How I Used Sewing to Solve My Fertility Problems

Ok, ok.  I admit it.  The title of this article is a stretch.  But the truth is, sewing has always been there for me when life dealt me a crappy hand.  Sometimes I don’t think we give our hobbies enough credit.  And I’m here to say we should.

When I graduated from design school I felt like the world had let me down.  My design professors had trained me to work in the field, but didn’t know how to work around my health problems.  I had access to the Accessibility Department who specialized in helping students with disabilities, but when I attended the ‘How to Get a Job with a Handicap’ seminars I felt forgotten.  In all the enthusiasm of convincing us to see the ‘ability in disability’, everyone seemed to forget the fact that some of us had disabilities that meant we actually couldn’t hold a traditional job, even if we could convince our employer to buy us a special desk or software.  There was no one there to help guide me into the unique lifestyle I was entering.  But I did have one thing: sewing.

I found a way to use my design skills to create sewing patterns.  I worked from home.  From bed, actually.  And I could set up my business so I could rest whenever my body needed it.

Fast forward to 2016.  At this point Doug and I had been trying to have kids for longer than I’d like to count.  We found out our last hope was to do IVF.  And that it will cost about $20,000.

Twenty THOUSAND dollars?!?!  Do you know what people say when they tell you to find twenty thousand extra dollars?  Get a second job.  Take on some overtime.  Pick up some seasonal work.

Do you know what I can’t do with my crappy heart?  Get a second job.  Pick up some overtime…  You get the idea.

Here I was again.  All of life’s solutions were for healthy people.  No one was there to say, “Oh, but if you’re too sick to work extra hours, here’s another idea…”  No one had my back.

But sewing did.

Sure, I couldn’t take on traditional overtime work, but I could work extra hard to add new products to my business.  We did some research, looked into what would sell best, and the idea for my Hopeful Hatchlings book was born.

We listed our new ebook yesterday and the sales have already been better than expected.  Not $20,000 or even close- but it’s something.  Something a little extra.  To say I worked overtime on this is an understatement.  I guess I did figure out a way to pick up some extra hours after all 🙂  But they were hours that I could put in.  Sewing gave me a way to work towards a goal I didn’t think I could obtain.

Sometimes hobbies are more than something we just do in our spare time.  Sometimes the skills we pass down from generation to generation can influence our whole lives.  I know that’s how it worked for me.