Found this very sweet OLD needle card at my Mom's. Mom didn't like to sew. I feel sure her mother made her a sewing kit of sorts to take with her when she stayed with my dad wherever he was stationed during WWII. Mom did have to sew on patches, stripes, etc. on Dad's uniforms and buttons if necessary, maybe even hem a skirt if there was no one else to do it.
I found letters, written in later years, from several of the friends Mother and Daddy made during the war. I felt a little funny reading the intimate expressions of love, bonding the women together. One dear letter expressed how thankful Celia and Jimmy were that they met my parents when stationed in Peyote, Texas near Wink. If you have never heard of either tiny town in far West Texas don't feel left out. Mother called it "the jumping off place" because it was one, so far away from home, and two, because it was in the middle of nowhere.
For the women who arrived that weren't from Texas, it was a miserable place to be. HOT. Dry. Dust storms. Rattle snakes. The base's nickname (or real, I don't know) was Rattle Snake Bomber Base. Base housing was for officers and a few others; most found housing where they could in Wink. Tiny homes filled with love and fear, the uncertainty of what might happen next.
Celia wrote to mom many years later, " Don't know what we would have done if you and Max hadn't taken us in and shown us what to do." Celia and Jimmy were from Tennessee. Another dear couple was from Pennsylvania, Ester and Danny. Mother often talked of how homesick Ester was. Texas was SO different from 'home'. For these women, war brought them together, bonds were built that endured until they have all gradually passed away. Christmas cards and random notes of family joys and sorrows were kept in Mom's desk.
Did these women have a sewing circle? If they did, Mom crocheted. Mom may have gotten this pincushion while staying in Wink. The fabric is from the early 40's. How cute is this!
The Sewing Circle.
Mom didn't drive, Ester did. She took Mom to the store. They all liked to cook and shared recipes. And they laughed, cried and talked. Sounds a lot like my stitch group.
Friendships...
Lizzie (my great-great grandmother) enjoyed her "quiltings" as a way to gather with friends and relatives. Mother's parents owned a grocery store in the1920's through the 1940's where at the top of the stairs a quilting frame was always set with a quilt and the women who stopped in would pause in the day's routine to take a few stitches and "visit awhile".
Mom had her tightly knit group of friends to pass the time when the men away.
Thank goodness some things don't change with time.
Whether called a sewing circle, or a stitch group, gathering with friends and enjoying their company is one of the delights of my month.
...Friendships
Lately, I've been preoccupied with clearing out my parents home. It took me 3 months to prepare. Several of my stitching friends helped some in prep and at the sale. Estate sale was Labor Day weekend. What a big, emotionally draining job for me. I did not hire someone to run the sale, but am very grateful for the help of husband, family and dear, dear friends. I found the answer to the question, when is a house not a home? NOW. It is even more difficult to go over there now than when I was working daily, sifting through 72 years of collecting STUFF. It is now just a house, no longer their home. How sad is that? If you have lived through this particular trauma, you have my utmost respect and if you haven't, you may eventually. Nothing ends neatly. I was so ready for a fresh start this month, but have to catalogue the remaining items for donation and contact an organization to take the leftovers away. More sad business.
My son, Matt, had surgery Friday to reconstruct his nose after last year being hit with a baseball, (he was pitching and the batter hit a line drive to his face.) Surgery went well with total reconstruction of septum and nose. Managing the pain is the biggest challenge at present, that, and me having to wash his hair! Can't get the nose wet, but have to clean the incision behind his ear where they took bone to construct his nose. That was interesting, need a salon's shampoo station set up! He is 26, 6'3" and has much longer hair than I do!
I sewed a little yesterday while his girlfriend was here, hadn't sewn in ages, wanted to sew more. It felt good, maybe can do some today, and...
Maybe Matt will go with me to stitch group on Friday! There's a thought!
Until next time ~
Betsy
