"The inside should look as nice as the outside of your creation."
I freely admit I am a Fabricaholic. I’m quite proud to be one! Be it rare, vintage fabrics, brand new, just released fabrics or anything in between! While I do tend to lean more towards cotton fabrics, I am not prejudiced against any fabric. I think we are living in a wonderful time when so many fabrics are available. Such quality, clarity and so many designs to choose from! When I see a special fabric, I just have to reach out and touch it. Yes, this is a little difficult to do when I order fabric over the Internet, but once I bond with a fabric, I can wait patiently for it to arrive in the mail for us to meet!
I started seriously making crafts when I was in grade school. One of my first projects to sell was pipe cleaner fruit art. My dad had made me a little tool to wrap a pipe cleaner around, making it into a fat cone spiral. This spiral made me think of grapes, so I made enough to make a grape cluster, glued them all to a cardboard backing, added a magnet and there was my first finished project. My mom then took a selection of my fruity creations into work and sold them in the break room! A career was born. At the age of thirteen, in the year 1976, (Please don’t do the math!), I decided to crochet a full size afghan in red, white and blue in honor of the Bicentennial. It took me a year to crochet it, and I have to admit to being so tired of looking at it, that I didn’t like using the afghan! Since then when I crochet, I tend to stick to small items.
Special thanks to the school sewing teachers that I had over the years. I learned so much from them, especially during my senior year tailoring class. Throughout all, quality sewing, specialty techniques and attention to detail were mandatory. One special teacher always said that every project should look as good in the inside as it does on the outside. That motto has always stuck with me. I think it is very important to sew items that are not only attractive to look at, but are carefully sewn to last many years. One of my first jobs was working as a seamstress in a ladies specialty clothing shop. (Thank you, teacher, for the recommendation!) There, I had the extreme pleasure of working under an elderly woman from England who had been a seamstress all her life. Dorothy passed away years ago, but her memory lives on as I carry on her sewing techniques and tips for doing quality work. A variety of jobs later, I don’t think Dorothy would be surprised at all that I started making and selling crafts at local craft shows and then eventually on the Internet. I love designing a new pattern and experimenting with it. I love seeing a new fabric that inspires a new design in my mind. I even love when a customer has a special request that challenges me to make it.
Craft shows have always been a large part of my children’s lives. All of my customers have seen my children grow from infants to adulthood. When they were tiny, they slept in a small crib at the shows. As toddlers, they would take their afternoon naps under the display table. Now they are experts at loading, unloading, and making a variety of crafts. My children have been a wonderful inspiration for use-able and fun items. Through all the years, my husband has been a source of great support. When he sees me heading for the fabric aisle in a store, he just smiles and waits patiently. When I buy more fabric to add to my stash, he just says it is a business expense. Yes, he is an enabler to my Fabricaholism. Am I lucky or what?