Merriam-Webster cites the first usage of the word "sewer" meaning "one that sews" in the 14th Century. ...Sewer remains the dominant term, but sewist (combining "sew" with "artist") appears to be gaining popularity, especially among sewing bloggers. - Miller, Stephani L., "Sewer vs. Sewist", Threads, Oct. 11, 2012
I'm a sewer. I started out sewing clothes way back when I was probably in sixth grade. I spent several summer months on the farm with my paternal grandmother and she let me pick out a pattern and fabric at the Five and Dime store. I picked out turquoise broadcloth and turquoise lining for a V neck and V arm jumper with zipper in back. Grandma must have been proud of me because every time someone stopped by grandma made me model my turquoise broadcloth V-neck jumper for them. For years afterwards when I would attend family reunions I was known as "Oh, you are the one that sews".
I started making a lot of my own clothes after that when I was able to buy my own fabric. My first job was working at Howard Johnson's soda fountain when I was sixteen. (I think I made .75 cents per hour plus tips). I would rush off to J.C. Penney when I got my paycheck and buy either fabric or a record album. (I still have some of those record albums and play them every once in awhile.) The rest of the paycheck I put into a passbook savings account. I was saving for college. (Oh, yes, I took my sewing machine to college too).
Sometimes I received fabric as a Christmas or birthday gift. I remember gifts of green faux suede I made into a skirt and jacket and brown plaid Amana wool I made into a Drindl skirt with buttons down the front that I wore with a sweater I knit.
Grandma was a patient teacher and also taught me to embroider. My first project was a dresser scarf with lazy daisies. I added embroidery to a lot of my clothes like the yoke of a purple gingham dress I absolutely loved. I made clothes for my sisters too including prom dresses and wedding dresses with embroidery. I never threw away scraps. Later I made quilts, Barbie doll clothes for my sisters or braided rugs (like my maternal great grandmother) with the scraps.
I made my husband's shirts when we were first married. And I made my kid's clothes. And I continued to embroider on some clothes and make quilts from scraps. I still have a quilt I made in the 70s from scraps. I also saved a shirt I made back then (now too small). You can see it matches some of the fabric in the scrap quilt. Oh, the memories sewn into that quilt!
Yes, I am the one that sews. I'm a sewer.
I'm a sewer as well. Your story is much like mine. My first job at 14 was a carhop. Such FUN!! I made tons of clothes and embroidered on a lot of them. I made items and sold at craft shows. I don't do alterations....I HATE alterations. I always knew as I built my stash that I would turn to quilting. I would have done so LONG ago, but the last 20+ years in the work force required most of the time a 45 to 50 hour work week.
ReplyDeleteLove those little houses.
xx, Carol
me as well...started at age 8 at 4-H, a gazillion garments, doll clothes, stuffed toys, a wedding dress, upholstery covers, hundreds of quilts and yes i still sew garments too! entering my 62nd year of a love affair with the machine!
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in the sixties when we still had Home Ec classes. I learned to sew and loved it! I too made most of my clothes throughout high school and even made money making dresses (yes, we still wore dresses to school) for others. I made my sisters wedding dress. Time moved on...and like others I made shirts for my honey. Spanning in time from the early 70ies, into the 90ies. I no longer sew garments but I have not given up my love of fabric and sewing (and embroidery and knitting!). I started quilting in the the mid '70ies and have never quit. I feel fortunate to have introduced to sewing at an early age.
ReplyDeleteWith the subject beginning with town, I read your title as "soo-ers" until I got to "sewists"! I began about age 5 in the middle of a hurricane -- The Mama was trying to keep our minds off older brother who was out in the storm delivering newspapers (remember those?). Sewed a lot of my own clothes and the kids as well. With the price of fabric now, I get along just fine in my $10 T-shirts from Target.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy reading your blog post. I was never a sewer until I took up quilting in 1997. Very different from you!
ReplyDeleteAn interesting post!! I'm a sewer, turned quilter. I used to make clothes for myself and my three girls, but have no desire to make garments now. I sew for my American Girl doll; she doesn't mind mistakes. :) My mother-in-law was a perfectionist at making garments for all the family, even suits for the men. No way I could compete with her!
ReplyDeleteNobody in my family sews but me. But I had a library card and an old Riccar and eventually got there!
ReplyDeleteYou are the one that sews and it was fun to read your story! So cool that you had Grandma. And it's great the way you are sharing your love of sewing with your family. Gosh, you could buy fabric at JC Penney, huh?
What a great post! Since we’re roughly the same age, my memories parallel yours. I remember what a treat it was to go to Woolworth’s to pick out a pattern and fabric to sew a dress when I was in junior high or high school. I sewed lots of clothes for myself, my hubby, my two boys (sailor suits and lots of pajamas and tee shirts) and my daughter Megan. In high school, I went to summer school in Austria one year and brought back fabric to make two dresses. I still have remnants of both! I also made a wild red, white and blue minidress with stars in high that garnered lots of attention (actually, too much!) every time I wore it. One of the best memories for me was (as a newlywed) staying up all night with my girlfriend as we sewed matching sundresses the day/night before we went with our hubbies to celebrate America’s Bicentennial at Disneyland in 1976. And making my daughter and her American Girl doll matching dresses when we attended an American Girl Tea social in Salt Lake. Sewing is part of who I am.
ReplyDeleteThanks for another encouraging post. I can relate! Sewing, needle and thread, fashion, art have all been, and to this day they still are, part of me. I like reading the comments too, I see we are not alone in our interests!
ReplyDeleteYour Ticky Tacky Town is growing.
It sounds like we have a similar background. I started sewing on my black Singer toy sewing machine that you clamp to a table. I had trouble finding a table to clamp it to but I wasn't deterred. I just held it down while I turned the crank to make my doll clothes for my Madamme Alexander. I still have her and at least one dress that I made her. Not sure what happened to the sewing machine!
ReplyDeleteI made my husbands shirts and suits and ties in our earlier years and all of my clothes. Now, it is more cost effective and time effective to just buy them and save my sewing for more important things like quilting!
Thanks for the stroll down memory lane!
Yup, been there, done that. Started with doll clothes for Barbie, sewed my own clothes through high school and college including a long green velvet dress for a formal dance and my wedding dress. Later took a tailoring class and made my then husband a sport coat which he actually wore. Always fun to travel down memory lane with you.
ReplyDeletePat
Thanks for sharing a peek into your past. Lots of us got similar starts. I don’t sew garments anymore, except maybe a cute sundress for my great granddaughter this summer! She will be three in July, I still mend some....not a lot! And still can’t part with the bits and pieces of fabric! That’s why the scrappy sewing is my passion currently!
ReplyDeleteI also started sewing doll clothes when very young and graduated to sewing most of my own clothes on my mother's sewing machine. I decided to teach myself to sew patchwork quilts when I was a young teenager using scraps from the clothes I had made. There were no quilt shops then, nor internet, so I had to design my own. Since I started out without patterns, I rarely use one now, except when I want to sew something really special. We seem to have a lot in common.
ReplyDeleteYou made your husband's shirts?? Wow, I admire you triple time now. I could not get into garment sewing. It never turned out as great as I imagined it. But I did have fun sewing little things for my children, and I remember a very cute dress I made for my daughter when she was in 2nd grade.
ReplyDeleteLove the house quilts with all the sewing families.. I want to live in that town!
Interesting post! I feel like i"ve always been sewing too :-) Love your houses!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your story! I’m amazed at how much you accomplish.
ReplyDeleteLove these sewing themed ticky tacky houses. My mom did not sew (she used to say she was allergic to thread) and I didn't learn until college. The summer after my sophomore year I bought a sewing machine with the money I earned working my summer job and took it to college with me. In college, I was "the one with the sewing machine."
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Cathy! I loved reading your story and it has made me stop and reflect on my own (more haphazard) sewing past. Thank you.
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