Simply..stylish....

10/10/2017

I wonder if you've also been thinking about Linda's questions?

Where do we learn about style and why do some of us become more interested than others in clothes?

I come from a family of makers.

In their free time the men did fretwork and made rag rugs. My mother and her sisters, and their mother, knitted - Fair Isle, aran, Shetland baby shawls, socks, mittens, hats, scarves, sweaters, clothes for us and for our dolls and teddy bears. They even knitted dolls and teddy bears. They did crochet with fine yarn and lacy patterns. They sewed - curtains and home furnishings, dresses, skirts, blouses, (I made a coat when I was in my teens and I designed and made my wedding dress). I have from the earliest age memories of them sharing patterns and ideas and showing each other colours of wool and fabric and discussing the quality and combinations. I was often allowed to choose. I have a lovely memory of the magic of a Fair Isle pattern appearing from the needles and noticing how the colours changed when put in different combinations. My father, a grocer, went to evening classes to learn window display and with a fine hand could paint tickets and prices on the shop window.

They were also a quiet family and much of this activity was conducted in near silence. The click of knitting needles or the gentle sound of the sewing machine were comforting background noise. Reading was the other main home activity. It was all taken for granted really and when I showed some talent for art they would say 'I don't know where she gets it from'.

I was lucky.

The phrase the fabric of our lives occurred to me as I thought of all this. A good title, I thought and looked up Amazon books to see if anyone else had thought of it. They had and I bought a book about allowing grief to become part of the warp and weft of our lives and on YouTube found this...

Thank you Linda.

Style was something else...

8 Comments

Mary

10/10/2017 05:14:35 pm

Ah, Freda, you could have been talking about my family. My British mother was a prodigious knitter and a expert seamstress. It was common to see her reading a book while simultaneously knitting a sweater nineteen to the dozen, her needles eating up wool like a sewing machine does thread. The sound of metal needles clacking subtly in the background. She made all my clothes (and doll clothes) growing up--beautiful creations that made me the envy of others because she had a wonderful eye for colour/pattern and knew just what fabric would work with specific designs.

My father was also talented--though in the USAF for 30+ years, he also loved photography; taking pictures and developing them himself. He was of the generation that knew how to fix everything and build anything. I spent my 14th summer learning how to mix cement, lay brick, and put up drywall while helping him to add a garage to our house and to finish our basement--including a 12-foot wide fireplace with wood bookcases inset on each side. For some years I was more interested in building things than making clothing, but as I married and had children, I returned to sewing and knitting, though I am not as talented as my mother. I do think the combination of my parent's talents taught me to look at the "construction" and "design" of everything critically: to check the inside seams and finishings of garments, and to do the same kind of critical review when looking at furniture, cars, or homes. Always asking: do things line up; will the fabric hold its shape? Are colours complimentary? If the foundations and materials are good--whether for a garment or a building (or people?)--it is a sign of quality. If missing, a lack thereof. The lesson: I might not always be able to afford the best, but I should always buy the best I can afford.

Interesting note: In the US, the "fabric of our lives" song has been the theme of the cotton trademark org. since the 1970s. That song has been sung by many artists over the years.

Freda

11/10/2017 02:21:35 pm

This clearly triggered a nostalgia trip for you too Mary! I've enjoyed reading it and your insights into how your parents influenced you, And the song history is entirely new to me, so thank you for that,

Cristiana

11/10/2017 06:08:49 am

I often refrain myself from eulogize how good your blog is all the time, I know you're sharing your thoughts and interested on ours too, and well, just praising doesn't really leads to the conversation evolving. So many times, for as much as I try to come up with something interesting to write, I just want to say out loud that I love your blog and how conversations flow here. So there you have it. I love your line of thoughts and all the unfolding layers on this.

Freda

11/10/2017 02:25:47 pm

I love that you love it Cristiana! I do enjoy the to and fro of ideas very much and often get inspiration and encouragement from the comments which set me off on new topics.

Grace

11/10/2017 09:26:41 am

I have just read these moving lines in the closing pages of The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay. The house is about to be demolished and the main character writes :
"I think of our happiness, I think of the happy, simple life that is woven through these walls, the fragile tapestry of our existences."

Freda

11/10/2017 02:29:09 pm

'The fragile tapestry of our existences' is a beautiful phrase and looking up the book I had never thought about the destruction before the Haussman (sp?) rebuiding of Paris - what an interesting subject.

Damsonlily

12/10/2017 02:43:51 pm

Ah, yes! Me too. Product of a family of makers. Mother and aunt both trained and qualified dressmakers. Knitting was a given. Father’s family were clothing maufacturers, making men’s trousers. Always a sewing machine, knitting needles, cloth, thread in our house, although mostly in grey (to match the grey 50’s) as I was growing up.
That you would learn to sew was taken for granted. I grew up knowing about quality of cloth and type of weave and how to finish seams properly. I made my own wedding dress too.
But did not design it. ART was something that was “not for the likes of us”; we were makers through and through, I don’t know if the word ‘designer’ had been invented then? Art was definitely slightly suspect but something I yearned to do.
Now I make textile art (as well as finishing seams properly and turning out leggings in a regular basis for granddaughters.)
Did I know about style then? Yes, I think so. We had to be aware of current trends; width of leg and postion of waist on trousers. We sort of took it in from the atmosphere, if you know what I mean.

Julia

14/10/2017 04:14:44 am

I absolutely love that: "a family of makers." I had to think about it, and yes, we, too, made things..but more, i would quote louise bourgeois and say: "we were a family of repairers." That is me for sure. I use my sewing machine more to re-create, or to repair, than i do to create. I love the feeling of satisfaction that comes from rescuing something to enjoy a longer life....this past winter, i got a sudden desire to create hygge-style pillows from sweaters. I found a local source for gently-used clothing and made 50 pillows! I bartered...ii will make you a pillow, if i can take these sweaters home for nothing..:-)
Yes i was temporarily crazy...hahaha..but i loved every minute of it...as i am loving every minute of these conversations...thank you freda for hosting us!..now, some tea please...

Simply..stylish....

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