Never Too Old to Learn to Sew

Have you ever thought you were too old to learn to sew? Well, I would like to start by introducing you to some very special ladies. Firstly Aileen Beaumont. She started sewing with me less than a year ago once she retired. It was something that she always meant to learn to do, she even had a machine and a massive collection of patterns that she collected in the 70s, however things got in the way and she never learnt. Now she is the ‘bag lady’ she loves making handbags, rucksacks and hopefully you might even see them in my shop soon!

The second lady I would like to mention is Mary Walsh. She is recently retired and had a terrible start to sewing back at school, where her teacher was so awful she put her off for life! Until now that is, having witnessed her daughter in law learning to sew at my classes, she decided to give it another try some 50 years after she last put her foot on the sewing pedal! She has been making things for  her new flat, and recently sewed a lovely summer dress for her grandaughter. Did you have a positive or negative experience at school with your textile teacher that you would like to share in the comments?

This post would not be complete though without mentioning my own grandmother and my mother, who were my sewing inspiration! My mother always made time to sew with us, and gave my sister (pictured to the right of my grandmother) and I our first machine when I was about 7 years old. Today she still sews regularly and makes all her own curtains and furnishings.

My grandmother has a house full of beautiful things she has made, and I have pieces of her work all around my house too. From lined gingham peg bags, to crocheted shopping bags, to wonderful pieces of embroidery.

It doesn’t stop there,just last week I received a parcel from my Auntie Inge, in it were some beautiful embroideries that she made many years ago, which I have just sewn into some lovely cushion covers.

I would like to pass all these skills onto my own children and as many other people as I can, so that they can enjoy what I have been fortunate enough to have from a young age, but whatever your age as C.S Lewis put it: “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream”