How The Importance of Sewing Has Checked My Ego

I remember a time when I didn't value my ability to sew.

My mom was a professional seamstress at a dry cleaners for a little while when I was a child and she made all of my school clothes until I began junior high and decided I wanted my own identity (which wasn't much of my own identity, ironically, since all I wanted more than anything was to look like everyone else!)

She began teaching me to sew by hand first and by the time I was 7, I was put at the sewing machine. I hated it. Cried and begged to be left to play like my brothers. Eventually, she did just that. But who would have known that I would get to high school and take Fashion Design classes where my ability to sew had me assisting the teacher? Whoever thought I would get into the Fashion Institute of Technology for college and be far ahead in my sewing class thanks to my comfort with the machine I once despised?

It's funny that just last week a friend tagged me on a post seeking "seamstresses" and I was quick to reply that "I'm NOT a seamstress. I'm a designer!" I often make the analogy that comparing a designer to a seamstress is the same as comparing a construction worker to an architect. Yes, they both build homes but architects are the brains of the operation, not the manual labor.

How elitist of me! SMH

Now that the world is upside-down it's not my 3 college degrees that are proving useful. It's my ability to sew! Because I can sew, I quickly responded to the need for face masks for medical professionals and those on the front line keeping the world turning while the rest of us get to safely retreat in our homes.

Because I can sew, I was able to teach my Girl Scout Troop how to hand sew in our last meeting before the quarantine...and they LOVED it! They learned to sew on a button and to make a pillow by hand. I'm willing to guess that they are among only 1% of American teens that are able sew on a button, let alone finish a sewing project by hand!

Because I can sew and craft, I am able to create classes and kits for creatives to help them cope with the massive changes in the world through creativity.

Our degrees and credentials may earn us pats on the back, fancy titles and opportunities but it's usually our natural gifts that show up and make a difference in the world. I'm not in anyway discounting the value of education but dancing to DJ D-Nice for hours earlier this week while the biggest stars in the world from Oprah to Joe Biden, Alicia Keys to Justin Timberlake danced along too, I realized that it's D-Nice's gift (not his academic achievements) and his willingness to share it that's uniting and healing the world right now.

We all have a gift that can heal. If you bake the best gluten-free coconut cookies, go LIVE and show us how. If fitness is your thing, host a livingroom workout session on ZOOM. The point is to give what you have and make a difference for those of us who need to feel connected and a sense of calm in the midst of a storm.

I am ramping up DIY fashion content. Be on the lookout on my Youtube channel for fun projects you can do from the comfort of your home. Here's the latest!

Please reply and let me know what you've learned about yourself that you didn't realize before the quarantine? What gifts are you sharing? I'd love to see what you do!

Stay safe! xo