5.15.2011

sew weekly sunday: in which i figure it out in the end.

Good lord did I ever suck this challenge.  

Since I cheated on the childhood inspiration theme and used my mom, the madre thought I should use my grandmother (paternal) for this week's challenge. Nan! Wonderful idea! I thought. Think again, kid. And again. And AGAIN: about what she liked, what made her happy, what her style was; or wasn't, since she never bought herself a thing-- so then what was her style? What did she want that she couldn't have, how much did she give up, raising four boys completely alone, why didn't you plant flowers for her front porch more often, call her from college more, even though she would worry you had left if you paused for more than a second... 

'kay, great. Done thinkin? Now make a pretty frock!


She did raise four beautiful boys alone, one of them being my Dad, and she did a bang up friggin job. My Dad is the best.

She didn't always smile in pictures, but she always smiled in life.


She loved the color yellow, though she called it yella. Yella pansies were her favorite flower, she said they had happy faces. Her living room was bright yellow, her bedroom electric blue.

She would take me to the Mall just about every Sunday to shop, and send me home with a bag full of clothes. If something fit well and had a good price, we had to buy two. (For when the first one wore out, naturally.) I think she liked dressing up a girl after all those boys.


We never lived more than ten blocks apart. As a kid I would rollerskate fast as I could down the block to meet her when she returned from work at the bakery. Or maybe it was work at the dry cleaners... either way, it was always work, and I was always happy to see her.


She loved jewelry but had little. What she did have, she rarely wore. She always tied an inexpensive but bright and colorful scarf around her neck when we went out. I still hear her saying let's go up the street. Everyone in town knew her and smiled when they saw her coming.  

Brother Beast and I went to church with her every Sunday. Afterwards, we'd walk to town and get cookies and lunchmeat from the deli and make ham salad sandwiches and play at her house.  

That was the real reason for church on Sunday.


She had two memorials, one in our town, and one in her hometown. Strangers showed up, crying, for real. There was a single mom and young college boy there, and I think he was in school because of her help. I wouldn't doubt it for a minute.

I wore white to her funeral. I never, ever, saw her in black.    

She'd be proud of the fact that this skirt cost five dollars, and that I didn't abandon ship when the vintage Vogue pattern went hella wrong, and that I morphed it into a skirt, and she would like the yella, and the flowers... but I don't think I'll be wearing this again. It's a very sad skirt, and I think it knows it. No matter how much ironing I do, the wrinkles won't come out, even though I move the iron in tiny circles just like she taught me to. Every time I look at it, I do the breathy soundless sigh that lets Ruggy know i'm disturbed.

So that's no good.

Maybe it's just sad with me. Maybe it's someone else's skirt. Maybe i'll give it away-- Nan spent her life giving. It would be kind of perfect. 

YEAH. 

28 comments:

  1. Kisses to you, and I know how sewing makes you go into this 'weird thinking about things' kinda state. I often think about everyone I've ever met when I sit down to sew, different people and different stages of my life.

    FYI, my 'Gumnut Baby' dress, the green sheet material is kinda the same, it creases really weirdly and even though it's super soft, keeps those wrinkles even with ironing. STRANGE

    xoxox

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  2. Beautiful post, beautiful story, beautiful skirt ;)

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  3. Hey, Marcy! Thanks for sharing the story, and, I think the skirt is fun! even with creases. - I love the ruffle and the bow detail on the back! It's a great holiday skirt :-)

    By the way, I posted two images from the Burdastyle day party - the rest was blurry, but those with you turned out much better than the rest, how interesting :-)

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  4. Well, I think your skirt, like your Nan, is beautiful and all credit to you for persevering, adapting and overcoming vintage vogue disaster. I like that it is yellow like your Nan's living room and blue like her bedroom :) I think it's funny how sometimes your thoughts and mood while sewing can influence how you feel about what you make (maybe I've been doing a little too much thinking this week as well!).

    And as an aside, no pattern that requires 7 pieces interfaced , ruffles and multiple buttons should be classed as "very easy"... Vogue's 70s dictionary definitions may have been somewhat skewed by the popular substances available at the time...

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  5. That had my eyes all wet and thinking about my great-grandma... The skirt is very lovely!

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  6. I think you've done right by yer nan, whatever happens to the skirt from here on is secondary. Thanks for the story!

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  7. I really like it and don't think it needs to be ironed. It seems like that pretty hemp cloth, that has that soft touchable quality too it. I bet your Nan would like that too, that it's a friendly skirt that isn't worried about being wrinkled if you go in for a hug.

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  8. This is a wonderful tribute. She sounds like an incredible woman, and I'm glad I got to hear about her.

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  9. You write the most touching posts. I'm glad you had such a great nan.

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  10. I'm going to go call my Nanny right now!

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  11. my first thought is to say, "put the skirt away for a week or two and then take it out and see how you feel". But actually, if someone said that to me, I'd sort of want to kick them in the shin. And I, of course, am a delicate flower and I don't want you to kick me in the shin. So I think I'll say, "Nice." And leave it at that.

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  12. I loved reading this, though I know that this experience has brought up a lot of hard feelings for you. It is apparent that your Nan was a wonderful, loving, amazing woman who deserves all of the affection you have for her. Your skirt is a wonderful tribute and should live a life that you feel best honors your Nan's memory. No matter how that may be. Kept or given, it is a little bit of you and a little bit of Nan. And a gift for all of us who didn't get to know her.

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  13. You seem like such an awesome person and this post sums it up! I think it looks great, but I know it's hard to be convinced if you don't feel it yourself (I'm that way too). I made my navy pants while looking at photos of my grandpa in his Navy uniform and it brought back memories. It makes me happy when I wear them, but maybe you could give it away to someone (like you say your nan did) if it brings too much sadness. You'd definitely be honoring her memory by doing so :)

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  14. Don't you or your beautiful skirt be sad Oona. Nan earned those wrinkles the hard way. Every one of them. They can't be removed and she wouldn't have it any other way.

    You were the light of her life.

    Thank you Oona.

    From Nan and me.

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  15. Wonderful post, beautiful tribute to your Nan and a fabulous skirt. Do with it whatever makes your heart sing. g

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  16. Nan would so love that skirt!
    And she would most likely have worn it with a strapless top like in the photo. She's holding big daddy on the left, (oona's dad) and his twin brother on the right, quite a handful.

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  17. What a great skirt! I love the color and the ruffle bottom!

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  18. What a sweet story...I'm getting all teary-eyed. So sweet. Yella. Love it.

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  19. such a lovely story, thank you for sharing! and the yella skirt is wonderful too!

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  20. Oh, oh, I know that place you visited! I'm sure Nan is smiling down on you and proud you learned well! Life is so strange, a lotta otta, woulda and coulda!

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  21. thank you SO MUCH, lovely peeps for the beautiful words! i know nan would have had a smile for every one of you.

    (and you're very welcome, big daddy.)

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  22. Beautiful skirt, beautiful tribute to your grandmother. And you should be proud of yourself for sticking with the project.

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  23. What a lovely tribute to your grandmother! As for the dress/now skirt, one of the good things about about sewing is that, as time goes on, you get better at technical fixes. What you would have had to toss as a beginner sewer, you can salvage. And sometimes the "flawed" garments are prettier than the perfect ones.

    Annamarie

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  24. aw, i loved reading this about your nan, she sounds so lovely! your yella skirt is so pretty and sounds like its right after her heart.

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  25. I was just thinking about my own grandmother this morning, that I don't see her enough and I envisioned us taking monthly trips up to see her more often. I know I'll regret it if I don't.

    I've got tears in my eyes. Hugs to you my dear. I think giving it away to someone would make your nan proud :)

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  26. such a touching and beautiful post.. i read it yesterday, and wanted to comment, but i just had no words.. not that i have them now, just wanted to let you know that you made me think a lot last night

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  27. Okay now I'm teary-eyed, shouldn't have read this one at work! Beautiful, beautiful post.

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  28. This post was wonderful and touching. I loved reading your memories and the love you felt for her - what a beautiful thing to share. I love the skirt - the wrinkles give it character and the color yellow is sunny and delightful. I have a similar situation with a project, but I just wear it around the house anyway :)

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i thankya truly for taking the time to comment, i love a good conversation-- and hope you know my thanks are always implied, if not always written!