Hello, I'm Shirley, and I live in Scotland. My love for sewing started at a young age when my sewing teacher Mrs. Smith introduced me to my first sewing machine in 1979; a Singer treadle machine. Mrs. Smith taught me a tremendous amount about needlepoint, embroidery and the art of sewing. She was a force to be reckoned with, a military-style woman with a stern temper; her ways must have made an impact as a lot of what I do today comes from this woman's teaching. However, when I started secondary school, my dreams were dashed when my Home Economics teacher took me to one side and told me I would never be a sewer. Why? I mucked up a collar of a shirt I was making, and she failed me on my sewing module, which resulted in me not gaining my certificate. Then in 1989 my Aunt Jean, a seamstress, bought me my first *Brother sewing machine. I would spend many happy hours on this machine making cushion covers, clothes for myself and furnishings for my new homes (I traveled to different cities with my managerial job). From about 1992 to 2000 I forgot about my craft as I concentrated on my career. I met Paul in 2001, and he encouraged me to start up my crafting again by modifying our spare into a craft area. I started to sew again in 2010 when I became ill with PTSD. My sewing kept my mind busy and stopped me thinking of the therapy I had to endure to make me better. So now in 2018, I have decided to take my sewing a bit more seriously by learning how to modify and adapt patterns, so I actually have clothes that fit.
* a machine that I still have to this day, it has been retired, but I can't bear to part with it.
