Thank you, everyone, for the welcome.
Mocarroll, I'm in Coleraine, near the north coast.
The first thing I sewed was a skirt. The green felt pig [with embroidery stitching, made in 1st year Domestic Science class, as it was then called] and the unfinished nightdress [with the French seams ripped out and redone at least twice in 2nd year] don't really count even though the pig is in use as a pincushion. The skirt is something I remember because it was very wearable. My mother sewed and when I was 17 skirts with stripes cut into a V pattern at front and back seams (chevrons?) were fashionable. I wanted one but my mother was too busy to make it. She said she would help me to make it. She turned out to be, in my opinion at the time, fussier than the Domestic Science teacher! But she patiently talked me through how to understand the pattern envelope, cutting out the pattern pieces, laying them on the fabric etc. etc. And I ended up with a skirt that people admired and wanted to know where I'd bought it. And so began a love of sewing: great to be able to take a rectangle of fabric and produce something you could wear from it!
To be honest, I don't need to meet enablers
-at least not where buying fabric is concerned- as I'm building up quite a fabric stash already!!