Mothers–Open Line Friday

May 11, 2018
Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day

Good Morning, Quilters!

My Mom turned 93 this week–Happy Birthday and Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

And Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there!

Let’s honor all Moms today by adding a Carnation to our quilting.  The Carnation is the symbol of a mother’s love.  The Carnation motif is available HERE  and on (Page 56 in my new book)  It is a great way to add a secret message in all your baby quilts!

The Carnation--A Free Motion Quilt Tutorial

DOROTHY

My Mom taught my sisters and me how to sew and encouraged us from a young age to be creative.  She signed me up for “Stretch and Sew” classes and drove me to all the lessons!  (Does anyone remember Stretch and Sew–or am I just showing my age!?)

She was a firm believer in having good sewing tools.  Her one great luxury was her BERNINA sewing machine–an 830.  She also had Gingher scissors and really nice pins from Stretch and Sew.

Dorothy does not sew much anymore ( a few health problems)–which is a great frustration to her.  Just the other day, while watching THE Cubs, she was really disappointed that she wasn’t sewing while she watched.  But she does get a great thrill out of seeing what my sisters and I create!

I can’t thank her enough…and I have a surprise for her…to be revealed later this year and YOU will get to share in the surprise!

GREAT MOMS

I would like to thank all the great Moms I know–my sisters, daughters and friends.  You all serve as role models!  Thank you!

OPEN LINE FRIDAY!

What about YOU?

Please share YOUR stories of Moms, Grandmothers, Daughters and others who are role models in YOUR life.

Did YOUR mom teach YOU to quilt or sew?

Does YOUR mom have any favorite tools or notions?

Is YOUR daughter a great mom?

We’d LOVE to hear!

Respectfully,

Lori

Craftsy Unlimited FREE for Seven Days Affiliate Link HERE.

PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only.  Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt.  For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com.  Thanks!

 

 

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48 comments

  • Joanne

    My mom did not sew, knit or do any handcrafts. She tried knitting and her first project was an Irish knit sweater! She always wondered where I got my desire to sew from. I took my first sewing classes in junior high school and was hooked from that point on. Even though I was always in the college prep classes, I made sure my electives were in the home ec department so I could get my “sewing time” in there. I bought a Singer when I graduated from college. Once we had children, I began to sew most of their clothing for economic reasons. My husband surprised me with a Viking computerized machine in the early 90’s and I was in heaven! They stopped making parts for it so I bought my first Bernina, a used 830! I mainly quilt and embroidery these days. I also have a 330 to bring on my quilt weekends and classes. I am definitely a Bernina girl now and love their machines.

  • Linda Wagman

    My mom sewed, gardened, and cooked! She won the blue ribbon for her cherry pie at the Lake county Fair on year. It’s a big county next to Chicago. She was truly a Proverbs 31 woman! We celebrated her passing to be with Jesus two weeks ago at the age of 94.

    • Suzanne G

      Your story brought bittersweet tears to my eyes. My mother went home to Jesus 18 years ago at age 84 and I miss her still. She was the kind of mom who had thick socks warming in the dryer for our cold feet after we’d walked home from school in the middle of winter. She began teaching me to sew when I was 7 years old and I’m still loving it today (at age 67!). God bless all such loving mothers.

    • Linda Wagman

      And I forgot to mention that she started quilting at the age of 75 or so. Once she made up her mind to do something, it was full steam ahead.

  • My Mom has always struggled with spatial relations. A seamstress or quilter she is not!! BUT, she is the one who taught me to persevere and how to play tennis. She is the one who has always encouraged my love of books and writing.
    My Grandmother is the one who taught me my love of needle and thread. We did a two week “sewing camp” at her house as I was going into the 7th grade. Her lessons stick with me today – “If it’s not straight, rip”. “Quality is better than quantity.” “As long as you enjoy it, then it’s worth doing right.”

  • Suzanne G

    My much-missed grandmother used a treadle machine to make clothing for 5 children and my beloved mother used a White 77 rotary which I learned on at age 7. I now work on a much more modern machine but I run the old 77 now and then for old times sake,e
    They were wonderful teachers and I will always be grateful to them for instilling in me such a love for sewing

  • Lori Love that photo of your Mom stitching. My mother is 85 years old. She sowed the seed of the passsion to sew in me. In fact she is my first Guru. She used to stitch our little dresses(we are three girls) and taught me to hem and tack with hand first then on her Singer machine. It has a handle which has to be manually turned ( yes it is still with us 64 years old and still working). She now just sows buttons on and mends her own clothes, can use her machine as well but is petrified to use my Bernina. The electronic ones scare her. I started at 10 years and if I am a quilter now, I definitely owe it to her. Thanks Amma ( that is Mother in Hindi) .

  • Oh my goodness, I LOVE all these stories! I learned to sew in 7th gr. Helped my Grandma sew on the old singer push peddle! I started quilting after in inherited a quilt my Great Grandma made! I’m currently snuggled up with a quilt my Grandma made 40 yrs ago! It’s starting to tear, but I’ll never part with it! My mom taught me to cross stitch and I learned to cross stitch on linen fabric after I discovered the incredible stuff! Yes, I do believe sewing helps one live longer! Sewing needs to get back into the schools as well!!! Cheers to fabric, sewing machines, Grandma’s and Mom’s love and all the memories. I’m blessed and thankful I learned to sew and I love this blog website! Happy Mother’s Day to all!❤️

  • Mary Beth

    My Mom sewed for me as a child because I was considered thin and couldn’t find pants to fit. I don’t know when thin went away. She sewed on her Viking Machine with the cams. We had it fixed a few years ago and she still has it. I took Stretch and Sew classes and I still have the patterns. Mom bought me a featherweight for high school graduation, but I bought a Viking to make my wedding gown. I now own two Berninas and have loaned the Viking to my sister. Mom is 84, but she no longer sews.

  • Vicki Mooren

    My grandmother could make anything by just looking at it. She made all the clothes and quilts for her 7 children. My mother was the only one of the 7 to take up sewing. She even made my wedding dress some 40+ years ago. She knitted, crocheted, embroidered and tatted. Mom passed all those on to me and gave me first White sewing machine when I was 10 and taught me to sew. Mom made all my barbie clothes and gave me a shirt box full for Christmas one year. I sat and watched her make them and thought they were for a lady’s daughter that she worked with. She had made a deal with the lady she would make the barbie clothes if she bought enough to make two sets. One for her daughter and one for me. Of course I didn’t know that and complained the whole time she was making them that she made for others and never for me. Boy was I surprised when I got that big shirt box of barbie clothes for Christmas that year along with matching accessories. I felt bad about the hard time I gave her. But you know, that was mom. She loved to do things right under your nose and then surprise you with them. She would just giggle when you realized what she had done.

    Before mom passed, 4 years ago this July at 89, she and I were working on a sun bonnet sue quilt together. My Grandmother had started it from flour sack material. Mom found it and refurbished the pieces as the flour sack was in pretty bad shape. She put them on white background with a pink sashing, squares about 12″. Then she too set them aside. I found them in Mom’s stash and told her we needed to finish it, so we set to work on it. Alas, mom passed before we could finish it. I haven’t had the heart to finish it yet, but some day. I’m hoping to get my daughter interested in helping to make it a four generation quilt. (And yes, I have tried to pass along all these things to my daughter but she only sews once in awhile. I do have a grand daughter that is wanting to learn though.) When Mom passed, I quit sewing for awhile as I just couldn’t get motivated without her watching over my shoulder asking how things were coming along. She always helped me decide which of my selections of materials would work best with what ever quilt I was about to start working on. When I did start to sew again after a couple of months I could feel her standing behind me encouraging me to keep at it. I miss her terribly.

    Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and mothers to be out there! Happy Birthday to your mother Lori.

  • sheilaoxley

    My mom wasn’t they creative type, but she did encourage me! I was always drawing and creating something! She did teach me to crochet! When I was in 6th grade she did sew me a dress for the bicentennial for something that was going on at school. I can’t remember why we got dressed up, but I remember it was a red calico dress! My mom will be 83 this year. She misses crocheting (also because of health issues) but thankfully she’s living with us so I can take care of her now!!!

  • Leslie Schmidt

    How lucky to still have your sweet mom. I lost my mother 3 days before her 52nd birthday, 40 years ago. But she tried to teach me to sew when I was young. I didn’t do too well; always had trouble with machinery. My sister started sewing, though, when she was 5 years old. Mom made some of our clothes and lots of clothes for our dolls. I remember coming home from school and her door would be closed. The sewing machine, a Free-Westinghouse, would be whirring away, and Mom would call out, “Don’t come in here!” We knew we would be getting something special at Christmas.

  • Sue Thompson

    I did Stretch and Sew when my kids would wear what I sewed. Many tshirts for each of them. Helped us through the times when money was tight and you could make clothes cheaper than store bought. My mom taught me to sew on her 1948 Singer. I was blessed when she handed that machine down to me. Still sews like a dream. My mother is 89 and doesn’t sew any longer. But she is an inspiration to me every day! Thanks for sharing, mom!!????????

  • Selma Chavez

    I learned to sew at the young age of 10, when my mom signed me up in 4-H. Thanks to Mrs. Griggs’ persistence and patience I learned and loved to sew. My mom must have known her limitations and decided it would be better to have someone else teach my sister and I. Garment sewing was what we learned first and I sewed garments for myself growing up and for my daughter through her high school years. I didn’t start quilting until about 10 years ago. I love piecing and do a lot of my own quilting on my Bernina. It’s a great hobby and has been a wonderful pastime for me in my retirement. I can’t thank my mom enough for this most wonderful gift. She’s the best Mom ever!

  • Cheri

    My interest in sewing came from my Mom, but I got my love of quilting from my MIL. Mom was so busy raising her 9 children by herself since my dad died when i was 9, that I didn’t learn from her. Mom sewed a wedding dress for a neighbor when she was merely 12 years old, which still amazes me. Oh, but my Mom and I took the Stretch and Sew course together, which was great fun! Mom always outdid me in the coordination of her fabrics and colors. Those classes are wonderful memories!

  • Megen

    Mom sewed all my clothes ( bless her) I learned to sew so mom did not hem pants up to high…I bought her first quilt books… she will be gone 4 years and I honor her and my mom in laws every time I sit down

  • Donna Belisle

    My mother sewed very little and I got into it from a neighbor who had two girls and little money, I had two boys and a girl and same money situation. She sewed all her girls clothes and then my dad remarried and his Aunt-in-law was a seamstress for a tailor and she picked up an old Wheeler and Wilson Family#9 and they brought it to me. It was a marvel to me, all the attatchments and she sewed like a dream. Later in life, I got a bank loan and bought an Elna, a free-arm yet and I was sewing all my kids clothes and Barbie Doll clothes too. Later in life, my oldest daughter came to visit and forced me to learn to paper-piece quilt, so, she got me into quilting.

  • auntiepatch69

    My mom taught herself to sew and sewed all the clothes for my sister and me until junior high school. She then taught us to sew for ourselves. If we wanted a new dress or blouse, we made it ourselves. It was a wonderful gift she gave to us. My sister never liked the process but I made most of my own clothes. After college, I got married and started working while my new husband finished his education. I didn’t have the time to sew for the next 30 years. I’m now retired and getting into quilting. I tell my friends that it is an illness; I just can’t stop! Ha!
    My mom passed a few years ago but I know she is watching my efforts from above; pushing me to “try new things”. I miss her so much. Happy Mothers’ Day everyone.

  • Debby Watson

    My mother could not stand to teach me to sew. She was great at recreating anything without a pattern and making dresses out of just about anything as well. I wanted to be just like her in her creative abilities. I tried, but she just could not stand to watch me sew and did not have the patience to teach me her methods on her Singer machine which was originally a treadle machine but had been converted to electricity. She did, however, sign me up for a summer sewing class at our high school the year I turned 12. It was the best sewing thing that ever happened to me. I have thanked her one million times for paying for that class and for taking me there. And Yes YES I remember Stretch and Sew. My husband was a janitor in Davenport Iowa while he worked his way thru chiropractic school. He cleaned Stretch and Sew there and Bill who owned the shop let me take free classes!!!! I learned so much there as well. That was the second best thing that ever happened to me in my sewing journey. Now my mother lives with me. She is 94. She can’t sew anymore either but she still wants to know what I am sewing today and loves to go to the fabric store with me and touch all the fabrics. Happy Mother’s Day to all of our creative and encouraging moms. And thanks Lori, for all of your information. I can’t get enough. Debby

  • Dee Angus

    I don’t remember my mom, but my MIL taught me to sew. I eventually surpassed her skills and was able to teach her what I learned. I, too did Stretch and Sew! Fond memories. Happy Birthday to your Mother.

  • Deb Tilton

    Yes, I remember Stretch and Sew, taking classes, buying the patterns and fabric at Finstamakers ( not sure of the spelling) with my mom. I am so blessed to have had a MOM who taught me to sew. I’ve used my talents for soo many parts of my life. I made square dancing stresses one summer (never want to see another ruffle in my life). I worked with the Miss Michigan Scholarship Pageant for 35 years, started with helping to fix pageant dresses and costumes and in the end I was in charge of the dressing room crew and back stage activities. I also worked with our local civic theater group, helping with costumes and costumed 2 shows. Now I am addicted to quilting and love to design and teach it. Mom died 11 years ago, but she lives on in my heart and fingers.

  • Catherine King

    Lori, you look just like your mom! My mom will be 99 in July, and she taught me the lifelong skill of sewing that I love to this day. She always sewed clothing for herself and for me, and she always made all of our draperies. Funny thing, I noticed one Christmas when I was about 7 that my Barbie doll got a dress that was identical to the fabric on some couch cushions we had. She even ventured into some upholstery work, which I’m not too fond of. She no longer sews, but I have so many of her old sewing tools and have made a shadow box out of some of the more vintage ones. I am so thankful she got me started in the sewing direction because that is what led to my most favorite hobby of quilting! Thanks for all your wonderful ideas and instructions!

  • Ann Lindquist

    Loved the sweet pic of your Mom. My mom will turn 94 in October and now has dementia, but is still the same sweet loving person she always was. No, she hated sewing, but bought me my first sewing machine at age 16. I guess I inherited her Mom’s sewing and crafting ability. Grandma could make anything. I continued my interest taking every Home Ec. class offered through Jr. High and H.S. & even majored in Home Ec. at UConn. I made a lot of our kids clothes, home decor, and a few quilted wall hangings, but my quilting didn’t really take off until 2009 when we bought our retirement house. Now I sew every day I can. Happy Mother’s Day to you, your Mom and all the wonderful moms out there, including our daughter, (a new mom,) who sacrifice daily for their children.

  • Marilyn M.

    My mom did not sew too much as we lived on a dairy farm which kept her busy plus she did waitressing part time. She was the General Leader of the local 4H club which is where I learned to sew. Mom encouraged me when I was ready to give up because I couldn’t sew a straight line on my first 4H project.

    I also had a Bernina 830 as Debra E. mentioned. I purchased it in 1976 before my first son was born. Unfortunately it had some problems 4 years ago and couldn’t be repaired. I loved that machine and still miss it. I replaced it with a Bernina 550.

  • Maureen B. in B.C.

    We had an old treadle Singer at home, which my four sisters and myself learned to sew on. My mother only sewed out of desperation. It was not a passion for her. One winter I had no winter coat as I’d had a growth spurt. She took apart her winter coat and cut it down for me. She didn’t leave the house that winter … in Montreal’s frigid temps the farthest she went was the clothesline, in a sweater.

    When I was in my late teens my father (a very handy soul) attached a rheostat to the Singer and it sped up considerably. Unfortunately the rheostat was sometimes cranky and jerky, causing odd sewing lines. None of us ever said it, but we were wishing he’d never pit that darn thing on it … it occasionally tried to take a finger in its wild machinations. VROOMMM, sew, die … VROOM, die … VROOM, sew, die. We just never knew what it would do next!

  • Carolyn Hock

    My sweet husband gave me my Bernina 830 over 40 years ago! I sewed all of my clothes and many for him and our children on that machine – with Stretch and Sew classes! When my daughter married all she wanted was her own Bernina 830. It was difficult to find one, because most of us never want to part with it – we just buy a newer Bernina! Now I have a brand new Bernina with all the bells and whistles, but I’ll always love the “oldie but goodie”!

    I have named my machines “Rosie,” “Ruby”, and “Roxie”!

  • Rosemaryflower

    OH I so loved reading all of these stories of those precious days with momma. and those of you that lost your mom so very young (Kathy❤️), God was there to bring you to be here today. I am grateful for that. My mom…. she passed away in 2016 at age 93. I miss her terribly. My story is long but the past 6 years I have been caring for mom and dad. I am still taking care of daddy.
    Mom had a 316G Singer, and it is mine now. I remember she was very very enthusiastic about letting us use that machine, she taught us how to make it go when I was about 8 years old.
    My mom did everything, gosh I just miss her so much. Many of you know that ache.
    God bless you ????????

    • Rosemaryflower

      Oh, and ps: I have two incredible daughters with lovely husbands. I have a three year old grand daughter and another due in two weeks, from my oldest daughter, Chrisitna (9 miles away)
      and my youngest daughter, Lizzie, has an 8 month old lovely Lena, named after my mom, AND … a little bit oops, but God knows, she has another babe due in November. She just told us. (I was not surprised, she looked a bit pudgy but what do you say? “you look pudgy? no,) They live about 30 miles away, I am thrilled. we are blessed

  • Linda

    My mom turned 84 May the 8th and then there is mother’s day on the 13th. My mom did not sew. Mom’s sister Nellie sewed clothes, curtains, everything. Both my grandmothers sewed clothes and quilts. I learned to sew at Girl Club at the age of 6. I have a wonderful daughter who sews very little. I am waiting on grandbabies to sew for.

  • Janette

    My Mom taught me to sew. She use to take coats and dresses apart that other people would give her and redesign them into coats and dresses for me and my sister. She recycled before it was the thing to do….Lol. My Dad’s Mom use to knit everything or so it seemed, so she taught us to knit. My Mom’s Mom taught us how to tat and crotchet. My Mom at 82 crotchet 55 doilies for favours, for my daughters Wedding. God Bless all the Mom’s out there. Lori Thank you so much for all you share. ????

    • GrrannyH

      Janette, my mom did something similar: my aunt brought her clothing from the children of the lady she cleaned house for. My mom took apart the wool coats, turned the fabric inside out, and stitched the coats back together. They looked like new! Then she crocheted a lacy collar to go over the blue wool collar. No one could tell the coats weren’t brand new store bought. She always made our Easter dresses and summer outfits, back in the day when she could buy inexpensive cotton fabric by the bolt made in the USA. I learned a lot from her, though she wasn’t the most patient teacher. She did not quilt, but my grandmother and great grandmother did; they used to go dumpster diving at the local shirtwaist factory to get the leftover fabric for the quilts they sewed for charity.

  • Leona L Sutton

    I am first born of seven. Born on Mother’s Day. Mom passed away 6 years ago, but we always celebrated our “birth day”, especially when May 9 fell on Mother’s Day. She didn’t sew, but always encouraged me. I even sewed the outfit she wore under her gown when she graduated from college when I was 16. Quite an accomplishment–seven children, all of us watching her take that walk for her diploma. My baby sister (whose little dress I also made) was on my lap. She had bought me a used Necci the Christmas before. I learned to quilt from my grandmother on her treadle, so yes, quilting and sewing is deeply embedded in my life and I still love it.

    Happy belated birthday to your mom! .

  • You’re so lucky to still have your mom! Mine passed at 91. Mine didn’t teach me to sew, but made sure I knew how. She bought me my first sewing machine when I was 12 and sent me to the singer shop for lessons. I was tall and skinny and she could never find slacks long enough for me, so she wanted me to make my own! Thank you, Mom!

  • Meredith Stockford

    Like you , Mom supported my sewing ( yeah for Strtch & Sew) And even got me my first Bernina for graduation, iit is a 702 or 720,which I still use. We had red carnations, only , at her funeral – so I loved your blog!

  • June Neigum

    My mother did not sew but she saw my talent early and bought me one of those toy sewing machine with a handle. I used it a lot. When I was old enough to use an electric maachine I got her straight stitch table top Singer. I got my own machine when I shorted out her machine and kept on sewing. My mother knitted and needle pointed. I was the one who finished her pillows and sewed the sweaters up on my sewing machine. I still have a few of those pillows.

  • Debra E

    Wow, does that take me back! Beautiful picture of your Mom – Happy Birthday!

    My mom taught me to sew – we had a ‘production line’ sewing team with my mom, older sister and me, making matching World’s Fair skirts so we could all be ‘in the spirit’ when we went to the fair. I was just 8 at that time. That started my sewing interest and lessons.

    Later on I got my first Bernina sewing machine, the 830 in 1976. Still have it, purchased all of the accessories and feet for it over time. Love it and how it is a workhorse! I also have quite a collection of Gingher scissors – love how they stay so sharp! I have never had to have any sharpened (yes, I have had to rescue them from husband and kids so they only touched fabric!)

    Since then I took all of the Stretch and Sew classes from our local dealer, collected nearly all of the patterns (still have them) and worked for the store for a few years. They sold all of the Stretch and Sew fabrics & patterns along with Hoffman, Kaufman batiks and cottons as well as a Bernina dealer from whom I purchased an 1130, 1230 and a couple of servers. Loved the S & S pins (still have some and stayed just as sharp as they were out of the package). I still have the 1230, which is my ‘go to classes’ machine and the 730E.

    Can’t think of owning any other brand besides Bernina because of the perfect stitch quality that no other brand has. I have tried a few other brands but the one test, perfect stitch tension, that I judge a machine on is only found on the Bernina!

  • Lucy Brown

    My sweet mom didn’t have a lot of time to sew, she was working full time and raising 5 of us all on her own. But she always encouraged my interest in sewing. I had a little singer machine and sewed most of my clothes for High School after a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Wilson, taught me to sew in my 10th grade Home Economics class. We made a little tote bag with a zipper pocket on one side and a pocket with rounded corners and a button hole and button on the other side. After that we could make anything we wanted and a seamstress was born. A few years after Highschool I had a chance to buy a used Bernina 830 ( like your moms). A school was selling them through a local fabric shop. One of my brothers loaned me the $400 to buy it, of course I had to pay him back before his winter college tuition was due, haha, it worked out great. That was when I truly became a quilter. I still have that machine and a newer Bernina 153. Bernina has always been my favorite brand. Now in my 60’s, mom and I live together again, she lets me hang quilts on just about every wall in the house, and I have a huge sewing room still making quilts as fast as I can sew.

  • Kristin

    My mom was an excellent seamstress, making me many clothes until I was out of high school. She taught me to sew when I was ten, so I made a lot of my clothes until I got hooked on quilting! She didn’t make quilts, but my grandma did and I disassembled/ reassembled a thirties or forties basket quilt of hers that is an heirloom…queen size hand quilted! It took me ten years of off and on work/love! I have ventured back in to sewing a few garments when the mood strikes, but quilting is my passion. Happy Mother’s Day to you, Lori and all the moms out there!

  • I had to look up “Stretch and Sew.” Turns out that technique is how I always sewed knit fabrics, even though I never took a class and never knew it was “a thing.” Seems rather intuitive to me, insofar as the knit fabric will stretch and the stitching will break if you don’t stretch the fabric as you sew. My quick internet search also returned an article about Ann Pearson, the founder of “Stretch and Sew,” who passed away on August 10, 2015, at the ripe old age of 90. Maybe sewing prolongs life!

  • I LOVED Stretch and Sew! I made so many little tops and a bunch of swimsuits for my girls – they were pretty little then. I learned to sew from my grandma – cross stitching on gingham when I was about 4-5. I can still remember sitting with her doing it. Mom sewed some but not really for “fun” until she retired and started quilting – but she let me use her Kenmore to learn for 4-H and I had my own “fancy” Singer (with those funny cams!) by 8th grade and at that point, sewing pretty much took over my life. Now, my daughters have both become quilters. Proud mama!

  • Phyllis

    I loved the Stretch and Sew patterns and took classes. My Mother sewed a lot for our family. Also embroidery and crocheting. We had those crocheted items all over the house. Miss her so much!!

  • Colleen

    My mom, 94 next week, still sews a little. Eye site problems limit her! My Aunt and I went to Stretch and Sew classes! The shop we learned at is still open, just in a different location and the teacher’s daughter runs the shop now! 🙂

  • I love, love, love the picture of your mom sewing–thanks for including it. My mom taught me to sew. I remember her sewing a dress for me at some point after I already knew how to sew, so I was perhaps 12. The skirt was gathered to a waistband, and she had sewed two parallel lines and pulled up the threads to gather it, then sewed between the seams at the 5/8″ seam line. THEN SHE LEFT THE GATHERING THREAD IN THE FABRIC WHERE IT SHOWED. I objected, and protested when she said she didn’t plan to take it out, to which she tartly said it would never show “on a galloping horse.” That was the last straw. I pulled out the thread myself, and finished the dress myself.

    Kind of a smart mom, huh? LOL

  • Kathy

    My mother passed away when I was 5 yrs old…seventy-one years ago. I have a wonderful daughter is also is a wonderful mom!

  • Rita S

    My mom did not sew as we think of sewing, guilts clothes or the like as she spent most of her time mending clothes for eleven children and husband. We lived on a farm so jeans and overalls always needed mending. Least we forget about the amount of wash and massive amounts of cooking. But it was fresh meat, potatoes, vegetables for dinner and lunch on the weekends every day. It was a memorable memory for us all.

  • Oh my gosh! My mom did Stretch and Sew also, back in the day. I remember the clothes she made me in grade school. One especially memorable shirt had the zipper up the sleeve (instead of the back). She said she was so tired when putting it in, she cut the wrong place. I thought it was “cool” and was the only kid at school to have a shirt with the zipper up the sleeve.

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