Why hands on classes and sewing groups are so important - How to make friends as an adult
So its 4 am and as usual I can’t sleep, I will be in the sewing room shortly but my topic of thought after class yesterday was how very important group classes/ hands on classes are. I was teaching in Mornington at Treehouse Textiles, this store is very special to me as it was Emma who asked me to teach an overlocking class for her that was the beginning of Sew into Overlocking. As we were setting up and I was test sewing the machines individually the students were chatting amongst themselves, some of these women I have known for many years, through classes or my previous role as a rep- I sold Carol her overlocker way too many years ago to mention. I love listening to the banter, there was talk of sewing, life and family, exchanging of crochet ideas etc. This is why I love teaching, I get to spend a day with like minded, creative people, in a beautiful location being immersed in what I love.
This year has been full of changes for me, leaving full time employment and becoming a Sole Entrepreneur is so very lonely and has been such an adjustment. Currently my favourite podcast is Solved with Mark Manson and Drew Birnie https://solvedpodcast.com/ the episodes are long and they dive deeply into to topics, a recent one was How to make friends as an adult. One of the biggest take aways from this was about finding your people, the ones you connect with usually have similar passions as you, it is a solid foundation to becoming friends. We are living in a time where we are more connected than ever with social media yet there is an epidemic of loneliness and people are really disconnected.
There is so much available to us on line now, we really don’t have to leave the house to learn, however that connection with other people is so very important. Over Covid I did do some zoom classes however when students were having difficulty with things I couldn’t fully see how they were handling their fabrics, clearly how they were threading or the quality of the thread they were using. When I am in the room with students I can see exactly whats going on, trouble shooting is a breeze. The ultimate bonus is meeting and connecting with new people, exchanging ideas and inspiration, swapping recipes, favourite restaurants etc.
So why not step out of your comfort zone? Check out the classes and sit and sew groups on offer at your local sewing shop, join a guild, we have so many wonderful guilds in Australia
If you are into dress making there is The Australian Sewing Guild - https://www.aussew.org.au/
There are quilting and embroidery guilds in each state, Victoria is https://victorianquilters.org/ https://www.embroiderersguildvic.org/
Of course there are so many wonderful guilds and groups, you are sure to find something to inspire you, make new connections and maybe a friend or two.
There are also amazing classes run by me….the calendar link is here https://www.sewintooverlocking.com/calendar
I’m going to make a coffee now, head into the sewing room to work through my massive ‘to do’ list and re listen to the Solved Podcast on - How to Stop Procrastinating, clearly something I need to work on!