Debra, Ha! It was really cool, but even that didn't fully give me the confidence I needed. Confidence is such an internal thing. Still, I loved creating my clothes. the act of creating it gave me some confidence!
Hi, Lisa. Wow. Thanks for both reading and writing your comment. I get it...maybe the shyness in me required something that spoke for itself - cool clothes! Do you have photos of any of those outfits??? I so wish I did! I have only a few. Happy creating!
I, too, grew up in Iowa, with many hours at the sewing machine, creating crazy patterned bell bottom pants, inspired by Cher’s outfit of the week. My social awkwardness seemed to hide behind the creative and clearly attention demanding costumery. I write this with 2 sewing machines set up in the background, 60+ years later.
I think I just wore my poor parents down! 🤣 But how good they were to me! Those old journals are sooo telling - and don't they show you / us how very much we have grown???? It's all workign out! xxoo
I could resonate with all you write about tending to our creativity. I also reread old journals & letters and feel tenderness toward my younger self. And that story of when you were 12, your determination to express your creative arts even then. I am sure your parents saw it too and knew that the boots meant something much more to you. Love the photo!
Beautiful, Alecia. Very touching to me, as I have been going through boxes myself, thinking about what my parents did and didn’t do for us 6 kids crammed into the house. All the sewing I did, starting at age 10, I now realize was a creative outlet—although I thought of it then as a necessity. It was both. ❤️❤️❤️
I have mourned the loss of required courses in “cooking,” “sewing,” and “shop” for the doors it opened to some young people—especially those whose households didn’t offer the opportunities, for whatever purpose. I had already been cooking and sewing for years when I took the required courses in “home ec.” I wish I’d been required to take “shop.” My younger siblings were required to take both. Alas. I don’t like the gender roles that were being reinforced through the courses, but since reading and teaching Franklin’s Autobiography, I have wished more young people didn’t have the opportunity to learn how to make candles and set type! I recognize the fictional and idealistic aspects of Franklin’s writing and those courses, but still . . . Thanks for the beautiful trigger to my thoughts this morning!
Etta, it is a sweet conversation. I am domestic in my nature. I just had to feed myself 😂so eventually became an interior designer. This is an interesting topic isn’t it? Ket us know when we might meet in Italy!
Debra, Ha! It was really cool, but even that didn't fully give me the confidence I needed. Confidence is such an internal thing. Still, I loved creating my clothes. the act of creating it gave me some confidence!
I’d love to know how it went when you walked into your school wearing that outfit. It sounds really cool. Or…. should I say really “groovy”?
Hi, Lisa. Wow. Thanks for both reading and writing your comment. I get it...maybe the shyness in me required something that spoke for itself - cool clothes! Do you have photos of any of those outfits??? I so wish I did! I have only a few. Happy creating!
I, too, grew up in Iowa, with many hours at the sewing machine, creating crazy patterned bell bottom pants, inspired by Cher’s outfit of the week. My social awkwardness seemed to hide behind the creative and clearly attention demanding costumery. I write this with 2 sewing machines set up in the background, 60+ years later.
I think I just wore my poor parents down! 🤣 But how good they were to me! Those old journals are sooo telling - and don't they show you / us how very much we have grown???? It's all workign out! xxoo
I could resonate with all you write about tending to our creativity. I also reread old journals & letters and feel tenderness toward my younger self. And that story of when you were 12, your determination to express your creative arts even then. I am sure your parents saw it too and knew that the boots meant something much more to you. Love the photo!
Beautiful, Alecia. Very touching to me, as I have been going through boxes myself, thinking about what my parents did and didn’t do for us 6 kids crammed into the house. All the sewing I did, starting at age 10, I now realize was a creative outlet—although I thought of it then as a necessity. It was both. ❤️❤️❤️
Yes, both for me too! I wonder if we give young girls creative outlets like that today. It helped build confidence.
I have mourned the loss of required courses in “cooking,” “sewing,” and “shop” for the doors it opened to some young people—especially those whose households didn’t offer the opportunities, for whatever purpose. I had already been cooking and sewing for years when I took the required courses in “home ec.” I wish I’d been required to take “shop.” My younger siblings were required to take both. Alas. I don’t like the gender roles that were being reinforced through the courses, but since reading and teaching Franklin’s Autobiography, I have wished more young people didn’t have the opportunity to learn how to make candles and set type! I recognize the fictional and idealistic aspects of Franklin’s writing and those courses, but still . . . Thanks for the beautiful trigger to my thoughts this morning!
Etta, it is a sweet conversation. I am domestic in my nature. I just had to feed myself 😂so eventually became an interior designer. This is an interesting topic isn’t it? Ket us know when we might meet in Italy!