For the last two years, Janome Canada has partnered with the national organization, I Love First Peoples, which brings our love of sewing, and the Janome love to remote Indigenous communities across the country.
It was sew fun to finally meet in person the ILFP’s President and Co-Founders, Josée Lusignan and Director, Ian Speirs at Quilt Canada in Vancouver last June. We’ve had many, many meetings online the last two years, so it was wonderful to finally give them both a hug and see their smiling faces close up.
This year’s ILFP goal is to reach over 3500 students in 13 communities, so that means more sewing machines and more sewing supplies. Below is a photo of Josée with eager volunteers shipping sewing supplies to one of the schools.
Janome Canada has donated a number of fabulous Janome 2030 QDC machines to various schools as part of the I Love First Peoples Sew & Sew program, and we held a sewing donation drive in 2021 collecting much-need fabric and sewing supplies; 5 skids of 121 boxes, over 3000 pounds actually! Thank you to all who donated! You can read more about the donation drive and sorting process, HERE.
We’re thrilled to share with you some projects the budding young sewists in Igloolik, Nunavut have created using their new machines and supplies.
I love this jacket below and I’m personally thrilled to see more guys sewing. It’s 2023 people, lol! I think he did a great job, but here’s a quote from the sewist himself.
“I never thought I could make my own parka. The sewing machine was so nice to use and made it really easy for me.” Dasha grade 11
In the photo below, I think the smile shows how much this young lady enjoyed sewing herself some cozy new mittens.
“One day maybe I can make a business making mitts and art stuff to sell. I think I’m pretty good at it. We have so many nice machines and materials to do work with at our school.” Bernadette grade 11
It’s great to see teamwork amongst the students as we can all learn from one another. This photo took me back to my own days as a student in college studying Fashion Design.
There were many, many late nights in the studio when the instructors were long gone, so it was great to have fellow students to act as a sounding board to work out some ideas, or to learn some new techniques from each other. These were the days before the internet, so there was no You Tube to turn to, lol!
There are many ways to donate to help the schools share the love of sewing with students of all ages, so be sure to check out the I Love First Peoples website.
The students don’t just make garments, but are also learning to express their creativity in many ways.
I think the squares below would make a stunning unique quilt!
We’ll be sharing more about our ongoing partnership with I Love First Peoples on the Janome Life blog later in the year, so be sure to FOLLOW us so you don’t miss a post!
Happy Sewing!
Janome Life 
Thank you for this message, story and the inspiration to create, learn and guide us thru our days. I have my second Janome machine. They can be simple machines to operate. Thank goodness for the great booklet of instructions to guide us. Please don’t ever stop creating the book and detail instructions. Connie Dejong
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Hi Connie! Thank you sew much for your lovely feedback, and for sharing the Janome love! Happy Sewing!
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It is with great pride of being a Canadian that I applaud Janome for being a partner with this program. What a wonderful thing you are doing and it only makes me want to stay as a very loyal Janome customers. If you are doing another fabric donation collections, please let people know – we all have stashes of fabrics that we have purchased and our styles have changed and we don’t know what to do with all the fabric we no longer enjoy or like.
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Thank you sew much for your feedback, Sarah! There’s lots to arrange another donation drive, but it was a great success and yes, most of us sewists, quilters and crafters have way more supplies than we actually use, so it’s wonderful to pass them along to those who will make the most of them. We’ll certainly keep you posted! Thank you sew much for sharing the Janome love!
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The Sew & Sew program is amazing in itself, but what just Dasha and Bernadette presented is awe-inspiring! Although I live in Southern California, U.S., I am soooooo impressed with all the Janome Canada presentations, ideas and fun (just love you and Celine!!). This work by Janome Canada for the I Love First Peoples organization is just another reason I follow all you Canadians!! It is so important for young people to get to know the joy of sewing. The blocks created by the budding artists make me want to know each of them and to learn about their images and their artistic thoughts. From a long-distant admirer I thank you, Janomeman, for giving these marvelous young people a new, exciting skill and for always keeping us dedicated Janome enthusiasts/owners all over the world informed and excited about our machines!
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Hi Janet! Thank you SEW much for your wonderful feedback! I too, was blown away and inspired by the talents and skills of these young sewists. They are off to an amazing start and it’s so rewarding to see them make the most of their new machines and supplies.
I started sewing in high school, so helping share and support the I Love First Peoples Sew & Sew program which helps inspire the next generation of sewists is a cause near and dear to my heart, as well as Janome’s. Thank you sew much for sharing the Janome love!
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What a wonderful initiative. Loved seeing what the students are accomplishing.
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Thank you sew much for your wonderful, sweet feedback, Marion. We’re sew excited to share projects the students are creating with their fabulous new Janome sewing machines, and the supplies so generously donated. It’s great to see the next generation of sewists express their creative, and have lots of fun in the process. We have more to share later this year, so stay tuned! Happy Sewing!
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