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Grieving my Lost Skills

March 21st, 2008 at 12:53 am

First I want to say thank you for all the well wishes on Baby Ally.

Which brings me to today's post. I learned to knit when I was 10 and sew when I was 14 or so. My skills progressed so that I made all my nieces and nephews who were born before my own children sweaters. I made so many of my own clothes as a teenager and my DH's flannel button down shirts when we were first married.

I hand smocked and made my oldest daughter's first Christmas dress and then later a smocked pinafore dress for daughter #2 another Christmas, with another cute dress for daughter #1. By the time daughter #3 came along, I did manage to crochet her a blanket and that was it. So through the past 20+ years I made one halloween costume for YD when she was about 10 and made a few quilts, but have not quilted even for a few years.

So I had some time today after meeting with our tax accountant, dropping off K-1's and decided to run into town to look at patterns and fabrics. I went in with high hopes and came out so depressed. I feel like I am starting over again. I look at fabric and can't picture the actual item (like I used to). I'm not sure which sized pattern to buy. I feel like I don't know anything!

I made buttonholes, I lined vests and made cuffs.... what happened to me??

So I'm going to stop sniffling and start easy, just start getting to know my sewing machine. I bought it after 9/11 and my oldest daughter has probably had it more than me because she started quilting and had so many coworkers and friends having babies.

There is so much I want to make and do and I feel totally incapable at this point....

So back to my plan...I want to try and sew something every day, just a straight line, change up the stitching, whatever.. just familiarize myself again and see if I have anything left in me.

How could I have let myself lose the skills I had?? sniff, sniff....

5 Responses to “Grieving my Lost Skills”

  1. boomeyers Says:
    1206073448

    I got a beautiful new sewing machine for Christmas and have'nt even gotten to take it out of the box yet!! That is what happened to your skills, life got in the way! Do'nt worry! You will pick it right back up with a little time!

  2. homebody Says:
    1206095714

    Oh my, maybe I don't feel so bad. What is your first project going to be?

  3. luxlivingfrugalis Says:
    1206112021

    Homebody I'm exactly like you - I knew how to do all that too! Except I was a crocheter and not a knitter.

    Then I had a run in w/a bad Bad BAD machine and I got so disgusted I stopped sewing entirely.

    Now I have a pile of things that need repairing and I do have a different machine now but am put off by the mere thought of trying to figure it out and get these repairs made, none of which is any more than a straight line of stitches. Seams on old pillowcases that need restitching.

    And to think I used to make decorator pillows for side income way before the internet. I could use some of that kind of cash now.

    It's a shame really. Do post and tell us how it goes.

    The last couple of sewing projects I can think of that I did was to make a giant body pillow sized pillow and smaller matching one for my living room and before that I sewed an additional three inch ruffle on the bottom of my bed skirt because my iron bed sat too high off the ground. I need to get it back in gear as I too used to make mens shirts - intricate cowboy shirts w/contrasting piping, snapped down, fancy - back in the day. They were all the rage here a while back as in retro hillbilly styling. I could have made a fortune!

    Okay get us inspired!!! I, for one, need a kick in the pants!

  4. miclason Says:
    1206123821

    I hadn't knitted in a long time and, it seemed to me all the instructions I read were meant to confuse me rather than guide me, but, I picked something that said: Intermediate level and started knitting away...sure enought, it all started coming back to me!!! ...trust me, it's all still there someplace!
    Good luck!

  5. homebody Says:
    1206134568

    I have been knitting off and on, but I am about ready to pull out the blanket I started because it is a semi complicated YO type pattern and I can't get the rows to come out right, like I counted my initial cast-on stitches wrong and I swear I counted three times before I started the pattern. It doesn't help that my dog has to lay in my lap while I am knitting. I need to kick him off and sit somewhere quietly instead of the love seat with DH and both lap dogs and the TV blaring!

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