella Got Her Groove Back. From there, I decided to self-publish my first writings as a for-profit ebook instead of on my blog. This is a transition for my platform that aligned with my 2019 transition to independent consulting from 20 years in the tech industry. The first chapter of my ebook is called "3 Reasons Why Passionate Women Lose Their Sewing Mojo" and is available for free download by my email subscribers. They will be the first to know when the ebook is available for purchase in September. To bring awareness to my Sewjo Reclamation Project, I have also begun live-streaming answers to questions from the sewing community about sewjo reclamation to my Instagram followers. Sharing my ideas, stories, and vulnerabilities has been its own healing experience. My intention is to help other passionate women reclaim their sewjo by transforming their craft into a ritual of self-care. Sign up for the Black Women Stitch quarterly newsletter Check out our merch here Leave a BACKSTITCH message and tell us about your favorite episode. Join the Black Women Stitch Patreon Check out our Amazon Store Stay Connected: YouTube: Black Women Stitch Instagram: Black Women Stitch Facebook: Stitch Please Podcast