Smoke belched out amid cries of alarm. "Young lady!" The look of despair on the old spinsters face was palpable "Your future husband has my full sympathy" She glared deliberately over her steamed spectacles as she tossed the burnt offering into the trash; "Because your skills do not lie in home industry! You will successfully burn his coffee and iron holes in his suits! I certainly hope his love for you will compensate for your lack in housekeeping!" So ended my school career in Home Economics. I hate fortune telling. I would show that miserable old teacher. Just not in her classroom.
My aunt is a professional seamstress. I didn't plan on sewing a wedding dress but I asked her for help. She threw me in the deep end with sewing but I learned fast and I loved sewing! The rest, as they say, is history. What happened in my final high school year is rather a blur. Exams. Exams. Exams. And that underlying pressure; What NEXT?!!!
Before I knew it I was cutting my own patterns, sewing lacey lingerie, winter jackets, children's shoes and cloth diapers .... and yes, wedding dresses.
Fast forward a couple decades and my sewing hobby became a business while I simultaneously opened my health restaurant. Because - while I became good at sewing, I also learned how to cook! And more than just cooking; specializing in delicious and easy to make foods for those with food allergies.
Sometimes I think about that old Home Economics teacher. I wish I could thank her. Her negativity had the opposite affect to that intended. It fueled my determination. In fact it has stood me in good stead over the hard years when my hobbies have out of necessity made an income. How have hobbies featured in your life? This was an interesting question posed by Ladies of Hive Hobby Contest
Perhaps our local Ranger Andy can entertain us with her own trip down hobby lane @andrastia?
All photos are my own - all animals are my own - and no family members were forced to eat out of a can in the making of this post (despite a retired teacher's dire expectations)
