YAh I get to start the first thread of the day. Where on earth is everyone. I know its almost Thanksgiving but my goodness. Anyways, I am going to learn how to sew today, so that should be fun. Its rainy and cold out here today so its a good day to stay inside.
I don't know about everyone else, but I'm I'm in the middle of Thanksgiving countdown craziness. Thanksgiving Dan is also my son's birthday, and my oldest daughter's boyfriend's birthday the day after Thanksgiving! (He's coming up here from NC with my daughter.)
You will never regret knowing how to sew! It's one of those skills that we all need to have, like typing, swimming, and driving a car. Have fun...
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"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
Yeah I have decided that I want to be one of those moms who does household things. And my mom gave my a used sewing machine. While she is here we are going to sew some curtains for the house. So thats fun. And since I have been going to church I have gotten tired of wearing the same old thing all the time. And now I will be able to make myself skirts. So I am excited.
Moore I hope that you can manage to enjoy your holidays even though its all hectic. I will be driving your way again at some point next month.
Oh Shelly, you must have been caught in that generation of school kids that weren't given home ec and shop classes. That was done here too for a few years, but fortunately, it's been reinstated now as they've been recognised as life skills.
You'll never regret learning how to sew! It's one of the handiest things to be able to make your own things.
Today, I have to go do my parents' laundry and then hire someone from an agency to come do it once a week. I can't keep doing this - it's wearing me out, big time.
Tomorrow I get to spend time with my little ones as the m-i-l is finally heading back to Newton, Mass. Little Vanessa started her Montrtessori classes yesterday! I can't believe a 2 and 1/2 year old is going to school already, but that's when Montessori starts the children in the programme.
Nick's suits and shirts finally arrived this morning from Viet Nam. I'll tackle that huge box later, after another cup of tea. I'll open it on the back porch in case there's a little creature of God inside. Yikes!
We're not celebrating American Thanksgiving this year as my oldest son, Tony, is in Calgary for a few days. Nick is in Oz and Mike is way too busy with another school project to take any time out at all. I lucked out on that one, lol. But have a great one, all my American friends!
I did take Home Ec in junior high but that was like 15 years ago and all they had us learn was how to make a pillow. My mom is here and will take advantage and teach me more.
Shelley we'll be learning together. Well, I know how to hand stitch very well actually. I made the cutest little bunny in Home Ec, and since I did so well, I thought I'd hand sew everything. Well, that doesn't work so well with 3 kids now, and I want to make their costumes this year, and I saw the most beautiful light blue fabric with gold butterflies. It was a little bit oriental looking, and since I'm getting my aunts hand me down (they're still almost new I can't believe she's just giving them to me. I've wanted these things forever and could never find anything like them) living room set, it will match perfectly. This fabric is way to thick for me to try to hand sew that's for sure. So if the husband doesn't get me a nice sewing machine for Christmas he won't get what he wants until he does lol.
If you have kids, you really HAVE to have a sewing machine! It's so great for making quick repairs on seams, etc., and the stitches are far sturdier than hand stitching. I've sewn up a lot of crotches in jeans!
I made my kids' Halloween costumes for YEARS, and always had a great time doing it. I don't sew a lot of clothes for myself -- normally limit it to the occasional simple skirt in fabrics I like, but use my machine ALL the time for my cloth dollmaking, and also for the occasional crafts or home decor-type stuff. (A couple of years ago, I made my youngest daughter a duvet cover with matching pillow shams. It was for her dorm room when she was still at boarding school, and she picked out the fabric. She was happy!) It's also nice to be able to make some placemats, if you have an idea for your dining room and/or kitchen, but can't find commercially made ones that fit your "vision"... LOL!
Of course, I still use my machine for repairs too!
Honestly, I don't think that I could do without my sewing machine anymore than I could do without my car...!!!
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
You know considering how short I am, I should have had one years ago. It would make clothing shopping much easier. I could easily hem my own stuff then.
We all had to take Home Ec and shop. I loved shop, and if I didn't have to take all of the AP classes, I would have taken more shop. Of course in small towns there is a set time for the classes, and they've outlined the schedule so that the "smart kids" take all the same classes at the same times, and they all overlapped. Like English was at the same time as woodworking, and there were no other alternative times for English, unless you wanted to take language arts, but if you scored so high on your standardized tests you really weren't allowed to because it wasn't advanced. That's my biggest gripe about small schools. You are almost literally boxed into certain classes and you have to be what they choose for you.
I am not very good at sewing, but I have given it an honest effort over the years!
When my daughter was younger, I made her Halloween costume every year. I truly made some wonderful costumes, and they can be forgiving if everything is not perfect. As Sabrina got older, I made her costumes for school plays. I was forever making doll clothes, and at one point every curtain in my house was made by me.
One Christmas, I made each of my 13 nieces and nephews a fleece throw blanket, that had silk sewn all around the edges. I then made two matching throw pillows. It was great fun shopping for the fleece, because there are some great patterns out there, and I customized each one to the individual personalities. A few of the kids still have them out in their rooms, and the kids still use them years later to curl up with on the couch on a cold winter's night.
I actually picked up a new sewing machine over the summer, when I was re-doing my kitchen. I made my own balloon curtains, to match my dishes pattern. There was nothing out there, and my pattern is Royal Dalton's Old Country Rose. I could not find fabric anywhere, so I purchased two big table cloths, cut them in half, and made my own balloon curtains.
