"I think I started sewing in 6th grade. I hated it! I had two older sisters who were clearly better at and much more interested in it. I just remember ripping a lot of stuff out and in the end the top I was making not fitting the way I wanted it to. I didn’t really begin to enjoy sewing until I was in graduate school and needed dressy clothes for my music recitals. I didn’t want to look like I just attended my junior prom while I was up on stage, so I knew I would have to sew dresses that suited my personality. In hindsight, sewing on slippery, silky fabrics was a tough way to work on my sewing skills—kind of trial by fire.
"I think I’ve been at Treadle for 24 years, if I remember correctly. I used to work a lot of daytime hours, but now I only get to be at Treadle on weekends.
"I didn’t grow up in Minnesota, so when I moved here, I knew I would need warmer coats, so I started sewing coats. This is still my favorite thing to sew—jackets of just about any kind, but especially outerwear. I’ve done a lot of polar fleece pullovers and supplex jackets, a trench coat for my husband, and several wool coats and jackets.
"Probably my favorite fabric to sew with now is just about any kind of knit. It started when my kids were younger and they both really needed to move. Knits were the answer for how active they were. Then I also became unwilling to buy cheap knit garments, of course, thinking I could sew them better and make them fit better. Now there are so many great companies doing knits, Telio and Art Gallery, to name a few, that finding good quality knits is much easier these days.
"My latest project, still working on it, is Vogue 9244, the new Marcy Tilton jacket, that I will put up for display in the shop once it’s finished.
"One last thought is something we always say to our Treadle customers, please bring in your finished projects so we can congratulate you and see your work. I sometimes think people think we aren’t really interested, but I personally truly enjoy watching our customers grow in their love of sewing. I get inspired when they share their projects."
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