The Seamstresses in my House-Part 6

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Previously, I mentioned the old sewing machine that my parents gave me as a wedding present.  It was an old treadle machine that had the treadle removed, and a motor attached. 

It had a long bobbin (which I had never seen before then!).

Credit Google Search and Treadle Lady

But it was quite efficient in any case, and I was able to sew many garments on it.

While I don’t have pictures of all the garments I made on that machine, I do remember some of them.  For instance, I made this “shirtwaist” dress out of cotton – perhaps a cotton blend.  Polyester/cotton blend was making its appearance about that time, and a lot of the “cotton” fabrics were that blend.  This picture shows more of the cat we adopted than my dress, but the color and style is there.  It was a work dress, for sure.

I remember making a skirt and blouse/top out of nylon jersey.  While it wasn’t terribly easy to work with, it made a very comfortable outfit to wear.

I remember making a “shell” top for Fred’s mother for a Christmas present one year.  I made it out of an off-white satin and lined it with an opaque nylon fabric.  I don’t know whether or not she ever wore it, but I made it with care, just for her.  Fred’s father was still in the U.S. Air Force at that time, and they attended many formal occasions.  I thought it might be something she could wear to one of those.

Here is a picture of my dad and myself in Albuquerque.  I am holding my niece, fresh from her bath.  The suit I have on was one that I had purchased (probably at a thrift store), but didn’t like the collar on it.  So I took off the collar and made it a jewel neckline that buttoned to the top, and wore a jeweled pin at the neckline.  It was of an acetate fabric.

This picture is of a fellow worker, Melba, who became one of my best friends.  While we are about eight or nine years apart in age (she’s older), we are quite close.  This is a dress I made out of a light green (almost chartreuse) gabardine fabric.  It was another work dress.

Here is a picture of Fred, my parents (then his parents) and myself.  I had made this top and skirt for other-than-work-or-church times.  It was a cute cotton or cotton-blend fabric, and I remember wearing and enjoying that outfit a lot.

And here’s a picture of Fred and me at Mesa Verde, Colorado.  We had made a trip to Albuquerque to visit my parents, and we went together to Colorado.  I had made this top out of cotton, and the pants out of chino.  Both were quite comfortable to wear.

And one last picture – a perfect example of what NOT to wear!  I don’t remember just where I obtained the fabric – it was a silky, acetate fabric – but that’s not the problem.  That shows me that orange is NOT my color!  Again, we were visiting my parents at Easter time in Albuquerque, and that was my Easter outfit.  Never again orange!

~~~~~~~~~~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: Homemade clothing, Memories, Sewing