Re-gifting myself.

Happy 2011. I hope the new year brings peace, health and happiness to everyone out there. Of course, we know that life always throws in some twists and turns but I think we would stagnate without the challenges that help us grow and learn and (hopefully) gain those necessary character traits.


But, really, I didn't come here to talk about all that. I came to tell you how I'm re-gifting myself. I guess that's what it is. Let me start with a little history. I've been a sewer since before I went to school. Some of my favorite memories have to do with my mother calling me in from play so she could pin pattern pieces onto me.  She made some beautiful dresses. I remember sitting at those long tables in the back of fabric stores looking through the big pattern books. My mom never let me choose patterns from Vogue because she said they were too difficult for her. I think they just would have taken more time than she was interested in spending. She can make anything. When I was young I used to hand sew the most horrible little stuffed animals from scraps. When I was old enough, Mom signed me up for 4-H sewing. To be honest, I was never very good.


Fast forward to around 1999 or so. I hadn't much sewed for a long time. I made my boys a few outfits but boys aren't much fun to sew for. Then I discovered quilting. That was my passion for about 10 years. This year, I decided to sew clothes again. I'm not even sure why. I think I just wanted to remember how to do it. I made some skirts and tops and dresses over the summer. It was fun and MUCH faster than quilting. 

Oompa Loompa Nolan with Willy Wonka

This fall, Nolan was an Oompa Loompa in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at a local theater. I offered my assistance to the costume designer and had a BLAST! It really made me want to learn more about clothing construction. I found a pattern making class at a local art school and was given the money to take it from my hubby and mother-in-law.


Here's the re-gifting part. After the hustle and bustle of Christmas I was looking at the class so I could register and I discovered that it is a pre-college class. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be in a class with a lot of teen-agers and also worried it would be a little slow moving. It also was five whole Saturdays (which was a really good bargain for the price of the class). I just wasn't sure I should be away from home all those Saturdays.

So....I started looking to see if this was a skill I could learn on my own. I found the book Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified by Cal Patch. It is just the thing I need to get started. I like the clothing in it, too, which helps. So, after talking with my husband, I decided to use the money for the class to buy a chair for our living room. We have never had a nice comfortable chair for people to sit on. It's something I've wanted for a really long time. So it really is a wonderful gift.


I'll try to post my "journey" with pattern making as I learn it. Of course, I'm a terrible poster so don't get too excited! I hope to start this weekend with a simple skirt. I could use some new clothes as mine are really falling apart. Of course, I hope to shed a few pounds this winter (don't I always say that?) so knowing how to alter my patterns will be a good thing!