My maternal grandmother was a brilliant craftswoman. She did tapestry, fine crochet, knitting & just about anything else you can name. What I really remember however, was her as a seamstress. I used to spend a lot of time with her, & I best remember her making beautiful dresses for the rich women of Ballarat. I was a little kid, sitting quietly in the corner, watching her take their measurements, discuss the style they wanted & then she would make up the patterns. Her work was exquisite & she was quite busy with that work. Luckily, she also spent a lot of time with me, teaching me all she knew. Also, luckily for me, after she died, I was given all her craft supplies, some patterns & leftover fabrics & tapestry threads. I cherish them so much, often just pull them out to look at them, touch them again & I remember her so well from each item.
Recently I decided to get back into sewing, just for something to do as I used to really enjoy it, especially when the boys were little. This is my first project! I was so thrilled with how it finished up: it looked like it had been "professionally" made. And even more thrilling, a dear friend of mine bought it for her daughter. She sent me photos of her modelling it & I became all teary, because she looked so pretty in something that I had made, & I didn't even stuff up the button holes!
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Lovely blog and lovely dress. Well done, especially with the button holes.
ReplyDeleteI bought myself a little sewing machine recently for small crafty projects, but I love the idea of making my own clothes. I remember when I was a kid sitting with mum at the fabric shop while she leafed through the pattern books. I think I'll be better at flicking through the pattern books and buying supplies rather than the actual making part...
My nanna was a great cook and when she died I got some of her mixing bowls. I think about her every time I use them. It's nice having those links to people who are no longer with us.