A Belated Thank You

I am late in telling my mother "thank you" for teaching me how to sew -- I think about 55 years late.

I'm not sure exactly when I started sewing, but it seems I began by just playing. What a great way to learn! The first machine I used was electric  - probably a Singer - in its own cabinet, though I am certain there was a pedal machine before that. Unlike today's electric machines, though, the on/off control was with a knee pedal, not a foot pedal so it was a bit of a stretch for my little legs. But what an array of attachments!  There was something to make gathers that went clicky-clicky-clicky. And a hem roller.  And a pleater - it clackity-clacked, too.  I remember playing with the machine and trying out all the attachments.  What fun!  Can you imagine having fun with sewing machine attachments?  But I did.

For a long time Mother didn't have an attachment to make button holes.  That was a totally different tool that cost extra bucks but made finishing blouses a whole lot easier; before that, Mother did all the buttonholes by hand with - you know - the buttonhole stitch (called a blanket stitch, too).

And I remember Ginny trying to adjust patterns and trying to match plaids.  What a challenge.

And I remember embroidering dish cloths for Ginny as a wedding gift.  She saves everything, and she still has these drying cloths 50+ years on!


Gradually I learned how to use the machine for real sewing.  And how to do the hand stitching that goes along with the machine - hemming and trimming.  The first dress I made all by myself was the one I wore for my last day of school in Baltimore - 1960, still age 14 - the same year Ginny and Barry got married.  I think I made half of my wardrobe that I took to FSU in 1962 when I was 16.  I made clothes for Michelle and for Lee (though they didn't always love them!) When he was just 2, Hunter needed a scabbard for his sword, and later Hannah needed dresses for herself and her dolls.  I've made lots of "clothes" for our furniture, too - slipcovers and bedcovers of all sorts.

This week I have started in earnest to get things ready for the craft show in November.  And then there is Dylan's birthday coming up, so of course she gets something homemade (poor kid - the other grandparents get to provide the store-bought games and toys!). A dress for her and a dress for the American Girl doll.

And so, I have been sewing a lot, And I have been thinking back about how I started to sew.

So I just wanted to say "Thanks, Mother!"