Thursday, March 12, 2009

Some Random Stuff

1. I started sewing when I was about 7 1/2 and the first real garment I remember making was a cotton pullover shirt for myself of a brown paisley pattern. I think I loved paisley even before that. I also either helped with or made a top for my baby sister of the same fabric.

2. One of my favorite childhood activities was reading - I rode my bike to the branch library near my house and checked out stacks of books. They had a reading program every summer and though I read plenty of books to fulfill the goals, I didn't want to do the "paperwork" of reporting on them. I especially remember reading Lois Lenski, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and a series of biographies which were illustrated with silhouettes. Stories of daily life in different settings were interesting to me.

3. I took German in school from 4th grade through college, but didn't go to Germany until I was 48 years old. I was surprised how much German I remembered and was able to speak a little while we were there.

4. My grandparents had a cottage in Michigan on a lake. They bought it in the 40's - it was rustic and had an oil heater, a well with a pump and an outhouse. We went there in the summers and learned to play euchre and water ski when teenagers. The last time I went was with my then-new husband in 1977. After that my grandma sold the cottage and moved to California. I still remember the warm, sandy, piney, watery smells - probably a little fishy, too!

5. A favorite dress I made myself in high school was orange double knit with a mandarin collar, short raglan sleeves and three big ball-shaped buttons on one of the raglan seams. It barely had a skirt. It was the early 70's.

6. I really like birds. I like to try to identify birds, look at pictures of birds, enjoy birds in art, fabrics, accessories, etc. But in reality, if a bird gets too close to me, it's kind of scary.

7. One of the most interesting days of my life was the day we spent in Berlin. We found bikes to rent on the street, and rode around all day to various landmarks. I was amazed at the time that we probably rode 15 miles. The nice part about it was being so close to everything, including the neighborhoods that we rode through. The weather was wonderful, the history of the city was so evident, the people were interesting, the buildings were beautiful and fascinating ... just thinking about it again is almost overwhelming.

1 comment:

BarbaraS said...

Great post! I remember taking a sewing class when I was about ten and we made a skirt. I don't think I ever wore that thing! My mom was a very talented seamstress and it made her a nervous wreck when I used her machine, so I really didn't start sewing till I was an adult, then sewed many of my children's clothes. That sorta died off when they became preteens, as they wanted the "label" clothes. I stopped sewing due to returning to school myself, and except for a few things here and there, only recently started sewing again.
We used to go to a little place on Lake Michigan a couple times each summer, what great memories I have of that lil' shack, the sun, the sand, the wonderful water. Umm.