A day in the life of a seamstress

For my birthday this year I told my parents I wanted two things.

1. A sewing class
2. Dishes

The first one I thought would make a great blog post — hence this one — and could also save me some money on clothes in these "tough economic times." And the other was an after thought since I soon will be moving into my own apartment and might have to eat off napkins and/or paper plates because my dining collection is next to nil.

So I hit up The Needle Shop, a local sewing/fabric store in Bucktown, on Tuesday night and learned the lost art of sewing. But this wasn't my first time. No, that was back in sixth grade at Fegely Middle School in Portage, Indiana. We had two options of taking shop class or home economics (sewing and cooking.) Of course, I took them both.

After that semester I could operate a hacksaw better than a sewing machine. But after 15 years, I thought I would take another stab at it. And I am pleasantly surprised how the final product, a pillow, turned out. It is perfect.

The class normally only has four students, but this night two students bailed, so my classmate Bree (a graphic designer at Chicago Magazine) and I pretty much had a private lesson. It was awesome. Our instructor was patient and relaxed. We learned how to turn on our machine, thread the needle and our bobbin, sew in a zipper and make a pillow. The three of us also discussed other important issues like what the heck this season of Lost is all about and our thoughts on Match.com.

And I decided with this post to get even more high-tech. I posted the photos of my sewing class on Flickr. Check out how serious I can be in my Sewing101 photo essay.

And because the end result turned out so well, I have decided to take the next step in my new-found hobby and invest in a sewing machine. Also I realized that I will never have to buy another pillow from a store again! Nor will anyone in my family. And I hate to spoil it, but everyone next Christmas is getting a pillow. Like it or not.

- Nimms