Monday, July 22, 2013

Sewing from Yesteryear!!!

 
 
                            How do you feel about today's sewing versus Yesteryear's Sewing?


Sewing has really came a long way , since our parents and grandparents days.. During
their  days of raising their  families, Sewing was not a hobby ,it was a MUST!!  Not
only did they have to mend their clothing, make their clothing, and make other household
needs. They had the basic sewing machine, cotton fabrics, basic threads.

Our sewing , has come along way.. We have new, computerized sewing machines, we
have patterns for everything, we have  the  blog world of sewing information, we have
classes for everything.. We have You Tube! We have all our extras [such as bias binding,
 bias tape, lace,etc] packaged and ready to sew. We have online shopping , where our fabrics
are delivered to our doors. We have so many different kinds of fabrics [I don't even
know what they are?]

My daughter /granddaughters came to visit yesterday, and we were discussing
making dresses for the girls [which I do all the time]. She told me, that  she
loved the fabrics and knits that didn't need ironing. Life was too busy to iron
all those cotton dresses.!!!!!

  I got to thinking about it, and wondered, "how did
I feel about quilting cotton fabrics for wearing apparel? I know this is a much debated
topic in the blog world. I  do like the conviences   of the easy care of the new fabrics.
But: my reasons for loving and using quilting cottons:

1- So readily available in all the fabric stores /and on line.
2- Such beautiful prints and colors available.
3- The outcome is such a beautiful garment. Crisp and pretty [and no...I hate to iron! The
downside to cottons!]

 The vintage dresses that  we love so much now... were our grandparents everyday
wear.. They not only sewed them and ironed them.. But, they ironed with  out electricity.
They had to heat an iron on the wood fire. [boy , do I feel lazy! ha].  I love the conviences
of  today.. I wonder how our  parents/grandparents kept  the family , going so well? In
my opinion--- they are the "super heroes"!!!


10 comments:

  1. It's amazing, I feel dressmaking is a luxury or hobby I don't have time to do it full time. If I had to then I would certainly have less choice of clothing.
    I love to make with cottons, wearing and making with a natural fabric feels so good and the choice is great. Although I do love a good jersey but skills are not always up to scratch.

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    1. Charlotte, I so agree!! love knits too, but sometimes not so easy to sew..
      I too think it is a luxury, especially when I was working every day and there never seemed to be any time left..

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  2. My grandmother had nine children, used a wood stove, had a treadle sewing machine. She canned,had a garden, cooked fresh every day, made her own bread, biscuits, cakes, pies, etc. and yet found time to spend with her grandchildren, go to church, cook for and visit the sick and shut in. My mom had a few conveniences like a gas stove, electric sewing machine, etc., but her life was very similar to her mom's. What's my excuse? I have all the modern conveniences and can never get much done. I have no excuse-laziness?. My grandma and mom are indeed my 'she-roes'.

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    1. So well said Robin.. My grandparents and my parents lived the same way.. We were all poor, but they loved us, took care of us.. and they are definitely my "she-roes" too..[I will remember that one..love it!!
      Thank you for visiting my blog..

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  3. My mother also did everything around the house - cooking, gardening, used an old wood stove for cooking, used to do all the home maintenance, all the ironing, always had time for us. She thought she lived a charmed life. We may have conveniences now, but my mother also had all her shopping delivered and was not expected to work. Now our expectations are quite different - we go to the supermarket and lug our groceries home, we do a lot more washing in our convenient machines (we had to make our clothes last), we spend time on social media. I do get a lot done, but very differently from the way my mother used to get a lot done. But then life is very different now. By the way, my mother still gets a lot done in the garden and sewing for her granddaughters - she is 88 now.

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    1. Sarahliz.. So happy to hear your mom is still going strong at 88.. Our parents/grandparents were and are amazing people.

      We do live in a rush rush /fast paced life now.

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  4. I love the quilting fabrics, too. There's just so many cute patterns to choose from!!!
    I think back a lot about how my grandmothers used to do things. We have it SOOOOO much easier!! LOL I am very grateful for that!! ;)

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    1. Me too Stacey....
      I can remember my grandmother getting up in a freezing house, getting the wood stove /heater going to warm the house, for the rest of the family. Then she would start on that "every day chore of cooking breakfast". You would wake up to the smell of bisquits /coffee cooking.. How wonderful... [we - most of the time ,wake up to a bowl of cereal. lol]

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  5. I am catching up on blog reading (husband had a motorcycle accident on Tuesday), and want to add to this conversation. We *do* have it easier now in some ways. But we also have higher expectations for beauty, style, achievement...all the images from online sources tell us we can have it all. In reality, it is too much. I vote for more physical work and more satisfaction :-)

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    1. Mary, hope your husband is doing better from the accident].
      I agree, we have too much stress on us today. Too rushed..

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