July 2023
I’m Debby and I’m a maker.
I make all kinds of things. I’m
52 this year. Crafting is part of my family
heritage, we’re all makers of some kind.
My husband and I are very proud of our 3 grown sons. We cherish our granddaughter and our extended
family. I am a small-town Oklahoma
girl. I grew up with a sister, two aunts, and three
female cousins on my mother’s side of the family. They were all more like sisters than extended
family. As I said before we all make
things.
I learned to crochet, sew, and embroider from my grandmother
between the ages of 7 and 11. When my
grandmother wanted to learn to knit, I learned from my mother and then taught
my own grandmother. My mom was left-handed
and knitted that way. My grandmother couldn’t
make the needed mechanical changes to knit right-handed, but I could. Grandma’s one big project was a sweater with
cables on each side of the buttons. She
also learned to knit sweater vests when they were popular and used different-sized
needles for the desired texture. It was
then I realized, I don’t like sweaters, vests, or warm layers. While my mother made blankets, Grandma made whatever
she wanted, I mastered double-pointed needles to knit tube tops for fashion
dolls. Those teeny tiny knitting needles
were great for making well-fitting bikini bottoms for dolls. I often say I learned to knit so I could use
the needle to push buttons on the television for Grandma. About the time I learned to crochet so did my
grandfather. Once a month they would
make the trip to the local yarn store with their planned projects. We would fill shopping carts with yarn, new
hooks or needles, and a new darning needle because we managed to lose the last
one. Then we would hit the fabric
section for planned clothing. I sewed a
lot of my own blouses for quite a few years. I thought I would go into fashion production
at one time.
My mother was an intermediate quilter by the time she passed
away in 2011. She taught me a lot and
shopped in my fabric stash sometimes. Grandma
had made quilts in her time but didn’t enjoy making them. She could crochet afgans like crazy though. It took a lot of years for my mom to settle
down and get into quilting. Half of the
tools I have are because of her. She was
great about showing me a new tool then passing me the one it replaced. That was great because at that time. I had two young children and no extra money
to buy anything. She helped me set up my
sewing station that first time. She and
my grandmother had the same model sewing machine in nearly identical
cabinets. 1953 Singer electric
machines. My mother worked hard to hang
on to her machine no matter where we lived but eventually, the motor died. Then she set her sights on Grandma’s
machine. In 1998 I took Grandma’s machine
home with me; Mother was so jealous. I
have stitched thousands of yards on that machine.
I made my wedding dress, four bridesmaid dresses and my mother’s
dress on that machine in the 8 weeks before the wedding. In the 25 years I have
had that machine, I have used it more than my grandmother ever did. Most of that was masks in 2020.
Currently, I make quilt tops. This is my favorite phase of quilting. I make more than one project at a time. At my sewing machine, I have a foundation
paper piecing (fpp) project of frogs for my youngest son. I’m working on an fpp block swap for the 3rd
time this year. I also have a slow
stitching project, English Paper piecing hexagons. It’s a wonderful thing to do at night when I
can’t sleep, and I need to be quiet. I
just finished a top big enough for a lap quilt.
I also test patterns for creators.
I have to be careful that I don’t over-obligate myself.
I’m an avid fabric hoarder.
There I said it. It’s not all my
fault. My husband is my biggest
supplier. He finds totes, boxes, and
bolts at estate or yard sales. Then my
mother passed, and my sister needed a place to store Mother’s hoard. I couldn’t make myself use her fabrics until
2020 then what my husband didn’t put into his own stash became masks. My sister
gave me permission of course. Eventually,
the masks I have left over will make their way into quilts after all. That year I also gave my spare machine to my
sister so she could start making quilts too.
She never came back to get more material so who knows if she finished
it. Mother taught me how to layer the quilt and gave me two frames for hand quilting. My current house previously housed a quilter
and there are hooks in three rooms for hanging a frame for hand quilting. Sometime
in the future, I will use those hooks for more than ceiling decorations. Until then they are great for hanging
clothing while I alter it or to get it off my worktable. My husband did a lot of bartering masks in
2020 and now people give me stashes of fabric.
Most recently, a custom clothing sewist passed away and the fabric is at
my house through a church connection. Now
making clothing for a local charity is part of my weekly list.
At one time in my husband’s past life, he made jewelry for
craft shows. Sometime in the last 6
years he has acquired beading supplies from those sale sources to add to my obsession
of making my own jewelry. The hobby
exploded from one small tote to four large totes and four smaller specialized
totes. So occasionally, I make jewelry. Currently, I have beaded hatbands on a make
list. Probably when it’s too hot to sit
at my sewing machine. That’s happening
right now but I have other things to accomplish first.
That’s me, I’m a maker.
A list maker and that list is getting longer and longer.
Check back sometime to see the things I’m working on.
Find my direct.me page and follow me on my other platforms!
#maker #crafter #sewing #quilting #crochet #knitting #beading
#cross-stitch #hand-made #custom-clothing #hand-crafted #jewelry #beads #fabric
#sew #quilt #Epp #Fpp #crafting #slow-stitching #dolls #baby #cozy #embroidery #big-stitch
#yarn #fiber #hobbies #relaxation #artistry #showcase #art #Tulsa
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