BettyGee

My grandmother was the most amazing woman in so many ways, one was that she could do anything that used a needle and thread. She tatted the most beautiful pieces and I still have them. The memories of her making things was what sparked the interest in me, but it was my wonderful mother-in-law that really got me going. She was my DH's step-mother and the sweetest lady ever. She was never too busy to share her love of crocheting, cooking or anything else I asked her. The sound of sewing scissors on the table cutting out fabrics is music for me. My SIL has recently asked to have me teach her how to crochet and my niece wants to learn to quilt. Will I help, you better believe it and it will be my pleasure to do so. My son, who has always supported me in all my crafting, will inquire about techniques used in sewing. He just wants to know how it is done and it tickles me to share with him. He is a software engineer and very detail oriented and he asks lots of questions. Aren't memories fun?

raptureready

I don't ever remember mom not sewing. It was just a way of life at our house.

Donna in Mo

My Mom made such pretty dresses for me. Mom was a wonderful seamstress. She sewed fancy work at the shoe factory. I remember my great-aunt Nannie quilting with the American War Mothers. They set up the frame in the back room and I played beneath it. Aunt Nan taught me to crochet too. She crocheted bedspreads for each of her 3 grandchildren and for my brother and me.

butterflies5518

My Grandmother taught me to crochet at 6-7 on pillowcases and my mother always made my clothes, even in high school. I took Home He in jr high and have been sewing ever since (40 years) and quilting for 1 full year now - I am super proud of that accomplishment!

Sis

Like so many of you I learned to sew from my mom. My mom had me hand sewing on 'sewing cards' using yarn @ 5 y.o. My paternal grandmother kept an old old tea tin of scrap fabric with hand sewing needle & a spool of thread for me when we visited. Mom had me sewing on her Elna (which she made my baby clothes with)by 7y.o. I now have it since mom died. I had 9 yrs of 4-H sew. & 4 of H.S. Home Ec. My mom-in-law rekindled my quilting interest a few yrs ago. Each one of her 17 children, 47+ grans and 20+ great-grans have been blessed w/ at least 1 of her hand-quilted quilts.(Too much for me to ever live up to.) My husband and I have been blessed with 3 quilts - one for our wedding gift, one for our 25th wedding anniversary and one for my husband's military retirement. I treasure them so much.

Nanaquilts44

My mother was a wonderful seamstress. She made some beautiful clothes for her neices when she was pretty young. I especially loved the beautiful clothees that she made for a Madame Alexander doll that I had. She even made coats for the doll. I never inherited the skill that she had.

Patches1900

My mom worked hard raising 7 kids but didn't sew. My maternal grandmother sewed some but mostly knit and crocheted. I learned to crochet at 13 after Gram taught my older sister who then taught me, sewing I learned in home-ec in high school, then my marvelous MIL got me started knitting at 22 . Sewed mainly clothes for myself in 70's & 80's but that mostly stopped when I fell in love with quilting in late 80's after seeing a cousin's tied quilts at a family gathering. I am mostly self-taught with a modest library of quilt books and a pretty good stash. I also borrow books from our local library & have several magazine subscriptions. I absolutely love quilt shows and partiularly scrap quilts and can spend hours just planning one and picking out just the fabrics! I get antsy if I go more than 2 days without some quality time with my sewing machine! I enjoy the whole process and do my own FMQ since I can't afford to send them out to be quilted. Enjoy working on several projects at once (to avoid boredom) and am disciplined enough to finish most of what I start. Other favorite ativities are reading and gardening. Love this board which has already taught me so much - thank you all!

oakdryad5

Both of my grandmothers were always sewing. one was a homemaker and she sewed much of her own clothes and clothes for the grandchildren, frilly pretty dresses and that sort of thing. she had five boys so it seems like she was waiting to try out her skills on girls clothes! my mother saved all of those handmade baby dresses and my own daughter has worn them too which is just so wonderful. my other grandma worked in a factory sewing lace for most of her adult life. she made all of her daughter (my moms) clothes and taught her to sew. my mom made most of her clothes as a young adult and her maternity clothes too. it was a given that i'd be sewing at some point since i always remember seeing them all at their machines and trying on their creations

chuckbere15

I was about five or six when I remember mom sewing on her Singer. She would make us our PJs and shirts. I remember her making the whole family matching shirts. It wasn't untill mom retired before she starting quilting. I was on the phone with her, I was living in Asheville at the time, when she told me he was making a quilt. I mentioned this to my roommate ans Brenda told me that she and her mom and grandmother would all sit around and quilt. And that is how I started.

SEW

I used to watch my mother make some of our clothes on her sewing machine. I was always amazed at how she could create something beautiful that I could wear from a flat piece of fabric! Later, when I started to sew, she was always very supportive and interested in my projects...as a matter of fact she still is! I am very fortunate, and we spend most Tuesday mornings sewing together. It is so much fun!