Pillow Talk

I made a pillow today.

It doesn't look like much. But this was the first sewing project I have attempted in a long time. I'm not altogether happy with it, lumpy as it is, the result of attempting to recycle the stuffing from the old pillows. So first chance I get, I'm going to pick up some pillow forms, redo this little guy, and make one more just like him. Then I'm going to do two in turquoise, two in a smashing print, and use the print to make a little window valance. When everything is finished, I will post another picture.

It felt good to sit at the sewing machine again. I used to sew a lot. I was 22 or 23 when I took my first sewing class back in Peoria, Illinois - Stretch and Sew, anybody else remember that? - and soon after that I bought my first Bernina sewing machine. We moved to Raleigh a couple of years later, and during the hiatus from piano teaching, I got a job in a chain fabric store. I hated working there - hated the red apron I had to wear, hated the erratic schedule, hated the condescending behavior of management - but the retail experience helped me get my foot in the door of the local Bernina shop a few months later. My boss there was great; she made sure I received extensive training in the workings of all the sewing machines, allowed me to use my generous employee discount to upgrade to a top-of-the-line model and purchase a serger, and exposed me to many new sewing techniques: English smocking, heirloom sewing, machine applique and embroidery, quilting. It wasn't long before I started teaching classes myself.

I made clothes for myself and gifts for family and friends and, later, clothing for my kids. When I was pregnant with my first child, I sewed most of my maternity wear

and bought yards and yards of blue and white calico and made a crib set and matching curtains for the nursery.

I even made two smocked baby gowns - a white one with flowers in case I had a girl, a blue one in case I had a boy.

I never got to use the white one. But I still have it. Maybe a granddaughter will wear it one day.

As my children grew up, I made clothing for them, too. I especially enjoyed sewing fancy outfits for pictures and special occasions.

Josh

And Halloween costumes were a lot of fun.

Josh and Casey

But by the time Nathan came along, I had started home schooling and sewing necessarily became less of a priority. Mostly I did small machine quilting projects and made Christmas presents. One year I even managed to sew matching jammies for the boys to wear on Christmas Eve.

Josh and Casey

Nathan

After my divorce, though, sewing really fell by the wayside. I had good intentions; I even set the sewing machine up in a corner of my bedroom. But hemming jeans and stitching patches on Cub Scout uniforms was about as good as it got. Finally, I decided the space could be put to better use, and I packed everything away and almost forgot I had it - until last spring, when something compelled me to paint my piano studio purple and turn part of it into a creative space for myself.

Mostly I have been beading. But when my sofa pillows started to disintegrate and I saw the price of new pillows - and couldn't find anything I liked, anyway - I decided it was time to start sewing again. I found the perfect fabric, fifty percent off, dug my notions out of storage, and set to work. I was afraid I might not remember how to thread the machine, but really it was like riding a bicycle. Although I don't recall what some of my tools and supplies are used for, maybe that will come back to me too, as I sort through fabric and patterns purchased long ago. I have some really great stuff.

I am already planning my next project: a pair of monkey print flannel pajamas. With the heat advisory here - and no end in sight - I guess I can take my time on those.

Have you ever had the experience of returning to a hobby after a long time away from it? What was that like for you?