I learned to sew very young. A relative was a millner and gave me scraps and fabric flowers and petals to make doll clothes. My grandmother taught me how to hand sew them. My mother sewed beautifully, but only at night after we went to bed and woe to the child who even touched her treadle machine. I never learned how to coordinate feet and hands on a treadle, but took home ec in Jr. High and became very adept on an electric machine. I made most of my own clothes from then on and all of my DD's clothes until she begged me to stop in her teens. I tried to teach her how to sew but she refused to learn. Now, at 34, she is finally able to do simple sewing and is enjoying it. I think I may be able to get her into quilting at some point, especially since she loves to fabric shop and is great at putting fabrics together. It's a shame the school budgets so severely limit teaching home crafts. How are the young people to learn to take care of themselves without those classes, especially if there's not someone to teach them at home.