COMMON THREADS is the unique story of a unique idea—that sewing machines, passed from one to another, can provide hope and meaning to both those who receive them and those who give. Margaret John Jankowski founded The Sewing Machine Project, a grassroots nonprofit, based on this concept. COMMON THREADS shares the extraordinary journey from idea to action, with stories that inspire, challenges that are real, outcomes that are profound, and evidence that small ideas can indeed mend communities.

Margaret John Jankowski is a writer, maker and nonprofit leader living in Madison, WI. She is the Founder and Director of The Sewing Machine Project. A lifelong sewist, Margaret has honed her expertise through developing her own children’s clothing brand, and freelancing as a sample maker for American Girl. The Sewing Machine Project represents the intersection of Margaret’s passions as it provides the opportunity to sew, to serve and to write about the incredible individuals she encounters.

Margaret divides her time between Wisconsin and Switzerland, where she loves spending time with her husband, Peter. You’ll find Margaret totally at peace when she is on the front porch with her two kids, Alec and Maddie.

Susan Lampert Smith is a freelance writer who lives on a farm near Blue Mounds. She is a former science writer for the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, former newspaper columnist and former science writing lecturer at the UW Department of Life Sciences Communications. She's currently an avid crossword puzzle solver. She and Margaret met years ago during another former life: that as stage mothers to their gifted daughters.

Livestream: Margaret John Jankowski in Conversation with Susan Lampert Smith