Whew, what a day. A beautiful day of sunshine (still cold, brrrr) and I’m taking pictures by moonlight.
This will be a short one. I need to get some beauty sleep for my second and final Palmer/Pletsch class tomorrow.
I’m finishing off Giveaway Week with a bang:
- My FreeSpirit rep had an extra set of Tina Givens Fairy Tip Toes panels. There are three here which I’ll split up to share the love. Long story on why the fabric is not in my shop but I adore this collection and was very tempted to just stash these away for myself!
- Moda is an awesome company all the way around. They also make really fantastic promotional materials. I’ve got a bag, 3 sets of charm squares (Bunkhouse, Urban Indigo by Fig Tree Quilts, & Simplicity by 3 Sisters), and a promotional tissue carrier.
- The pattern line up includes Stepping Up & Butterfly Town by Tracy Brookshier of Bento Box fame, Melly & Me Binky, Artichoke Collection Scrap Box, Indygo Junction Yo-Yo-Dachsund, two Pillowcase Pattern Cards by Valori Wells, and the new Amy Butler Domestic Goddess Aprons.
To sweeten the pot I’m throwing in $10 gift certificates to the shop for 10 lucky winners. I’ll draw those names from everyone that has played along and commented this week. The responses to the quilt book giveaway really got to me. I’ve savored every last one. So many thoughtful and touching reasons for your favorite blocks. And the ones related to grandmothers! (I have a whole post worth of thoughts on that, insert tears now).
To be eligible for today’s prizes leave a comment telling me how you learned to sew.
I was six years old when my grandmother taught me to hand sew. I quickly graduated to the treadle machine. I can still smell the scent of the cedar drawers she stored her fabric in. She rolled all her remnants, wrapped a piece of paper around them with the yardage recorded, and secured the paper with a pin. I would go through the drawer and look at each one like they were gold. Guess I’ve finally gotten around to doing what I was always meant to do in my life.
So, sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite. See you all on Monday with the list of winners!
I learned sewing from a friend in 2007 when I was pregnant with my son. She is a passionate quilter and showed me how to sew by helping me make a baby quilt. I didn’t have a sewing machine then so we would meet once a week at her place. It was a great time. So I got my own sewing machine and am still excited about exploring my possibilities beyond quilting.
Hi Kathy, how wonderful for you to share even though you were so tempted to stash it! I learned how to sew when I was 6,7,8 or so. My mom taught me to sew a straight stitch while making dishtowels. I remember this, she doesn’t!
I took lessons from my cousin in my 2nd year of university. She had made a baby quilt for another relative and I knew i just had to learn how to do that. Now I am teaching my seven year old daughter!
My mom sewed as I was growing up. It was generally assumed that if I were patient while she sewed, I would have full access to her fabric scraps and machine when she was finished. It was so great to spend such time with her, and amazing how much you can learn by watching. Ever since, I’ve been either figuring it out on my own, or taking classes, reading books, studying patterns.
4H for me too. I may have learned a little sewing before then, but 4H is what I remember. The first project I remember was a rectangular apron in a print with classic harvest gold, yellow, and dark brown. The first few comments were so interesting, I’m going to go back now and read them all!
When I was a little girl I slept under a quilt my mother made out of scraps from clothes. When she would tuck me in at night I would point to a patch and she would tell me what garment it was from. A lot were from her maternity clothes and my and my brother’s baby clothes and my grandmother’s clothes from before she went into the nursing home. Every patch had a story and I felt like I was wrapped in a warm hug every night. I started keeping patches from my worn out clothes and when I was old enough, maybe 8, my mom taught me how to sew those patches together. She finally finished that quilt for me when I went off to college.
I learned to sew from my mother in law. She taught me how to make my very first quilt. I made it for my mom and dad. That was 8 years ago. I need to make her a quilt one day to say thank you now that I think about it!
Like so many others, my mother taught me how to sew, first by hand when I was about 7 or 8. She also taught me to knit about that time. I loved all of it right off, and still do. The summer before I went into the 7th grade she helped me make all of my school clothes for the coming year. Funny thing…I had to take sewing in 7th grade. Our first project was an apron. When I told my teacher that I wanted something more challenging she asked me what I had sewn and I told her. Well, I still had to make the apron, but after that the sky was the limit. Although I don’t do as much sewing of clothing as I used to, my sewing machine and I meet almost daily to create happiness and joy;)
I took a sewing class when I was about 9, but never tried again. I’ve just recently caught the sewing bug and have a new machine, some books and patterns, and am taking some quilting classes. I continue to be inspired by the sewing and quilting blog community.
Over 300 comments – incredible! My grandmother sewed as well as my mother, so I learned to sew by watching them, and by their helping me along the way. I began creating doll clothes and sewing them by hand when I was probably 6 or 7 – I did not use a pattern, just made my own as I went along. My best friend from Kindergarten just told me this week her mom always told her I was talented – I never knew that until now!
I learned from watching my mom and being an Historical Interpretor at Catoctin National Park in MD from age 11 – 18. By the time high school came around, I was making three piece suits and overcoats ~~ no aprons for me. My mom still pieces and I finish her work ~~ old and new.
What a generous giveaway!
My lovely mother taught me to sew. I was 4, yes 4, when I got my first sewing machine. She used to sew on her “big” machine, as I called it and I would sew on mine. I just made small blankets and doll clothes for years. When I turned 8 I got to use the “big” machine. The first piece of clothing I made for myself was a pair of green multi-colored shorts and I sewed the legs together! How do you do that? Well, I did. I fixed them with some help from my mom and have really been hooked ever since. I have sewn clothes for other people since I was in Jr. High and I made most of my own clothes through high school. Belive it or not, my friends thought it was cool. It was the late 70′s and 80′s. I also knit and crochet as well. Through the years, I have stopped and started my crafts, but I have never given them up completely and I never will.
I truly love crafting and hope to pass my love down to my daughter. Thank for letting me enter. Angie
I’ve always hand sewed thing and I think my mom taught me. Little thing like buttons onto shirt and my fav pair of socks with a hole (I wasn’t ready to get rid of them just yet). But now at the rip age of 34 I’m teaching myself how to sew. I bought a sewing machine about 2 years ago and now I’ve just pulled it out. I’ve found so many things I’ve wanted to make but start a pillow for starters….and just to make sure I have this bobbin thing right and to make sure I can sew a straight line. Wish me luck!!
I started out quilting by watching my mom. From there, once I started my own family, I gave clothing a try. I laugh pretty hard when I look at the first dress I tried making for my daughter. I wasn’t following the pattern too well. You have to start somewhere. Things have only improved and I can’t get enough of it!
My very first sewing project was to hand sew a little pink pillow with lace trim. I think I was about 8 or so. My mom took me to the fabric store and helped me pick out supplies. I just kind of figured it out as I went along since no one in my family sews. Finally, when I was a sophomore in high school, I got brave enough to take a real sewing class at a local store. I went on to make all my own formals and lots of clothes. Then when I went to grad school, I discovered quilting and found my passion.
I learned to sew with the help of my Mom and by trial and error. My Mom sewed for me as a child and up until I was 18. I never had any interest in it until about 2 1/2 yrs ago. So while living in FL and my Mom in AL I bought a sewing machine and got started. I knew more than I thought I knew, I guess just by being around my Mom growing up. But I spent hours on the phone with her as she explained things to me and walked me through the steps. I’ve actually scanned the ‘guide sheet’ from a pattern and emailed it to her so she could see what I didn’t understand! From there, I picked up the rest by trying new things, googling on the internet to look for answers to my questions and of course still asking my Mom! I have truly discovered my passion!!!!!! And it feels so good to have a passion in life. It’s hard to see how I went this long without learning how to sew. I wish I’d done it years ago!
I don’t ever remember learning to sew. I just know that when I was about 5 or 6 my grandmother dug out my mom’s old singer child’s machine. This wasn’t a treadle machine, but it made stitches only when you turned the wheel by hand. I remember spending hours making doll clothes for a couple of tiny dolls I had.
rsgrandinetti@yahoo.com
Well, I grudgingly learned to sew from my mother. She was a young single woman of the late sixties and designed and sewed beautiful clothes. I still have a lovely green velvet coat that she made for me and that my daughter wore as a toddler. I attempted sewing many times through my youth/teen years and always hated it. So frustrating! I learned to love sewing in my late 20′s when I taught myself quilting. I quilted for years, but once my daughter was born, my projects became much smaller in scope! My mother still laughs at my love of the sewing after all the years of complaining and fits I put her through when trying to sew! I guess I just had to do it my way!
i had a wonderful teacher ms sanden in high school who taught me everything i know. she was amazing. i learned everything from weaving to tailoring to pattern alterations. recently when i pick up sewing again, i realized the knowledge i learned years ago has made mw a better sewer today.
My mom sewed clothes for us and other things when I was little. I don’t remember her teaching me. But I remember her helping pick out this pattern for Home Ec class in 7th grade. Everyone else was making those letter pillows, but I wanted to do palazzo pants. After that, I didn’t sew until my husband and I bought our first house and my mom brought over her old machine for me. That was only 5 years ago.
I learned how to sew in home ec class at school. My mother owned a sewing machine but never used it, but she was happy to support my crafting habit. Thanks Mom, you were the best!!
I started teaching myself to sew about 7 months ago at the age of 41. I love every single minute of it. My mother did not sew, I don’t know anyone who sews, yet something inspired me and I have not looked back. It is like a little secret when I shake my head humbly (very humbly with these beginner’s projects that I am nonetheless fiercely proud of!), and say, “oh that? I made that!” I continue to amaze and thrill myself with the entire process. I keep wondering: Where has sewing been all my life?
I gave my 2 year old daughter a Big Bird plastic pretend sewing machine so she can sit near me at her little table with her scraps and go “bang, bang, bang!” (her delighted exclamation at the sound of the machine!) along with me. I look forward to sharing my new passion with her over the years and building a new tradition together.
I learned to sew in high school home ec class. I didn’t really get into it until recently, though.
I don’t quite remember how old I was, but I learned to sew just a little bit from both my grandmas. However, the real learning came from my summer babysitter’s mom – she helped me figure out how to make a cute bag for my 4-H project that summer. And she didn’t let me cheat by having her do the work (unlike some people) – I remember that bag was horizontal pink stripes, and discussing the need to line up the pattern, so that both pieces were cut the same and could be line up together.
I learned how to sew in home ecomonics class when I was in 7th grade. I remember making a skirt, it was hideous. I swore never to sew again. Fast forward to 2 years ago when my sister refused to make me another bag. She showed me how to thread my sewing machine. I relearned the basics, and I’ve been hooked ever since!
Tough love is exactly what i needed!
I learned to sew on a machine a year ago. My co-worker gave me her mom’s Kenmore sewing machine, never used! I read the manual. My friend’s sister gave me some pointers. Then I bought a sewing book and went on the internet. I found a good zippered pouch tutorial on the internet with great pics and that was the first thing I sewed. The most recent thing I sewed was a purse, which I also got instructions off the internet.
I wanted to make pillows when I was about 12 years old. The schools took out Home Ec right before I got to 7th grade, so my sister got to do all the fun stuff (she hated it) and I missed out! My mom helped me with sewing on her Singer. In college I graduated to making a pillowcase and duvet cover. When I became a mom, I took a beginner’s quilting class with other moms just for the social aspect, and I was hooked! I recently got out a quilt I designed and started about 8 years ago and I’m determined to finish it soon. I’m currently enjoying home decorating projects.
My mother taught me to sew when I was about 7 years old. Her old Singer was in my room and when she was working on a project I’d sit and watch her. I can still hear her voice when I sit down at my sewing machine and I wish she was still here to share in my newfound love of sewing as a 35 year old woman. I have so many questions I would ask her. Instead I have her picture mounted over my machine so I can feel her loving support as I try to master a skill that was second nature to her.
I vaguely remember my mom sewing very basic items to put in my Barbie’s house when I was little, but never really showing me how to do it. Then my brother dated a girl who was into sewing handbags and making her own clothes. She sat down one day and showed me how to set the machine up and then I hit the internet looking for tutorials on how to make handbags, etc. I taught myself basically everything I know. I’ve currently taken up quilting. It’s so much fun!!!
I learned to sew on a big black monster my Mom had. It bit my finger. But, I got it back. I didn’t stop sewing. Yup, I’ll show that big bad machine who’s boss. I was 9 or 10 at the time. I bought my first machine at a garage sale. Weighed as much as I did. Then for graduation my parents bought me a little baby Sears Kenmore. I had that thing for 15 or so years. My husband bought me a low end New Home (I needed something a little larger). Now I’m a Bernina Girl all the way. I have learned so much and made so many different things- now I’m mainly a quilter. But, with all of these cool new fabrics, I’m thinking I need some camp shirts. I’ve been sewing/quilting a long time and still love it!
I taught myself to sew. My first “project” was a tote bag made out of the ugliest fabric I have ever seen. I never used a pattern, but had a good time making stuff up. That is how I still sew!
This is such a great giveaway-thanks for the chance to win–
My Mom sewed things when I was younger, but just taught us the basics- hemming and buttons. My grandmother was the seamstress in the family. I have so many little flannel and cotton nightgowns that she made for me growing up, and my most precious of all- the quilts she made me. I have been taking classes to learn how to sew and quilt. I also read a lot of books…and blogs!
These comments are fun to sift through. Although my mother is crafty and talented, by the time I caught the sewing I was across the country with many miles separating us. (She did, however, teach me to knit when I was a young’n.) I taught myself to sew by buying a sewing machine and pouring through several books–a whole lot of trial and error thrown in as well
. My methods are a combination of “proper” techniques and short-cuts that I have devised that I am sure would make many seasoned sewists cringe. But the most satisfying of has been sending off my first full size adult quilt (lovingly with mistakes and crooked seams and all) to my mother who lives many miles away. In that way, I am still able to remain connected to her and the craft.
I first sewed an apron in middle school for home ec, with my mother’s help. I think I hand-sewed very basic 20″ long curtains for my window when I was 17. No more sewing until I attempted a jumper for my first niece born 12 years ago. None of these experiences really fired any interest in sewing. Then when I was in medical school away from home during a family practice rotation, I was strolling down the main street of the tiny town I was based in. A woman had opened a new quilting store, and was desperate for customers. I stuck my head in, and she almost dragged me in, and offered to teach me how to sew, generously using her (probably very expensive) machines, and letting me use some of her scraps. I did eventually buy some fabric from her, and that was the start of a serious obsession with fabric and quilting. I borrowed my mother-in-law’s bernina mini-matic and started piecing; eventually got a basic kenmore when I moved away to Indiana for post-graduate training. Met the Amish community there (how lucky was that?!), and fabulous quilt stores in the area which really fueled my love of quilts and fabrics. Mostly self-taught, have never attended a sewing class due to difficult scheduling. Recently, have branched into craft sewing, fueled mainly by this website and blogs referring to it.
I have really enjoyed learning how to put the notebooks together, and most recently the mailsack. This week, I’ve made 5 mailsacks in various sizes and some with boxed corners for specific applications. Your post on interfacing was incredibly helpful and probably made it possible for me to really enjoy these projects as it wasn’t the weak link in my project (which I can see it easily could have become). Thank you so very much for your general friendliness, generosity, and inspiration. Bloggers like you have really allowed my crafting/quilting creativity to take new directions and continue to be fun & passion-inducing!
my mum and grandma always sewed – always knitted… but I was ‘daddy’s girl’ so I hammered and cut wood and fixed cars and learnt how to solder so I could fix the tv…. until 7th grade when they MADE me take sewing at my posh girl school. I hated making an apron, and learning how to make placemats and heavens forbid a dress for the end of year dance (it was black taffeta and ever so mod in design!)…. wind forward about 10 years… I’m a working professional that has travelled the globe … and I get this itch… just got to sew and knit and quilt and ….. so my mum and my gran taught me it all… and what they couldn’t i went to classes… and now I can do it all – well, a lot of it – fix the car and make a pretty dress.
I learned to sew at many stages of my life. My first sewing lessons was from grandma when I was in kindergarden. She had a room in her house that was literally surrounding by stacks of fabric, and a small area for her machine. She would teach us little things. Then in highschool I went back to grandma to learn how to make Sun dresses for a trip to Hawaii. I learned then how to read patterns. Now at present day I have been learning from my sister Irene when I visit her once and year. I also have learned tons on my own and online. Tutorials have been WONDERFUL tools to learn on your own. Im so thankful that people are kind enough to post these tutorials.
:)
I can’t pin point an exact age or time that I learnt to sew. I just grew up watching my mum sew. I watched and learned and tried the things I had seen her do, so with much love and paience on both our behalfs I learned to sew. But the thing I learnt most it to love to sew and the passion behind the creativity I got from watching mum sew.
I love reading these stories- I never dreamed how similar others’ stories would be to my own. I also learned from my grandmother on a treadle maching! Momo (my grandma) said that the electric machine went waaay to fast for me, so the treadle it was. Every summer she would make a bunch of clothes for me to wear the next year, but she had some kind of wild ideas about color and pattern, and I was reluctant to wear those clothes to school. So I asked her to teach me so I could make my own. Then guess what- my creations turned out with very similar wild colors and patterns! Now I love making dress-up clothes and halloween costumes for my son as well as the neices and nephews, and hopefully someday I’ll make them for my own grandkids. I even have my own treadle machine that I occasionally use. But I won’t expect anyone to wear my wild creations to school!
My mama can’t sew on a button, lol! But…the lady who lived behind us when I was about 9 had a sewing machine and let me run some cloth through. I was hooked! After that I started cutting up everything I could lay my hands on and making whatever I could by hand!
I taught myself how to sew when I was a girl. My older sister had a little Singer machine that I coveted so I would sneak into her room when she wasn’t home to make clothes for my stuffed animals. I didn’t always have fabric so I used paper a lot of the time.
Then, when was in middle school I took sewing as my ‘elective’ course, and never looked back. Some 30 years later, I still sew like crazy and am always trying to learn a new technique or trick to add to my repetoire.
Thanks for the great giveaway! Somebody will be very happy on Monday!
My mother taught me how to use the sewing machine at a young age.
Several years later I found myself with a lot of extra time on my hands and a desire to create. So I borrowed a machine, bought a basic sewing book, and have been creating ever since. I feel lucky to have a mom that passed along such a gift.
I finally learned to sew in junior high in home ec class. I fondled every scrap of fabric we had in our house up until that time. My favorite bag of scraps was in my mother’s closet. Inside the bag were the beginnings of a dress she tried to make for me when I was very small…it still had pins in it. She gave up and stuffed it in a sack. Because I didn’t know how to sew, I would cut up socks to make dresses for my Barbie dolls. Learning to sew was soooooooooooooooooo fulfilling!
I wish my grandmother had taught me to sew, but she lived several thousand miles away. On the other hand the site of her sewing table tucked into the front entryway that was NEVER USED (everyone came in the side door) did make me want to learn. I learned through school and my best friend who was taught by her grandmother (who made her rip out TONS of stuff until she got it right so maybe not being taught by my grandmother had some benefits?).
Oh my goodness. This is the best giveaway I have seen.
I taught myself how to sew. Or am teaching myself I suppose would be the correct way to say it. I still haven’t sewn clothes and have made only one quilt. I love all the stories of everyone and their grandmothers teaching their mothers and their mothers teaching them. My family is craft challenged though and the word sewing machine sends shivers down their spines. Luckily for me there is the internet and a plethora of sewing books out there that has guided me in this fantastic hobby.
I have to say that I don’t recall exactly how I learned to sew. My first sewing memories are of making Barbie doll clothes with my older sister and a couple of friends. We did this all the time at our baby sitters. We moved between 3rd and 4th grade so it was sometime before that. So I must have been 8 or 9 years old. Later, on a visit to my Grandmother’s house (she lived in Arkansas and we in NY) she taught me how to hand sew a nine patch. She also taught me to use a thimble and I still can’t sew without one today. My mother was not much of a sewer but did have a machine which I used after learning to sew on one in home ec classes. So that’s about it. Some great responses and an interesting topic!
As a tiny baby, my grandma would set me in her lap and I would watch her sew. It was how she babysat when she had work to do! When I got older she would hand me a piece of striped or plaid fabric and have me practice sewing down the lines. Once my lines were straight enough, around six years old, we started making pillows. I must have made thirty pillows that first year! None of them were too square and I was more interested in make “huggy-ble” pillows that were nice and floppy, than in making pillows that were esthetically pleasing. Grandma soon decided it was time for me to start quilting. She would take me to her Women’s Club where she and other cute little ladies would swap quilt squares, sew and gossip. On those days I had five to ten wonderful teachers and my grandma got a break from child care! I made my first quilt at the age of seven and have been hooked ever since! Grandma and I still sew together when I’m visiting from out of state. I’m expected to bring home a sewing project, the latest gossip, and square or two to swap!
I am just drooling over this lovely give away! What a pile of sewing delight!
My mother taught me to sew. I remember so well the day my friend and I picked out a pretty red fabric and she whiped up skirts for us both. I also remember the jeans she made me with the rainbow trim at the waist when I was a bit bigger and HATED!
So far my kids love what I make them and that is really nice!
~Emily
My aunt, known to you possibly as P.Mookie, taught me to make pillow cases. Books and the internet have done the rest. I’d tell you more but I have to make breakfast for the kids!
Every woman in my family either directly or indirectly has influenced my sewing. My Grandma taught me to sew by hand when I was about 6. My mom still laughs and shakes her head when I thread a needle: Lick the thread, lick the needle. Just like Grandma. My Aunt Bea quilted beautiful, beautiful quilts by hand as I watched. Mom, a florist at the time, taught me about color selection and balance. My Mother-in-law taught me how to sew from a pattern. I am blessed to still have my Grandma who is anxious to teach me how to upholster and how to sew on My Husband’s Great Grandmother’s treadle machine. I have so much to learn, so much to sew!
I learned how to sew when I was 8 years old in a 4-H sewing class. I went weekly to the house of one of the other girl’s, and her mom taught us how to thread our machines, read patterns, do measurements. I hauled along this really old sewing machine that weighed far more than I did.
After all the practice, then we did a field trip to Walmart to look at pattern books. We all had to choose something to make. I made a skirt that was so cute, the only problem is I didn’t think ahead about the fabric choice very well. The skirt I put into the county fair was too sheer once strong light hit it. Although did win a ribbon for it though, but I never was able to wear it out in public.