Returning Home

Dorothy: Oh, will you help me? Can you help me?
Glinda, the Good Witch: You don’t need to be helped any longer. You’ve always had the power to go back to Kansas.

I read somewhere that if you want to find what your passion is, go back to the time when you were about 9 years old.When I was 9, I loved sewing. I learned how to sew in 4-H. I would go over to the sewing instructor's home for one on one lessons, while she patiently taught me about cutting and pinning, tailor tacks, making darts, putting in zippers and finishing seams. My first creation was a a-line purple skirt made out of cotton and my second was a purple jumper. Do you think purple was my favorite color? I continued to sew in high school. I made two prom dresses and I made my rocker Jimmy Page wanna-be boyfriend a white silk blazer. (He is my husband today) I continued to do some sewing while in college. After college, I lived at home and attended graduate school. I made a quilt for my mom's bed, I made her some clothes and made myself clothes and Halloween costumes for my niece and nephew.  I made my wedding dress, the bridesmaid dress and the flower girl dress. After getting married, I worked a couple of years as a manager in JoAnn Fabrics. Of course, I sewed then. I made really cool window treatments for our first apartment and matching place mats. I made my husband a Santa outfit. Then I got my serger which opened up new sewing possibilities.  I made pullovers for my husband. As a cyclist, I got into sewing with lycra. My husband and I had a business for a while making bicycle shorts and jerseys before I got my first full time teaching job. I made the purple shirt dress that helped me in my first job interview and I made the Vogue suit that I wore to the second interview. I even sewed a little bit my first few years teaching. I made hats for my students and pillows for the classroom. But then we moved to our house and I started doing other things. The sewing machines were put away and I didn't sew for years.

My nephew was getting married this summer and I needed a dress. After days of searching for the perfect dress, it hit me. I should make a dress! That was all it took to get me back into sewing. It didn't take me long to realize that I was back home where I was supposed to be. Sewing.

9 Years Old

The sewing world has changed so much since the time I used to sew. There was no Internet, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and blogs. Now, with the access to designer fabrics on the Internet, sewing tutorials, pattern reviews, and the blogging community of sewers sharing their creations, sewing goes beyond my own sewing room. What an exciting time to be sewing!

About Me

I live in the corner of Northeastern Connecticut and teach 4th grade.

Me today at 53