It used to be that women had to know this very handy skill. In this time & age, sewing is more like a lost art. Nobody from my era that I know of can sew. I'm not saying that all women should know how to cook & sew. If you hate it, there really isn't any point. I just feel it's a shame that very soon, nobody will know how to do it anymore. Just like the fact that our children probably won't be able to speak dialect. I just saw my colleague in Sg posted on FB that she feels that her life is work & nothing else. Dreams & passions crushed. I know how she feels coz I was once there. We all have to find our own paths, our own meaning in life. I hope she does & I really hope everyone does.
I did sewing briefly in Sec 2 during Home Economics where I had to sew a pair of berms. Of course, it is very different having to do it on your own. Nobody's going to pre-cut your fabrics for you or show you which step to do 1st. You don't have to thread the machine or decide which stitch to use. 2 weeks ago, we were having lunch near the kaikan after the monthly commemorative meeting when I spotted the Spotlight across the road. I've been wanting to get a sewing machine for a long time but the price was never right. They were never on sale every time I step into Spotlight. I told hubs that I wanted to have a look with no expectation whatsoever. You know what's coming. There they were in a pile near the entrance. I knew I just had to get it.
I finally bought a foldable camping table (which I will use for camping as well), took the machine out the weekend past, read through the instruction manual & prep the machine step by step as listed. 1st, I had to thread the bobbin. Then, I had to thread the needle. The bobbin feeds the thread bottom up & the needle top to bottom. The machine was finally ready for use when I successfully drew up the thread from the bobbin. We are so lucky to be living in this time & age where everything is so convenient to use. My late grandmother had a single piece manual wooden Singer on a "table" & if you flip the machine over, it becomes a flat work surface. Even with the LED light, it took several passes before I managed to pass the flimsy thread through the eye of the needle. 
I found this material that depicts the 4 seasons at the Textile Traders. I've mentioned several times in this blog how the 4 seasons relate to our lives. It's not just birth, adulthood, old age & death. But also the Gosho passage that we are familiar with - Winter always turn to Spring (meaning your problems will always come to an end). At the same time, it also means life never really ends. From death, springs life again. I know exactly what I want to use this material for so I set out to do it. 
I sewed & I unpicked & I rethought & I sewed again. Not the perfect finished product but it actually looked better than I thought it would be. I'm going to keep this for myself. When I finally perfect it, it will become a meaningful gift for others. It used to be that nothing excites me anymore. But these days, I have all these ideas in my head, waiting to be executed. It is the thrill of the challenge, followed by the triumph of surmounting it. I have never felt more alive. 