I’ve been sewing since girls studied Home Economics and boys took Shop. I will however give my mother the credit for teaching me sewing basics and providing the machine and fabric. (And for sacrificing her bed where I plopped my patterns and projects and her bedroom where the Singer console resided.) Garments later my husband bought me a New Home portable when we first married. It made it through fits and starts of sewing madness or neglect for 35 years. When my daughter requested a basic machine, my husband bought her a Husqvarna Viking® top model and I decided to get one for myself. While my daughter only wanted and needed a simple machine, I dove in to the complexities of an advanced machine and vowed to learn to sew like a pro (and make my mom proud).

I am my own teacher now. With online access to answers and tutorials demonstrating anything, one can advance their skills. I will not however say this is easy, as it comes with lots of trial and error. (Not just in mastering technique, but in learning new ways to learn – drop in on a Zoom class or IGTV!)

My most recent challenge is demystifying the serger.

After replaying Anita By Design and the best serger for beginners no fewer than 100 times, I dared to pull the unopened Genuine Collection Vibrant out of the box. More than once I almost tossed it to the curb. Eventually I made progress and with a few ah-ha moments, I deemed it worthwhile for more than adding to my cloth napkin collection. With my fabric odds and ends I pieced together a few tank tops and hemmed a skirt. I haven’t ventured to the store yet, but I ordered cloth and supplies. Hopefully soon I can post samples of my new found serging powers!