Memories Are Threads That Join Generations

When I was a little girl I would skip down the basement stairs at Grandma Bubbles' house because there was always treasure waiting there for me. She had a small room where she kept a box of all of her fabric scraps! She was the definition of a recycler!!! More on that later.

I was allowed to take as much as I wanted from her "fabric stash"! This, to me, was better than red licorice laces, candy buttons, Mary Janes or black jacks! I was a fabricaholic even way back then. Is that hereditary! TeeHee!

I started making clothes for my dolls and stuffed animals. I would make mini patchwork quilts and pillows for my doll beds, too. I learned how to sew this way- trial and error. Although you couldn't tell me that any of my age 9 masterpieces were "error"! This quilt above is about 10"x 15" and I made it from Grandma Bubbles' scraps when I was about 10 or 11 years old. It has REAL 1930's fabric in it, not reproduction! I do love the reproduction 1930's fabric in the stores. Yes, I even have some. I plan to make a small quilt with it. Right now it is in a basket folded very precisely and color coded. It is fun to just look at it!! Like being back in Grandma Bubbles' basement. Of course she had all sorts of goodies in that box, but I was always drawn to the colors of the 1930's fabrics. You see, some of the scraps were actually from my mom and aunt's dresses and play clothes that Grandma made for them.

Grandma "harvested" everything to be reused, re-purposed or recycled. Things like lace and zippers and buttons and buckles. All sorts of fabric- dresses, shirts, sheets, etc. always found their way into a new life the second time around.

I inherited that trait too. One warm spring day last week found me sitting at the picnic table enthusiastically cutting up flannel shirts. To me, they were not worth wearing anymore. Too many holes. So I cut around the holes and they will be reborn as a quilt for a bed!! Very soft and warm for the next Ohio Fall to come...and many more after that.

Thank you Grandma Bubbles, for teaching me to see things with fresh eyes--the best way to recycle!

And YES, I replaced some of the many "harvested" shirts with a couple new ones from the clearance rack!!!