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| Today is my mother’s birthday. She is 79 years old and among the many things she has taught us four girls and 6 grandchildren, she has proved that age is all about attitude. My mother is a member of Jazzercise, which she attends 3 days a week, and participates in national Jazzercise activities when they are close by. However, the most valuable lesson that she has given us is that joy is an inner peace in Jesus Christ that transcends circumstance and emotion. She is the picture of joy and her laughter is infectious even in the most serious of situations. |
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I have written before about the traditions that are handed down in my family and I have usually shared those traditions passed on from my father’s branches of the family tree. There are also stories and skills from my mother’s side and there is one skill, in particular, that my mother passed on to us – the skill of sewing.
My mother is a seamstress deluxe. She has made my father suit coats, shirts, robes, etc. and made most of the clothes that we girls wore until we were old enough to make our own. Sixty years ago, she made her wedding dress. She has made quilts for all family members and knits and crochets to boot. Anybody remember those loosely knitted or crocheted vests of the 60’s and 70’s that were worn over a long-sleeved shirt and with a short, short skirt? Well, I have one. I still have it. My mom made it and I wore it with pride! I remember one shirt and short set that she made for the three of us older girls. The shorts were red and the tops were red gingham with appliqued cherries on the left bodice. I think that I would have been in around the third grade! Do I dare admit that this would have been in the 60’s too? We looked like we should have been the characters in a children’s sleuth series! Mom shared a few of her thoughts on plying the needle and I am posting them here for your enjoyment: “Sewing is something I love to do for those I love. When your Dad and I were first married, I found some fabric printed with a design that looked like some of the little German villages we both loved when we were dating. I got enough of it to make him a shirt for his birthday. My grandmother Allen sewed dresses for me from the time I was a little girl. She made me my first long dress, a pink organdy one I wore when I was crowned “Queen of the 4th Grade.” My mother also sewed for me. One day I came home from high school and she was down on her hands and knees in the living room surrounded by beautiful wine-colored velvet. I said, “Oh, what a beautiful new rug!” I didn’t realize that she was cutting out a long dress for me to wear to a dance. When I was about 9 years old, I decided to make some napkins for my mother. I pulled the threads on the edges to make a fringe and I hand appliqued a design of cherries on the corner of each. I wanted them to be a surprise, so I stayed in my bedroom to work on them. One day I was working on one and suddenly thought of a question I wanted to ask Mother, so I just walked into the kitchen with the napkin in my hand. That kind of ruined the “surprise”, but she loved the fact that I had thought of and made them all by myself. Sewing has been handed down in our family from grandmother, mother to daughter to granddaughters and grandson I’ve enjoyed teaching not only my daughters and granddaughters and my grandson to sew, but also our Japanese friends. I helped Toshie make herself a cape and showed another Japanese friend how to alter her jeans so they fit her tiny waist. It’s great to be able to pass on a skill to the next generation.” I still have the pillow that my son, at age 8 and the one grandson, made with my mother’s patient hand guiding him on the sewing machine. It made such an impression on him that he hand stitched another one and painted ‘MOM’ on the corner. I still have that one too. Oh, and he is now 26 years old! I’m sure that he loves my sharing this with you! The wine-colored velvet dress that my mother wore to the dance is still around as well. One of the granddaughters is now making the costumes for college video projects. And the tradition goes on. |
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A Granddaugther Plays Dress-up In The Wine-Colored Gown |
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My first project involved a shift – remember shifts – you know, those dresses with all of five seams (one on each side, one down the back and one at each shoulder strap and two darts?) They could be worn with or without a blouse underneath and they were about as flattering as a flour sack that had a hole cut in the top for the head to go through. And just to add a final touch of ugly, one accessorized with a silver chain belt that dropped just to the top of the hipbone and left about a foot of chain to dangle and clink-clink with each stride. It was 1967 don’t you know?! Go-Go boots would have been the piece-de-resistance, but I wasn’t allowed to have those white, zippered treasures. I remember that the material of this dress was white with brightly colored flat, cutout-style flowers with round middles. I mean bright. Red, Yellow, Royal Blue, Green Green. Could I have tried any harder to destroy any semblance of taste that my parents had attempted to pass on to me? Hyacinth Bucket would have died. I am constantly reminded of this dress because my dear grandmother, who made beautiful quilts, used the scraps of the dresses that we made, to create all manner of fine works of art. I have a flower garden quilt that she lovingly pieced, by incorporating many scraps of my first attempt at dressmaking. These scraps were also used for my first try at hand-piecing a quilt, guided by my grandmother, when I was in my teens. |
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A glimpse at the material from my first dress, put into my first attempt at a bowtie quilt |
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I am happy to say that my sewing skills increased exponentially from that first project and my favorite machine is still my old Kenmore 15814300, a gift from my parents when I left for college in 1972. They just don’t make them like that anymore. It will sew through three layers of canvas without a single huff or puff. I still have many of my old patterns from the days of bell bottoms and mini skirts and I am so pleased to also have some of the patterns that were my grandmother’s – my mother’s mom. Of those patterns from the past, a few are of the old aprons that my grandmother always wore. She made them for herself and I remember her ‘clothes pin’ apron that she would wear in the backyard as she hung out clothes to dry on the line. It is from these patterns that I am very excited to introduce a new item that is being offered on the shopping page, produced by a lovely young entrepreneur who’s first goal is to purchase a new sewing machine! She has taken my grandmother’s patterns and put her own artistic skills to color and design and has come up with some beautiful aprons. The aprons will be debuted at the Taste Of Home Cooking Show in Shawnee, Oklahoma on April 9th. They will then be available online at the Shopping Page |
 Some of my grandmother’s patterns |
 A new Spring apron from a vintage design! |
| So Mom, as you see, another generation and even another family tree is carrying on the tradition. Happy Birthday and thank you for all you’ve given us! |
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Well, I don’t do much sewing or wear dresses, so I will have to defer on this one. I do have a mother however, and she is going to be 82 this year. She underwent open heart surgery about 1-1/2 years ago. She did just fine and is still doing great.
The doctor said she would be in the hospital 7-10 days, but she was out in 6. She was in rehab for 21 days but couldn’t wait to get out. Her doctor gave her a clean bill of health and released her from his care about 3 months after the surgery.
My dad is still alive too at 87. I guess I come from good stock.
(:D)
I would say, “And the Irish love their mothers!” (John Belushi Saturday Nite Live) but somehow I bet you aren’t Irish, Hawkeye! 🙂
Good for your parents!
Wow! Your mom looks so young. My mother just turned 74, but she can not do the things that your mother does. My mother made matching Easter and Christmas outfits for her, my sister, and myself. My mother often gets told that she looked like Jackie Onassis when she was younger.
I think that she would love to hear that! She really does look young. I started to post a picture of her from last month in a very difficult standing yoga pose, but I didn’t want to put everybody to shame! 🙂
Hello,I love reading through your blog, I wanted to leave a little comment to support you and wish you a good continuation. Wishing you the best of luck for all your blogging efforts.
Thank you so much Candace! Your kind words are an encouragement for sure. 🙂
I enjoyed reading about the “sewing gene” everyone in your family seems to possess. Also, I look forward to the aprons. My daughters like to wear aprons for inspiration when cleaning house. I still have and use the Singer sewing machine my parents bought my sister and me in the early 1960’s. I don’t think I use it as much as you do yours, but it got plenty of miles on it back in the day. Best wishes to your mom!
Thank you Beth. Isn’t it amazing that those old machines still work? No plastic on those suckers!!