Connecting the Dots

My beginning sewing class went very well yesterday. The setup worked reasonably well—I am using the church basement, which has quite a bit of room, although perhaps not as many outlets as I would like and even fewer outlets that will accommodate grounded plugs. I put the ironing board and cutting mat in the kitchen and we managed just fine. Capping my classes at six students was a good decision, at least for the moment.

The machines worked beautifully. One of the students brought a machine, which I encourage if the machine is in good working order. I pulled out this machine, a White that I bought for myself in 1991. It was a workhorse which served me well for many years until I bought my Janome 6600P. I sewed all of my girls’ Halloween costumes on it.

I was pretty sure there would be interest in sewing classes here, but I may have underestimated just how much interest. I have five students signed up for next Saturday’s tote bag class. Someone asked about a Serger 101 class, so I put one on the schedule and now I have students signed up for that at the end of October. And I have a couple of Kids Sewing classes scheduled for the week between Christmas and New Year that are filling quickly.

This is a good problem to have. 😊

All four students completed a pillowcase.

I love pillowcases as beginning projects because we use the “burrito” method, which is kind of magical. The students get a lot of practice sewing straight seams. (We do French seams on the inside.) And who doesn’t need a pillowcase?

*****

I am pretty sure I have mentioned the Steve Jobs calligraphy story before. Steve Jobs took a calligraphy course as a college dropout because he found the subject interesting, even though it had no practical application to his life at the time. Later, that calligraphy experience became central to the variety of fonts offered on Macintosh computers.

When relating that story, he said,

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

Why was I compelled to buy all those sewing machines? Why was I compelled to accumulate all those Joann remnants? Why was I compelled to sew at all? Maybe it was to get me to this moment. I can’t say for certain, but I am pretty sure that I am where I am supposed to be, doing what I am supposed to be doing, right now.