Tuesday, April 29, 2014

WHAT CATCHES YOUR FANCY IN SPRING?

My response is sewing.

For the thirty years I taught school, I scheduled the clothing unit for springtime. The new beginnings and new possibilities give me a thrill I tried to pass on to my students. It was such fun to see the wide-eyed looks on their faces when they encountered a pattern book for the first time. The sound of their ‘oohs’ and ‘ahas’ still echo in my memory.


Teaching how to read a guide sheet and thread a sewing machine was not easy, but the outcome was worth the effort. The first few years I taught, the unit concluded with a fashion show the entire school attended. The event opened to the music of “Penny Lane” and was greeted by both dread and anticipation by the students who constructed and modeled two garments.


You can see the similarities.


These days, the ‘idea’ file replaces my pattern books. I still get a charge out of going to the fabric store. Touching different types of fabric gives me ideas for different garments, just as looking at images gives me ideas for different characters. Deciding if a character’s personality fits the new story you want to tell compares to choosing the right fabric for the pattern you want to make. 


And the wide eyed thrill of seeing a pattern book for the first time? Imagine the expression on your face when you visit a book store and see a display of new editions. Finally, the dread and anticipation I associate with ‘the reveal’ and publication day. The garment/book is done, now to wait for what everyone thinks about your effort.


Writing, starting a new story, doesn’t just happen in the spring, but this time of year, I feel the strong pull of old routines. 


What about you? What catches your fancy this time of year?

7 comments:

  1. Carol, as a quilter, I identify with the "wide eyed thrill" of beginning something new. Never associated it especially with spring though. Now I will. Nice post.

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  2. Oh, Sandy, I love making miniature quilts. Those little jewels that use pieces the size of a seam allowance...and only serve the purpose of looking pretty. I sew all through the year, but it's a 'fever' in the spring.
    Thanks for commenting.

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  3. Gardening is my passion after wiriting. I am OCD about weeds and edges and flowers.

    But I admire sewers and all you artsy-crafty people. I had to make an apron in my 8th grade Home-Ec class way back when schools had Home Ec classes. How hard could that have been - a square peice and a rectangle piece to tie? Apparently very hard for me. It fell apart when I held it up to get a grade. Guess what I got? LOL

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  4. I love it, Kathye! Makes me laugh as much as the student who sewed a sleeve into the neck of her garment! As you can guess, I have gray hair! LOL. Thanks for the comment.

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  5. I love it, Kathye! Makes me laugh as much as the student who sewed a sleeve into the neck of her garment! As you can guess, I have gray hair! LOL. Thanks for the comment.

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  6. PS...I have a new admiration for weeds and dust bunnies!!!

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  7. I used to sew everything many years ago. These days I have to force myself to replace a button. I'd much rather be reading or writing.

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