Flashback! Donna Salyers from Fabulous Furs shared these delightful observations about sewing enthusiasts during the 1995 Second Annual ASG Fashion Show where she remarked that the creativity in the room was positively electrifying. In addition, she commented that the evening was not only magical, she also believed it was the start of a grand and wonderful tradition. And how right she was!
Donna compiled a checklist of the top ten indicators that identify the odd and compulsive sewing enthusiast. We can certainly identify with some of these items. Can you?
- You’re compulsive if you are wearing something you sewed the night before you left for a trip.
- If you didn’t finish it and you’re wearing it anyway, knowing full well you’ll never finish it because you have so many other projects waiting, you’re compulsive.
- If you return from the fabric store with two new patterns, only to discover they’re the same patterns you purchased six months ago, you’re both weird and compulsive
- If you keep snacks in your sewing room so your don’t waste time going to the kitchen, you’re compulsive.
- If you’ve almost swallowed straight pins, confusing them with pretzel sticks, chances are you’re weird and compulsive.
- If your husband comments about a new fabric purchase mistakenly left on the kitchen counter and you answer, “Oh, I’ve had that for a long time,” but mutter under your breath, “An hour is a long time,” you’re a classic case.
- If you buy faux fur under the pretext of making your little girl a fur teddy bear and then make a full length sable coat for yourself from the scraps, it’s time to face the truth.
- If your cat has logged so many hours watching you sew that she can do buttonholes without supervision, you’re definitely compulsive.
- If you’re training your cat to clean up loose threads from your sewing room and the vet is puzzled by the thread hair balls, you may be weird and compulsive
- You’re probably compulsive if you’ve suffered the indignity of being discovered on your hands and knees copying a pattern on the floor of a clothing store dressing room.
As weird and compulsive as we all are, sewing is actually quite sane and healthy. By getting lost in creativity, we escape whatever stressful challenges life might bring and find a wonderful serenity and sense of productiveness in creating something beautiful. So let us all go forth and be weird and compulsive!
~Donna Salyers is President of Fabulous-Furs
