Volunteers

I am a retired NYC school counselor/social worker, now living in Chicago. I learned how to sew from my mother when I was a teenager. One summer in high school, I went with my mom to work in her factory-workplace...and told myself I would not work as a seamstress because of the tediousness of the work. (My mom advanced herself in the profession and retired as a pattern maker.) 
Meanwhile, I continued to sew my own clothes and later, for my children. When I was a SAH mom, friends and neighbors learned of my skills and brought their clothes to me for alteration. That's how I ended up sewing as a side job even though I had vowed not to. Interestingly enough, I enjoyed it and learned a lot from the many challenges my customers brought me, including altering several wedding gowns. I counted it a blessing to be able to make three wedding gowns from scratch, first my own, then for my two daughters. When I heard about G's Giving Gowns, I was delighted to contribute to such a meaningful project.