and here she is posing with a Summer in the City charm pack in a tin box...yummy!
My Nonnie was my grandmother, but she was really more to me than my grandmother. Suffice it to say, she was more a mother to me in many ways than my own mother was, is, whatever. She passed away in December '08.
Nonnie taught me many things...how to stand up straight for good posture, how to approach a group of people and introduce myself, how to cut up a whole chicken, the virtues of Wal-Mart (some of you may be cringing about that one)....and many more things I can appreciate without even knowing exactly what they were. But the big one, the thing that enriched my life beyond all the other lessons, was The Sewing Lesson. Nonnie very patiently taught me to read a pattern, transfer it to fabric (lots of pinning and marking), get it cut out, stitch pieces together with a 5/8" seam, press all seams (never skip that!), finish it out nicely, and then wear those crazy M.C. Hammer pants with pride!
I sewed a few things soon after that, but wasn't hugely interested...must have been distracted with Duran Duran, making my bangs bigger, going to the mall and hanging out with Jenny. Fast forward to the year 2000. The sewing addiction started simmering and I started making baby things...cloth diapers in fun prints, baby blankets bound in satin, burpcloths, wipies. And now here I am 10 years later still making fun baby stuff and discovering the awesomeness of quilting. Nonnie really loved it that I eventually became such an avid seamstress.
All this to pay a little honor to my greatly missed, amazing Nonnie.
6 comments:
Oh, Angela... reading this made me so misty-eyed. I too had a wonderful grandmother who taught me to sew and provided me with many other life lessons as well! Thanks for sharing your story!
oh man, we must be the same age...although i did avoid parachute pants, i remember them well...i had 2 older sisters who would not allow them in the house...and there are a zillion Jenny's my age, including me! and don't even get me started on Duran Duran...John was my fav..how about you? my bestie was all about Simon. nice post, flashback for me...and lots of love for you Nonnie...mine was super fantastic too! we had lunch together every wednesday when i was in college. it was our date!
Shelley, you are so welcome...and so glad you read and commented : )
Jenny, those pants were probably horrible but I LOVED them and wore them all the time...come to think of it, now I know where my daughter gets her ummmm interesting fashion sense ; ) Oh, and John was the hottest but I had more of a crush on Simon...remember "the name's LeBon, Simon Lebon"? good times!
We rocked the big bangs and parachute pants, didn't we?!
Your Nonnie was one-of-a-kind. Truly.
Love your story, especially as I'm on vacation this weekend and staying in my grandma's house! She also passed away in 2008. Grandmothers are SOOO special. Enjoyed your website. Come on over to my blog and comment to enter my Kaffe Fassett fabric giveaway! www.whatupduck.com
The machine/cabinet is wonderful! I also had a wonderful Grandmother.
I LOVED my parachute pants and big bangs..and permed hair..and very loud music. My youngest son still sings along to some of the music I tormeted him with.
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