Local resources help with self-reliance resolution

"Do I need to call the boys over to do it for you?"

My dad asked this question as I attempted to build a soccer goal. I was 9 years old, and it did the trick. The thought of boys, or anyone for that matter, building my goal was enough to motivate me to do it myself.

Yet at the age of 29, I find myself calling upon "the boys" (and girls) to do things around my home I should be doing myself. I can't change a tire. I can't sew. I don't know how to start a garden. I can't repair my own bike. I can't fix my sink. Why bother when I can pay someone to take care of it?

But then I hear my father's voice - "Do I need to call the boys over to do it for you?" - and I cringe.

So my 2011 resolution is to become more self-reliant. Thankfully, there are plenty of opportunities for folks like me to achieve this goal. The Bay Area is teeming with people who believe being self-sufficient is as good for the individual as it is for the community. This year, your resolutions can be tangible, and someone is there to help you achieve your goals. Here's a sampling of what I found.

Craft Haven Collective

Nesting desires have been nagging me to make a quilt for my daughter, throw pillows for my couch and curtains for my bedroom. However, I can't sew. At all. I've never touched a sewing machine. I am convinced I will lose a finger if I use one.

Not only does Kelly Williams at Craft Haven Collective make sewing machines seem user friendly, but her Über Basics class has also inspired me to buy one of my own.

"When I was just getting started with sewing, my teacher told me to find a perfectly sewed item in my closet," Williams says. "I couldn't find one. Not one pair of jeans or T-shirt was flawless."

I tried this experiment too: First, it made me angry (where's the quality?), and second, it showed me I can make a pillowcase just as well as any manufacturer.

Williams serves me hot tea as I learn all about the machine and how to backstitch, follow seam allowances and pivot. After a couple of hours I leave with a little drawstring pouch I made all by myself.

"Come back for our place mat class," Williams says. Guess what everyone's getting for Christmas next year?

Craft Haven Collective, 520 Hampshire St. (at Mariposa), San Francisco. Sewing workshops are ongoing. The Über Basics class costs $62. www.crafthaven.org.

Magic Gardens

Aerin Moore, the owner of Magic Gardens in Berkeley, believes gardening classes are a community service, so he offers them for free on Saturdays at the nursery.