I Love to Sew!

February 5th, 2010

My earliest childhood memories involve being at my mother's side while she worked away on her sewing machine. My mother was one amazingly creative woman! Heavens, she had five little girls right in a row! She could easily see a dress in the store, sketch it out and go home and create it. As grand-daughters started to come along I clearly remember multiple dresses, often made from the same pattern. At some point in time she must have found a killer deal on gingham. I remember a bodice of gingham and a skirt of gingham squares. At that point in time dressier dresses were to the floor. At least these were. Those dresses were passed around for quite some time. I think that even Lindsay wore one of them. And then there were also gingham quilts that seemed to go on and on.
And as a result, mostly from my mother's influence, I LOVE to sew! I loved my "Home Ec" classes in junior high and high school. My graduation present from high school was a Bernina sewing machine...thought I had gone to heaven!! Lindsay has since inherited that wonderful machine and I have a Bernina that does embroidery. I remember walking into the sewing lab at BYU and seeing a whole room full of Berninas...I was so amazed! I had some talented teachers while at BYU...loved my sewing classes and flat pattern design classes.

For now, my love of sewing translates to quilting. I melt when I go into certain quilt shops. I drool...my heart races...my creative juices really start flowing. There just simply is not enough time in the day to do all the sewing I want to do. Every day (almost) for the past two weeks I have had a mental appointment with my sewing machine, but every day my best made plans have been rearranged for a zillion reasons. But not last night...Rich had a meeting and Sarah had a practice and I ignored several things I need to get to and went to town on this darling little dress for Sweet Baby Claire! Do you even know how long it has been since I've sewn a dress for a little girl??!! Way, way too long. And last night I kept thinking about my mother...I kept thinking I should be cutting out several of these at the same time, and that once I made this pattern the first time, it would be so easy the second time! As it is I really only did have material for just one, maybe two. I found this combination of prints at my currently favorite quilt shop in Utah, called Material Girls. I really need to prioritize my list of projects waiting in the wings, but I'm inspired now!