Identities

I should have identified these people. The little one is Jamie Silver Pollard, then Gwen Webb Gillette, Elaine Silver, Me at my first wedding, Nancy Kelly, and Lana Rush Johnson.

My love of sewing

Some days I love it and other days I don't. Right now I am making munchkin costumes for a production of Wizard of Oz by the local high school. It seems that some days everything just goes together perfectly and other days just weren't meant to spend sewing. I spend more time ripping out than I do putting together. These dresses are complicated but not that difficult. But they require a petticoat with net underneath and I HATE sewing with net. I guess my biggest gripe is no one is learning to sew anymore. They don't teach it in Home Ec anymore at the high school level so very few people are learning. I can understand that in some ways. It is much cheaper to buy clothes at Wal Mart than it is to sew. Material is getting so expensive, and then there are buttons, zippers, and trim to buy. I used to make a lot of Halloween costumes but now you can buy them cheaper than you can make them. Granted the homemade ones are nicer and last longer, but how many times are they really worn and for how long? I have a lot of pride in the things I have made over the years. I have made dresses for my girls, my nieces, my great nieces, for friends. I even made little toddler boy clothes for my son and grandsons. I have made tons of curtains, a few formals, and an endless line of bridesmaid dresses. I have also made a ton of receiving blankets for relatives and friends. My nieces always brag on them and act like they can't wait till I make some for their next arrival. Then there is always the one or two people who act like they aren't good enough for their dog to sleep on, but I won't discuss that here. I have felt honored to have participated in making things for so many weddings and births. It makes me feel like a valuable member of my family and a way to connect to some of them that I haven't been close to before. I think a lot of the reason I sew is because of my mother. She was a wonderful seamstress and I spent many hours watching her sew. I think I feel close to her when I am sitting at my machine. Plus, I use the same machine she did. So in a way, it is like I am continuing and honoring her memory. She got this machine in 1954 in Okmulgee, OK. I think my dad got a bonus for moving to Oklahoma with Dowell and they were either going to buy a boat or a new sewing machine. My Dad would have given my Mother the moon if he could have, so thus, the sewing machine was purchased. My Mother made all my clothes, and my sister's. She made my wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses, even though she had been diagnosed with cervical cancer. She lived two more years after that and to my knowledge, the only other things she made after that were my maternity clothes and clothes for my niece, Jamie. I once tried another machine, but was never happy with it. So my 1954 Singer keeps on running and running in tribute to my Mother.