i learned to sew at school. i think i was one of the last groups of students to truly benefit from mandatory shop classes.
my sewing machine and i have been together for 22 years. it's a good basic janome, and i don't know what i would do if it ever stops working.
i think i will take more sewing classes in the next couple of years. i have learned most of what i know from doing, but i have hit a point where i need some hands on instruction in finer techniques, not only for quilting but more particularly for dressmaking. my results are often slightly disappointing and i know it's because i am either not quite careful enough or i am sort of a hack. when i look at prize winning quilts i know there is so very much left to learn. i think that's one of the reasons i love quilting. there's always something else to do, something else that is inspiring.
the thing that keeps me going is a desire to make things. there are clothes i want to wear that i can't find in stores. and as far as quilting goes, there is just a simple joy in knowing i made it, that i chose all the colours, the patterns, the whole process. there are quilts i want to make that will continue to challenge me for a long time yet. i have two modern quilts in mind, and i am trying not to succumb to an overweening desire to collect william morris fabrics. eventually i will have a medallion quilt or something like one in morris fabrics, but i have some things to finish up first
my sewing machine is portable. i don't have a cabinet.
i took an 12 week learn to quilt class. i got stuck ont he victoria cross block and never finished the class or the sampler. i missed paper piecing, applique and two of the quilting (hand and machine) classes. i'm okay with that.
the machines i learned on had zig zag stitches, but we learned to sew basic seams and to control the fabric as it fed under the needle. i think we must have learned how to read patterns and some basic construction techniques, but from there on out i was on my own. i have learned A LOT from youtube in the last couple of years.
i was in grade 7, so i guess i was not quite a teenager.
classes, perseverance, and a good sense of humour gets me through. and then sometimes, knowing i need to walk away and think about a problem, or just give my mind and body a break. that's how i do it
aileen