I Am A Seamstress - Rediscovering the Sewing Machine

I grew up in the 50’s, when a little girl spent time learning all the homemaker skills.  I could prepare a pork roast, I could crochet an edging on a handkerchief, I could sew drapes, I could plant vegetables and deadhead roses.  

When I was in the 5^th grade, my mother took me to a Cuyahoga Falls, to the Singer Sewing Machine store where I took sewing lessons and made my first dirndl skirt.  In 1960 I purchased my first Singer Sewing Machine and it served me well.  In addition to my own clothes, I also made outfits for my little boys every Easter, 

Easter 1970 - Michael and Joey in matching handmade sport coats!

curtains for every window in my house and Halloween costumes!  But the years passed and my Singer Sewing machine gathered dust in the storeroom.

Then, about 3 months ago, my brother, Fred, was trying to sell his mother-in-law's sewing machine, a Husqvarna Viking Freesia 425.  So even though I don’t sew anymore, I decided to donate my old Singer to the Salvation Army and buy this more modern machine.  I put the Husqvarna in the storeroom and forgot about it.

Enter my son Marc, in September...  "Mom, is it possible for you to make a Green Goblin costume for Gino for Halloween.  He wants to be the Green Goblin and we can't find a costume online or in the Halloween stores.  Here is a picture of what he should look like."  Of course, my answer as the mother who can do anything, is... “of course, let me work on it.”

A week and four trips to Joann's later, here is the plan.  Charlotte is getting a green long sleeve shirt and green leggings and the mask.  I am making the gloves, boot covers, the tunic and the hat.  

I set up the new Husquvarna in the office.  I find a 45 minute video on YouTube that introduces me, step by step, to my new machine.  Simple patterns for the items were easily found online.  And within about 4 days, to quote Gino, “I DID IT!”

Gino trying on his finished costume.

A week later, enter Marc..."Mom, the Green Goblin needs a messenger bag to wear across his body."  I suggested he use a small cross-body plain purse I have and Marc responded in no uncertain terms!  “NO.  That's a PURSE...he needs a plain messenger bag.”

Another trip to Joann's to buy heavy brown fleece and we have a messenger bag.  Mima fullfils her promise, Gino is happy, and Marc has nothing more to say.

 

Gino on Halloween - front view

Back View - note cross-body Messenger Bag!

But Mima is experiencing an itch.  That was kind of fun.  I wonder what else I could make?  The internet is full of ideas. What about Jessie?  I have never had a little girl to sew for.  I spend a few? hours on Pinterest.  Do you know how many free patterns for little girl's clothing are "out there?"  I download a few.

I make another trip to Joann's and I discover the remnant bin!  AND they are 50% off.  AND there is a lovely pattern of little snowmen and Christmas is coming.

The dress is darling...but it needs some matching bloomers.  And then what about a matching headband.

Another trip to Joann's and some elastic is purchased and the items are made.

 

Jessie's Pinafore Dress/Top can also be worn over a onsie and with leggings!

I save all my remnants neatly folded on my closet shelf.  It is growing and waiting for the next project. (Will this end up taking over my yarn stash?)

Returning to the craft of sewing reminds me of just how wonderful it is to enter the world of creativity.  Whether it is knitting a sweater, painting a picture, planting a garden, baking a cake, or even writing a blog post…when my hands pick up something that is seemingly ordinary and I begin to make something new with it, I enter a different world. I am in the flow.  

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi defines “flow” as a state of heightened focus and blissful immersion.  There is a focus that causes time to disappear.  I forget myself, my anxieties, my "shoulds" and "oughts" and I just FLOW as if I am a part of something larger. And when I exit “the FLOW” I am left with this wonderful clarity and sense of being refreshed!  It is a gift I give myself.

At the moment I feel a tremendous sense of gratitude to the women in my life who shared their skills with me.  First of all, to my mother as my role model, who let me cook alongside her, let me participate every Christmas when she painted a large holiday mural on our living-room window, and who sewed all my dancing costumes.  

Patricia about 8 years old - Tap Dancing Costume

Then to my Grandmother, Frances who taught me to crochet and to love to get my hands into the dirt of the garden.  To my friends, "The Achrems" - Janette and Resi, who taught me how to knit when I was a young woman expecting my first child.  All of these dear women shared their skills, their crafts, and their love with me.  And it is the gift that keeps on giving!  I look to Jessie Patricia and hope that in the future, I can pass along some of this along to her.

But right now, I have a slight problem... I am experiencing a little itch! I think I have fallen down a rabbit hole!  On to Pinterest!