For one, I'm a self-taught seamstress. Sometimes that can be a frustrating thing. A couple of weeks ago, I was working on an set of stockings and as Angea would say "I nearly lost my Jesus." It was a disaster and I cut up / scrapped three of them today, because I totally made a mess of them. It was one of those orders that I should have said "No" to from the very beginning, as it was something more complicated than I usually take on...
I really don't know how to use patterns, so I just create my own templates to use. Sometimes getting everything sewn in the correct order - wrong sides together, sew, right sides together, sew, flip, sew, yada, yada.... gets confusing. Thankfully, today I was able to peacefully sew all of the stockings without any complications!
While Grandmama was an excellent seamstress and made all my dresses up till 8th grade, she didn't teach me to sew. I watched her quilt and occasionally helped a little bit. As an adult, I wished I would have learned so much from her. You know, there are so many skills that I wish would have been passed down from the older generations. Maybe they thought we weren't interested or would never use the skills. I'm sure she's looking down and surprised to see me sewing and making a living with fabric... I also wish I would have learned more in the kitchen and garden from my grandparents.
The first thing I ever remember sewing was a giant stocking for Jeff. It was our first Christmas together and I decided to make a huge stocking and fill it with things for him. I was staying at Grandmama's house that night (she had a stroke and couldn't stay alone, so I stayed with her a lot) and decided to use her machine to sew the stocking. I think my mom helped me some, but I really just made Grandmama nervous with my sewing. The stroke affected her speech, so she couldn't properly communicate and teach me at that point. It all worked out in the end and if I look in the storage building, I can probably still find the stocking. After she passed away the next spring, her old Sew Gem sewing machine became mine. I don't use it much anymore, as I have two other machines, although its a treasure I'll never part with.
The stockings were hung on the mantle with care... this is a snapshot of our shared booth at Uniques and Antiques. Angea makes the French Country style stockings, while I created all of the burlap stockings. You can also find my burlap stockings in my online shop, with worldwide shipping.
Our stockings are all handmade, right here in East Texas!
What's the one thing you wish your grandparents would have taught you?
Tea cakes! That's what I wish I had learned to make like my Big Mama did. I've found recipes but none to compare with hers.
ReplyDeleteLove your stockings, Janice. Very pretty.
xoxo