Why I hate sewing... and love it at the same time.

My mother taught me how to sew when I was little, just like her mother taught her. Sewing has always been a source of great frustration for me. Most of my sewing lessons involved me getting upset and ended with me unpicking massive amounts of stitches. I hated unpicking the very most, and unfortunately, since I was impatient, chose difficult patterns and fabrics, and tried to rush through every project, I ended up unpicking a lot. Whenever my mother told me that I would have to unpick something, I got so angry. I don't know how she put up with my crankiness.

And then I talked to my grandmother. Apparently great sewing frustration is an inherited trait. My grandmother told me that during one sewing lesson, my mother became so frustrated that she threw a spool through the basement window. After hearing that story, I knew why my mom was so patient when she taught me to sew. She knew exactly how I felt. Even though sewing was frustrating at times, my mother became really great at it. She made matching outfits for us, amazing Halloween costumes, and cute things for herself.

When I got married, I really wanted to be able to do the same thing when Garrett and I had children. After I finished my B.A., Garrett and my mother bought me a beautiful, brand new sewing machine, and I put it to good use. My cousin is getting married in a couple weeks, so as a shower gift, I made her an apron using this adorable pattern. The pattern has three adult sizes and three child sizes, so I decided to make a cute little apron for my niece's birthday (I hope toddlers don't read blogs!). About halfway through that project, my thread started getting stuck in the machine. Ugh! I felt all that old frustration come rushing back. I looked through the manual, I took the machine apart, cleaned it, and put it back together about 5 times without figuring out how to fix the problem. I was going crazy! All of a sudden I heard a loud CRACK and I landed flat on the floor. The old wood folding chair I was sitting on had chosen that precise moment to give up the ghost. I started bawling. It was horrible. Garrett consoled me and took care of the chair while I called my mother to complain. My mom's advice? To take it apart and put it back together. So I did it one more time. And magically, it worked!

There is just something special about a finished project that makes me love sewing despite all the little frustrations that go with it. Mostly I'm just grateful that my mom taught me to hang in there, because the end makes it all worth it. Check out this lovely, toddler size, reversible apron!