I grew up with a grandmother who made quilts for the community, all of her own dresses and matching Easter dresses for her granddaughters. Since I had "helped" her at times as a child so I felt that I had some experience and surely I had a few good "sewing genes," right?

I was so exited when we purchased my first machine, a pattern for a skirt and simple top, some fabulous material, some elastic and thread. The elastic waist band was a bit trickier than I had anticipated but I eventually completed the skirt and was very pleased with my first product. It looked and felt great.

Then came the blouse. Try as I may, the round neck line was never symmetrical. I tried converting it to a v-neck believing two straight angled lines may be easier than a curve. Not really. After several days and rising anxiousness to wear my skirt, I came up with a clever solution. I took a long fabric scrap and stitched it into a scarf.

Now my outfit was complete. The scarf was not only a necessity to hide the less-than-perfect neckline, it was actually quite spiffy. I was happy and I was very proud.

On Sunday I strolled through the parking lot just hoping that someone would ask me where I had found my attractive outfit. That is until the elastic popped on my skirt and it fell to the ground. Fortunately, I was able to whip off my scarf and tie it around my skirt like a belt. You could say I was "sew" embarrassed!

Learn more about this author, Angela La Fon.
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