When I was a little girl, I discovered some of my mother’s childhood dresses and skirts in a closet. I loved them so much, I convinced my grandmother to make me a poodle skirt. I proudly it wore to school at age eight, complete with saddle shoes and a cardigan. That’s right, I was wearing clothes about thirty years out of date, and I felt gorgeous. I think everyone thought it was a phase.
Nope.
Fast forward to adulthood: I’d been having a long love affair with historical clothes, be they antique, vintage, retro…I loved them all. I wanted them for my very own. Maybe I could make them? In 2009, I bought a sewing machine with very little idea what I was doing with it. I had a vague idea how to use it, because I had made some Halloween costumes with lots of help from my grandmother…and that was not a whole lot of experience. I had to read the directions for the machine to figure out how to thread a bobbin and set the thread tension. I had never made a whole garment on my own before, ever. There was this whole mysterious new world to explore, filled with terms like voile, french seam, and darts.
I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I had an Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and loads of determination. That had to be pretty good. I mean, what couldn’t I do with a winning combination like that? So I dove in and bought patterns, fabric and sewing books. At last. I could wear whatever I wanted, design my own clothes, and recreate looks from any era I chose. Oh, the things I could do with this machine! Alas, there was a problem. The skills I had were minimal, and in some cases, missing altogether. I shrugged, said “Here we go!”and got started on my very first dress. The thrill of discovery was addictive.
This blog is all about my journey from eager sewing beginner to…wherever I end up, because I’m not there yet. Thanks for joining me on the road to get there. Oh, and be prepared for kitty pictures. They love helping me sew.
Happy reading!
Trish
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Planet Trish 