MaryLane

Who taught you to sew?
My mother and myself. Mom wasn’t a very good teacher. She told me, “This is a 5/8” seam mark. Line your fabric up there. This is reverse. Don’t sew over your fingers.”

What frustrated you the most about your sewing machine?
The bobbin got tangled a LOT and broke a lot of needles. I now wonder if it was slightly out of time or had a crack in the bobbin case. I think it was a Singer from the late 60’s. It was the mocha color and had zigzag and reverse.

What would make it easier to learn to sew?
That was over forty years ago. I can’t remember but I think a different sewing machine.

What did you do to conquer the sewing machine? Mom had bought this doll dress pattern. It was an 18” size and she wouldn’t sew it because it was so small. I made that pattern in every scrap I could find. My sisters had doll dresses in double knit, cotton, velveteen, and various polys from nightgowns and such I cut up. So, PRACTICE!

What kept you going? Need and entertainment. I was a better seamstress than Mom because I took time for the details she did not. Also, it kept me busy.

Where did you keep your sewing machine? Case or Cabinet? Mom’s was in a cabinet. My first was a cabinet model, Singer Stylist, my Mammaw gave me. I later bought a Kenmore in a case that worked MUCH better than anything I had ever used. Now I have several machines in cases, cabinets and tables.

When did you conquer the sewing machine? That first sewing machine, within a year or so. Mom would holler, “Mary, come fix this thing, “ when it got jammed up. I had more patience. Her next machine had a lot more bells and whistles – a buttonhole maker! – I set down the first chance I got and tried everything.

How did you ever learn to quilt? I started piecing by hand during the blizzard of ’78. We were out of school and without power for most of three weeks. When I got married I made what I called comforters as bedspreads. The pieces were huge and they were tied or just SID. I finally started quilting about 5 years ago out of boredom.

Did you use a straight stitch or zig zag sewing machine to learn to sew? ZigZag

Were you a child or an adult when you learned to quilt? I suppose an adult. I don’t know that I learned so much as I just started doing it so that I could continue to sew. I know people are going to flame me for it but it seems to me that piecing is such a basic skill that if you can sew you can piece. As for the quilting, I am not artistic enough to achieve beautiful feathers and the like. If you saw my handwriting you would understand. I get that over as quickly as possible and generally use boards - aka: Quilting for Dummies.