As a little girl...maybe age 11, my mom sent me to the Singer store in Miracle Mile Shopping Plaza in Toledo to take a sewing class. That would begin my love for all things fabric. I made a simple bathing suit cover up out of terry cloth with a matching beach towel.
Fast forward a few years, high school to be exact, Junior year @ Notre Dame Academy. It was the annual Christmas formal. I had a gorgeous, full length black velvet skirt that I wore with a white blouse. Something seemed to be missing with the ensemble, so I designed a black velvet bolero with elaborate frog closures. It was stunning! That began my trip into sewing all my prom dresses.
Moving on from the 70's to the 80's. Now married life to Richard, the love of my life, and new little bundle named Erin Maria. Rick was in dental school and we had no money to speak of. My sewing machine was once more whirring. The little flannel baby clothes morphed into gorgeous little overalls, embelished with my needlework and eyelet lace and frills. I wish I had them now.
I stopped sewing clothes when Ian arrived. His little brother, Trevor, came along a few years later. Oh I would repair the worn out knees on their pants and rips and tears and such. Ok so I DID sew their Halloween costumes, but nothing more elaborate than that.
When the kids were little we had a neighbor that lived across the street briefly. She was an avid quilter. She could throw together a lap quilt top in an afternoon and have it finished within a few days. She taught me the art of hand quilting and took me on a field trip to the Sauder Village annual quilt show in May one year. Ohhh, ahhh!! When she moved I tried to connect with a quilt shop on Sylvania Ave., but the ladies there were most intimidating. The quilt/fabric bug would go dormant until now.
