Sew Much Fun

When Allen and I were first married his paternal grandparents gave me a sewing machine.  They told me that they couldn't imagine someone having kids and no sewing machine to create things on.  My mom was always an amazingly talented seamstress but I was pretty lacking in the sewing department.  However, this was a game changer for me. 

The machine came with a free class on how to operate it and that was what got me excited about the possibilities.  I started out just making blankets because I figured anyone could sew a bunch of squares together.  They turned out pretty good and so I ventured into the territory of making a dress or two for Elle when she was really young and didn't care what she was wearing.  Those turned out pretty great, too.  I even tried making some of my own maternity clothes once.  They were so fashionable and well-made!  (Well, at least I thought so until I got them out for my next pregnancy and realized how homemade they looked.  But still!) The thing I quickly realized was that anyone can sew if they're willing to read a pattern and follow directions.  I could even create Halloween costumes without a pattern as long as I was willing to make a few mistakes along the way.

This is why, when the drama teacher at the high school asked if I could help with costumes for the musical Seussical this year, I said yes.  It has actually been a lot of fun!  Thumbelina is helping too - she did most of the work on this pile of Who-Girl dresses:

while I'm just doing a bunch of random things like sewing a hidden pocket into the back of a dress or re-constructing existing costumes with feathers and trim and ribbons and adjustments or making this bird-girl dress a bit longer and that Thing 2 outfit a bit smaller.

It has been a fun way to be involved in something I loved in high school without having to be away from home.  I'm grateful for insightful grandparents who gifted me my sewing machine and helped me to discover talents I didn't even know I had!