If you follow my "profitable" sewing adventures on my Facebook page, you've probably seen the pictures of my most recent project. I made my mom a purse for Christmas and she loved it so much she asked me to make one for her friend. I was flattered! (No, I would NOT accept pay! She is my mother, after all! I owe her up until I have to change HER diapers!) And found it hilarious, as I mentioned on FB. This is why:
This is my mom.
Die-hard sewing addict, crafter and do-it-yourselfer.
I blame genetics for my addictions in these areas, so she's the woman responsible.
My mom started sewing much earlier in life than I did. She made a large quantity of my clothes when I was a child.
In fact, I don't think my parents ever had to buy me church clothes until I was a teenager.
(The little Fluffies were kind enough to model my dresses!)
My dresses were the envy of all my childhood friends.
And they were fantastic! Ruffles and puffed sleeves and ribbons and lace and lovely little buttons! Obviously I still have many of them, loved beyond reason by myself and my younger female cousins, who had the great fortune of wearing them when I outgrew them. I occasionally bring them out and my little Fluffies have a ball trying them on while I tell them how their Gran-Gran made them for me when I was little like them.
My mom made clothes for my baby dolls and Barbies, baby quilts for most of my numerous younger cousins, clothes for herself, and quilts.
But she didn't stop there. My mom crafted all kinds of wonderful things when I was a child. She used to make salt-dough figures and ornaments, 3D paper pictures, exquisite wreathes, and hand-painted alphabet blocks for my cousins. She completely re-upholstered the couch she inherited from her grandmother, which was NOT a simple piece of furniture at all! She's crocheted and starched hundreds of snowflakes over the years and given them away as gifts. I can't begin to describe all the props and accessories she made for the children's class she taught at our church for so many years! She can also knit, garden, and can enough food to fill a pantry for an entire year.
My mom tried to get me interested in sewing when I was younger but I had this weird idea that I liked painting and drawing better. I actually did start sewing a little for myself after I got married. I found myself burning through a lot of minutes calling my mom with sewing questions and wishing I'd learned all this when I had the chance. When the Fluffies came along, that dormant sewing addiction gene was activated and I've been sewing like a crazy woman (like my mother!) ever since.
The majority of my mom's sewing now is quilts. She loves making them. These are the ones she made for my oldest three...
(This is just a close-up of the frogs)
(Little Stinky's is still in the works!)
She says there's something very satisfying about the cutting and piecing and machine quilting. I can't quite share her enthusiasm for that yet, but I know it's quite possibly another dormant addiction I may be carrying. Quilting hasn't stopped her from turning out dresses for her favorite granddaughters from time to time, but it's her niche.
Here are the Christmas dresses she and my grandmother (who obviously was responsible for my mother's addiction) made for the Fluffies...
Pattern look familiar? :)
Yea, and my Grandmother! That woman sewed for FOUR girls! I think sewing for two is a challenge! And my mom wasn't the only one to have picked up her addiction. At least one of my aunts is also nuts about it! My grandmother sewed THESE dresses (my aunt with the sewing addiction supplied the fabric!) for the girls and their dolls in addition to the ones she collaborated with my mom on!
At some point, one or both of the Fluffies will most likely struggle with the addiction I inherited from my mother, who inherited it from her mother. It would be interesting to see just how far this goes back, wouldn't it? Ah well. Generations of well-clothed children run strong in my family!
***Pinterest Tip for Today!***
If you have long hair and you haven't tried the sock bun yet, you totally have to! I have not curled my hair in literally years and I used to do it all the time before I had kids. I spend so much time doing munchkin hair before leaving the house that I'm lucky if I get my make-up on. The sock bun takes no time and produces gorgeous results! Check this out!
My mom messaged me a little bit ago. Apparently sewing IS in the genes!
ReplyDelete"Forgot to mention that, yes! - there is a long history of seamstresses. Your great great grandmother sewed - from ball gowns to Opera dresses and Concert Pianist gowns. My grandmother, Inez was the pianist. She didn't like to sew and the gene skipped her but my mother definintely got the gene. Therefore, Great-Great Grandmother Curtiss sewed all 3 of her daughers clothes. I remember finding a beautiful yellow satin gown that GGG Curtiss had made for one of her girls. It hung downstairs alongside many other special dresses my mother had made. I always dreamed of someday being able to wear them. As it was, I had to share "dress-up" with my sisters. Your Grandmother didn't let us into those special dresses very often but I remember that Yellow dress so vividly as I thought it was the most beautiful dress in the world. The stitches were so tiny in all the hand-sewn areas. She was a gifted and accomplished woman. I would have loved to learn more of her skills. The closest I got to needlework was at 4 or 5, when I held the yarn for her while she rolled it into a ball (since yard didn't come in the nice skeins like they do now). Had I been older, I would have had her teach me to Tat. I've tried it a few times but because it is time consuming, I'm not willing to give up quilting to do it. Anyway, thank you again for such a beautiful testimony of my life in the way of your clothes. What fun to see them once again. Love you! Mom"