| The above does not necessarily reflect our values. |
Quilting & Sewing
Sewing in the noontide and the dewy eve; ..."
|
About the time I was turning 50, I decided that I had plenty of time to waste, so I would
once again take up sewing. Actually, my neighbor, Helen (in her mid-70s) sewed beautifully
and told me that I should learn to sew....but not the little dress I wanted to make for my
oldest grand-daughter...as it was a "Daisy Kingdom"
Being the type of person I am, I figured we had a formal living room which was never used
and a den which was always in use....so, I made the living room into a dining room! (My
mother still shudders at this idea.)
Sold the living room antique furniture and moved the
dining room chandelier, etc. Now, that made me re-do my walls in the den to make them
more formal (darn--te,he) and my den now became a formal living room. That left the
dining room with nothing to do...(big grin)...so, it HAD to become a studio for my sewing, now
didn't it?
I put my Brother PC-8200 sewing machine
I hope you enjoyed reading how it came to be that I am now quilting... please go on and see the pictures of my quilts posted below.
|
I have never sewn in my lifetime. Well, except for one time, when I was in high school
home economics class. We had a class project and had to sew a dress for ourselves. I cut
and sewed my dress to "perfection". Got my "A" in that class, and then proceeded to
wear/wash my dress. It went into the washing machine fine--but came out again in
PATTERN PIECES! That experience taught me not to waste time trying to make my own
clothing. I became very proficient in buying and having my clothing altered to fit.
pattern and too hard for me to sew for my first project.
Well, that did it! I guess you could say I'm a bit stubborn, but when someone said I
couldn't do it, I was determined to do so. I made the dress. It
took me TWO weeks to do so, but I read the directions, and sewed and ripped until I
finally got it all done. Then, I proudly took it to my neighbor and she made me feel like a
million dollars with her praise of it. That did it. . . from then on I was "hooked" on the
sewing machine.
I searched the Internet, looking up sewing sites, and came across quilting....hmmm, interesting
reading. I saw a swap listed, and having never heard of "swapping", I, of course, had to
write to find out the details. Before I knew it, I had agreed to swap with twelve other
women for "house blocks"--whatever that was! Thank you, Emma Conley, for those pain-staking letters you wrote to me detailing out EVERY stitch to make a house-block and
explaining just what a quilt was! You, my dear, are responsible for this sewing craze I am
now in.
My husband's mother (who was a quilter) died, and I inherited her "stash"! (For you non-quilters, that translates to material.) I had boxes of it...stored in the shed outside (didn't
know then that material can ruin). Within a few months, my daughter's husband's
grandmother died, and I was asked to help clean out her home and take some of the
material for my own! (Quilter's dream world, yes?) So, I proudly went with my son-in-law
and his mother, only to find out his grandmother did not collect material, she "hoarded" it!
She had three rooms full of material in her home. Things that crazy quilters would die for.
I filled up two CARS full of material (one driver + all material in each car) and came on
home. Now, I had a problem. Seems I had to "get a sewing room now"!!!
My darling hubby built me a cutting table large enough to put 18 cardboard storage
boxes under...and using an old hutch and an old pie safe, between that, I almost fit all of
my material into this room! So, he put a few shelves for the "what nots" to go on and other
misc. items. I even had room for my stereo and copy machine (how else can I make copies
of patterns?). I now have the most beautiful studio I could imagine--as I listen to my
classical music; look at my stained glass hanging in the window with the sunlight coming
through, I can't help but be creative! 
My present quilting challenge is to complete a quilt for all six of my children, and all seven
grand-children, plus a brother and three nieces/nephew, mother..... well, this way, I can
"try out" all the various patterns, etc. and my learning curve will be enhanced. Maybe
someday I will quilt well enough to put my quilts "on show" ...will have to be Texas, or
Kentucky, or some other state because there just are not quilt shows in Mississippi as of
yet....
There will be More Quilting & Sewing --- COMING SOON
Please e-mail us if you have any ideas for future pages, or comments on the
current pages.