Sewing Back Story

In response to Lindsay T's suggestion that we write our sewing histories:
I was pretty much self-taught as a young girl. Frequent trips to the public library with my mother and sister resulted in lots of how-to books for making doll clothes and simple clothing items. Everything was done by hand since we had no machine. Sewing classes in junior high, but it's amazing that I ever wanted to sew again since those classes were so poorly taught. Believe it or not, an entire semester was spent working on one apron! Our teacher insisted that we hand baste everything and she constantly made us rip out every uneven stitch or seam. It was soooo frustrating. In the final semester we had a new teacher and I made a lined wool straight skirt with kick vent which was really nice. We now had a sewing machine at home and my first project was an orange polished cotton sheath dress (photo to follow.) Another favorite project was my junior high graduation dress that I made out of white cotton pique with a lovely triangular floral inset on the front of the skirt. I felt very chic, glamorous and very proud of my beautiful dress (photo to follow.)
My sewing was rather sporadic in high school. My parents' divorce and moving several times did not allow for a space to sew. However, I did manage to turn out a few pieces. One purple plaid wool dress was a favorite (photo to follow.) I also designed and made day bed covers for a hairdresser whose salon was in her home. The covers were purple quilted satin (I must have really been into purple at that time) that were fitted, piped and had beautiful gold tassels on the ends of the large triangular shaped edges. My client was thrilled with the outcome. It was at that time that I was also offered the ice skating costume job, but I rejected the offer out of fear of failure. Too bad, I missed a great opportunity.