Kathy Scioneaux, a co-founder of the Seauxing Seeds Foundation and ministry, teaches Evie Arington the basics of sewing, new skills the preteen is using to make a tote bag. In addition to teaching this ancient domestic art to students who want to learn to sew, the ministry also uses volunteers to help make and donate items for special needs children and others served by Seauxing Seeds' community partners such as The Northlake Crisis Pregnancy Center, Northshore Enduring Hope and Basket of Hope.
Connie Haydel looks at some fabric that volunteers put together for Seauxing Seeds Studio. The church ministry was started by Haydel and her friend, Kathy Scioneaux. Scioneaux and Haydel shared a vision that they brought to life.
Kathy Scioneaux watches as the Covington mother-daughter duo of Teresa and Evie Arrington, 10, learn to sew carryall bags.
Kathy Scioneaux, left, helps Teresa Arrington with her basic sewing skills.
Toni Lanieer sew some burp clothes at Seauxing Seeds Studio, where volunteers gather to sew and donate blankets, masks, burp cloths and other essential items of care through Seaux-It-Forward - one of several activities carried out there.
Some of the items sew at Seauxing Seeds Studio.
Kathy Scioneaux, a co-founder of the Seauxing Seeds Foundation and ministry, teaches Evie Arington the basics of sewing, new skills the preteen is using to make a tote bag. In addition to teaching this ancient domestic art to students who want to learn to sew, the ministry also uses volunteers to help make and donate items for special needs children and others served by Seauxing Seeds' community partners such as The Northlake Crisis Pregnancy Center, Northshore Enduring Hope and Basket of Hope.
Connie Haydel looks at some fabric that volunteers put together for Seauxing Seeds Studio. The church ministry was started by Haydel and her friend, Kathy Scioneaux. Scioneaux and Haydel shared a vision that they brought to life.
Kathy Scioneaux watches as the Covington mother-daughter duo of Teresa and Evie Arrington, 10, learn to sew carryall bags.
Kathy Scioneaux, left, helps Teresa Arrington with her basic sewing skills.
Toni Lanieer sew some burp clothes at Seauxing Seeds Studio, where volunteers gather to sew and donate blankets, masks, burp cloths and other essential items of care through Seaux-It-Forward - one of several activities carried out there.
Some of the items sew at Seauxing Seeds Studio.
A love of sewing and hearts for helping others brought two volunteers together, and their shared vision is enriching the north shore one stitch at a time.
“The fact that we can teach a skill and how to make quality handmade items, but also give back in such a multifaceted way, is really bringing a positive response,” said Kathy Scioneaux who, along with friend and partner Connie Haydel, created the Seauxing Seeds Foundation.
Scioneaux and Haydel consider Seauxing to be a ministry through sewing. It is a nonprofit organization based in a bright, open studio in Covington, a space that was donated to the organization rent-free for a year.
They began working together in early 2020 at a church sewing ministry, but the challenges of the pandemic halted their work, along with so much else.
They began to brainstorm ways to use their skills to help others, and in March they opened the doors of the Seauxing Seeds Foundation studio.
The foundation supports community partners by holding sewing classes for all levels along with fabric and sewing notion sales and working with groups for private events or lessons.
Once a month, they hold a FabGrab Sale, where fabric is sold by the pound. “It is such a great deal. You can get vintage patterns and hard-to-find notions for a steal,” Haydel said.
They also hold Open Seaux events, where participants can sign up to sew one of several project kits or bring their own project; and Seaux it Forward, where volunteers sew items for donation to foster care centers, crisis pregnancy centers, nursing homes, youth and church groups and natural disaster relief teams.
Some of the items created for donation include blankets, bibs, face masks, burp cloths, hospital scrub caps, infant slings, aprons, tote bags and baby clothes.
Seauxing Seeds volunteer Toni Lanier of Amite said she prays while working and puts care into every piece she creates. “I try to think about who I’m sewing for, and pray that the piece blesses them,” she said.
Haydel said organizations that receive the handmade items from Seauxing Seeds often comment about the quality of each piece, from the fabric to the sewing itself.
“We are getting such a good response, and we’d love to work with more organizations,” she said.
For that, they need more volunteers.
Seauxing Seeds accepts donations of fabric scraps and other sewing supplies. They use the donated items either in their creations to be donated, for their classes or to be resold by the yard.
In addition to sewing, volunteers are needed for several other tasks, from inspecting, organizing and sorting donated fabric into complimentary color and pattern packets, to collecting donations and creating baskets of completed items. “There is a lot to do, even if you don’t know how to sew,” she said.
Student volunteers are welcome, Haydel said, along with home-school groups looking for a home economics class or Scout troops seeking a sewing badge.
Proceeds from the sewing classes and fabric sales go to community projects as well, so those who have always wanted to sew can learn from Seauxing Seeds and know they are supporting good causes, she said.
Mother-daughter duo Teresa Arrington and Evie, 10, of Covington, said they never thought they would have as much fun learning as they did.
“I’m proud of myself for making something I can use. I look at it and say, ‘Wow I made that; I didn’t just buy it at the store!’” Evie said of her tote bag in pink hues. She said she wants to keep learning and has her mind set on sewing her own teddy bear.
Scioneaux, a retired teacher, said she keeps her lessons fun and project-focused so that students can walk away with something they can see, touch and feel. “They feel a real sense of accomplishment when they see what they have created,” she said.
Haydel said as the organization grows, she and Scioneaux have a vision of empowering women to gain employment through sewing, to create quilting circles and to expand to help more organizations that could benefit from hand sewn items.
“We still have such a vision for what we want to be that sometimes we have to stop and look around and remind ourselves how far we’ve come,” she said.
Anyone looking to donate fabric or volunteer in the studio for a sewing project or with organizational help should visit seauxingseedsfoundation.org, email contact@seauxingseeds.org or call Scioneaux at (985) 966.8514 or Haydel at (985) 807.4739.
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