Only a few times, and I was happy to do it because they were close friends. I currently have friend who is very overweight and she is working really hard to loose the weight. Since money is very tight with her (and to help encourage the weight loss), I told her I'd alter her pants as she shrunk! (luckily, most are elastic waist pants) My son (turning 10 in a few days) thinks I can sew any costume whether it is for him or one of his Transformer figures. He usually has moved on to a new project by the time we actually get around to creating something (thank goodness!!). My daughter (age 8) is wanting a new purse. Now that I can handle!

I am not above sewing anything I can fit under my machine's presser foot. I used to make most of my clothes, got away from it for while and have started back up again. I do it because I can make them fit better and I'm disgusted at the quality of the sewing in store clothing compared to what is used to be. I've had too many expensive outfits fall apart quickly and I hate the raw seams in most of them. I do most of the house sewing like curtains and table linens, even dish cloths. Knowing to sew got me through some very lean times when it was the only way I could afford to give Christmas gifts to any but my own immediate relatives. My most ambitious projects? I sewed a formal for my sis when she was a student wife and couldn't afford a new one. Also made her a fully silk-lined wool suit when she got pregnant she could wear when she was too pregnant for her old wardrobe, but not showing enough for maternity clothes. Speaking of which, I was a very active pregnant woman back in the days women weren't. LOL. So I had to sew my own pregnancy swimwear. I did a full bridal gown, and then a velvet ballerina gown for my last marriage in wine red. (Christmas time) I do nursing scrubs and dog clothes and pillow cases too. Children's winter coats and christening gowns. Other fabric arts as well. I got into quilting as a Johnny-come-lately.

I think the first real item I made was a yellow plaid roll-up sleeve blouse in Home Ec. I had no clue that matching plaids would be that involved. Since I was in high school in the 60's I remember making a 2 piece lined wool suit like Jackie Kennedy and of course had the matching pill box hat. Next I made a dress out of a pretty green dotted swiss. We didn't have room to cut out our garments in the Home Ec. cottage so we were taken into the cafeteria to use those tables. When I started making my dress I realized that I had not only lost the back pattern piece to my skirt but also the fabric. My Mother and I went back to the store to buy more but they were out of that color. I ended up replacing the back of my skirt with white organdy and applied a white bow in the back of the waist. What had started out as a rather plain dress became a nice church dress which I wore for quite a while. The dress that gave me such fits turned out to be a favorite of mine. Now I really LOVE to sew and also enjoy "thinking outside the box". Some things are made special because of the work involved. It makes you appretiate the results.

I learned to sew on a Singer sewing Machine and remember quite vividly how my feet used to go like gangbusters on that thing. Here is what I have done with mine. We took off the top completely including the belt. Gave the iron base a fresh coat of black paint( looks great), and had a piece of lightly tinted tempered glass with slightly rounded corners( no sharpe edges) put on the top.The glass cutter gave us some small fancy flat fasteners to attach it to the base where the original screws held the top originally. I have it in our front foyer and use it as a table to put whatever seasonal decor I want. At Christmas time one of my larger Dept 56 Dickens Village pieces and accessories make a very nice entrance to the house.I hve also thought that a nice piece of marble on the top, would work well with the iron base perhaps in a kitchen.