Anywhere USA circa 20th century
Why did I love sewing at my Grandmother’s in rural South Dakota? I don’t recall the results. …no particular garments. But I loved shopping the fabric store in town with her and picking prints. I loved hanging out with her, doing it together and talking. I fondly remember her using her hands to pin…her wonderfully unusual thumb. She called elastic “rubber” maybe because it once was, only rubber. I loved the little room where her machine (modernly converted electric from a treadle) sat below the window, the warm coral color of the room, the vintage antique lamp…among Grandpa’s books. I guess it was the hobby room. She made wonderful cotton print ‘house dresses,’ her standard uniform as a hard working farm wife (pants were still barely accepted.) Sometimes they had a zipper and sometimes they had a button, and they always had pockets. She taught me the love of a project, start to finish. Process and results. The same with washing dishes and making cookies. Somehow, the cooking lessons didn’t stick. I guess my nature has always been toward fabrics, colors and design. Sewing was a given part of life and I felt so supported in that culture to keep getting better at it. It felt like a genuine part of life.
(I still visit that town, the SDSU town of Brookings, South Dakota and the store was called “Brost’s,” now a hobby and games store, though likely it is sans fabric.)
Dianne, This post brings back memories from my childhood as well… thanks for triggering my brain to remember the beautiful garments my mother would make for me and my three sisters, first the Holy Communion dresses, then prom then our wedding gowns. Her clarity in choosing the right fabrics and laces and textures was phenomenal. She truly inspired me to be where I am today.
Maggie, It certainly is special to have grown up with mothers and grandmothers who had a sense of fabric and design. This makes me appreciate other people like Dianne who took her work a few steps beyond and inspires others to beautiful clothing and design.
Dianne, Now I know why I LOVE pockets. You took me back to a time when I did sew on my grandmother’s treadle sewing machine, too. But her’s wasn’t converted to a motor. That’s probably when I learned to sew a straight seam. With sewing in my lifetime, it gave me a sense of color and design that I apply to my clothing choices now. Follow my blog at carolnaff.me for creative ideas for marketing.