A Wall of Scissors

I've always been surrounded by sewing. My mother was a seamstress. She made all my clothes, costumes for local theater and vocal groups, and she even made all the choir robes and stoles at my childhood church. She was known as the "sewing lady" around town and heaven forbid that I would touch her beloved Singer sewing machine.

She did gift me with her fabric scraps, a small sewing kit, and the ability to use my imagination. Those scraps became clothes and home accessories for my many Barbies, but by the time I was a 'tween, I was done with dolls and my sewing basket ended up in the back of my closet.

Years later, I married a pastor. To say that most pastors are "poor pastors" is not an understatement. In light of that situation, my mother presented me with my first real sewing machine - a Kenmore basic machine. Along with a simple pattern, she passed on these words of wisdom.

"If you're going to be married to a poor pastor, you will need to know how to sew."

So off to the local fabric store I went. I picked out a cute white cotton with a little red anchor print, along with the necessary notions - thread, seam gauge, tape measure, and of course, my first Fiskars scissor. At home, I followed the instructions meticulously and created a simple sailor top which I wore proudly.

Soon, I discovered I was pregnant with my first child and sewing became even more necessary. I wasn't able to keep up with my mom, who showered my son with layettes, little suits, and an heirloom christening gown, but I did simple buntings, hooded bath towels, and Winnie the Pooh curtains for his room.

But sewing was simple a hobby, something to pass the time while my husband tended to his congregation. My focus was to graduate from college and start a career in retail management. Little did I know that that career would begin as a merchandise manager for a national fabric store chain.

I was suddenly thrust into a world full of fabrics, patterns, and opportunities to use my growing talent. I taught a few quilting classes and helped people create their own beautiful garments. I loved my job since it combined my love of sewing and my love of business.

Soon my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and passed away just 3 months before my daughter was born. She knew her granddaughter was coming and while cleaning out her sewing room, I found an envelope filled with cash and a note. The message was simple, take the money and upgrade my machine to one that had all the current bells and whistles, including embroidery stitches, so I could embellish the little dresses I would soon be making for baby Kathryn.

But being married to a pastor means you need to be ready to pick up and leave at anytime when God calls. Which meant a few years into my growing career, it was time to move to a new church - in a small town in the middle of a National Forest in Northern Wisconsin. The nearest fabric store was 70 miles away and there were no jobs in retail in a town of 1,500.

Instead of retail, I changed my focus to journalism. I was brought up in a two-newspaper town and one of my father's requirements for me was to read both newspapers each day - to be able to discuss current events at the dinner table. Politics was my favorite; growing up during the turbulent 60s and 70s gave me plenty of stories to follow. So this love of news was my next path.

I soon became news director at a local AM/FM station and then moved onto be the editor of the local newspaper. For over 20 years I covered local school board, crime, high school sports, and my favorite topic, politics. Interviewing congressmen, senators and even President Barak Obama and Vice President Biden were high points.

However, I always had my sewing room to retreat to. My sons and daughter always had new clothes for the first day of school, Christmas programs, and Easter. My nieces received beautiful bridal trousseaus to start their married lives and my best friend's own daughter wore a baptismal gown handcrafted by her favorite "aunt."

Then another move brought us to Milwaukee. Multiple fabric stores, quilt shops and sewing studios were suddenly at my fingertips. My sewing skills continued to grow and so did all the necessary notions that go with this hobby - including my wall of scissors.

After more stints in print and broadcast journalism, and a detour into social media marketing, I grew tired of pursuing the story and retired early and opened an Etsy shop. I also jumped into doing local art and craft shows to get my garments out to willing buyers. And one willing buyer would change my path again.

It was a warm summer day at a local art show, when the unassuming woman walked into my booth. Many people would look at the baby clothes I was selling and tell me they were cute, but this woman said my workmanship was beautiful and that I was very skilled. She then asked me a question.

"We need a sewing teacher at the school." as she pointed toward my alma mater. "Would you be interested?"

I loved my former high school. It is one of the few high schools left in the country that still teaches sewing. I said I would have to think about it. She said don't take to long, since school was starting in two weeks, as she handed me a business card with the principal's name and contact information.

Two days later I was sitting in the principal's office (and this was not the first time I saw the inside of this room :).) Within the hour, I was a newly hired teacher tasked with teaching 3 levels of sewing and a class on home interior design. Two weeks later I was standing in front of a class of freshman explaining how sewing machines work and which notions they would be using in class every day.

As I taught my students, it ignited a new desire in me to go back to school also. So at age 54, I enrolled at Mt. Mary University's Fashion Design program and at Parsons New School of Design for Fashion Merchandising. After two years of study and late-night homework I received certificates in Fashion Design and Merchandising from the two schools.

So it has been a complete circle. From making Barbie fashions out of little scraps left over from my mom's creations to teaching young people about something I love, I have finally become the sewing maven I guess I was meant to be.

Follow your talents and your dreams will come true.