Trend Watch: A Sewing Renaissance

True story: When I was 12 years old, my parents got me a sewing machine for Christmas. I opened it, pretended to adore it, and then went upstairs to my room and cried. When my mother found me, she felt terrible. "I thought you'd want to learn how to make your own clothes," she said.

I didn't. To me, sewing was something my grandmother did -- I'd be committing social suicide if I started wearing hand-made clothes to school. After all, it was the '80s. Anyway, the sewing machine gathered dust in a closet for years until my mother donated it to the Goodwill.

What a shame! Now that I'm all grown up, I adore all things crafty. I'm currently looking for fabrics to make some throw pillows for my bedroom, and I would actually die to make my own pants. And I'm not alone. Call it the Indie Craft Movement. Younger generations are rediscovering these art forms in a big way and inspiring others with their great blogs and designs. Just check out Josie's piece on cross stitching.

Kymy Johnson, a 25-year-old mother of three, loves repurposing old clothing, what she calls "upcyling." She'll use T-shirts and thrift store finds as fabric and make the items into something entirely new. "It seems like a whole new generation wants to learn it, which excites me," she says. "I just hope that I can teach and inspire others."

Oh, she's inspiring. Want to meet some other crafty women? Click through our photo gallery and article. These 7 ladies are just plain cool -- and it's fun to see the faces behind the crafts. Enjoy!