There is an old Chinese proverb that I have heard quoted, and adapted, and retold many ways. It goes something like this:

” Give a man  a fish and he eats for a meal. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime!”

My “sewing version” of that phrase says “Sew a woman a coat, and she wears it for a fashionable moment. Teach a woman how to sew, and she sews for a fashionable lifetime!”

The same can be said for teaching a man or a little boy to sew.

The sewing knowledge  usually spills over into that one  person sewing for husbands, wives, Aunties, kids + babies, Meemaw’s, Popop’s, or cousin Sue’s— many other of the “lifetimes” that cross their particular path. Better yet, the sewing knowledge  of the one spills over into that person teaching others to sew. It really doesn’t matter what level of sewing that you are at, when you teach someone else to sew, even the basics of  sewing skills,  then those others can have  potential to gain “fashionable lifetimes”.

So that is my sewing New Years resolution- Not only to try and be intentional about sewing  for myself, but  to expand more on the encouraging  on of  others as they learn how to keep the craft of sewing alive and  make it their own.

OK yeah — resolving to do more sewing for myself IS just like making that  New Years’ “exercise resolution”, but I will attempt to make it work.

Some of you may be thinking ” Cut the conversation, Tailorchick, and cut to the chase scene!!. Does that mean more  sewing tutorials on this blog for the new year?? ”  Probably. But be warned,  my opinion is that there is fundamentally  nothing  new under the “sewing sun”  that someone else has not done before or executed  already on another excellent  sewing blog. The sewing machine  technology may be new every year, but most sewing skills  and techniques needed for the job do not change.  Changing technology may change how you do a sewing technique, but having well  practiced, experienced, sewing skills in your own two creative  human hands is priceless for your own sewing  “fashionable  lifetime”.

Am I now getting too serious about sewing and taking all the fun out of it??  Hope not. Being serious about sewing and wanting to better my  core sewing skills  is my form of having fun with it all.  But I will try to keep you onlookers interested somehow with what comes out of my sewing room as I attempt to keep my  sewing resolution.

Am I an expert at this sewing thing?  Not by any means, and I think I have mentioned  that within this blog many times.  But other women and men  have taken the time to teach me the craft. I can only take some time to encourage  others  and do the same.

I trust that anyone who learns anything from me will  take it to the next creative level and  make  the skill their own.

Anyway….

Happy sewing to you  in 2017! May  all your sewing resolutions come true!

Happy New Year!