~upon the roles in life being switched~

Her name was Amy Elizabeth Beal and she was the cutest little red-haired girl imaginable.  I had known her since she was a tiny baby and in the fall of her first grade year at Haven Grade School, I was blessed to become her teacher.  Perhaps over a thousand kids have come into my life in the past 35 years of being an educator, each one of them very special in their own way.  My memories of Amy will be of a little girl with a voracious appetite for learning ANYTHING but especially to read and understand the written word.  One of my "Miller Bucket List" goals has been to catch up with all of my Facebook friends in person, buy them something to drink and visit about life for a while.  Amy is my friend on Facebook as well as a personal friend for life~I was able to catch up with her today for a short moment in time.  Here we are~and as you can see Amy grew taller, I didn't.  Hard to imagine now that the sweet little girl with red hair has now grown into a beautiful woman, married and with 3 children of her very own.  

Some time back, I asked Amy if she would help me with one of the items on my bucket list~to learn how to sew something for the very first time in my life.  You see Amy, among MANY other things, is an accomplished seamstress.  She has her own business, Mabel and Mally's Closet-keeping quite busy doing custom orders for people, primarily little girl's attire.  Amy is a "self-taught" seamstress who pays great attention to detail and her work is of exceptional quality.  Amy graciously agreed to help me learn to sew in an unusual twist of fate~this time I'll be learning from Amy, rather than her learning from me.  The things I never expected as I sent that little 7-year old out the door that year~that one day I'd be having to follow her directions for a change.  I think this will be pretty interesting. 

I'm not sure why it is that I have this burning desire to learn how to sew something for the first time.  You'd think that at nearly age 57, learning to sew would have become a priority many years back.  It did not.  When I was a senior in high school, now 39 years ago, it was customary for the girls to take home economics and the boys to take woodworking and shop.  Don't even know how it was that way of thinking ever came about~all I know was that it would have been unimaginable for it to have been done any other way.  Now, I hated the idea of having to take home ec. and couldn't even imagine why on earth I'd need to know how to sew or cook.  I plead my case with my folks  who surprisingly agreed with me and also provided the parental signature I needed to opt out of the class.  And so it went, finding me today a nearly 57-year old woman who cannot even sew a button on if I had to.  Shoot, I can barely thread a needle without messing it up.  Perhaps that shall be soon to change.

As Amy and I spoke earlier today, we both decided that making pillowcases would be a good thing for me to try as a first project.  (I say that as if there's gonna be a SECOND project, oh boy.)  She told me exactly how much material to pick up and several ideas where good fabric can be purchased in the area.  Even though we are a couple of weeks away from my "lesson", I decided to go ahead to buy the material today so I wouldn't "chicken out" in the weeks ahead.

Making the 20-minute drive over to Yoder,  I found one of Amy's "stores of choice", a place called "Demelia's".  They specialize in the handling of quilt-making materials and all you have to do is open their front doors and your eyes can "feast upon" rows of gorgeous colours and patterns. Since I've probably bought the equivalent of 4 yards of material in my entire life, I knew I was gonna need some help so I just headed straight to the counter and told them why I was there.  They could not have been more helpful.  Instead of saying something like, oh I don't know, "WHAT?  You're kidding~a woman YOUR age doesn't even know how to sew?", they told me that it was never too late to learn and that probably this would be the first of many things I would make.  I'll be the first to admit they have more confidence in me than I do in myself but at least they gave me some hope.

I came away with a colour combination that I never thought I would choose but I think it's ok to be different once in a while.  I could tell that I need to get out more often when I stood there, mouth agape, watching them cut the material for me.  In less than a minute's time, they had sliced that material into the proper measurements using something that to me looked like a pizza cutter.  And as I paid for it at the register, I got a crash course in what "fat quarters" were.  Hey, I had heard of them but didn't realize what they were used for.  All of you women reading this who already know how to sew, please forgive my ignorance.  Perhaps I shall be considered a sewing "late bloomer".

For now, the pillowslip "makings" are stored away in the closet.  Some day in the next few weeks when things slow down for her family, Amy and I will get together and she shall teach me to sew.  They will be things that will serve their utilitarian purpose by the way.  I have no intention of storing these away in a linen closet only to be looked at, and not used.  I'll be looking forward to the first night that I can lay my head upon the pillow that is covered by them.  May they help to provide some peaceful nights' rest and sleep.

Anything left in life that you want to learn how to do?  Something perhaps that you've been putting off as long as I have been procrastinating about learning to sew?  If so, what are you waiting for?  Now just may be the right time to give it a try.  I don't think you'll regret it if you do but you just MIGHT regret it if you don't.  

Good night everyone!  Have a great evening.

The first grade classes of Haven Grade School for the 1981-1982 school year.  A 26-year old version of me is on the left.  The tiny girl with red hair right next to me in the photo is little Amy.  Many other students in the photo have now caught up with me on Facebook.  Even with all of the complaints people have in using Facebook, I am forever grateful for the chance it provides me to keep in touch with hundreds of students from my years of teaching.  I love it!  

The next time you see these two pieces of fabric, they'd better be looking something akin to a pillow case.  To the experienced sewer, nothing more than a "warm up" lesson.  To someone like me, it will be so much more than that, but hey  you really gotta start somewhere.  I choose to start (and maybe end) here but at least I'm giving a try.