A new old hobby

If you were a high school girl in the 1960's, you may have learned to sew in Home Economics class. The boys went to Shop where they tinkered with cars and made stuff-- the classes were segregated and not elective. Back in the HomeEc kitchen, we baked muffins that sent sweet smells down the hall before lunch. It was an old-fashioned kind of boy teasing, which high school girls have always been good at. I remember our teacher Mrs. White, and how we would sit in a circle while she gave interesting adult advice on how to be good wives and mothers. Everything from putting on lipstick before your husband came home, to sweeping the kitchen floor each day.

The Beatles were hot and hippies just coming on the scene, so I was more preoccupied with being a fashion rebel at our small town school. It wasn't hard to be different in those sweater and pleated skirt days. The daring girls sewed cheap bell-bottom pants, made granny skirts and mini-dresses, pushing the school dress code to the limit. Sewing was great, since most of us couldn't afford to shop at department stores in Colorado Springs.Back then you could buy cotton fabric for about 25 cents a yard and make lots of flimsy clothes for a few dollars.

To make a long story short, I thought it would be fun to make a Christmas dress for Nova. For years I haven't done anything more than sew on a button, so my sewing supplies were down to a few dusty spools of thread and some rusty pins. But surely my teenage dressmaking skills would "come back?" First I spent an hour and $45 at the fabric store buying notions, material and a pattern. Stopping at Target on the way home, I saw they had adorable toddler dresses for about $10. (Yes, times have changed.) At home, I spent another hour puzzling over and cutting out the simplest of jumper patterns. Then the sewing machine arrived by FedEx. The big question is, will Nova get her red fleece dress before she outgrows it?