Sunday, September 13, 2026 7:06:10 PM
The purpose of this blog is not to educate but to encourage beginners to keep going. After decades of sewing and creating, I realize that I am not bad at what I do. What I make is not perfect but I have clothes in my closet that I made over 10 years ago that I still wear and, people ask me to make things for them.
I am developing confidence in my skills because I stopped listening to people who don’t know me and judge what I do based on a idea of what talent looks like. Years ago my aunt, a graduate of a school of design in New York and an excellent seamstress, stopped mentoring me because she said I did not need help, she knows me and has seen my work.
 |
| OOPS! THE TOP: The collar is noot properly aligned and the VINTAGE pattern does not fit me because patterns were different back then. THE SKIRT: perfectly made but I lost weight (inches) and it is s pencil skirt! |
I have learned, over the decades of garment sewing, hand and machine embroidery, knitting, crocheting, and quilting that improvement comes with doing it again and again and again. Your first is not your worst, your worst was undone and done again; in sewing we use seam rippers, with crocheting and knitting we undo the stitch, other projects we discard and do it again.I keep my “oops” in remembrance of what not to do again.
I have improved over time by continuing to sew, hand and machine embroider, knit, crochet, and quilt. My resources are: YouTube videos, reading books, and not by joining social media groups. Over the years I have discovered what I like to do and what I don’t want to do. I have learned that there are other individuals like me who don’t like to do what is trending but do need to know the basic skills associated with the craft; it is what artist do.
How other people do things can, for people like me, be distracting and discouraging. I resist kits as a practice, even when I purchased an embroidery kit it was for the pattern already on the fabric. You may like buying the quilt kits that have everything on it, buy it because you like it not because this is what everyone is doing.
My SUGGESTION to anyone who wants to: sew, embroider, knit, crochet, quilt, garden or quilt, start small and low cost. Every activity I do can get very expensive; a long arm (for quilters) can cost over ten thousand dollars but you can use your sewing machine or buy a mini long-arm for around $300. I used my vintage Singer 301A to quilt a king size quilt! I received my Cricket Maker as a gift, I purchased quite a bit of my supplies from the Dollar Tree but I purchased the Press at a place where the supplies are sold. In the beginning buy what you need when you need it, AND RESEARCH YOUR OPTIONS before you buy!
Seek the feed of back from are honest supporters of your life and the things you do, Avoid the social media haters, those are the people who post less than encouraging critique as if they are giving an honest review. Upon successful completion of each project, be your own reviewer. Make note of what you could have done better, celebrate that which you did as expected. If you enjoyed the activity do it again DON’T GIVE UP, unless you decide you just didn’t enjoy “it” like you thought you would, which is why I suggest you start small and low cost.
I am getting better because I am making more and I am getting faster. If I could just find time to practice my lyre!
WRITTEN by Marsha L Floyd
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
I love making prsonalized carry-all bags! Not only does this one have an external pocket but there are a few inside this line bag as well!
