Tuesday, February 5, 2008

matching dresses

Ann asked if Miriam was a seamstress, since the girls in one picture had matching dresses.

Yes she was a very fine seamstress, but it was more than that.

I recognized early on, when Arline was just getting into clothes that I could not afford to buy her what she wanted or what I would like to buy her. This was before cheap chinese clothing, (which may be coming to and end also). Clothing was spendy, but fabric was comparatively inexpensive.

So I made a deal with Arline and then with her sisters. You learn to sew and I will buy you fabric and patterns.

When they went to high school they met Mrs. Miracle (that was her real name!). She taught sewing. She was a stickler for detail and quality work, and each of my daughters, in turn, came under her influence. Computers are wonderful, but it was good when kids learned real stuff in school.

Later they began to design their own clothing as well as sew them. Linda in particularly, including those colorful paper dresses.

I regret to say that sewing skills have not uniformly been passed to the next generation. In an age of cheap WalMart clothing, it is not a very desirable trait, and I think we are missing something important.

So, yes Miriam was a seamstress, Ann!

2 comments:

StefanieRose said...

Even if you dident have the money for them to buy clothing Dave, you did right by your girls. They were very well dressed! You are a great father to 4 wonderful women!

arutherford said...

Great story. Hurray for Mrs. Miracle. She taught your girls some of the basics in life. True you can go to Walmart and buy inexpensive clothes but I bet you don't get nearly the satisfaction. Although, I wouldn't know for sure as I never could get the art of sewing down. ;-}

Btw, the chief constuction guy for an addition we had put on was Mr. Longerbeam--no joke! He and Mrs. Miracle should have met. ;-}