Laura Smith, President
Laura joined the Rochester Chapter of the ASG in 2019. She got her start in sewing by attending a beginning quilters class in the early 1990s with her mother. She really enjoyed the class but didn’t sew more than a pillowcase or two until 2018 when she was gifted a sewing machine by her mother-in-law. She then dabbled a bit with table runners but really began to learn and grow in her sewing abilities at the start of 2021.
When she’s not sewing, Laura works part-time as Office Manager at a local heating company. She also works part-time at a local quilt shop as a salesclerk, teacher, and sews samples for the shop. She lives on a small farm in Sodus with her husband, Jamie.
Laura enjoys sewing with the members of the Webster Neighborhood Group, and really enjoys the winter retreat.
You can contact Laura at laurasue0313@aol.com
Marcia Turpyn, Treasurer
Marcia joined our chapter when she retired from Kodak, about 15 years ago. As a young girl, Marcia made Barbie Doll clothes, and learned how to sew in 4-H Clubs and in Girl Scouts. In her eighth grade home economics class, Marcia learned how to sew skirts, dresses and jumpers and enjoyed wearing them while in high school. Her first sewing machine was a Singer.
Marcia enjoys making full size and small quilts, bags, pillowcases and Christmas ornaments. She attends meetings of the Byron-Bergen, Greece, Webster and Gates Neighborhood Groups, where she has many friends. Marcia learns new sewing techniques by attending Neighborhood Group meetings, watching You Tube videos, and taking in-person classes
When she is not sewing, Marcia likes to read, swim at the YMCA, knit and crochet, and work in her garden.
Contact Marcia at maturpyn@gmail.com.
Jeanette Gruttadauria, First Vice President
Jeanette joined ASG in 2003. Her Mom was her first sewing teacher and she also sewed with friends in her Girl Scout Troop. Jeanette enjoys sewing garments and small scale home dec projects. She attends the Great Garment and Embroidery Group meetings and loves learning new sewing techniques by seeing them demonstrated in person or by watching You Tube videos.
When she’s not sewing, you will find Jeanette dancing and performing in community theater productions. She also likes to crochet and volunteers weekly at Sew Green. Jeanette and her husband Steve reside in Greece.
Contact Jeanette at jeangrutta@gmail..com.
Paula Fahy-Second Vice President
Paula joined the Sewing Guild shortly after retiring through the encouragement of Lorraine Anderson, her longtime high school friend. She first learned to sew in her high school home economics class. Throughout high school, and for a few years after, she made most of her own clothes. At that time her specialty was A-line skirts and pull-on bell bottom pants. Then kids and a career got in the way of her sewing and the sewing machine was abandoned for a number of decades.
Paula graduated from St. John Fisher College and later received her MS and CAS in Counseling Education from SUNY Brockport. She worked at Monroe Community College for 37 years. Retirement brought the opportunity to get back into sewing and her other passion which is watercolor painting.
Paula is a member of the Henrietta Brighton Neighborhood Group but also periodically visits the Webster Group. She has learned a lot from neighborhood group demonstrations and the volunteer projects. Watching You Tube Videos has also been an excellent source for inspiration. She has learned that she has an affinity for fabric scraps. She loves the small projects where even that tiny piece of fabric can be put to use. Her favorite Guild event is the fabric sale in the spring with table after table stacked high with remnants. Usually she is attracted to the color and the print. Later she figures out what she can make.
Laurie Fromm, Fabric Bolt Editor
Laurie joined the chapter in 2023. She had no idea it was such a large group with so many neighborhoods and things to do. She was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and lived there until she was 14. Laurie learned to sew when she was about 7 or 8. Her mom was their 4H leader and she taught the group to sew. Laurie attended MCC then Genesee Hospital of Nursing where she earned her RN degree. She soon discovered that nursing was not the right fit and she retired from nursing to become a full-time mom of two daughters. Laurie eventually got hired at Northgate Joann Fabrics where she became the fabric manager and continued her love of sewing. She later left Joann’s and worked at Xerox for a senior VP in sales. At one time she had her own business, sewing everything from wedding gowns to slipcovers to men’s suits. She was well- known for the costumes she made for Marilyn Schneider School of Dance. She taught sewing lessons at Joann Fabrics for several years and later in her home. She began quilting in 1980 when she was pregnant with her second child. She purchased a Vogue pattern and made her daughter a quilt using leftovers from the clothing she had made for Carin. Unfortunately, she had no idea why quilter’s used only cotton fabric. The beautiful quilt she made for her new baby shredded with the knits, pajama fabric and all the others, but it was loved to death. In 2014 she got her first embroidery machine and has so enjoyed making embroidery projects along with quilting them. She is mostly self-taught but has recently started taking more classes to better her quilting skills. When she is not quilting, she can be found in the pool at the YMCA, walking at the Greece Community Center, or spending time with her 5 grandchildren. Laurie and her husband John have 2 antique cars (Hudson Hornet and a Hudson Jet) and enjoy many events with the car club.
Lorraine Anderson, Email Manager, Secretary
Lorraine is mostly a self-taught sewist and began her sewing journey at the age of four, when she began sewing on a child’s plastic sewing machine. Lorraine attended college at Monroe Community College, where she earned her R.N. degree. Prior to retiring, Lorraine worked at the Hurlbut Care Communities.
If you visit Lorraine at home, you will find her creating clothing and home dec items, sewing for family and friends, making purses and bags and working on charity projects. Lorraine previously served as our chapter president for four years. In addition to leading the Machine Embroidery Group, Lorraine enjoys attending meetings of the Webster Neighborhood Group and the Great Garment Group.
She learns sewing techniques by attending ASG meetings and attending classes taught in fabric stores. On the rare occasion that Lorraine is not sewing, you will find her reading a good book.
Contact Lorraine at lorrainecansew@gmail.com.
Rachel Mundschau, Website and Facebook Manager
Rachel joined our chapter in 2020 after seeing a National Sewing Month display in the Pittsford Library. This means she first “met” chapter members by Zoom! She started off her sewing adventure by making a queen-size quilt to celebrate her wedding in 1992. She learned a lot from that venture…like using 100 percent cotton for quilts is much better than using cheap poly-cotton blends and that there are more efficient ways to cut out quilt squares than tracing each one individually with a fabric marker. These days, Rachel enjoys sewing garments and the challenge of altering patterns to fit. She, along with several other ASG-Rochester members, teaches sewing to two different groups of youth through 4-H. When she is not sewing, Rachel enjoys reading, baking, and spending time with her family.
Contact Rachel at rachel.mundschau@gmail.com