Monday, January 16, 2012

All I Wanted Were the Pinking Shears

Those are big Wally World bags. Any time I ask for something, Mom sees a chance to clean out her house.
Contents of bag one.

Plus, all this thread.

Bag 2. More fabric, a tote bag of thread, and a Christmas tin of sewing notions.

This is the top of Mom's old thread holder. It is made of flimsy plastic, it only holds small spools, and it is not easy to get the thread back out. The thread is stored by dropping it into slots, so it is only convenient if the color you want is on the top or the bottom. If you want something in the middle, you got to take out a bunch of spools to get what you need. I think most sewing organizers are designed by people who have never actually used a needle.

Contents of the tin.
And yes, I did get the pinking shears.

I went to the big box craft store today to look at pattern books. I haven't looked at a pattern book in 30 years. My mother used to make my clothes, until I figured out I wasn't dressed like the other kids. We spent what seemed like hours in the fabric store. First, I got to pick out the fabric. That was the only fun part. Then my mother would look through every book the store had in search of just the right dress. I had to sit beside her and not move or talk. Every time I twitched, she'd say, 'Shhh!'

As I recall, pattern books were big, boring, heavy things with a long list of meaningless numbers. I flipped one open today and wow! Now there are patterns for t-shirt-like tops and purses to match. There are period costumes, faux fur lined house boots, curtains and pillows, plus things for your pet, like those really expensive car seat covers. (I seriously need one because Labrador is a fancy name for four-legged drooling, sloppy, shedding, farting mess.) You can make prom dresses, aprons, halter tops, jackets, AND they had quilt patterns. When I was a child, quilt patterns were only available by mail-order. One of the patterns had a bonus- instructions for making a necklace to go with the dress. I saw patterns for things no one would have thought they could make 25 years ago. And the clothes looked good. They were chic and trendy. One of the reasons I didn't want to wear my mother's creations was because it was so obvious the clothes were home sewn and not store bought. Patterns are vastly improved now. I feel inspired to sew all my clothes. Goddess knows I brought home enough sewing notions.

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