I decided to take a quilting class a month or so ago.  I tried to sign up in Pecatonica but their classes don’t start until the middle of October.  I was at Jo-ann Fabrics trying to get a frame made for a poster that Addi had given me.  They have classes and there was going to be one the next Saturday.  Two and a half hours for $35.00.  I purchased my supplies needed and signed up for a sewing machine.

One of my gardening buddies was going to take the class with me but when she found out the cost of all the supplies, she backed out.  She said she was not really serious about quilting and apologized to me.  No problem!

I gathered up all my stuff and headed off to my quilting class yesterday.  I was so excited and worried that I had written down the wrong day or time.  But no, I made it to Jo-ann’s and sat down at the lovely brand new Singer sewing machine.  I told my instructor, Kay, that I was not familiar with these newfangled gadgets and she assured me that I could sew fine on this one.  She told me that her personal machine is from the 60’s.  I think mine is too.

My mother had sewed on a treadle sewing machine from the time I could remember.  She was always sewing.  She made clothes and aprons and all kinds of curtains and do dads for the house.

I believe she got her brand new electric sewing machine when I was in high school (That would have been the 60’s folks.)  She was so proud of it and took such good care of it.  My brother would always oil and clean it for her when he visited.  I don’t recall her ever taking it in to be repaired.  I take it bi-yearly for a clean-up and tune-up.   I just don’t do mechanical devises well.  She gave it to me when my father got her a new one in the 80’s.

Two other women had signed up for the class.  One of which is in my Pilates class.  Small town wonder!  The other reminded me of my cousin, Janet.  She had a lovely laugh and was quite pleasant to work next to.  Kay passed out our instruction sheets and we began by corrected two typos on the instructions.  One was measurement and one was how many pieces to cut of which color.

I cut all of my pieces and pressed everything nicely.  They had this kick-ass iron that was big and bulky but light as a feather.  It was on constantly.  Probably a newfangled gadget!

My first piece I sewed was backwards.  I had let Kay take it from my hands before I could check which side was right-side out.  I ripped out the seam and started again.  I got the hang of the sewing machine but never did get used to the tension bar being on the inside of the neck rather than on the back side.  And it had this nifty cutter on the side to cut your thread.

My little machine is going to be so jealous when I go back to it.  But I love it nevertheless.  It is simple and that is all I need for my personal needs of sewing.

I did not make a perfect match on a couple of the pieces but Kay assured me that the Amish who make the lovelies quilts in the world always put in a mistake because only God is perfect.  I had heard the story before and rest in assured grace that every quilt that I had made was far from perfect.

I have enough material to make one more square but I am going to make it tinier as I want to recover my hot pads.  They have all been recovered three times in the past.  Someday someone will rip apart my pot holders to find a history of quilt making by Smother.  Yeah right!

I am proud to come from two families and most of the ladies are quilt makers.  I someday hope to make one as lovely as theirs.  Thank you Aunt Reva, Aunt Ola, Aunt Imogene, Aunt Hazel and the others whom I did not know well enough to know if they quilted.