Random person: Do you have the coronavirus?
If one more person asks me if I have the virus, I'm gonna shank them.
I was thinking the other day how people don't make their own clothes anymore. When I was a kid, most if not all my clothes were homemade. My Grandma (the cigarette feeding one) and my Mom made them for me. Was it to save money? Was it because the stores didn't sell cute clothes?
Or was it just the norm in the '60s and '70s?
I recall my G'ma had her sewing machine set up 24/7 in the Florida room of her Miami Springs house. Sue, you need a new dress? Go pick out some fabric and I'll whip up a dress for you.
Wam, bam, thank you Gram.
*I just made myself LOL*
 |
| Dress made by my Mom, Bev. I believe I was trying to flip off the photographer. |
I remember being around 12 and my Mom's BFF Connie whipped up some pants for her daughters Jodie, Mary and I in her makeshift sewing room. Sue, what color do you want? I chose purple because I felt like royalty.
*There I go again, LOL-ing at myself*
I remember the pants were considered 'elephant pants' at the time. Do you remember those? Wide-legged?
I felt really cool going to school the next day with my new pants.
Then I felt really hot at recess because they were not breathable and I live in Florida. Also, I wasn't able to stand near my mom and her ciggies because polyester is very flammable.
But hey, I had new pants; I was hot.
*I did it again.*
I have no direction today...just feeling kind of nostalgic for some reason.
Menopause? PMS? Old age? I'll pay a million
***If I were a country singer, my name would be MiRANDOM Lambert***
The Coach's Mom made most of his clothes too as a kid. She was a professional seamstress, so that makes a lot of sense.
I can sew on a button, mend a blown-out crotch, and other minor things, but I can't create a piece of clothing.
You do realize the blown-out crotch isn't a medical thing, but a clothing thing. Right?
Lolo loves to sew and learned a lot while sitting on her Grandma's (Coach's mom) lap. She has several sewing machines and just taught herself how to do hand embroidery.
OMG. I just remembered that my Mom used to embroider too. No wonder she didn't have time to make us a proper meal, she was crafting! Thank goodness we didn't have the internet when I was a kid or I might still be wearing diapers.
If Bev were alive, she would LOL at that one.
I know I have a bajillion pics of me somewhere wearing some of the cute outfits that were homemade, but can I find them when I need them? hells no.
But I did find my very first topless pic; apparently, we were out of fabric this week.
So, when I was in elementary school, it was too daunting for me to write out Suzanne.
I recall my Dad calling me Sue all the time. It must have been daunting for him too.
So, I went by Sue.
Now, I go by Cookie.
Just kidding.
Unless you think Cookie will stick because I really like it.
XOXO
I love this kind of post where we just kind of revisit the past and remember the funny little bits and pieces that made up life as we knew it.
ReplyDeleteAll my clothes were handmade and my mother had no sense of style so the kids made fun of me---plus I was a fat young teen so that added to the embarrassment of what I was wearing. sigh...lol
Have a wonderful day, Cookie! xo Diana
And look at you now-beautiful and amazing!
DeleteYou made me LOL a few times, too! My mom and grandma used to make a lot of my clothes, too. I remember my mom made us matching pantsuits for Christmas. Mine was red and hers was green and they had bric a brac along the bottom! No pictures thankfully!!
ReplyDeleteOh, if only there was photographic evidence. I do remember bric a brac on everything!
DeleteIf you shank someone, please FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, take video. Or a picture of them laying on the ground. I will pay you.
ReplyDeleteMy grandma could whip stuff up too....food, clothing, fresh churned butter...why were the women of yesterday so damn productive? Probably because the men of yesterday weren't.
Also, flammable clothing was THE thing back in the day. I think that's how you know you made it to the big leagues.
I also had some topless pictures when I was little. INNOCENT topless pictures. Probably our parents didn't have time to put clothing on us because of all the sewing and butter churning going on.
Fresh churned butter? We got ours from the Miller Super Value grocery store on the corner. :) I'm guessing they just didn't know to NOT make things themselves. Right? It was how it was and now it isn't.
DeleteYou brazen hussy, posting a topless photo of yourself!
ReplyDeleteYep. I'm gonna have to make this a private blog now. Rated R.
DeleteI had more than my share of homemade clothes, so I enjoyed your thoughts and pictures. My mother ewas overjoyed when my sister was born because then she could sew 'pretty' clothes.
ReplyDeleteHAHA. I'm sure she loved sewing for you too, but maybe not as creatively.
DeleteLindsay looks a great deal like you did in the photograph of the dress. Very sweet. My mother had no sewing skills, did not sew, knit, or crochet like other moms. But she could grow amazing vegetables in her garden. She was not much for housework but preferred to be outside.
ReplyDeleteGrowing veggies is a great talent to have. I'd rather do that than housework as well.
DeleteHahaha every line of this post cracked me up 😂 my grandma sewed really well and she tried to teach me but she'd get annoyed/frustrated with me and end up doing it herself...I remember trying to see a pair of wrap around shorts that she finished for me... remember those?
ReplyDeleteOMG. I forgot about those wrap shorts!! What a blast from the past.
DeleteTanya-you can buy the pattern and make us a matching set.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/769918208/mccalls-7609-wrap-shorts-size-6-8-petite?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=wrap+shorts&ref=sr_gallery-1-8
Suzanne isn't too bad I always think of kids who have difficult long names.
ReplyDeleteI agree. But apparently I was lazy.
DeleteOh, that photo of you - so sweet. Those eyes could melt butter - who needed it churned? Both of my grandmas sewed. My mom could not sew at all. One grandma made us dreses the other made us pajammas. the PJ grandma always wanted us to 'breathe' so there were no zippers on the little shorts- just a button side closure and it was embarrassing at sleepovers. The other grandma did lots and lots of polyester matching outfits for my two sister and I. My brothers escaped all of it. They look so cool in their White Sox t-shirts and denim shorts.
ReplyDeleteI learned to sew but prefer Halloween costumes - so forgiving. I did sew myself a really lovely maternity dress. I could not figure out the zipper though so I think I went with stretchy fabric. It was brown and I wore it to my brother in law's wedding when I was expecting Curly. I already owned brown fabulous shoes and a whole brown ensemble. Then when I found out I was prego I was like 'Crap' - I was about 8 mos pregnant at the wedding. I could not find a brown maternity dress to go with the shoes, so out came the sewing machine.
We drove to Florida and I was in the way back and hotter than hell - dad would not put the AC on to save money so the windows were down. Hello, the drag caused by the windows probably cost us as much gas money. My mom told me to just take my shirt off. At a rest stop when I had to pee I just hopped out and ran to the bathroom since I looked so much like a boy. Um, then I went in the girl's bathroom. I was probably like 8 years old. Too old to be topless at a rest stop.
My real name can also be a boy's name and people were always spelling it the boy way - and they never saw me topless at the rest stop.
I think if someone asked me if I had the corona virus I would fake sneeze right in their face and walk away - but shanking might work just as well.
I think Cookie fits especially if you keep showing topless photos of yourself and crack up at your own jokes. Hee hee!
I remember your halloween costumes; impressive.
DeleteOMG. Your dad with the a/c and saving money....wrong and hot.
Thank you-you always leave the best comments!!
Yes. My Mother and Grandmother both sewed. I took sewing in Home Ec and luckily it was during the time of the Shift and I was so cool making my little shifts out of the material I loved.
ReplyDeleteYou made me laugh out loud too, but who cares, amusing oneself is the greatest of talents. My mom just got rid of her sewing machine which is a major End of Era thing - she made clothes for me and my sister AND all four grandchildren. Really great clothes (well, a couple early misses but they were babies, who cares) that the kids loved, and yes, they could pick out whatever fabric and ask for whatever they wanted. Her basement was full of what Eve called 'cloth-ez'. It was amazing and if I have grandchildren it's kind of tragic that... well, never mind, I'll take them shopping.
ReplyDeleteOh my Mom was a great seamstress and could sew almost anything if she had a pattern. She made a lot of my clothes back in the day too, and made lots of baby dresses for my girls. I kept most of them.
ReplyDeleteOMG! I had not heard the term Elephant Pants in forever but once I read it on your blog, I remembered them. So cool.
ReplyDeleteI got the sewing jean from both grandparents. I used to make shorts (but not a lot of clothes), hair scrunchies and still today, blankets.
Happy Week. Feel better. Cheers and boogie boogie.