Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

The Cut

                                                

When I was eight years old, and for the next eight years, I took sewing lessons. Or I should say sewing lessons took me; every Saturday morning at 8am until noon. Torture. The first lesson, the class had to sew on the straight lines of binder paper. Uncreative for a creative soul. The second lesson, we made a laundry bag. If the sewing wasn’t perfect we had to rip it out and start again. It is a wonder my laundry bag could hold anything, I ripped it out to the point of having to make it smaller, as the seams were shredded. Our teacher was a perfectionist, she was an amazing woman, I was her biggest challenge. Every student won blue ribbons at the County fair. She was determine that I would not fail her. I did not.

But, to this day the song, "The first cut is the deepest," echos in my head when I attempt to sew and I cannot.

Vintage Scissors, Vintage ribbon. Vintage habits.

Comments

43 responses to “The Cut”

  1. Gina

    I love vintage! And I love new! Vintage scissors, new scissors, vintage ribbon, new ribbon, vintage habits, new habits. : )

    Reply
  2. meredith

    I wish I could sew. I cannot sew.

    Reply
  3. carolg@pb

    I LOVE this Corey. It reminds me how I learned to sew at my mother’s knee. She’d studied fashion design but married instead of making it in the rag trade. We often went shopping at the trimming shops for cherries etc. And I learned to make doll clothes with her. All well & good but she did insist on doing the “hard parts” of sewing. So when I went to design school myself (her dream for me) I could not do those hard parts. It was a great struggle for me. I also was not allowed to make mistakes. Thanks for reminding me Corey 🙂

    Reply
  4. Kristy

    Oh how times change.The mistakes my girls make add so much more to their creations.

    Reply
  5. cruststation

    What I regret most about my childhood is not learning the tricks of the trade from my parents. Why is it that I have a mother who sewed and a father who is a chef yet did not learn to sew or cook? Sometimes we look back on life and wonder why there were so many missed opportunities…let us not regret anything and continue to learn and grow with each passing day. As always, thank you Corey for speaking to us individually through your lovely words and pictures (love the scissors).

    Reply
  6. Jeanne

    I am not a sewer either or a knitter and such.
    I prefer time in the garden and reading and family time always!
    Blessings to you darling one!
    Love your scissors,
    I put a penny beside them for good luck!
    Big hugs!
    Love to hear all about sweet wonderful you!

    Reply
  7. Connie

    Those scissors are beautiful.
    I took sewing in high school and my friends hid my mannequin in the principal’s office (a catholic nun…she really didn’t have a good sense of humor). Wish I had paid more attention cause now I am like a sponge and want to learn all I can about sewing.
    Take care,
    Connie

    Reply
  8. Nancy

    Oh my! You took sewing lessons for FOUR hours, every Saturday, for EIGHT years?!
    I thought I was torturing my daughter by taking her to dance lessons every week for one hour for ten years….you are to be admired!
    I learned to sew on old bed sheets after I could not find small enough clothes for my daughter. Years of watching my Mom sew and create came back to me in bits and pieces but I am not a neat nor good seamstress. I wish I were……

    Reply
  9. Penny

    Ahh, this brings back my piano lessons! Every Saturday for five years I dutifully went for my piano lessons. Quaintly my Mother told me that if I learned to play the piano I would be popular because I could play at all the parties. HA – by the time I was going to parties there were no pianos in sight (hmm perhaps the reason I became a wall flower). No blue ribbons for me though and I had to learn to love music through listening, not playing.

    Reply
  10. denise lombardozzi

    this hit close to my every fiber!i spent saturdays with
    a neighbor lady who had saintly patience…who,too,was determined to teach me to sew…the story is long and the ending not satisfying…i have vintage issues!
    you are most precious!

    Reply
  11. Shannon Lewis

    Sheryl Crow sings a great version of “The First Cut is the Deepest”.
    You’re one of a kind Corey 🙂

    Reply
  12. Paris Parfait

    Lovely post! I can sew, but don’t enjoy it. My late grandmother could look at a photo and whip up even the most complicated designs. My daughter seems to have inherited her talent.
    I’ve “tagged” you to participate in a writing exercise. Come see!

    Reply
  13. Lee

    My father’s comment, referring to woodwork but still apt, is ‘measure twice and cut once’.
    I made a dress for my wife once, to prove I could. Bought the pattern, bought the fabric, made it. That was enough.

    Reply
  14. Maggie

    Sewing is much more forgiving these days. Raw edges and frayed bits are OK. There are lots of tutorials on craft sites- like whipup.net.
    It is amazing how we accept the labels given to us by others especially teachers in our youth. It has taken me decades to say ‘I am an artist’ & I still can’t draw!!

    Reply
  15. Cat

    My torture was years of piano lessons, and I still cannot play chop-sticks.
    I remember naps on a patchwork quilt and the variety of fabrics attracted me to no end. Looking at it postponed my sleep, and then filled my dreams with pattern.
    My sewing is only done as a non-prefectionist, thus the crazy quilts and free hand embroidery – mistakes – what are they? They blend in and become a part of the craziness in my sewing and in my life.
    Beautiful mint green in your vintage ribbon!

    Reply
  16. susan@artesprit

    oh corey, i took the same lessons in burlington, vermont. i had to put in a zipper which had to be taken out at LEAST five times. my groovy coulotte one jumpsuit almost didn’t make it. it all came back to me in a flood of memories today with your post. now i have to go start the little clutch bag for the prom… and i am really slow at sewing… still!

    Reply
  17. Annie

    Sewing is one of those things that I attempt on and off. I even have a very simple sewing machine to encourage me. More often than not, it’s paper I sew on creating art instead of wearable art. I may try for the wearable art this summer.

    Reply
  18. jennifer

    love the vintage scissors. I would love to learn to sew well. I’ve never had any lessons. My Mom used to sew a lot and very well…

    Reply
  19. Carol

    Oh well I’m so bad at sewing, this is why I admire all people who can sew so much!
    Btw I loved your paper dolls!

    Reply
  20. Brother Mathew

    I can sew buttons. Sew buttons!

    Reply
  21. Josephine

    Sewing is a difficult thing to master. I’ve been trying for 8 years to get it down, and I still mess almost everything up!
    My grandmother sure could sew, though. She was like a sewing wizard!

    Reply
  22. Ulla

    What a delightful tale, that rings true to so many of us…

    Reply
  23. wishes&Heros

    Lovely story!
    The scissors are so great!

    Reply
  24. herhimnbryn

    If I had listened to my sewing teacher at school, I would not have picked up a needle, crochet hook, knitting needles etc again!
    Thankfully, my Ma and Nanna were willing to give me time and inspiration. I thank them every time I get creative!

    Reply
  25. andrea

    I too started singing the Sheryl Crow song…
    Beautiful scissors!
    a.

    Reply
  26. Heather

    I adore this photo!! Such a beautiful, pale green ribbon.

    Reply
  27. expatraveler

    Corey, how true!
    I bet you’re happy now that you have a skill many still lack (I’m only self taught and wing everything sewing).
    And the scissors remind me of what my grandmother had – I’m sure they were antiques too…

    Reply
  28. Colette

    ….and beautiful velvet! with me at that age it was embroidery. I didn’t take to it, but it taught me attention to detail.
    xoxo

    Reply
  29. stephanie s

    beautiful thoughts and beautiful scissors.

    Reply
  30. Britt Arnhild Lindland

    Beautiful scissors :-)I have a pair looking a bit similar, but golden, and not vintage. I bought it on the street in Asmara/Eritrea a few years ago

    Reply
  31. susan

    i can’t sew worth a hoot either. my mom tried many times to teach me, but drawing and taking pictures seemed so much more fun to me. i feel totally inept when it comes to the home economics thing!

    Reply
  32. shelley

    OH COREY,
    THOSE SATURDAYS WERE BRUTAL.. MRS.LANZI WAS ONE TOUGH COOKIE ..I HATED WHEN SHE MADE ME GET OUT THAT DARN YELLOW RIPPER OUTER! I SEEMED TO HAVE IT OUT LOTS… REMEMBER TRYING TO PUT IN OUR FIRST ZIPPER?WHAT MEMORIES…..

    Reply
  33. amber

    I SO wish I could sew! I even bought a sewing machine year and years ago– a good one, too. But I have never used it. Only my friend did when she used it to sew my flowergirls dress for my wedding. It was a lovely little fairy dress, and she made it in about an hour at the most! I want to make Lil’G dresses, so I MUST take some lessons. Maybe I will this summer. You have once again inspired me! hehe
    🙂

    Reply
  34. Mary Jane

    Corey,
    I’d like to imagine that I’ve never been guilty of the same with my children however in our family it would be a lie not to admit the same would be true….for us it was always Saturday soccer.

    Reply
  35. mary ann

    sew pretty corey!
    🙂 mary ann

    Reply
  36. kimc

    My grandmother taught me the basics and when I am sitting at the sewing machine, I can feel her with me. I always take my one shoe off and use my toes on the peddle, like her. Wonderful scissors!

    Reply
  37. Me!

    First off, you goofball, your scissors are too tiny. Second, you fold it in half and then cut it, not one side at a time.
    Man, your voice CRACKS ME UP!!!!!
    lol

    Reply
  38. lauren

    First off, you goofball, your scissors are too tiny. Second, you fold it in half and then cut it, not one side at a time.
    Man, your voice CRACKS ME UP!!!!!
    lol

    Reply
  39. diana

    Note to self: allow my kids to make more mistakes… thanks corey !

    Reply
  40. Rebekah

    I often have a hard time deciding if your picture amplifies your words or your words accentuate your picture. They are both so essential to your posts – and I love that.
    I took one semester of sewing in junior high, but had a grandmother who was a dream of a seamstress. It’s not that she really taught me to sew as much as liberated me to play at an early age. As a result, I sewed almost all of my clothes through high school and way beyond. I don’t now, being seduced by access to outlets. But every curtain and drape in my house is a product of my machine.

    Reply
  41. MCaplan

    Your hilarious!! Sewing frustrates me, always has. But then again, I have never been taught how to do it. At least you are trying!!!

    Reply
  42. Corey Amaro

    If we gain something from the effort of trying, even though we didn’t learn what we were “suppose” to learn, it is worth the hours passed.

    Reply
  43. julie

    corey, i was just reading your blog, first cut. oh those sewing classes, i remember them well, bev was our sewer. but anyway did you know that mrs. lanzi’s birthday was the 15th of this month, strange that you should write about sewing and her.

    Reply

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