I follow Cathy’s blog Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting every day. I love everything she makes and admire her ability to sew beautiful quilts from scraps many folk would throw away.
A couple of days ago she wrote about her sewing history - she was lucky enough to be taught by her Grandma and it made me think back to my own childhood and how I was “put off” sewing!
Which was strange as my Nana (Dad’s mother) was a tailoress and was able to knit and crochet beautifully as well. My eldest sister is 11 years older than me and learned a lot from Nana but by the time I was old enough to learn she wasn’t able to teach me. However I picked up knitting and crochet from my sister.
Then came Grammar School at aged 11 and in the first year we had to make a cookery apron and a silly hat for Domestic Science lessons. I had never used a sewing machine - Mum didn’t sew - and every lesson was horrific. Either the machine wasn’t working or the needle broke, or the bobbin ran out etc etc. I spent most of the lesson waiting for our teacher (can STILL remember her name!) to help me. So as a result I hated sewing and was terrified of sewing machines!
Fast forward 10 years and I was a qualified Primary Teacher. In those days there were such things as Evening Classes run by the local Education Authority. My lovely big sister had always made my clothes . She knitted all my baby clothes and then all my jumpers and cardigans and then my dresses, even through my College days! I thought it was about time I learned to sew myself and stuck it out for two years. Not really my thing, although I tried!
Fast forward again another 10 or so years. Now a Mum of two children including a little girl who took Ballet and Tap dancing lessons. Every two years her teacher did a big show and I was expected to make costumes for her. Quelle horreur! Mum -in-law was also a good sewer and gave me her old machine. Unfortunately she didn’t live near enough to help me so I plugged on by myself. I actually managed to make the costumes but I hated it!
Then came early 1997. I read an article about Gillian Clarke, wife of a well loved politician. She was a Quilter, something I don’t really think I knew about. She made the most amazing appliqué quilts and I was hooked. I investigated Quilting, went to a Saturday class the other send of the country because I didn’t know of anything in my area. I was put in touch with a local group and the rest, as they say, is history! I was hooked, “obsessed” my husband would say. I have made the most wonderful friends, made probably 200 quilts, of all sizes and loved every minute of it.
My big sister is still amazed, she still has to pinch herself that Little Sister sews, owns more than one machine and loves cutting up fabrics into little bits and then sews them together to make something pretty and useful. She readily says it’s something she COULDN’T do, the thought of sewing all those bits together fills her with horror! So I’ve loved making quilts for all of her 8 grandchildren. Perhaps Great grandchildren one of these days?
