I, too, learned to sew from my mother. She made my clothing (including flour sack slips,) stuffed animals for Christmas, curtains to cover kitchen cabinets (apple boxes nailed to the wall) in a farm house, embroidered flour sacks for dish towels. My first project when I was 5 years old was to embroider a dish towel. I was so proud of the stitches which looked perfect to my eyes. The only problem arose when we found the towel was attached to my jeans by the stitches!! My next project was hand stitching a shirt for my new baby sister. I picked out buttons that were about 2" across, but Mother just laughed and asked if they were big enough! These simple projects led to a life time of the love of sewing. Like the rest of you, sometimes a while goes by without sewing and then suddenly it's time to make four bridesmaid dresses! I recently was the lucky recipient of a Bernina 830 and it is so much fun! I'm sure that for quite awhile, we will be sewing up a storm!!