With the mothers of tomorrow in our hands we are keen to equip them with a little of the homely arts, which have see a sad decline from yesteryear. To begin, the essential tools had to be mustered and the endless line of old dilapidated hand cranked sewing machines were crossed off the list and assigned to their long awaited graves! Well once again it wasn’t really that bad but new machines were needed so the ever resourceful Mrs Ryan whipped up the parish into a thoroughly enjoyed progressive dinner and as the say in France ‘Voila’ : we ticked of the tall order (for a bunch of nuns)of 4 machines and an over locker thanks to the proceeds.
So far our little seamstresses have learnt the basics of cross- stitch and so decorated the front of their pincushions. Next we are still venturing the paths of a matching set of aprons when we discovered the inability of a few to sew STRAIGHT lines and so with the age old maxim of ‘practice makes perfect’ we set to the practising side of it! However, with lots of fun and many a call of “SISTERRRRRRRRR” we are getting on well!
Oh, Sisters, I so wish I were there because I’d join the wee ones in their sewing class. Never learned myself! During these lean times, I see a surge of interest in these “domestic arts” that enabled people to save money by making, repairing and selling their clothing and handmade items. All the skills which went out of fashion a bit with the high tech revolution are returning in full force. San Francisco is abuzz with knitters on the buses and crafters at the fairs. I myself was online searching for darning instructions as I wish to repair a hole in a sweater and the cuff of another. Me thinks there are a few socks I can tackle next as well. Why, oh, why didn’t I sit at my Irish granny’s knee and learn these skills? All those trips to Galway…sigh! Well, learning in my 50s isn’t too late!
Thank you for giving some modern girls/women these worthwhile skills.