an afternoon with Grandma

 

This sewing basket belonged to the one-and-only grandmother I ever had, Mama's mom.

The basket was given to her for Christmas in 1978, while I was home for the holiday from C-school in Pensacola.

What stories that basket could tell, I'm sure, of dresses made and pants hemmed and rips repaired!

Now, the basket is mine, passed along to me at some time in the past.

Might it have been after Grandma died on April 2, 1997?

Or was it after Mama's death on January 2, 2001?

Hard to say, really, as time got rather warped for me during those four years, and for a few years afterward.

So, what prompted today's attention to this item normally in the hall closet?

My thanks are due to Amber, actually.

Yesterday, while my clothes were drying at Sandfly Laundry, she and I had a chance to chat.

While doing so, a man came in, needing to have a button replaced.

That got us talking about sewing, how I used to do it for much of my life, how the last thing I crafted had been my wedding dress in 1992.

Amber I asked who taught me to sew.

"Mama did," I told her, "and Grandma is the one who taught her."

We'd been poor, so sewing was the way to have nice clothes without spending much money.

That was all before Walmart existed...

no, seriously.

With the advent of mass-marketing, clothes can now be purchased for less than the material cost for someone making dresses or blouses at home.

Nonetheless, I'm glad to still have that option, even though I haven't exercised it in almost three decades.
 

After brunch, I dug out the seam ripper and repaired my other bra.

Yes, I only have two, both bought several years ago and no longer made.

The underwire had come loose and I'd pulled it out, at the time, rather than fix the hole.

Big mistake.

So, after four months of not having it in use, I now can wear it again.

Hallelujah! 

What else needed sewing?

Well, how about my winter jacket?

It's been waiting patiently since March for me to fix its frays and tuck its lining back into place.

The actual task took me almost two hours.

I had to rethread the needle seven times - yes, using different colors each time to keep it fun - and because Sally would have done so - and I think Grandma and the seamstress from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" would both be rather proud of me for getting my jacket spiffed back up.

Honestly, I couldn't have wished for better company than those two women.

(smile)