Course: Introduction to Hand Sewing

I have had the honor of homeschooling 4 of our 5 children (& graduating 2!) for the last 11 years. It has been a blessing to watch our children develop their individual learning styles and personalities as our family has thrived in the homeschool community. Coming along side other homeschool families as they start, build and continue their homeschool journeys has been one of my greatest joys.

One of the reasons I am so passionate about teaching children to sew is because although I was raised by a master seamstress, I resisted really learning to sew until I became an adult. I had no idea as a child that sewing could become such an outlet for my artistic ability. I want children to have the opportunity to learn such an important life skill and then be given the opportunity to pursue it in a way that is specific to them as an individual. My sewing interests have changed as I have gone through different seasons of life. I created home decor pieces without patterns, many dresses and outfits for my girls as they have grown and then found my favorite genre - costuming. There have been many fun costumes in our home over the years, but now I spend most of my sewing time making 18th century accurate clothing for our family as we have become Revolutionary War Reenactors.

I have always enjoyed finding creative ways to express my artistic ability and God has blessed our family with children who all have their own artistic ability. Homeschooling has allowed each of my children to pursue and develop very different creative outlets for their talents. I am honored to be able to facilitate the Upper School Open Art Lab to provide an environment for many students to continue to pursue and develop their artistic abilities in a self-guided lab.

In 2021, our family was blessed to be able to settle in this area near family. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, sewing, scrapbooking and canning.