Neci Love Harmon is creator, host, designer of accessories, sewing teacher, and founder of What’s She Creating. Neci joins the Stitch Please podcast to share her origin story of how she got her start with sewing and how she uses both her brand and online platform to invite people to get curious and consider creativity so they can beautify the world by creating things themselves. Neci shares her experience moving from domestic sewing machines to industrial and computerized machines, why she made the switch, and her approach to acquiring her machine. Neci also shares how her brand, What’s She Creating, combines her teaching, creativity, sewing, and hosting skills. This opened up our conversation as we talked about her philosophy on creating content for her YouTube channel, why she shares her creativity and art with a broader community, and the opportunity she’s been given to teach others how to create something for themselves.
Find out more about Neci Love Harmon
Lisa Woolfork 0:14
Hello, stitchers. Welcome to Stitch Please, the official podcast of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. I'm your host, Lisa Woolfork. I'm a fourth generation sewing enthusiast with more than 20 years of sewing experience. I am looking forward to today's conversation. So sit back, relax, and get ready to get your stitch together.
Hello everybody, and welcome to the Stitch Please podcast. I am your host, Lisa Woolfork, and I am so delighted to welcome to the program Neci Love Harmon. What's She Creating. I really appreciate Neci's projects so much because I'm nosy. And so when she said “What’s She Creating,” I'm like, I want to know. What? What's she creating? I want to know, I like to know things. And so I really love the way that your brand is an invitation to consider creativity. And as people, like, figure out what you're creating, they feel inspired to create things themselves, and you've helped with that, too. So thank you so much Neci for being here. So glad to have you, welcome.
Neci Love Harmon 1:25
Yes, yes. Thank you. Hi, everyone.
Lisa Woolfork 1:28
All righty. So let's get started with your sewing story. How did Neci come to sewing, or how did sewing come to Neci?
Neci Love Harmon 1:36
Okay, so my story is not traditional at all. Sewing actually came to me through sports. When I was younger, I used to play basketball. And I stayed at my grandmother's house for like a weekend while my parents went out of town. And she would not let me go to the park. I begged her, Grandma, please let me go to the park, please, please, please let me go to the park. She wouldn't. The only way I could go was if I went with my granddad, and you know that spoils all the fun as a teenager.
Lisa Woolfork 2:08
I just want to go. "Go with Granddaddy!" Well, then no, nevermind.
Neci Love Harmon 2:11
Yeah, I was like, Nevermind. I was already heated, because she wouldn't let me do anything, really. So I went to her back room because I was like, I don't want to say nothing crazy to my grandma. I'm just going to go in the back room, in her sewing room, and just, like, start playing with stuff. And so, who would have thought that that encounter, like, started everything. Because from that point on, I think I got a pattern, and I read the pattern because I'm like one of those really - I got to read everything, I got to see everything. So I started there and then the rest is history, right?
Lisa Woolfork 2:47
I'm so excited that you were not the kind of surly teenager that I was, right? Or could try to be within the limits of my family style. Because if I had been told I couldn't go to the park, and I had to go sit down somewhere, I would not be, like, very cheerfully going back to my Nana's sewing room and being like, Well, my plans for the park have been canceled, and now I will develop a new hobby. What was your mindset sitting back there saying, like, Well, I'm bored, I might as well try to sew something...
Neci Love Harmon 3:18
No, no, my mindset was not there. My mindset was like, I'm frustrated, I'm to the highest level of passivity that I can be, and if I don't do something, like, we already know it's going to be crazy. So I don't want to disrespect my grandma, because she, you know, provided food and clothes, you know, all that stuff.
Lisa Woolfork 3:37
I'm honoring my elders. I'm honoring my elders. I don't want no bad report, because that's worse than disobeying the grandma, getting a bad report that you disobeyed grandma when the parents find out. So like, you were doing this as a matter of survival.
Neci Love Harmon 3:50
Right, straight survival, straight survival in that situation.
Lisa Woolfork 3:57
What was the first thing you made when you went back there and you were like - did you just sit down and just grab a piece of paper and just start stitching bad words? Grumble grumble grumble. "I love basketball, I hate sewing." What are the things that you - I mean, the idea of coming to sewing as an alternative to sports?
Neci Love Harmon 4:18
I don't know, I sat back there for a while. I sat back there for a while, and just was like...after a while I got bored, and I would calm down. I was like you know what, let me see about this. I don't know what I created or if I made anything, but I know my first thing I made was this dress. It was kind of like a baby doll, spaghetti strap dress. I made that first, and my dad told me, my parents said, You wear that dress out! She was like, That dress probably has an odor because you wear it so much.
Lisa Woolfork 4:51
Her dress can walk by itself now! You've got to train it to walk by itself.
Neci Love Harmon 4:57
I know I wore that dress out. I think it finally fell apart, just fell apart because I didn't really know, you know, what I was doing. But yeah, that was the first thing.
Lisa Woolfork 5:08
I love it. I love that the first thing you made was something you loved so much that you wore it out. You know? That you not only wore it out so people could see it, but you also, like, wore it to shreds because you just loved it so much. And so has that spirit of attraction to the work in the creative process, has that continued from you over the years?
Neci Love Harmon 5:32
Yes. Always, always. It's kind of like, when I come in my sewing room, just the touch of fabric is like, "Yahhhh." You know? The touch of fabric just is amazing. So yeah, the spark is still there.
Lisa Woolfork 5:45
I love it. And the idea too, the kind of "Ahhh!", it's like this divine inspiration. It's kind of like the lightbulb gets turned off for your creativity and you're just like, ready to go. And all you need is to kind of get into that space, and you are ready. I love to see it. So now you've gone from someone who was like a surly sewer in the beginning, the very beginning, to someone who's a joyful sewer. How do you get from like, "Ughh," to like, "Yayyy!"
Neci Love Harmon 5:45
I don't know. I mean, it just happened. It just happened. I just kept doing it. Because I'm like the type of person, if I like it, then I'm going hard, I'm going hard. So I think it started with that one thing. My mom used to sew. She used to sew her own clothes. And I never really - I remember one time she made a Barbie dress, and she made it in like 2.5 seconds. And I was like, Oh my gosh, like, how'd you do that? But I never wanted to, like, learn. At all. It's just that one particular moment, like, I guess, made it happen. But it was just, I just kept doing it. I kept doing it until my mom was like, Okay, well I'm going to get you a sewing machine. I think she got it for my birthday. And I was like, Yes! And you know, it was on from then. I still have that sewing machine. That's like my favorite sewing machine.
Lisa Woolfork 7:08
Oh my gosh, I love it so much. I love it. I love that you have been able to kind of have this love and maintain it, and now you're sharing with other people, right? You've got your YouTube channel, you've got all the stuff you do on Instagram. I've been really loving your reels, like the series you did when you were talking to a friend on the phone. I don't know why. I guess I'm just corny, because I was cackling when you said, "Yeah girl, she sewed that dress with a 1/8" seam allowance! One big breath, that dress is going to be on the floor!" Like, it was so funny. I wonder if you could tell us about what made you decide on What's She Creating as a brand title. Like what about that phrase? Is something really like...
Neci Love Harmon 7:49
One day, I think I was, like, daydreaming, right? I was daydreaming, and I just heard people yelling, yelling "What's she creating!" I just heard that. And I was like, You know what? That should be the name of my company. And I was actually going to create, like, my intro video to say that, but I didn't know how to do it. But maybe one day I will. But that's kind of where I got started. Because I don't know what it was called before. But yeah.
Lisa Woolfork 8:22
Wow. And it just kind of struck you: "What's she creating." It's funny, because I think of it as an invitation. Right? As I was saying, because I'm nosy and I'm like, I want to know - what's she creating! Right? But with the way that you say it, it's more like a cheer, like a group of people, like you know, your fans, and everyone is like, "What's she creating!" It's much more, like, it's not really a question as much as...you know it's going to be something hot.
Neci Love Harmon 8:53
Yeah. And it's always been like that. Like, it's always been like that. You never know what I'll do. Like, I remember when I was a teenager, I would just come outside and Look, Mama, look what I made! I do that to my husband. I'm like, Look, look at this. And he'd be like, You made that? I'm like, Yeah, I made that! Yes, so you never know. You never know, I could be painting, I could be, you know, sewing, I could be doing anything. You never know.
Lisa Woolfork 9:21
One of the things I admire about you and definitely want to learn more from you about this is, I think, don't you work with industrial machines or semi-industrial machines?
Neci Love Harmon 9:27
Yes, yes, I do.
Lisa Woolfork 9:29
One of my goals for 2022 is to acquire and practice sewing on an industrial sewing machine. Some of my friends and people who know me say, Why? And I say, Why do you choose violence and why can't you just be happy for me? And I feel like I've learned a lot about domestic sewing machines and y'all work with domestic sewing machines; we mean the kind that you can buy on Amazon; the kind you can even buy from dealers; the brands that you kind of know and recognize, the Vikings and Janomes and Baby Locks and Coffs and Singer or Bernina. All those are considered domestic machines because they're used in homes, right, as opposed to the industrial machines that are used in factories. Can you tell us about, like, your approach to acquiring an industrial machine? When did you decide that the machine that your mom got you, that you love so much, was not enough for the sewing you wanted to do?
Neci Love Harmon 10:26
Right, right, that's so true. I always thought that I would kind of incorporate leather, like real leather, into my bags. And I always knew that my machine didn't handle the type of leather that I wanted to do for some of the custom bag products that I had. And I always knew, like, maybe 10 years ago, that I wanted to purchase an industrial, but back then I was on, like, a real shoestring budget. So I couldn't really do that. But I decided to acquire it because my machine, the stitches started getting loose. And I was just like, Okay, well, it's time to upgrade now. So the money came through, and I was able to acquire one at a local space in Atlanta. It's great. I love it. I love the way it stitches. They're so beautiful. It's like, perfect.
Lisa Woolfork 11:17
That's what I want to learn more about. What were some of the big transitions you had to make, from sewing on a domestic machine to sewing on an industrial? What was some of the differences that, like - I, for example, I've been sewing on a domestic for 25 years. I know most of them pretty much, I know how to thread them. I know that you turn that thing up in order for you to do this. I know that there's certain things that you have to do. All those domestic machines thread pretty much exactly the same. Up through the thread path, up on the hook, tension disc down. What are some of the things that you might need to think differently about when approaching an industrial machine?
Neci Love Harmon 11:57
First, the threading is different, right? I always have to look up a tutorial on how to thread it like a bobbin. Because if you don't, like, wind it correctly, it messes up really quick on you and I have my lb loopy. So you have to do that correctly. And you know, threading it itself can be kind of weird. I always have to look at a tutorial for that too. Because I don't re-thread it a lot. I'm looking at it now, trying to think.
Lisa Woolfork 12:24
How fast is it?
Neci Love Harmon 12:25
Oh, I mean, I have it set - you know, it's not super fast, like it can be. I know it can go up really fast. I just set it to, you know, so it's probably as fast as a domestic machine. But I'm sure it can go faster. I don't care. I'll take my time. You know, I don't need it to go like...
Lisa Woolfork 12:47
Hey, friends, hey. What are you doing on Thursday around 3pm or so? You got 30 minutes to hang out with Black Women Stitch? You got 60? If so, come through for 30 Minute Thursdays, Thursdays 3pm Eastern Standard Time. You can chill with Black Women Stitch on Instagram Live, or talk with us through the two-way audio on Clubhouse at 3:30pm Eastern Standard Time. That's Thursdays for 30 minutes. Come hang out, chill, and have fun with us. See you Thursday.
What about the needles? How do the needles on the industrial machine look? Are they the flat back like we have in the domestic, or are they more like a cylinder all the way around? Because I've seen some needles as well.
Neci Love Harmon 13:40
They're more cylinder, and you have to insert it from the side instead of the front. Thread is inserted from the side instead of the front of the machine.
Lisa Woolfork 13:52
Wow. Oh my goodness. And then the presser feet themselves on the industrial machine. Like, I see them sometimes, they look like they're really cheap. But then like, believe me, they're not. I mean, I'm just like, I don't know! The feet had just been like any other regular feet?
Neci Love Harmon 14:07
Yeah, I mean, it feels like the same. Once I set the speed, then it doesn't matter how hard I push the foot, it's not going to do anything. It doesn't move. Like, the other ones can move on you, so this one doesn't move.
Lisa Woolfork 14:22
So that's another thing I was thinking too about, I would absolutely need speed control because I can be a lead foot. Unfortunately.
Neci Love Harmon 14:33
It also has a thing for your knee, and, like, you lift. Yeah, the knee lift. It has that, and I like that option.
Lisa Woolfork 14:42
I am definitely thinking about a similar industrial. I've already identified the brand that I want. It's not a standard sewing machine company. The company I'm going to go with is the one that makes machines for sailors, sews sails on ships.
Neci Love Harmon 14:59
So what are you going to be sewing?
Lisa Woolfork 15:01
I'm going to be sewing leather. I'm going to be sewing canvas.
Neci Love Harmon 15:08
But you could do that on a regular machine.
Lisa Woolfork 15:10
Why do you choose violence, Neci? We're having a good conversation and having fun, and you here pouring haterade on my dream.
Neci Love Harmon 15:18
I'm just saying like, how many pieces of leather are you going to use? Like two pieces of leather? You can do that on any machine.
Lisa Woolfork 15:24
No. I know this for a fact. I can't. Because I have tried. I got that expensive old machine that I have - which I love, knock wood, I'm not buying another one anytime soon. But I tell you what, I spent in the thousands for this machine, and I cannot pleat four layers of leather and sew it. It won't do it.
Neci Love Harmon 15:45
So I guess I have a question for you then. Because I haven't bought, I guess, a $1,000 domestic machine,
Lisa Woolfork 15:51
It was more than $1,000.
Neci Love Harmon 15:53
I asked someone else this question too. Like, why wouldn't you just get a basic older machine? Like, I guess like a Pfaff? You know, like one of those heavy duty. Like, why wouldn't you get the heavy duty machine? Why would you spend your money, like a thousand more dollars, on, like, an electronic machine?
Lisa Woolfork 16:10
It was more than $1,000 as well. It was expensive. It was not $15,000 which is how much the top of the line machines this brand cost. It was a fraction of that. But it was not just $1000. So here's why I got it. I got it because I love notions and features. This machine has one foot of space between the needle and the side of the machine. Okay? It has stadium lighting. That's my sports connection right there, my machine has stadium lighting. Stadium lighting, that's my connection. It has stadium lighting, it has self-threading. It has self-knotting and backstitch. It has about 500 stitches built in. It has USB connectivity, as well as its sewing and embroidery. It also has a ton of built-in embroidery stitches, as well as about seven alphabets. And the hoop size for the machine, for the embroidery portion, is great. It's like 8 by 12. That is a big hoop, as you know, for embroidery. Right? So I like it because I like stuff. And I like gadgets. And I like things that make my life easier. And I mean, really, it's so funny because I'm like, Wow, my sisters, they're really - both my sisters are wonderful people, and they're very into, like, designer things. And one of my sister's, like, practically a professional shopper, and so like, they'll be like, they'll buy me designer. Most of the designer bags I have are gifts from them. And I'm like, dang, they be spending they money buying these bags and that bag - It's like, bitch, you can buy a bag too if you weren't buying sewing machines! So stop pretending you're, like, Miss Modest in the sister relationship, when really you are not Miss Modest, it's just about designers they've never heard of. Like, Baby Lock, and Bernina, and Voss.
Neci Love Harmon 18:04
Right, right. [Laughs]
Lisa Woolfork 18:05
So that's what I liked about my machine. I like how pretty it is. I like that it does a really beautiful stitch. I like all the built-in features. It has a laser. So, I can have the laser that sews in a straight line. I can also do echo stitching by having the laser follow the previous row of stitching, and I know my stitching will be straight. So there's tons of features that I have. So that is the reason. But I think for me, what I've noticed is the more computerized things you have - and now this is an old machine, the new ones have WiFi. Right? And so I think, in my opinion, the trade-off for all the computerized material in the core of a sewing machine is less attention given to the power of the machine. Right? The power of the belt to push through layers, the power of the belt - you know what I'm saying? Like, that's what it was like to me. Now I don't know if that's absolutely true, because it embroiders very fast, and so there's a lot of great things about it, except that I can't sew four layers of leather through it. And I know with this machine that I think I'll be getting, I can. Now you might ask, Lisa, when are you going to sew four layers of leather? And I will ask you, Why do you keep bringing up old stuff?
Neci Love Harmon 19:29
That was my determination for a new machine, that if I'm going to continue to do bags, that is going to be, can it sew through four layers. Other than that I don't care about embroidery, I don't care about self-thread, I don't care about any of that. As long as, can it sew through four layers? Okay we good, go ahead.
Lisa Woolfork 19:45
And that's the thing, that I think that's my new thing. Also, the industrial machines are much cheaper than those big fancy embroidery combo computer machines. And that was a big surprise. So I'm like, wow, I can pay just this much, and it'll do all this. So I think it's fine for me to have another machine. I feel like I deserve it. I feel like I do a lot. And I would get some use out of it, and enjoy it, and I do believe in having the right tools for a project. I love to be provisioned. Actually, speaking of provisions, you are embarking on a new journey in your brand with art encounters where you are provisioning people who may or may not have a bunch of, you know, they might not have five sewing machines, poor babies. They might not have the ability to do all the things that they need to do for a creative arts project. Can you talk about that development in your brand?
Neci Love Harmon 20:44
I've always been kind of like a hostess, my parents had parties, like, all the time, regardless of if people called or not. So I've always kind of done that over life. And I was a school teacher. I taught high school for a while. And we always completed these type of projects, because why not? Right? Why not?
Lisa Woolfork 21:06
And you can learn with fun, learning does not have to be torture. Learning can be wonderful and delightful.
Neci Love Harmon 21:12
Right. So we would, like, paint things, and we would just create things. We would have like jewelry parties, and make bath bombs, and different things like that. And I was like, You know what, after I quit the job, I was like, You know what, I could probably incorporate this in my company. So it's really small, intimate events. Art things, indoor or outdoor, for people, for families, for children, for groups, or corporate events, etc, etc.
Lisa Woolfork 21:41
And so what are some of the projects that someone could do if they were going to have an art encounter? Would they get a chance to choose between like painting or embroidery or chalk work? Like, what are some of the things that you bring to families and communities or corporate events, when you bring your art encounters?
Neci Love Harmon 21:58
I have one project, it's a painted pillow project. So I create the pillow, and then we use like paint and different supplies, and you can create your own custom pillow design. I'm having one where it's like a planter, a painted planter, so we decorate the outside, paint it into a different cool style. I have like an herb, or something, and some soil, and so we'll plant that and do all of this stuff. I think I have a jewelry making project, a wallflower painting project. And it's one other project, so I have five of them for now.
Lisa Woolfork 22:33
And that's great. And I love that flexibility as well, like, well, you know, we're not so great with plants because I kill every one that ever comes into the house, I'd probably choose a pillow. I think that is so creative. And I really love how you are bringing that creativity. It's like you're combining your teaching, your creativity, sewing and hosting all in one.
Neci Love Harmon 22:51
That's right.
Lisa Woolfork 22:53
Fantastic. That is really wonderful. I wanted to turn a little bit to talk about your YouTube channel, and about the work that you do over there. Can you talk about like, what has worked for you in terms of your philosophy towards your YouTube channel? Like, what kind of things can someone do through a YouTube channel, and what kind of benefits have you been able to receive from, like, doing so much in that arena?
Neci Love Harmon 23:19
Okay, so I started the YouTube channel about six years ago. I just did it because I was like, You know what, maybe I should just start teaching online. This was before I was even teaching sewing and classes or nothing. I was just like, let me just put this out here and see what happens. And it wasn't really doing anything, but then there was one lady that said, You need to change, like, your keywords. She was like, This is a great tutorial. And it helped me a lot. And if you just change your keywords, I'm sure that you'll get, like, a lot of feedback from other people, because I looked for an hour, and I couldn't find anything. But when I found your video, it helped me. And so I was like, Okay, well, let me keep doing it. And so I started teaching sewing in high school, because I was a home ec teacher. So I would teach sewing in a high school and I would use my YouTube videos to teach them and so I just kept doing it. And so a lot of the people that comment on the YouTube page say that it's clear, concise, to the point and it's easy. And so, that's what it is. And that's the type of comments that I get, and they're like, blessings, girl, blessings. They give donations, but you know, I make a monthly cash, you know, incentive for doing it. So it's grown, but that wasn't the point. I just put it out there, and it's just been growing ever since.
Lisa Woolfork 24:52
I appreciate that so much. I was just listening to someone talking about their work and they're, you know, in the social media space. So if you have a project that you're passionate about, they said, You know, you got to be passionate about it, because you're going to work at it for a long time and money is like, the last thing that comes. And I so to hear you say that, Hey, I started this channel six years ago and, you know, I was able to really measure the significant impact that my channel has had on people's sewing by someone reaching out to say, "Hey, this is great. I want more people to see it! Change these keywords," and then, you know - and then that's that. And then that has worked. I'm so delighted. That's really great news. And I really love the encouragement that your story represents to keep going, just keep swimming, like they say in Finding Nemo, and just keep going. We need to wrap up our time for right now, but you know what the slogan for the Stitch Please podcast is: we will help you get your stitch together. Right? So I'm going to ask you, Neci Love Harmon, if you could share some words of advice. If someone came to you and said, Neci, Neci, how can I get my stitch together? What would you tell them?
Neci Love Harmon 26:03
Take out some wonderful fabric, make sure it's colorful and it's popping like Lisa's dress that she has on right now with the hood. And use some nice fabric, and be you, and don't let nobody tell you nothing.
Lisa Woolfork 26:20
I love it. And on that note Neci, thank you so much. Oh my gosh, what a wonderful time. How can we find you on the socials? I'll be sure to include all your links. But why don't you tell us in your own voice so people can hear from you.
Neci Love Harmon 26:33
You can find me on Instagram, @neciloveharmon, or on @whatsshecreating on Instagram; on my YouTube, at What's She Creating. I'm on TikTok, @neciloveharmon. And I think everything else is Neci Love Harmon. So Facebook and everything else. So you can check me out!
Lisa Woolfork 26:51
Check her out. Thank you, Neci!
Neci Love Harmon 26:55
Thank you. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
Lisa Woolfork 27:01
You've been listening to the Stitch Please podcast, the official podcast of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. We appreciate you supporting us by listening to the podcast. If you'd like to reach out to us with questions, you can contact us at Blackwomenstitch@gmail.com. If you'd like to support us financially, you can do that by supporting us on Patreon, and you can find Black Women Stitch there in the Patreon directory. And for as little as $2 a month, you can help support the project with things like editing transcripts and other things to strengthen the podcast. And finally, if financial support is not something you can do right now, you can really, really help the podcast by rating it and reviewing it anywhere you listen to podcasts that allows you to review them. So I know that not all podcast directories or services allow for reviews, but for those who do, for those that have like a star rating or just ask for a few comments, if you could share those comments and say nice things about us at the Stitch Please podcast, that is incredibly helpful. Thank you so much. Come back next week, and we'll help you get your stitch together.