"Southhamsdarling": mum

For some strange reason, I suddenly thought, at the beginning of December, that I would learn to sew and use a sewing machine. Obviously I can sew on buttons, take up hems by hand, etc, but this was new territory for me. I had seen a machine in our local Supermarket, at an excellent price, so, being the little Aries That I am, I took the bull by the horns, and bought one. Here is my new little friend ....

I should point out here, that I last used a sewing machine 56 years ago when I was at School. That sewing teacher never liked me!! I still have nightmares about trying to thread the bobbin. I suppose I never really had the need to sew, as my dear mum was a trained Tailoress, even going up to London for her training. I've often thought that this must have been quite daring for a young woman, travelling to the Capital from down here in Devon at that time, as we would be talking about the early 1920's.

Mum made all my clothes until I was well into my 20's. I always loved the little outfits she made for me as a little girl, from little sun suits for the beach, shorts and t-shirts and pretty dresses.

I can still remember a shocking pink little number - the suits were always fully lined - with a straight skirt and jacket. I wore it with a navy blouse, and matching shoes, gloves and handbag. Can anyone else remember when we wore matching shoes, gloves and handbags?! The following photo is not the deep pink suit I'm talking about, but you will get the picture ! Please excuse the hat - I was attending a friend's wedding 😳.

Anyway, all mum's clothes that she made were as beautifully finished on the inside as on the outside. I have so many childhood memories of going into Remnant/Fabric Shops with mum, and I can still remember the smell as we were surrounded by all these bales of colourful materials. We would browse the materials, zips and buttons and I actually really enjoyed doing that. Then the Assistant would take the big rolls of material down from the shelves and unroll it onto a long wooden counter, with a tape measure running along it. The material would then be cut off to the required length with a large pair of scissors. As a little girl, I would take it all in, and be utterly entranced by the whole performance! I still have mum's treasured tin of buttons of all shapes and sizes. When my mum passed away, there were so many rolls of material in all the cupboards, many bought in the Sales. I MISS YOU MUM ...

Then we fast forward to when my youngest daughter was a teenager. She always wanted to get into fashion, and eventually took a Fashion & Textiles Degree at University, and so the sewing began in the family once again. Actually, I always remember my dad's mum sewing as well. Her husband was killed at a young age in the First World War, and so my Nan also became a Seamstress, in order to support her two young children.

So, here we are back at the current time, on a rainy day last week, when my daughter came down to give me my first sewing lesson. Lo and behold, that dreaded bobbin raised its ugly head again! When I finally started sewing, I was actually pleased with the result and managed to sew all around the various shapes that my daughter had drawn for me, in a relatively neat fashion.