sew on and sew forth...

 Today, once again thanks to my west coast brother, I learned that it is "National Sewing Machine Day."  I've been involved with sewing machines since I was a child.  We had a Singer "portable" contained in a heavy wooden case.  It was about as portable as our first "portable" TV.  But it worked well and I learned to sew on it.  Not from my mother.  She could sew enough to mend a seam but it certainly wasn't a love of hers.  My sewing education came from 4H, starting when I was 10 years old with an apron, then a skirt, a blouse and eventually a dress.  I never got anything but red ribbons at the county fair.  Ah, well, I never aspired to be a seamstress.  One summer, a girlfriend and I decided to make matching outfits.  I think we were about 13.  We cut out the pattern pieces for Bermuda shorts (no Daisy Dukes for us, her dad was the preacher) and sleeveless blouses.  The shorts came out fine but we must have mixed up some pieces for the blouses (she was 5'3" to my 5'10") because they did not fit either one of us.  But we had a lot of fun trying.  After I was married, the first time, my husband gifted me with a Kenmore sewing machine that was really top of the line for it's time.  Not only could It sew straight seams, zig zags and button holes, but, with the insertion of various cams (little plastic disks) I could sew rows of all kinds of designs.  My favorite was the little ducks.  I used them to sew new satin binding on blankies that were terribly worn but much too precious to be thrown away.  I believe my daughter still had her blankie when she went off to college.  The same friend of the matching outfits experiment, when our children were young, talked me into taking some Stretch & Sew classes.  Do you remember Stretch & Sew?  We learned to use stretchy knit fabric to make all kinds of clothing.  I got to the point where I could whip off a T-shirt for my toddler in less than an hour.  I even, ultimately, made a full suit for my husband - jacket, slacks and vest.  He wore the suit, at least a few times.  He was a good man.  The last big project I sewed was slip covers for the cushions and seat of a couch I was giving to my daughter to help her furnish her first home.  That couch and my handiwork made it all the way to Germany when she and her first husband were stationed there.  But that was about it.  When I downsized, my faithful but elderly Kenmore was sold, and I haven't sewn on a machine since.  But that's ok.  If I get desperate, there's a nearby tailor who does alterations.  I should ask her sometime if she started in 4H.