Wednesday, February 01, 2012

The Crazy Thread Lady

I've always wanted to learn to sew. I thought it would be super cool to whip up costumes for the kids, an airy shirt for me, or a lovely baby blanket. I also know me though. I'm bad about running head first into a project or new activity and not thinking it through. I love to give people my money and not get any return ( see Southern Living at Home debacle). I've gotten better over the years at reeling myself in, but I've still been leery about taking the could-be-expensive steps to becoming a seamstress.

But then came Elizabeth and Pinterest. Oh, at the precious baby clothes I could create at a fraction of the cost. And once again, I was hooked on learning to sew. The problem was, I didn't have a machine, nor a job. Add to that the fact that I had never actually touched a machine, I was pretty much in the dark on where to even begin.

My Mammaw had a Singer that was tucked away in a cabinet that had since taken residence at my mom's house, so when the kids and I went to visit in November, I had mom lift it up and show me some basics. I thought if I played around with it for a while, I could determine if I really wanted to learn a new skill or if it would fall away like so many other "interests".

Well, long after mom left to take care of other things, I tinkered and cleaned and *gasp* read the manual to get a better feel for everything her machine could do. And I was hooked. When my mom offered to bring the Singer and Mammaw's sewing chest to my house over the holidays, even though I took a while to answer, I said yes in my heart right away. Mammaw wasn't a master seamstress, in fact, I don't really remember her ever sewing at all. My mom would sometimes hem our clothes, or fix a tear, but sewing wasn't a focal point of my childhood. However, the cabinet with her hideaway machine and the incredibly cool chest with a rainbow of thread and other neat doodads was. Without getting overly emotional, let's just say, I'm so very happy to have it in my home and wanting to use it.

I've now become the woman who scours the Internet for new fabrics and free patterns, who awaits Elizabeth's naps with anticipation so I can create something new. My floors have gotten a little dirtier and I'm covered in loose threads, but I'm having fun and hopefully learning something that I can pass down to my little ones. Maybe one day, they will bring the memories to their houses.

2 comments:

tamblair said...

This makes me smile. A running joke in our family was that you never left my grandmother's house without a loose thread attached to you somewhere. And now I know what you are really doing if I call and you don't answer.. ;)

Chelle said...

I went through a sewing phase when the kids were small. I made matching clothes for The Teenager and her dolls, Halloween costumes, holiday decorations and a bunch of other stuff. I'm not sure why I stopped. Probably because I wasn't really very good at it. But, I enjoyed it at the time. Have fun, my friend!