My Mom was a first-class professional level tailor/seamstress. By that, I mean her repertoire consisted of the full circle of anything she was asked to do: ie, wedding gowns? yes, ma'am; do you want the groom's suit as well and the rest of the wedding party? When the answer was "yes", she turned out some of the most beautiful work I have ever seen, my own wedding dress included. HOWEVER...she could NOT teach me much at all. I learned most of what I knew then in Home Ec class and she tried to encourage (berate!) me at home through this. I think her problem was that things came so naturally to her that she just could not teach, even (especially??) her own daughter. However, I DID "get even" with her when she was about 70...I taught HER to quilt! And found myself in the same situation she had been in all those many years ago...didn't even know where to start! But...before she passed away at age 80, she was better than I was, by far! The only thing she told me about quilting was that she didn't realize how hard it was to keep those "little" seams to 1/4"....and gave me a look that said..."but I will!" And...she did. I gave her last three quilts to her grandchildren and they are thrilled to have such a remembrance of her.