If This Pin Cushion Could Talk

I reached for a straight pin and looked at my pin cushion. I realized that I have been using this pin cushion for all my sewing projects since 1951!

In the ninth grade, I started homemaking class with my teacher, Inez Neelley. The first thing she had us do was to make a pin cushion. I used some scraps of corduroy and stuffed it with an old wool sock. I used it all through my high school homemaking classes and have continued to use it for the past 70 years! During my early years, my grandmother sewed a lot of my clothes; I knew I wanted to sew for myself and my family in future years. I loved designing clothes and putting patterns together to become a creation of my own.

After we married and started a family, I was delighted to sew for my three little girls. My great delight was to go to the fabric store and buy coordinated remnants to design cute little dresses for my girls. Of course, as time passed, remnants didn’t work so well.

Through the years I made Easter dresses, banquet formals, twirling uniforms, three-piece double knit pants ensembles of the ’70’s, and eventually there was wedding attire and so much more.

My mother-in-law once said that she always dreamed of the day when she had more time to sew, but when she was older and had the time, she had no desire.

I found that was true for me also. By the time my youngest was the only one at home, I was ‘burned out’ for sewing. Those store-bought clothes were looking pretty good!

These days my interest in sewing is “0.” I must make myself sit down at the sewing machine to do minor projects. It was a great phase in my life to use my creativity to design and create. As years passed, my creativity moved on to art, photography, and writing.

We should enjoy each phase of our lives and use our creativity to make life an enjoyable journey.

Life is short!