A New (Old) Hobby

I come from a family of Makers.

My childhood memories are punctuated by the sound of tablesaws and electric sanders … the smell of sawdust … the sound of a sewing machine punching its way through fabric … the smell of acrylic paint … the “whoosh” of spray varnish … the tangy aroma of glue. And above all, the feeling of awe that comes from watching disparate ingredients unite and transform to create something magical.

“Creating” was a way for my parents to give me the things I wanted but that they could not afford on a soldier’s salary. Daddy spent his down-time in his wood shop, and made much of the furniture I grew up with.

Mom used her sewing machine to create my outfits for school plays along with homecoming and prom dresses. In fact, the two years we lived in Germany while I was in high school, she sewed much of my wardrobe – the leggings and swingy tunics and oversized shirts I loved, but couldn’t find at the PX.

As adults, my brother has followed in our father’s footsteps. His down-time is spent amidst sawdust and screws, creating stunning works of art for his wife and daughters. I’m certain he could afford to buy the furniture they find in high-end catalogs, but what’s the fun in that? Instead, my nieces can proudly point to a dollhouse-shaped bookshelf or loft bed or folding vanity-cum-desk and say, “Dad made this for me!”

Similarly, I took after Mom in my creative path. I took her 1970’s Kenmore sewing machine with me to college, and used it to make curtains and pillows for my first apartments. Eventually, I was brave enough to try my hand at Halloween costumes and one special occasion dress.

But as my work life began to encompass more of my waking hours, sewing quickly took a backseat to hobbies that would produce results in far less time. I could sew a dress in six hours, or I could stamp out a dozen greeting cards in an hour. No wonder I put my sewing machine in the closet and moved on to other things!

Until, that is, the beginning of 2018.

My stepson, Michael, was engaged to the most amazing young woman, Micaela, and we were all excitedly anticipating their wedding in early April. I wanted to ensure that I wore precisely the right dress – something that would make my husband proud to have me on his arm, that would look good (or, at least, not stand out as bad) in their wedding photos, and that would make Micaela happy. She’s the most laid-back, loving young lady! But etiquette says the Mother of the Bride should always choose her dress first, and then the mother (or stepmother) of the groom should go with a coordinating color and a dress-level that’s similar, but no dressier, than what the MOB has chosen.

So I asked Micaela for guidance. Their wedding colors were grey and dusky rose, so she asked that I go with silver or light florals.

My search became really frustrating really fast.

I have a body that is both curvaceous and buxom. The only dresses I was finding in my size (18) were downright …. well, matronly. Dowdy. Frumpy. At just 41 years of age, I’m 10 years younger than Michael’s mom and dad, and I’m just not ready to look like a frumpy middle-aged lady.

So I decided to dig my sewing machine out from the back of my closet and see if I could make something instead.

When I stumbled across a grey and pink floral organza at my local fabric store, I felt like fate was telling me I’d made the right choice. It was a perfect match for M&M’s wedding colors!

But that’s a story for a separate blog post. Because that project, and wearing the fruit of my labors, rekindled a fire within me.

The ability to turn fabric into gorgeous, wearable creations is a lost art. We rely so heavily on clothing that’s been manufactured in other countries and pay so little for it, that we treat our fashion like fast food. Cheap, disposable, and ultimately, not filling.

Angie Key

The process of turning that floral organza into a dress I could proudly wear to M&M’s wedding woke me up to the fact I had a closet overflowing with clothes, none of which I loved near as much as the dress I made with my own two hands. The dress that fit my unique body better than anything I’ve ever worn. And I realized I’d rather have my closet hold a quarter of its current contents, so long as they were in colors and fabrics I love and were made to fit my body.

So, yeah … I have a new (old) hobby. Sewing has proven to be a perfect pursuit for where I’m at right now. Debilitating migraines continue to plague me multiple days a week, so I can’t keep schedules with anything close to regularity. I need a pursuit that stimulates my brain, that grows my skills, but that won’t suffer if I have to walk away from it for a day or three because I’m hiding in the dark with a migraine.

I just have to allow myself double or triple the amount of time I think it should take me to finish a project. Or take up projects that don’t have a deadline at all.

It’s been fifteen months since I dug out my old sewing machine with the intent to create that dress for M&M’s wedding. My current project tally is 5 dresses, 7 tunics, 2 blouses, 5 pairs of palazzo pants, 2 duster-length jackets, 1 duster-length vest, 1 pair of leggings, 1 pair of bike shorts, a wallet, a laptop travel bag, a zippered iPad/BuJo case, a messenger bag, a crossbody puppy carrier, a set of blackout curtains, a Mrs. Claus costume cape and a pair of summer-weight knickers for Santa. Along the way, I bought 2 new sewing machines and a serger. I learned the magic of something called a Full Bust Adjustment (FBA). I’m currently working on a summer-weight vest for my Santa Dad; once that’s done, my sewing queue includes white capris, 5 aprons, a Slytherin garment bag, a summer maxi dress, tunics, trousers, and more.

Nothing I’ve ever bought in a store gave me the sense of satisfaction and the feeling of joy I get when I pull on something I sewed for myself – something I created with my own two hands, that I designed to fit my curves properly.

Angie Key

My sewing machines aren’t going back into the closet any time soon. In fact, I converted the back half of my old studio into a permanent sewing space, and when we moved to our new home at the beginning of this year, my new studio setup is 75% sewing, 25% everything else.

I’ve found tremendous utility over the last year in looking at other sewists’ blogs. Designers don’t always show their patterns on a range of body shapes and sizes. I might think a pattern will look good on my body, but I’ve been wrong before. So I go to Google Images and search by the pattern name, and wind up with a screen full of photos of that pattern sewn for a whole host of shapes and sizes.

I feel like it’s time for me to return the favor by adding my contribution to the Curvy Sewing community. I’m adding a section to my blog to house my sewing projects, and you’ll see posts about my lessons learned as I pursue this old (new) hobby of mine.

It’s been said that “The desire to create is the deepest yearning of the human soul.” I know without a doubt it’s one of mine … and I can’t wait to share my sewing journey with you!