The Seamstress

My mother was a very good seamstress. I can sew, but I have no where near the skill my mother had. Even so, I felt it was something the girls should know how to do. For years I tried to get my kids interested in sewing, cooking, gardening etc.,, but they looked at me like I had just said, "Let's go cut the grass with scissors!" After being rejected time and time again, I finally gave up offering to teach my "skills" to the next generation.

Once my oldest daughter moved out and was living on her own, she realized she needed to know the things I've been trying to teach her and came to me for recipe's and "lessons". She's turned out to be a decent cook, a devoted gardener, and it's safe to say she's inherited the "craft" gene!

A couple of years ago she finally asked me to teach her how to sew! Yea! Lesson One was throw pillows (she made four for her sofa) ... and I had to take a picture to commemorate the occasion!

After the pillows were done, she wanted me to help her make a dress, but I convinced her we should start with something simpler, like an apron. She had wanted an apron anyway ... to hold scissors and things at work anyway, so an apron seemed like a better next step than a dress. We didn't have a pattern for a half-apron, so I made one up. It has no raw edges to fray, so her aprons will last until the fabric dry rots! Here is her very first apron ...

When she wore her apron to work, several co-workers wanted her to make one for themselves and to give as gifts. She's made full cooking aprons for women and shop aprons for men. She's gone on to make clothing, and I've taught her how to repair garments, including replacing the zippers. She's got a nice little cottage business doing alterations and sewing aprons and various items people request.  What's better than a hobby that produces a little extra income?! I know my mother is in heaven, smiling and beaming with pride as she watches her first granddaughter happily sitting at a sewing machine!

Here are some of the aprons she's made ...