My Mum has a sewing machine, but only once do I remember her actually sewing. She made me a blue dress for a party. I was about nine. She probably did other things before that - everybody did - but they didn't catch my imagination and they certainly weren't done with any enthusiasm. After that dress she simply didn't get anywhere near the sewing machine. Not that she minded, she doesn't sew. She says that she isn't creative, but she knits, she bakes, she decorates cakes.

Sewing, for me, is more than a life skill. Its part of who I am. I love making my own clothes and, although I'm at best only an average sewer, I love knowing that what I'm wearing no one else has.

So, don't despair if your daughter doesn't sew, maybe her daughter will. At least that's what I tell myself when my teenage daughter refuses to do anything other than play with the different stiches on my sewing machine.