Everyone Has to Start Somewhere

My mother was quite the seamstress and made all our clothes when we were young.

How about those pom poms?? Leslie and I thought we were terribly fancy.

Both of my grandmothers sewed, with Grandma Martin being a real whiz at clothing and especially costuming.

My aunt and uncle ready to perform for a Red Feather Service Association fund raiser in 1950.

Grandma Honeywell did gorgeous embroidery, crochet, and other fine handwork. 

So, you might think that I had the sewing gene, too, right?

Well... maybe. It wasn't very evident at first. But everyone has to start somewhere.

I began when I was about 8 years old, making blankets for my Breyer 5 Gaiter who I'd named Sham 

 

and a cheap, nondescript plastic Quarter Horse named Apache Joe.

I took scraps from my mother's sewing basket, cut out rectangles, embroidered their names on them, and added yellow wire closures. I still have them and smile when I realize I'd inadvertently done those blankets in Breyer's company colors!

When I was 15, my best friend Shelly was already a very good sewist. 

Shelly (right) and me in high school, twinsing. We were unrelated, but shared the same last name and loved to dress alike.

We both did 4-H, but she was in Clothing Design and Construction and got to dress elegantly and model her creations onstage at the fairgrounds during Fair Week. Meanwhile, I was in Horse and Pony, wearing dusty jeans and boots, and shoveling manure in the livestock barns!

I started playing around with fabrics and my mother's old Singer sewing machine and, with advice from Shelly when I got stuck, began sewing my own clothing. I never had a sewing lesson, not from either of my grandmothers or my mother, but I learned the basics by trial, error, and practice and discovered a life long love sewing.

Shelly is a master quilter now.

She hand stitched every piece of this quilt. Isn't it gorgeous?

Because I helped her a bit with the horses on that quilt, she made me my own quilt block and sent it to me as a surprise. It hangs in my tent for Jolis Chevaux.

As a young mom, I sewed all my maternity clothes and the kids' baby clothes, continuing to sew for them on into high school for Prom and then weddings. 

So, when Breyer asked me what I wanted to teach for BreyerFest this year, my mind went back to my own beginnings. The blankets for Sham and Apache Joe. Some fairly spectacular fails when I made a dress or two for me. And so on.

I felt it was important that any beginning sewist who watched whatever I presented would not feel overwhelmed and could complete a successful project. That they might feel encouraged to continue on their sewing journey. That what I taught included lots of sewing hacks, tips, and general how-tos that would be helpful to them.

I rewatched my 2026 seminar yesterday for the first time since I submitted it in April. I think that there is something for everyone but especially for those who, whatever age they are, are learning how to sew.

I hope it encourages them to keep at it and that down the road, some of them will be part of the hobby sewing community and knocking our socks off with their creativity in pouches, aprons, pads, blankets, and more.

I'm staying 'tooned for that!