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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Despite her rough morning, Ozanne was incredibly helpful.
Bri Ozanne was having a rough morning.
Thursday afternoon at the Medfield Library, Ozanne was teaching the group of women that had come to the Medfield Library for their twice-weekly crafts class how to make a “sewn zipper pouch,” essentially a coin purse that was made from whatever fabric the women chose to use.
“Once in a while, I’ll make something up” Ozanne explained. “But this one I lifted straight off of Pinterest.”
But the class had to start an hour late after Ozanne locked herself out of her own house.
Then, on her first attempt at sewing on a zipper, Ozanne sewed it on backwards - the second time she had made that mistake attempting to make this very craft.
“Guys, I am having a morning,” she explained after her failure. “I should have just stayed in bed today. Yikes!”
But after watching her teach the group how to safely cut the fabric with a rotary cutter, and how to use the zipper foot attachment to a sewing machine, it wouldn’t take long to understand why these women keep coming back to learn from her, no matter what mistakes she makes.
A lighthearted moment as the students select a fabric to use.
After a tutorial about using the zipper foot attachment of a sewing machine, it became clear that this was an advanced level of sewing.
But Medfield’s Kathy Brennan didn’t know how to use a zipper foot attachment. She didn’t know how to use a sewing machine. She didn’t even know how to sew. So, while the rest of the class fired away on their Pinterest-level crafts, Ozanne taught Brennan how to sew.
“The pedal is just like the gas pedal on a car - the faster you push down, the faster it goes,” she explained. “Most people who just start out think you have to push the fabric,” she added, “but you don’t - the machine has little teeth inside that will pull the fabric itself.”
And while Brennan was shaky on the machine, you never would have known, based on Ozanne’s reaction.
“There you go!” she said, patting on Kathy Brennan on the back. “You’re a natural!”
A student watches intently.
Why does a woman who doesn’t know how to sew come to a craft-making class - one that has made such difficult-to-create objects as embroidered pillows and stuffed birds made from quilting materials? For “aha” moments just like this.
“I have absolutely no craftiness, or crafts confidence,” Brennan told Hometown Weekly, “but Bri inspires me to try.”
Bri Ozanne had a rough morning, but she made up for it with a great afternoon.
