I've always been around people who sew. I'm Cajun by birth and both grandmothers (both gone now) and my mother sewed. I learned at age 10 on grandmother's treadle machine for a 4-H apron project. I now have that machine in my living room. I inherited it from my dad's mother. She made quilts for all the grandkids and her children. My mother's mom sewed baby dresses by hand to make extra money for the family. A company in New Orleans would send them the patterns and fabric and the ladies would make them. Those were hard times. My mother is 86 and still makes beautiful baby clothes by hand. She has a good reputation and the clothes are one of a kind. She says she does it just to have something to do... and she does it well. I hope that a little bit of her talent has rubbed off.