It's interesting that Jenny of ELEFANZ asked the question what domestic arts did you pursue when you were young. Earlier today I was telling my granddaughters that I started baking when I was 11, same age as Ava my oldest granddaughter. I started reading a cookbook, because I always had to be reading something, and taught myself to make an apple pie to impress my sister's boyfriend. This in late July when the early apples were ripening and I climbed the highest part of the tree to get the ripest apples because I had to be climbing trees.
I joined 4-H when I was 12. This became the main social part of my teen years. My parents bought a brand new Singer Featherweight 222K (which I still have) to replace the treadle that I do not remember my mother ever using. I learned how to make my own clothes. This was wonderful since being the third daughter, I grew up in hand-me-downs. But I fooled them all and grew taller than my sisters and besides, they both left home when I was 15.
When I was 15, we did an 4-H embroidery club. We made a very simple sampler with a few lines of different stitches. We had to create a picture to embroider and I copied a flower off a curtain - a Jacobean thing. This was way out of my element back then. But it inspired me.
I recall going to Toronto with a friend to stay over with her aunt for a few days when I was 16. Being a country girl, this was a great adventure. Not only did we take the city bus to the Canadian National Exhibition, I visited one of the first malls. This back in 1968. The thing I recall most about the aunt's modest bungalow was a basket sitting beside her chair with embroidery floss and a piece of cloth in a hoop on which she was stitching. I wanted one. When I got married 3 years later, I suddenly had much time on my hands as an adult and used my few embroidery skills to make up squares for a quilt I was eventually going to make, getting my inspiration from the array of fancy tea cups in my mother-in-law's china cabinet. I made enough for a pillow.
Life and babies came along. I found a whole bunch of patterns for embroidery blocks in the old farm house I have now lived in for nearly 48 years and stitched them up and made my first ever quilt.
Another 4-H club in embroidery I made this picture. It was my first applique. I found the pattern in a needlework magazine, enlarged it and made it all out of left over crimplene. Remember that stuff? I made many clothes over the years out of that. I even cut up a lot of squares and was going to make a quilt "some day". That all got donated a long time ago.
Looking forward to reading the next segment from The Art of Gentle Domesticity.
Blessings,
Chris
I joined 4-H when I was 12. This became the main social part of my teen years. My parents bought a brand new Singer Featherweight 222K (which I still have) to replace the treadle that I do not remember my mother ever using. I learned how to make my own clothes. This was wonderful since being the third daughter, I grew up in hand-me-downs. But I fooled them all and grew taller than my sisters and besides, they both left home when I was 15.
When I was 15, we did an 4-H embroidery club. We made a very simple sampler with a few lines of different stitches. We had to create a picture to embroider and I copied a flower off a curtain - a Jacobean thing. This was way out of my element back then. But it inspired me.
I recall going to Toronto with a friend to stay over with her aunt for a few days when I was 16. Being a country girl, this was a great adventure. Not only did we take the city bus to the Canadian National Exhibition, I visited one of the first malls. This back in 1968. The thing I recall most about the aunt's modest bungalow was a basket sitting beside her chair with embroidery floss and a piece of cloth in a hoop on which she was stitching. I wanted one. When I got married 3 years later, I suddenly had much time on my hands as an adult and used my few embroidery skills to make up squares for a quilt I was eventually going to make, getting my inspiration from the array of fancy tea cups in my mother-in-law's china cabinet. I made enough for a pillow.
Life and babies came along. I found a whole bunch of patterns for embroidery blocks in the old farm house I have now lived in for nearly 48 years and stitched them up and made my first ever quilt.
Another 4-H club in embroidery I made this picture. It was my first applique. I found the pattern in a needlework magazine, enlarged it and made it all out of left over crimplene. Remember that stuff? I made many clothes over the years out of that. I even cut up a lot of squares and was going to make a quilt "some day". That all got donated a long time ago.
Looking forward to reading the next segment from The Art of Gentle Domesticity.
Blessings,
Chris
What a wonderful story of your journey, and the memories this week's study evoked. x
ReplyDeleteI love when memories get evoked and writing about them seems to be my niche. thank you for initiating this gentle journey.
DeleteLoved reading about your adventure and look forward to following more!
ReplyDeleteThank you Gracie. I had not planned to start writing about these domestic beginnings but think Jenny has kindled some memories that remind me of where I came from and how I got to this place called now.
DeleteVery interesting reading as I find all your posts, Chris. I too am following Jenny's journey. Meanwhile, I think your early work is wonderful and I'm surprised how much I identify. I haven't thought about crimpelene in a long, long time! Happy Stitching,dear.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about it either until I started writing. I am going to enjoy this Gentle Domesticity journey.
DeleteI must be a bit younger than you, because I was 12 when I did the embroidery club. I still have my tablerunner, complete with the marking lines, because my mother didn't sew and I didn't know the difference between a chalk pencil and a pencil crayon.
ReplyDeleteI was a townie, and I loved 4H. I learned so much. My mother, a city girl who dropped out of Domestic Arts to take Elocution, never fully understood my love of hand work.
My silver spoons are seriously tarnished, but the skills I learned have lasted a lifetime.
By the way, I think I might still have a piece of crimplene, if you need some.
After my daughter and sister got through the rooms of stuff very little of anything remains. Back in those days, for about $2, I could make myself a pair of dress pants with elastic with just over a yard of crimplene and have enough left overs to make my kids shorts and tops. Those were the days. I found my tarnished creamer on the quilt table here in one of the containers I am trying to deal with. Whatever is it doing here? I would never have found it if I had gone looking.
DeleteThe only silver I have are my 4H spoons. I think I cleaned too much silver as a kid, so I never wanted any of my own.
DeleteI received 21 silver spoons, a pie server and a silver cream and sugar set on a tray. Don't know where any of them are except that one silver creamer on my table. I left the pie server at a pot luck years ago goodness knows where.
Deleteso nice to meet you, and I also started making my own clothes when I was about 12! I started on my Moms brother. "I made up a little song - bother the brother" and used to sing it when I had trouble with the tension! I loved sewing with crimplene!
ReplyDeleteCrimplene was so forgiving to sew with. Not quite a knit and not woven. It had enough stretch to fit nicely. I once made a 54 pattern pieces Vogue suit for my husband with a flashy picture tee shirty lining. Too bad it pilled so bad.
DeleteThanks for the walk down memory lane. I do not remember any embroidery club from 4-H. I did sewing projects for 4-H plus some cooking. I remember doing a cooking demonstration with a friend. We halved the recipe for demo. I was telling the recipe and she was doing the demo. I looked into the bowl and it was a mess. There was no way that she could roll out the dough. I have no idea what we did. Then we had cinnamon rolls for everyone. After the meeting, the leader told us that she didn't get one. Well, I guess they were a hit because we had baked and baked and baked. There should have been plenty for everyone. We still got a blue ribbon for that project after the big finale when we had to turn in our baking project in the very end at the huge finale when everyone in the county did their projects. Thanks again for your recollections.
ReplyDeleteHere in Canada we had one. Because we could take homemaking projects until we were 26 back in the day, I took it second time around. Years later I led courses in quilting and sewing as well as cooking. Now we even have a chocolate club and a canning club in our county. Those were the days. I learned way more in sewing in 4-H than I did studying Home Economics in college.
DeleteBecause I had gone to college, I came back with some things to help make our achievement day demos a look a bit more professional. We wore hair nets and white uniforms.
Such a lovely post about your early years learning to cook and sew. Your baby quilt is beautiful and I love that applique. I have no idea what 4-H is.It is wonderful that you taught yourself and were so self motivated. You are an inspiration to your family.
ReplyDelete4-H is a club for kids ages 9-21 in the rural areas in Canada and the USA. Here in Canada, it is a volunteer program that educates kids in many areas that helps equip them for real life. The 4 H's stand for Head, Heart Hands and Health. Meetings are run in parliamentary procedure and there is an elected president, vice president and secretary who takes minutes. Clubs include learning about dairy animals, horses, sheep and field crops. Other projects can include sewing and cooking, crafts, gardening, financials and public speaking. I met my husband at an electricity club. He has just retired from leading a field crop club for 45 ears. I taught cooking and sewing for a number of years. Here on the Farm we have sponsored countless young people learning how to train a Guernsey calf to show a local fall fairs.
DeleteI love your memories, it spurred me to remember reading cookbooks (I was probably 11/12) and planning this "fancy" dinner for my dad. No help from mother. I was so proud, I don't remember if it tasted good or not. But I remember dad said it was great and I felt so successful! What fun memories!
ReplyDeleteMakes me want to pull out an old cook book and read it. Have you heard of the Food That Really Schmecks series? The stories are amazing as the author visited many Mennonite hoes looking for old family recipes.
Deletehttp://foodthatreallyschmecks.ca/