Friends often ask when and where I learned to sew. I have three special stories about sewing to share with you to help explain my sewing background and what it means to me.
1. My mother taught my siblings and me to sew when we were young, and allowed us to make things for fun. Over the years, she made many costumes, fixed things, learned & used skills like smocking (see pic below) and weaving, and even helped a seamstress sew my wedding dress and my sisters' bridesmaids gowns.
A sweet memory I have from sewing as a kid was actually about a project my brother made- he used a combination of felt, fabric, poly-fluff, thread, and glue to create a "stuffed animal bed." Need to find a picture of that...
The legacy I want to share is that my mom taught me to sew, and that's how I got my start in what I'm doing today, which is a small business, a great creative outlet, and a really fun and useful hobby. This is all pretty special because my mom passed away in October, 2010, and one of the many treasures I have from her is the origin of my sewing work.
The three eldest Brophy kids wearing outfits that were "smocked" by our mom PLUS
we are sitting on Shaker furniture chairs for which she assembled, stained, and wove the cushions. It would be hard to approach my mom in the number of creative and challenging things she tried in her lifetime!
2. If you've ever seen my sewing "studio," you've seen my large collection of fabric, my notions (techie word for sew-on gadgets like snaps and hooks-and-eyes) of all types, my 96 spools of thread, my baskets and baskets of ribbon- the list goes on, but I'll stop there at ribbons. My ribbon collection is almost 100% hand-me-down from my husband's mother, of blessed memory. She passed away almost 20 years ago and left behind a rich legacy of love to her family. She also provided the Friedman kids with many wonderful craft supplies of all types. As one of the "crafty" members of the extended family, I have been given access to some of this wonderful collection of creative materials. Giant pompoms. Boxes of seashells. All kinds of Popsicle sticks. And it goes on and on. But the ribbons are the most special crafty inheritance, because I use them for something I'm especially passionate about: my love of creating, fixing, and upcycling through sewing, and my small business, which is "family friendly" and has a family history behind it that means a lot to us.
3. My great, great aunt Nettie Rosenthal was a dressmaker who sewed the inauguration ball gown for First Lady Mrs. Mamie Eisenhower. What an honor. The dress is on display in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.! Here's a pic of us by it. Guess I have some well-known sewing accomplishments in my family!
Even if you don't sew, share something you can do with your kids, and they'll have it for life! And if sewing isn't your skill (yet), I can certainly help fill in there if you want.
