Cathie's Creations: Sewing

I started sewing when I was very young. My mother was always sewing and I used to collect her material scraps and make clothes for my barbie dolls. I remember sitting on my bed with a pile of material scraps and a needle and thread, making tiny little pants. They weren't so tiny back then, but I when my parents moved house recently Mum gave me some of them back. I was amazed at how small they were, but even more amazed at my stitching and how they had held together for so many years, especially considering the number of costume changes my dolls used to have.

In high school I took Home Economics as a subject from Year 8 to 12. I didn't really care much for the cooking part of the subject, and to be honest I don't care much for it these days either. But the sewing and design and textile part, well, I was in heaven. I couldn't have cared less about the rest of school, I was most at home when I was in sewing class. In Year 11 our project was to make a lined skirt with a zip and waist band. My teacher called me back after class and told me that I would have that finished in a few days and she would hope that I would choose a more challenging project. So, I made my formal dress. It was lined, had a zip and the bodice and skirt were joined - fulfilling all of the required components for the task. I loved it and wore it very proudly the following year.

Although I have sewn alot of clothes over the years, these days I prefer my sewing to be about other things. I particularly enjoy creating useful things for my neicesand nephews, like library bags, kindy sheet sets, toy bags, blankies, wall hangings and now, quilts.

I guess sewing, patchwork and quilting are my thing and and really doesn't matter what it is, I just love creating stuff.

About 2 years ago, I scored miles and miles of fabric from a deceased estate. There were the mostly vintage and retro fabrics. Some of the bags even had receipts in them from the 1970's and 1980's. I have made a few things out of these fabrics, and I have taken about 20 kg of fabric over to Vanuatu and used them while teaching in the St Michel School and village. I have also given some away and sold some. I now have half a dozen huge boxes stored in my shipping container, just waiting for the day that they will be lucky enough to be created into something magnificant.

Here are some images of the things I have created for the children: