And So It Begins...

In high school I sewed my first bag. It was a quilted shoulder bag for carrying books and it turned out quite nice - except the straps were flimsy and unpadded and cut into my shoulder every time I put, well, books in it. I also sewed my first outfit which was a pair of flannel shorts with an elastic waist and a (dreadful) matching top. Following a clothing pattern was confusing and frustrating and I had no idea what I was doing. I think I still have that outfit, but if I do, it's buried in a box somewhere in the garage. I made a huge pillow which became my dear old cat's favorite place to sleep and is now a big floor pillow for my boys to play on. I also learned to crochet in high school, and my first project was a little mouse hanging off a leaf for a friend. The first "mouse" was such a scary, mangled little thing it soon became a joke in my house. I put it in my mom's car when she wasn't looking and she quickly stuffed it in the glove box. Occasionally I'd pull it out and prop it up on the steering wheel, or sit it in her chair, or hang it from the rear view mirror and when Mom would get in the car she'd gasp and laugh and stick it back in the glove box. Poor deformed mouse.
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My first projects weren't great, some of them were downright scary and I didn't know what I was doing, but I was hooked. I had caught the crafty bug and there was nothing I could do but wallow in my wonderful illness and let it consume me.

My mom taught me to sew on her old Singer - one of those old black Singers with the gold trim from the 40's that go forwards and backwards and that's about it. My great-grandmother passed the machine down to my grandmother, who taught my mom to sew on it when she passed it down to her, who taught me to sew on it when she passed it down to me, and now I have passed it on to my three year old son Jack who has already sewn his first pillow and two little drawstring bags for his fabric and notions. Jack was so excited to learn how to sew, he hugged me and told me he loved me about every ten seconds while I was teaching him. I wish I had that effect on all my students! Or that he acted that way when I ask him to pick up his toys. "I'll just watch you clean, Mommy," is his usual response.

My projects got a little better throughout high school and I even made the dress I wore to graduation - a sleeveless yellow sun dress with darts and all. Mom even showed me how to finish the neckline with a bias strip of fabric. I didn't quite finish it though. You couldn't tell under my graduation gown, but I never got around to hemming the bottom...

In college I did anything crafty that I could afford with my limited budget. I bound books, did linoleum stamp carving, made mosaics, I crocheted a huge, intricate, fringed bedspread, learned to draw, did watercolor, acrylic painting, a little more sewing - really anything that looked interesting.

And so it began - my love affair with crafting. Painting glass, molding clay, making my own candles, soap and paper, knitting, felting, quilting, screen printing - I've even done some stained glass work. But my biggest passion will probably always be sewing. I make handbags, diaper bags, baby slings and have recently fallen in love with designing my own clothes. I've built myself quite a nice little sewing business, too.

This blog is meant as a record of my journey, to chronicle my many projects, to offer simple instructions on a variety of projects and to help people starting out see what goes into building a business. I hope you enjoy what follows!