About

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Hi! I’m Marie. 

 I don’t know exactly when my sewing journey began as I have been sewing and making things as long as I can remember. My first memories of crafting were making latch hook rugs and knitting yarn on a little pink knitting spool. I spent a lot of time making pot holders on a loom and sold them to family and friends-- I guess I have come a long way from selling pot holders as a little girl!  I would make bookmarks, mailboxes, Christmas ornaments, and other little things out of needlepoint plastic canvas and yarn. As I got older I started doing little embroidery kits and frame the pictures that I had sewn. I absolutely loved getting any kind of crafting kits, especially if it was something that I hadn’t done before. It gave me a chance to learn something new. One year I received a little green sewing box with a lift out tray and still have it today.  I wish I could remember who gave it to me. I loved and still love that sewing box (a picture of it is on this page) and I filled it with all of my embroidery thread, needles, and latch hooks. As I got older, my grandmother gave me a blue crochet hook and showed me the basics of crochet. That crochet hook is one of my most cherished items from her, so it stays in that green sewing box. Then my mother showed me how to use her sewing machine! Wow! Did my world open up! I started making simple doll clothes from patterns, clothes for myself with and without patterns, altered my clothes as bell bottoms went out of style and tapered jeans were in. My love of quilting started when I was about 13 years old--that's when I completed my first quilt.  Halloween costumes, and costumes for my high school plays were always so fun to make. After high school I  went to college for a few  semesters then I worked in a factory, in a restaurant, and as

photographer. Life moved on and I got married. Thanks to my husband, I was very blessed to be able to stay home and be a mom to our children while they were little. I made them pouches and drawstring bags to keep marbles or rocks in, capes to play superhero, dolls, doll clothes and blankets and of course their Halloween costumes every year.  I also made  pillows, curtains, chair cushions for our home and Christmas gifts for family members—these gifts included several quilts. When my son was in middle school I decided that I wanted to re-enter the work force. I loved my administrative assistant position for the first several years and continued to sew when I could: I crocheted blankets for my daughter and her then boyfriend (now husband) and made a t-shirt quilt for my son’s graduation, and a few “office outfits” for myself. At work there was a change in management and my job became so stressful that it began to affect my health. I hung in there and continued working even though my husband kept telling me to quit because he knew I wasn't happy and the frequent headaches turned to migraines. After 2 more years I took my husband's advice and left my job. By this time we were empty nesters and we had become grandparents! But I struggled with what I wanted to do next. I went on a couple of job interviews, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted another administrative 9 -5 position. I liked being able to watch my new granddaughter any time my daughter needed me to and toyed with the idea of starting my own business out of things that I made and doing custom work. As I started sewing more often again, my kids and husband encouraged me to open my “store”. Handcraftiness Boutique was started in October of 2017. What can I custom make for you?