I had to keep babysitting (which I spent all my earnings on fabric to make clothes for myself) because I could not get a real job as a waitress or dept store clerk because I was on a college bound diploma in high school. But I made my dad, a nuclear engineer, a suit that he wore to work and bragged about, and another man who worked there saw it and hired me to work in his wife's tailor shop. I was about 15....I couldn't drive yet. Made less than 50 cents an hour, a downgrade from babysitting. I could not afford the fabrics there, and my parents could not afford to buy me a Huskavarna/Viking machine they sold there. So I stuck with my $75.00 Kenmore. But it paid us back when both my Dad and I wore suits I had made to a college interview. It was there that the dean asked where my extracurricular activities were (none) and i hung my head in shame. My dad piped up and said I had made both of our suits. The Dean was so impressed, he let me in Early Decision to Virginia Tech in 1973, where I got an Engineering Degree....Totally unheard of for a girl in the early 70's..... Who said, "sewing doesn't pay?". Next, I met a man who was 6'8" tall who could not buy any clothes except blue jeans because he was too tall (in the '70's...not like now).....I think he married me because I could sew.....and yes, I had to make his wedding suit. 41 years later, it must have been more than my sewing skills that kept us together....but I thought only us crazy quilters could enjoy this family history story.....do you think sewing is in our DNA? Maybe we all should get tested. LOL