Happy Mother’s Day to all you Mom’s out there! I saw this cute saying today thanking one’s Mom for teaching them to sew. My Mom is extremely creative, actually she is a fabulous artist using oil, watercolors and pencils as her medium. Fabric and thread not so much.  But lucky for me, I had two wonderful neighbors, one who I called Aunt Del and the other Anna who instilled in me the love of sewing. They both were quite accomplished seamstresses, from buttons to zippers to inset sleeves and darts – you name it they could do it! At the time I thought they were crazy with their insistence on cutting the patterns so precisely and that measuring the straight of grain was ridiculous. I was just a kid and wanted it cut out in no time flat! I remember learning to sew at my Aunt Del’s sewing machine that ran with a knee switch in the little sewing closet her husband had made for her. Anna on the other hand, had a designated sewing room with a beautiful Singer sewing machine with Flexstitch cams to create various stitches. I thought it was one of the coolest machines I had ever seen. They both made me rip out stitches and re-sew seams to their liking. They had me baste and then sew sleeves and zippers. No short cuts! I have many fond memories of spending time with them on fabric shopping expeditions. Anna my was quilt groupie and trailed around with me to countless quilt shows and shops! When I first opened my quilt shop, they both helped me make samples to display. They both have been gone for some time now but every time I sit down to prep fabric for a quilt or cut out my pieces and sit at my machine to sew, I hear them in my head guiding my every stitch. Aunt Del and Anna were not my Mother nor were they even a blood relative, but their interest and love in me as a child has helped shape me as an adult. Their love of sewing was instilled in me and I am forever grateful. For all you fellow sewists and quilters out there, mentor a child today, you may never know the impact you may have! Happy Mother’s Day!