I was assisting Mom with the finishing touches on the quilt she's been making for Dillon. By assisting, I mean offering opinions and not actually sewing. I watched her run something through the sewing machine - a fixture in our house for as long as I can remember. "So that was a pretty good purchase, huh?" I asked.
After saying she thought she had gotten her money's worth out of it, she confessed that she spent $900 on the top-of-the-line Elna in 1978. And so strong was her buyer's remorse every time she made the $50 monthly payment, that she kept a list of everything she made on the machine. She pulled out a little green memo pad and showed me where she had kept a meticulous list of the garment, how much she paid for materials and the estimated retail value of what she had made. The list started in 1978 - and continued through summer of 1991. Catalogued in its pages were dresses, skirts and pants she had made for Anna and me, a suit vest and coat she made for my dad, all the way down to a belt she made for herself. She had estimated somewhere along in the 80s that she had saved about $1,200.
I never thought much of the sewing machine growing up. I thought everyone had one and that everyone's mother was as handy as mine with needle and thread. All my life, I've thought of her at the machine, the gentle hum of its motor, the clickety-clack of the foot moving up and down, the thick sweet smell of the machine oil.I took for granted that she made our Easter dresses every year, outfitted us for Sundays year-round and even made ensembles for Cabbage Patch Kids and Barbies. I recall a very swanky strapless fitted kelly green dress with accompanying shrug jacket she constructed for my Barbie.
At that moment, I felt in awe of her talent and her foresight and her own way of saving money and providing for us all. And I felt terribly sad that I can barely sew a button on.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Frugal
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5 cat calls:
Wow! Your mom is amazing.
I remember my mom sewing a lot of things for us, too, and though I can do some basic sewing (and now have a sewing machine--a surprise Christmas gift from my mom), I doubt I'll ever do as much as she did.
While there are definitely many advantages to our everything-is-premade world, it's sad the skills and arts that we've lost. I've noticed lately that I've slowly been trying to learn some of these lost everyday arts. I'm trying to bake more from scratch and am hoping to spend a day with my grandmother this fall learning her pie crust recipe. I'm even going to try to take up canning soon and am hoping my grandmother will give me some lessons in that as well.
When my grandfather died, I realized that so much of the talent and skills he possessed--especially his lovely woodworking--was lost in our family when he was gone. It's such a beautiful thing when a grandfather can craft a dollhouse table for his granddaughter or a mother can make a dress for her daughter with love. It's a shame that our age of convenience has cost us some of this. A dress from the store can't possibly feel the same.
Now now, it's never too late to learn. Although, I myself can't ever seem to get past threading the machine. I swear it's harder than rocket science.
My mom sewed for us, too, and still does. When I was growing up it was Halloween costumes and doll outfits and dresses and shorts. Now it's fixing lamewad maternity dresses to make them presentable.
What a great entry. Moms rock.
though i don't want to tramp on the beautiful post with my own issues... but it's a bit OCD too. I mean yes, saving money, providing, blessed by your mothers hands- but it's also a bit unfortuntate that she couldn't just let go of the money and had to account for the work of her hands and that indulgence.
moms do rock. in all their mysterious ways. i think that list is priceless archeology.
You're totally right, Mendacious. It is a sort of sad part of the story that she couldn't just know how great her talent was and how much we all enjoyed it. This is very reflective of my own feelings about spending lots of money.
But the list in and of itself, I'm glad that we have it. Because it does remind me of many, many dresses. And jams! There were several pairs of jams listed.
To Moms for all their rockingly good qualities! Here, here.
My mom sewed a little, however both of my grandmothers were whizzes (although, what woman from that time wasn't?).
I now have the sewing machine that belonged to my deceased Grandmama. It is an OLD, cast iron Singer that she used until her hands wouldn't let her. I can't ever imagine letting go of it and the memories of her sitting at it, listening to it hum away.
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