[speaker001:] Why don't you go ahead and start.
[speaker002:] Okay, my hobby is, uh, sewing. I, I've just, uh, started learning how to sew and, uh, I've taken some classes and I've made a few, few garments. Do you sew at all?
[speaker001:] I used to, uh,
[speaker002:] Did you?
[speaker001:] I, I sewed, you know, in high school and when I went to college I think everything in my closet, I had made. But I haven't sewed since then and that's been fifteen years. So, uh, you know, I didn't have access to a machine the whole time I was in college.
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] And, uh, my sister sewed and she needed the money so I would pay her and she'd make my clothes [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] And, uh, and then just in the last, you know, ten or twe-, I just haven't sewn anything. I would love to, I would like to get back to it.
[speaker002:] Yeah, uh-huh. Uh, clothes are getting so expensive now in, in the stores and the, the quality is, is sometimes so poor that,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] uh, it, it really is worth while to sew.
[speaker001:] It is, you know, an even back then, I remember you could make something for, you know, half what it cost to buy and, of course, the quality was just exceptional.
[speaker002:] Right an,
[speaker001:] Uh, now it's a little more expensive to make it, because, y-, you know, you start paying the price for the patterns and the material,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] but it's still such better quality that I think it's worth it.
[speaker002:] It certainly is, and the patterns have gone up tremendously, too, the prices for them, you used to could get, you know, a pattern for two or three dollars, now, they're like, you know, five, six, seven, eight.
[speaker001:] You're kidding me.
[speaker002:] Oh, no, I'm not.
[speaker001:] See I can remember paying seventy-five cents for a pattern [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Huh-uh, no, the, the cheapest ones now are like maybe, f-, uh, four or fiv-, five dollars,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] six, seven and then you get into the Vogues, they get up t-, into twelve and fifteen and,
[speaker001:] Good night.
[speaker002:] on like that.
[speaker001:] Well do you have kids and a husband, are you sewing for a whole family or,
[speaker002:] Uh, right now I'm just sewing for myself. I, I do have two daughters that, you know, out, they're, they're grown now though. I wish that I had started sewing, you know, when they were younger.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And, uh, it would have helped me out tremendously [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] But, um, oh, I guess, I, I just, you know, I always, I have always tried to sew and, uh, I didn't like the way it looked so I'd never wear anything.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] But now I, I r-, have bought some, uh, new, sewing equipment. I bought the Singer machine and,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] uh, it really makes it look professional and I've taken some classes here in, in, uh, Dallas.
[speaker001:] Well and that always is helpful for starters.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] You know you have to have something that kind of gets you on the right track of where you're going.
[speaker002:] Right. I know a lot of people where I work make their clothes. It's just, there's just so many people sewing now days.
[speaker001:] That's true.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Well do you do anything el-, do you knit or crochet like for sweaters or anything like that?
[speaker002:] No, I'm not that talented.
[speaker001:] N-, see, I'm n-, I've not ever been a real craft type person. I have a sister-in-law that, I mean, if it can be done with your hands, she does it. She makes things for the kids for Christmas and nephews and nieces and I look at them and I think, God, you know, I, I should be able to do things like this [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Right. I have a sister that can, can, uh, crochet real well,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] or, or knit, I, I guess I mean knit. And she knits things like hats,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] and, uh, sweaters, an, you know.
[speaker001:] Well, when my sister, oh, when my sister had her first, uh, child, my niece,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and this is, we're talking fifteen years ago. I was, it was my last year of college,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and I asked my roommate if she would teach me how to crochet granny squares. So she did, and I crocheted a blanket for my sister's baby,
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] and I started crocheting a king size bedspread for a guy that I was dating at the time.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And when we broke things off, actually we were supposed to get married when I got out of college. So when we broke things off, I quit crocheting it and I've never picked up a needle since then, in fact, I think it's still sitting in the top of the closet [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Oh, my goodness.
[speaker001:] One of these days I keep thinking I'm going to finish it because it would make a really pretty bedspread [LAUGHTER]. But,
[speaker002:] Yeah, now, now they have the, uh, knitting machines that will do it for you.
[speaker001:] Fast [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] My problem, I guess is time, you know, I, I talk to my husband, we kind of planning for the time eventually when, you know, maybe I can quit work, while my kids, because, I, my kids are young. I have a three and a half and a two year old.
[speaker002:] Um.
[speaker001:] And he says but Bev, I think you'll be so bored, because, you know, all you've ever done is work. And I said, but there's so many things I want to do, I'd like to start sewing again, I'd like to learn how to do this cross stitch and these, you know, knit these things and I think that would be fascinating. He kind of laughs [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Are you familiar with what a Serger is, uh, the Serger Sewing Machine?
[speaker001:] I don't think so.
[speaker002:] Well you know, in, when we used to sew, we'd sew the seam and then we'd finish the edges,
[speaker001:] Sure.
[speaker002:] and we, we would, uh, trim the seams and finish the edges.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Well, this machine does it all in one step.
[speaker001:] You're kidding, so like as you're sewing the seam, it's finishing off the inside edge.
[speaker002:] Right, and it's cutting off the, uh, the, there, there are two knives and it cuts off the, uh, you know excess seam allowance.
[speaker001:] Well that takes all the work out of it.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] And, uh, it, it really makes it look professional.
[speaker001:] Well, how neat.
[speaker002:] Especially, on, you know, I mean from the inside, you know how you look under, under something that you've made and it doesn't really,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] But, uh, the Serger really makes it look professional.
[speaker001:] Well that's neat.
[speaker002:] They're pretty expensive. I like, I paid like about eight hundred dollars for mine,
[speaker001:] For the machine,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] So, since I bought it and paid that much for it, I guess I'd be-, might as well get some use out of it.
[speaker001:] [Breathing] [LAUGHTER] You have to learn how to do it. That's right.
[speaker002:] Yes, I'm going to have to do it.
[speaker001:] Otherwise, they hold it over your head forever, right [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] Now I bought you that machine [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Well that sounds really good.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] Do you paint or anything like that?
[speaker002:] No.
[speaker001:] Never.
[speaker002:] No, I, I play the piano.
[speaker001:] Oh, so do I.
[speaker002:] Oh, you do.
[speaker001:] Exc-, be-, well I have one here, it's the one that I grew up with,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and my folks gave it to me, and, uh, a couple years ago when they, they sail, and so they sold their home and they, they've been sailing, and, uh, so it's here but I haven't touched one like since college, so I kind of am picking it all out again and trying to remember how to do it again. And of course, my kids jump in the middle of it and want to pound on it and I'd love to teach them to play, too.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] So, I'm not great, but I remember it.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh, well I'm not that great either. I used to be a lot better than I am now. I, I have played for, uh, the church choir, and, uh,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] I played for the choral club in high school and, but, I, you know, I don't practice a lot anymore, and, uh, you know, you get rusty. You really,
[speaker001:] You do, you do.
[speaker002:] I never thought I would get rusty, but I'm rusty now.
[speaker001:] Well, I, I figure it takes practice and I, I don't, I say I don't have the time, that's not true.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] By the time I put my kids in bed at night, I don't want to do anything.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] I, you know, I've worked all day and I come home and I do that, I, and, you know, even hobbies and crafts and sewing things like that, I, I think gee, I could do this or that, I have an hour here.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] I don't want to do them sometimes, I'm too tired.
[speaker002:] Yeah, right.
[speaker001:] So, I try to save that for the weekend. I need to get better at it though [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Well, sewing does take up, take an awful lot of time, takes an awful lot of time.
[speaker001:] Now the part about sewing that I never liked was laying out the material and the pattern and cutting it out. If, if somebody would lay it out for me, then I didn't mind cutting it out and sewing it.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] I could do that all day long and I, I can remember once in high school, I wanted some extra money,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] and my mom wanted some pants, so she laid out the material and I cut it and sewed it and she paid me I think like two dollars a pair [LAUGHTER] to make her some pants.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] But I, I hate laying out material and trying to get the most out of the material and,
[speaker002:] Yeah, on the, on the,
[speaker001:] make sure it's on the right lines and not on the bias.
[speaker002:] right on the straight grain,
[speaker001:] Yes, on the grain of the fabric.
[speaker002:] and all that stuff, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] It drives me crazy [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Yeah that, that's, that's the part that I don't like, too.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] Yeah, I, I like sewing, sewing up the garment itself. I really like to do that, but the, the cutting and the, all the, even the cutting I don't like.
[speaker001:] Well what are some of the other features on this machine? It sounds wonderful.
[speaker002:] Well that's about it really. It's, it has four, uh, four threads instead of, the, the regular basic two threads.
[speaker001:] Oh, okay.
[speaker002:] And, uh, it,
[speaker001:] Is that for designs, or is that for the regular seam in the fabric or,
[speaker002:] No, you, you can either use three or four of the threads.
[speaker001:] Oh, okay.
[speaker002:] Uh, it's kind of, it the stitch is kind of like a knitting machine, like the, they're loopers under the bottom and then the, there's a seam stitch and it's the loopers that form the, the edge, you know that edge finish.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And, uh, that's what really makes it look professional. You can do a lot with the Serger though. You can make, uh, piping and cording and, uh, you can use all kinds of different, uh, textures of thread.
[speaker001:] So it has the ability to do just about any type of sewing you want to do.
[speaker002:] Well, [breathing] yes, but you, you have to use it in combination with a sewing machine. You can't throw your sewing machine away. Y-, you, you need it to do things like button holes,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and, uh, seams that need to be really strong, need to be done on the sewing machine.
[speaker001:] So the Serger is not a sewing machine, itself. It's something that goes with it?
[speaker002:] It's, uh,
[speaker001:] Like an attachment or,
[speaker002:] No, it's, it's a, it's a, it's a machine, it's not exactly a sewing machine but it do-, it does sew the seam and trim the edges and all that stuff, but there are oth-, are other things that a regular sewing machine does that it doesn't do. Like you can't top stitch with it.
[speaker001:] Oh, okay.
[speaker002:] You know, you can't do top stitching, or, um, [clicking] there's, there's a f-, few things that you just can't do with it. It will also do a rolled edge, um,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Gee, it's just so versatile, I rem-, uh.
[speaker001:] Well I'm going to have to go check it out. That's just something I hadn't heard of but it,