Today's Confession

I began sewing over 38 years ago when I was barely a teenager. Within a year or so I was sewing most of my clothes, plus items for sale at a local consignment store using the same patterns over and over again, but detailing them so no one knew. I can insert a zipper, stitch a buttonhole, stitch an entire outfit, and assemble a queen sized quilt while matching points. BUT, I must confess, I do not mend!

There, I said it. I make no apologies. I'm simply stating a fact. It's not like it is a guarded secret. Everyone in my family knows it, so why shouldn't you? In fact, it was a standing joke in our house as the children were growing up. How, you might be asking yourself?

When the kids were younger and their clothing needed a button sewn back on, or a seam reinforced, I would tell them to put it on top of my sewing table, next to my sewing machine. Just between you and me, there would already be a stack of clothes needing mending there. But don't tell anybody... OK, now for the punchline. The item would sit there until they grew out of it when it would then be placed in the Goodwill box.

I don't know why it's so hard for me to mend clothes but for some reason, I would much rather sew them a new outfit than to fix an old one. And I was always sewing new outfits for them.

Apparently, their father had also succumbed to my affliction... He had a work shirt he needed me to sew the hem in. He hadn't put it on my sewing table because he was still wearing it. One day I was doing laundry and I picked up this work shirt and noticed it was quite heavy. I checked his pockets to see if he had forgotten something in them before I noticed he had duct taped his hem! Problem solved. I thanked him for his assistance. I suppose this could turn into one of those Redneck jokes... You know you're a Redneck when...

I rationize my behavior, quite simply, by stating I'm a Seam Master and not a repairwoman. I create my own creations, not repair someone else's work. I create my creations to last throughout its life so it will be enjoyed by the recipient. I create with a piece of my heart in each and every project, knowing it will bring a warm smile to the heart of whoever uses it.

I'm not saying I've never mended anything, because I have. I just get more enjoyment when I personalize my creations for whoever I'm sewing/quilting it for. And I'm confident my children were happier to receive their new outfit than the old one needing mending.

Now you know my secret behind my signature line. Tell me, what's on your sewing table?