The Seamstresses in my House-Part 5

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I remember there were four of us girls from church and high school that hung around together.  (The following pictures are all from our Senior year books)

I don’t remember if ALL of us tried to wear clothing alike, but I do know that one of the girls and myself tried to be “twins.”  For instance, I remember that we both made gray corduroy full-circle skirts (lot of crinolines underneath the skirt!), that we paired with a soft pink sweater, and probably a scarf around our neck.  I just wish I had a picture of that, but I don’t!  Shucks!  In any case, I was learning how to make a skirt with a zipper in the side.  Zippers were difficult for me to sew in place.  It was a learning experience, for sure.

Here is a picture of Fred and me in 1960 – but before our wedding.  I was to sing at the wedding of one of my best friends – one of those four friends I mentioned above.  I made the skirt out of some kind of shimmery, iridescent fabric, and paired it with a soft knit top.  I was getting better at those zippers!

While I didn’t sew this particular suit, it became one of my favorites.  It was a soft gabardine fabric, with a white cotton collar.  Here is a picture of me in that suit, along with my fiancé Fred.  

Here is a picture of me kissing my new father-in-law goodbye, just before Fred and I left for our honeymoon.  Apparently Fred’s mother and sister thought that was hilarious!  I had made my going-away outfit, out of a cotton-blend fabric, in light aqua.  The dress itself was smooth fabric, while the jacket was textured, but in the same color.  It was quite comfortable to sew and wear. 

 Here is a black-and-white picture of Fred and me as we were ready to leave the church.  I regret now that we didn’t have those pictures done in color rather that black-and-white.

While we received many gifts for our wedding, one of the things that I enjoyed the most was from my Mother and Dad – my own sewing machine!  I don’t know where Mom found it, but it was an old treadle sewing machine which had been made into an electric machine.  Someone had removed the attachment that made the treadle, but attached a motor to it.  It was so old that it had a long bobbin,

rather than the round ones we use now.

I had never seen one before, but I certainly learned how to use it – and use it I did in the several years following.

Following our wedding, we made our way from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Fort Worth, Texas, where Fred was to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS).  We eventually stayed there for four years.  That sewing machine came in quite handy during that time.  And also during that time, Fred’s Dad had been assigned to Hawaii as a Chaplain.  He took quite a few trips during his assignment there, and on one of his trips, he purchased some beautiful Thai silk that he sent to us.  I made this dress from that Thai silk, and wore it many years, in comfort.  It was a lovely fabric.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

Tags: #amblogging, Christian bloggers, Sewing memories