Adventures in Sewing

So a couple days ago I decided to pull out my sewing machine and finally set it up for the very first time in my life instead of running over to mom's house and just using one of hers. So I pulled it out of the box and grabbed the instructions. "Here we go" I thought as I opened the instruction page. All the instruction page showed me how to do was plug the foot peddle into the machine and how to plug it into the wall. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!! I screamed at the piece of paper.

 (This is were you would see a picture of me screaming and pulling out my hair.)

Now that I had all of my kids attention they sat down at the table quietly and like I have never seen before (they don't sit like this for dinner) very involved in their mothers misery as I tried to figure out how to put the thread through the machine. After trial and error (and Brian laughing at me when it didn't work) I finally got that figured out. Then the bobbin in the bottom was giving me fits so after more trials I figured that out too! Hurray I was finally able to fix the clothing items around the house. Of course if you look inside those clothing items the stitch is green. Yes, green, because that is the color of thread that the bobbin came with and I didn't know how to make my machine help me load thread on the other bobbin so I did it by hand and I wasn't about to do 2 by hand...lol. I had a huge thread cone and it was not fitting on my sewing machine and I couldn't get it to slide right if I put it down on the table. I also studied the little piece of material that came with the instructions that had all the stitches on it but I could not make my machine stop doing zig zag and just sew straight. So I put these 2 questions on my list of "next time I see mom I need to ask her this".

Yeah NO SCHOOL! So because the kids didn't have school, grandma didn't either and she came over to visit. I said "Oh yeah, mom, I have 2 questions for you about my sewing machine." She looked at me surprised and said "OKAY!"

****Please note****

**Do not ask 2 questions to a seamstress with out realizing the consequences**hahaha

So she showed me how to fix my 2 problems then she went on to show me the perfect setting for my particular sewing machine, (which I marked, so I never lose that) how to make ruffles and what the purpose for each stitch was, and button holes, and what I need to remember for hemming, (hope I do when I need it) and that my sewing machine is like non-other. It does the hemming stitch backwards. Yup, I started to laugh and said "Of course that WOULD be MY sewing machine"...lol. It's a little like me.....backwards...lol. She also showed me how to use my big thread cone so it would work and then when I though my brain was going to explode she said ok since you have fabric lets sew something. My brain was screaming "AHHHHHH, never ask questions again!! See what you got us into!!" As I said..okay very hesitantly.

(Hesitantly because when I was little my mom tried to teach each one of us to sew. My sisters could all do it, but Marlene, Marlene could not sew straight and therefore could not continue with lessons. I guess you could say I wrote myself off, and told myself I would never be able to sew for the next 25 years, so I was very hesitant and didn't want to disappoint my mother yet again.) 

Well the only fabric I had on hand was TIGER PRINT....hahaha. I know that is so me, so "we" (my mom) decided I was going to make a skirt for Kylie. So I took a skirt that fit her and we cut out the material. Then she asked if I had elastic. I said I didn't know but I would go check downstairs. This is were I began to fight with myself, just say no and do it another day. Why not just do it today, you're learning something new. I found the only elastic I had....thin not fat like we needed so I went upstairs a little depressed and a little relieved...lol. I showed her my only elastic and she said "Oh we can make that work, it will be cute!" So onward and upward I continued with her instruction and at the end of ever step, trying my best but not having any faith in my sewing abilities she would look it over and say "PERFECT!" She would say things like, wow, you really like to go fast. So I would try to slow down, but I guess I don't know how to control my own appendages, because she would say it again and I would try to slow down again. (I would think to myself, it's not even at full speed, is sewing fast BAD? I know she sews faster than this....but she's good, Marlene you don't know how to sew...just slow down!) Each time I would mentally put myself down she would say "PERFECT!" I would think...really? Perfect?...Me? And then she would say it again, or say you are doing a good job, your daughter will LOVE it because YOU made it. I thought true, it's for Kylie she will wear ANYTHING...lol. So even if it turns out bad she'll still love it...hahaha. I started to think about all the favorite things my mom made for me. My red coat, my blue dress, my red dress, my carebear, I could go on and on. Now for the hem my mom said, my heart sunk. I know this is where sewing straight REALLY matters. I said out loud, "okay here goes nothing, I can't sew straight." My mother said nothing and just smiled. After I had endured the whole rotation of the skirt with my whole body nervous and shaky, my mom said..."PERFECT!"

So I got it done, it actually looked like a skirt! My mom said "Kylie look what your mom made you!" as she held up the skirt. Kylie looked at it and said "WooooW" like it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life. That was when I finally let myself actually complement myself and realize what I did. It wasn't a piece of garbage like I had envisioned, it was beautiful, and best of all my daughter LOVED it and had to put it on immediately.

 My mom was proud of me, I was proud that I didn't disappoint, my daughter was proud to wear her skirt, Chad was proud of me, Brian was proud of me.

 I don't know if my mom knew that with this simple skirt she made me feel like I wasn't a defect anymore, that I can become "PERFECT!" or maybe that was her plan all along. I love my mom so much, thank you for all you teach me and how much you love me. I know you'll always be there for us, having you as my mother is just PERFECT!