Unconventional Seamstress

Okay, I really don't think myself to be a seamstress at all, but I type sewer and all I think of is waste. This is one word that should be spoken, not typed. Anyhow, I digress...

These past two days have been a bit stressful for me. My mom and I often joke about my unconventional way of sewing. See, I was never really taught the correct way of sewing. I was given a sewing machine, I got some fabric and some thread and I just started to sew the way I thought you should. I still follow this method. It's worked for me in the past. It isn't my mom's fault either. I'm sure at one time, she tried to help me out... but I hate following directions and would prefer to learn something on my own, in my own time and in my own way. This often leads me to doing things the unconventional way.

I figure, if it looks good, it holds together and it ends up looking like what I want... then there's nothing wrong with my method.

These past two days, my method has had to change a little. For the first time ever, I pulled out the instructions to my sewing machine. My machine was skipping stitches and it was driving me crazy! I mean, I have 12 mermaid tails and 12 crowns to complete, I don't have time to restitch them a dozen times. I also made a call to my mom and left, what was probably a pathetic sounding message. I felt like I had been defeated. That's what instruction books are to me. It means I've failed and I just can't figure it out.

I still find instruction books useless for troubleshooting. I did learn about needles. I learned that I need to use a different needle for different fabrics. I know, it seems like I should have known that! I guess I've just lucked out, until now, that I've had the right needle in my machine.

I learned the most from my mom though (of course, isn't that how it always goes?). I learned that each needle has a different number. And that these numbers mean something! So she instructed me to change my needle to a larger number for the thicker fabric I was trying to sew. And presto! My machine and I are back in business.

I also learned that the needle packs don't have all the same needles. Since the numbers are different and I was just changing my needles to whatever needle was next, I figure I was lucky that it corresponded to the fabrics I was sewing.

I'm sure I should be a little embarrassed admitting this. But I really have no pride and I'm a little amused at the things that I don't know. Little by little, I pick it up and little by little, I improve. I'm good with that. It keeps things interesting.