Why Sew

The History of Somebody.  Sewing.
My first sewing project was curtains for my bedroom.  Super easy: measure, cut, press, sew straight lines, hang, enjoy.  I borrowed my mom's Singer for this project.
Then one day, the elastic on a diaper that I had purchased from a shop on Etsy broke.  I had no idea how to fix it, so I contacted the seller and made arrangements to send it back so she could fix it.  Before I sent it, though, I looked closely at the diaper and realized that it was made from two pieces of fabric, some elastic, and some velcro.  How hard could THAT be?  I researched online what kind of fabric I would need, ordered all of the components, found a million and one resources online for making your own cloth diapers, and voila!  My first cloth diaper:

I'll admit, it kinda sucked, but 2 years later I have perfected the homemade cloth diaper (at least for my baby's bums)!  I will have to post a tutorial and the pattern someday.  By the way, did you know that the cloth diaper world is CRAZY?!?!

Well, I realized that I LOVE creating, I LOVE saving, I LOVE re-purposing, I LOVE fabric, I LOVE one-of-a-kind outfits for my kids, I LOVE SEWING.  And now I can finally say that I have a hobby besides reading or running.  I swear, my husband made me think that I had no personality because my list of hobbies had not evolved since 2001.

Here's the other thing about sewing:  Sewing helps me to feel accomplished.  I have 3 kids; getting something done is hard work in my household because someone always needs SOMETHING from me.  So, I sew at night when the kids are in bed.  With entertainment from NPR's The Story and As It Happens,  I get to transform a piece of fabric into a usable item.  I get to feel like I got something done for that day.  And I enjoy it SO MUCH.

Now, I can fix (almost) anything; I can turn a boring t-shirt into something else; I can make clothes for my kids out of clothing I don't want to wear anymore; I can redecorate my house on a dime (this, however, is at the bottom of my sewing list even though I would like to move it up a few notches); I can hem, patch, or stitch whatever comes apart; I can make personalized gifts; I can make things for comfort; I can make things.  Period.  I can make things!

I finally returned my mom's little Singer and got a machine for myself a year later.  Sorry, mom, but if you had only taught me how to sew when I was younger...