It's a little weird for a person my age to be into sewing, so I often get asked how I got started.  Many people assume my mom or grandma sewed and taught me, but that is not the case!  My mom is crafty, but she's more of the hot glue gun crafty and I grew up 8 hours away from both of my grandmas, so even though one of them sewed, she never got the chance to teach me.  No, instead, I started in high school by taking a "fashion design" class as an art elective.  In all honesty, the class was learning how to make a pillow, pj pants, sewing a button, and watching a VHS-recorded Project Runway Season 2!  That Christmas, my parents gifted me my first sewing machine, some thread, and nice scissors.  The rest is history. 

​

Even weirder than a person my age being into sewing is a person my age into quilting.  Now that is a dying art!  Believe it or not, my senior year of college was when I began quilting.  I was at the WalMarts by my college, buying random fabric that was pretty but I definitely did not need.  I struck up a conversation with the sweet lady who was cutting the fabric and said "Maybe one day, I'll make a quilt with all of this..."  Little did I know, Miss Paulette was part of a quilting group that met every Thursday in their church basement.  She pulled out a giant photo album of all of the quilts she had made (why it was at the WalMart fabric cutting counter?  A few of the ladies happened to work at Walmart!) and we talked for quite some time, me leaving with an invitation to join them anytime! 

 

I went home to my shared apartment and told my friend/roommate/fellow crafter about the invitation.  Turns out, she's always wanted to learn to quilt too!  So that Thursday, we loaded up our sewing machines and some fabric, drove to the church, and awkwardly walked into what would become our Thursday night hangout.  Yes, senior year of college, we were hanging out with women two and three times our age!  But it was some great memories!!  Paulette, Juanita, Ginger, and their crew welcomed us with open arms, lots of laughs, and great friendships!  And.....we learned the valuable skill of quilting!  

 

These days, I get to lead my own sewing lessons.  I run the "Seam Team" at the school where I teach 4th grade, and I get to share my passion with students!  I also host a summer sewing camp and provide personal lessons on request.  I have an etsy site where I can sell my products, and I have tried the craft fair route, but I prefer making one-of-a-kind, special items.  T-Shirt quilts, memory bears, special shirts, anything that has a story!

​

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

​

It's hard to believe I've been sewing for almost 20 years!  In that time, I've honed my skills, added to my repertoire, acquired a few more sewing machines, and just a wee bit of fabric!  When my husband and I were looking for a house, a sewing room was very close to the top of our list.  I am so grateful for his support!  Today, I have the ability to sew, embroider, serge, and I have a Cricut to add flair to my projects!  If you're interested in seeing what I can do or if I can make your dream come to life, please feel free to check out the "What I Do" page, the photo gallery, the CincySews facebook page, or just shoot me a message!

 

Happy Crafting! :)