Textile
I often wonder about my love of Textiles. I wonder if it is a deep seeded implant from Ancestors of long ago. So for this challenge I am choosing to write for my descendants some memories that they can have from their ancestor.......Me!
My memories of growing up are filled with my Mum making clothes for us four girls. I especially remember her lovely overcoats, one of mine had a lovely faux fur collar and cuffs.
I was also very fortunate to have very well dressed dolls in the height of fashion. I still have some Barbie doll clothes that she sewed for me and when getting them out to play with my youngest granddaughter recently I was in awe of her talent. I also remember a Christmas morning receiving a two story doll’s house with 4 little dolls suitably dressed and a whole house full of handmade furniture with linen on the beds, lounge room, bathroom etc.
She was a keen Textile shopper and was very good at finding a bargain.
My mother made all of her four daughter’s wedding dresses and the brides maid dresses for my three elder sister’s weddings.
She didn’t make the bridesmaid dresses for mine though, my bridesmaids made these themselves. But she was with us when we chose the fabric because of course it was a bargain and a saving. It was a lovely light blue with sprays of darker blue flowers scattered on it. It caused many a laugh when on the dance floor at the wedding my three bridesmaid started finding gaps in the flower design on their dresses! None of them had noticed this flaw while sewing them or getting dressed on the day!
One of my sisters remembers our Mum making her a formal dress in satin for a ball. The next year for another ball she made an over dress for it of lace! Voila...... two different outfits and no-one the wiser!
This same sister also remembers her wedding and the fact that she didn’t get a say in the colour of her bridesmaid’s dresses, she was after a light blue. She got mustard! Oh well in our day we didn’t financially contribute anything to the wedding and of course the lovely mustard crepe would probably have been on special! I thought the dresses were lovely( I was only 12yrs old at the time) but I am unsure if the rest of the wedding party shared the same opinion.
I remember for my major work for my School Certificate that I made a lined formal long skirt and blouse. You guessed it, Mum found a lovely remnant of curtain material with vertical lines of weaved inserts and guess what it also was a mustard colour with the inserts being brown. It proved to be a good learning process as I had to line up the different patterns and it made placement of the pattern a real challenge, especially as it also had an inverted pleat on the front.
My Mum made numerous ball gowns for me as balls were a big thing in my early single working days. I also remember being invited to a Pyjama Party around this time too. I was horrified at the thought of going to a party with boys in attendance, in my pyjamas! But Mum came to the rescue though and made me the most beautiful long flannelette nightie with lace and flounces, in a lovely floral orange. I just loved it and it was so comfy and pretty that I wore it with pride to the party, with stockings and high heels of course!
Over the years( 60 plus)I have sewed many things for myself and my family and friends. I have been blessed with the challenge of many formal dresses for my daughter and wedding dresses for daughters-in-law. I have also sewn for grandchildren and have been blessed over the last fourteen years to see them at Christmas time in Christmas outfits by Nannie. I am not sure if the grandchildren felt blessed though, but they all wore them! Most of the fabrics for these outfits was purchased in January sales in readiness for the next Christmas. Yes I have my mother’s traits passed down to me.
I now enjoy Patchwork and Quilting and just love the variety of fabrics in my sewing room. I love searching for that perfect colour for Quilts I am currently sewing. I am not very good at putting all my Fat Quarters and pieces back in cupboards though. I have fabric that my Mum purchased in these cupboards and I get a real buzz when I find a use for something that she had in her stash. My Mum has been gone for over 25 years! Some of this fabric would be over 40 years old. But even though all of it would have been bought as a bargain, she had a good eye for quality textiles! I use a lot of this fabric from my stash in another of my hobbies of Textile Art and I can usually remember where it came from and what it was originally used for.
One of my recent projects which was a Mystery Quilt, featured as the backing, the fabric from the bedspread that my Mum made for my husband and I for a wedding present in 1975. Another example that her eye for textiles usually proved that even though it may be on special doesn't mean that it is poor quality. This fabric is 47 years old!!
I am on a mission of making enough quilts to leave as heirlooms for my family. But in the meantime my husband and I are enjoying using the quilts first and the family will get them when we are gone. Yes a Textile present from their Ancestor, my legacy of love.
