Siena crafters enjoy festive camaraderie

The members of Siena's sewing club, affectionately known as the "Siena Sew and Sews," have a couple of things in common -- they all enjoy sewing and the camaraderie of working together on various projects.

Members meet weekly in the sewing and craft room in the age-qualified community's social center in Summerlin, where sewing machines, a serger, an embroidery machine, and a table for cutting, pinning and assembling projects are used.

"Each month we work on a new project," said Alice Bowers, who chairs the club's steering committee, which also consists of Gerry Guerra and Marilyn Hunold. "My expertise is garments, Gerry's is quilting, and Marilyn's is crafts so we combine our skills to plan club projects and teach other members."

Among the club's recent projects are a patch-pieced quilt for a resident's first grandchild, child-size quilts for charity, aprons, paper piercing and machine embroidery.

Kristyne Blake, activities manager for the community association, said clubs are an integral part of the community.

"We have residents who meet on a regular basis to play bridge, surf the Internet or complete art projects such as ceramics, painting and even scrapbooking," Blake said. "And our facilities were designed to encourage group activities from sewing to swing dancing or simply getting together with friends."

The social center also has a computer lab, billiards and card rooms, ceramics room, arts and crafts room, and a ballroom.

Another amenity at the guard-gated community, which is patrolled by security officers on a 24-hour basis, is a Tuscan-themed, 15,900-square-foot fitness center. The facility has exercise rooms; saunas and steam rooms; a wellness center; and an indoor swim pavilion with a pool, spa and two-story windows overlooking the community's golf course, outdoor pool and spa, and tennis and bocce courts. A full-service beauty salon and day spa offers massages, sports therapy, reflexology and natural body treatments.

One-third of the community's 1,900 homes will be built along a par-72, 18-hole championship golf course. The course is open on a daily-fee basis to the public, and Siena residents are given special rates and tee times. Its 13,500-square-foot clubhouse is under construction and scheduled to open by summer 2002.

Priced from the $170,000s to the $600,000s, 14 single-story floor plans range from 1,200 to 3,000 square feet. Each plan offers three exterior designs and such options as courtyard fireplaces and casitas. A design studio is available to assist homeowners.

To visit, take Sahara Avenue or Interstate 215 to Town Center Drive and go south to Siena Monte Avenue. The sales office and models are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

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