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Born and raised in New Orleans, the first born of eleven children. "I
made my first dress in the seventh grade. We had a sewing household,
with five sewing machines at the time of my marriage." With the birth
of two daughters, sewing became even more important.
My official sewing instruction is from Watkins Institute, Nashville, Tennessee , where classic sewing has been a tradition for 74 years. After three years of training, I was invited to teach at Watkins, where I taught for ten years. In April of 1994 I became Assistant Curator at Belle Meade Plantation. My expertise in sewing, textiles, restoration and exhibits were put to good use. In September of 1996 I opened Marguerite's Sewing School in Nashville. I am still teaching the essence of all that I learned and taught at Watkins with the added experience of my years spent with antiques and antique textiles at Belle Meade. I have kept current in the world of sewing by attending workshops with Sandra Betzina, Cynthia Guffey, Kenneth King, Linda Lee and Susan Khalje. I am a member of the Costume Society of America and American Sewing Guild, and I have written a series of articles about sewing for the Praisebanner Newsletter. Click Here for Issue 8 and Click Here for Issue 11 I specialize in fitting. All garments fit each student. Students now use the cutting edge technology of the Wild Ginger Software to draft their custom fit patterns using the computer. I have a special class of teenagers who are doing an independent study as part of their high school curriculum, several who have moved on to study fashion design in college. I take an annual field trip with my students for a sewing escape weekend in Rugby, Tennessee. Community service projects includes making preemie gowns and blank dolls for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. All students participate in this.
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