A Joyful Keeper

I have been sewing since I was a young girl. I used to beg my mother to sew clothes for my dolls, and then would work alongside her to make some of my own. Mine never turned out as beautiful as hers did! I was always in awe of what she managed to create!

When I was a teenager I went on a short course to learn the basics of dressmaking. I learned how to read a pattern, cut it out and sew it. I made a pink, all in one, jumpsuit! It was probably the hardest thing I could have chosen! But I loved it and looking back it really taught me many different techniques that I wouldn’t have learned if I had chosen a simple one.

After this course I was hooked! All my spare money went into buying fabric and making my own clothes. I even earned money picking strawberries in the summer and kept track of the cases I picked in terms of “one blouse” or “two skirts”!

When Daniel was a toddler I made most of his clothes. I made many dresses for Elizabeth when she was small. I didn’t make anything for Matthew because the clothes I had made for Daniel lasted much better than any of the store bought stuff! Some of the outfits Elizabeth wore as well (they weren’t the really boyish ones!), and then I was able to pass them on to someone else.

Not only did I find that sewing my children’s clothes was cheaper than buying them, but they really did last longer, so the long term savings were tremendous.

In recent years I have learned to quilt For some reason I never thought I’d have the patience! In reality, we could never afford to buy the quilting fabric or take lessons. When we went to the Middle East for a few years, I found the fabric was cheap and a lovely American lady was teaching classes for next to nothing. I went to the first class and I was hooked! I also made such wonderful friends in the process. It was such a blessing.

Now my own daughter is sitting next to me and begging me to make clothes for her Barbies She is learning to make them herself and also to make quilts. I am so excited to see her interested in this part of homemaking as well!