This morning I woke up thinking it was crazy how materialistic we've become, that reality felt like the book Wacky Wednesday. Do you ever wake up feeling like that? And then I realized it was Wednesday!
Mending day was inspired in a big way by Suzanna's comment here last week. As you can see, these pajama bottoms were on their last legs -- I was planning to sew new ones out of a spare cotton sheet when the time came. All they really needed though was some patching right over the frayed parts of the waistband and one leg hem using cloth from Herm, a clothmate gone on to the great beyond. The cloth is thin and so soft. They'll be good for a long time to come.
Maybe more mending will make the world feel right again. You think?
The mending cloth is beautiful. It is as though Herm knew you would need this piece and she is giving you a hug each time you wear them. Wishing you a beautiful day.
ReplyDeleteOh IF ONLY it were as simple as handstitching...........nice jammies tho! lol
ReplyDeleteYou've helped me recognize how I, too, sometimes feel that mending----caring for my old favorites (that just get softer but for the tears and holes ;-)----makes me feel good. As you say, it is related to our too-materialistic culture in part because we're encouraged NOT to mend but to buy new. Somehow this throwing-away can get into our souls and make US feel we're not valued. . . So mending IS good for the soul. And it helps us become accustomed to the beauty of imperfection. . .
ReplyDeleteYes, a beginning to mending this world. A change in peoples mind set (something I need to be more aware of too).
ReplyDeleteToo easy to replace rather than mend. Mending is good for the soul, makes us feel good on the inside.
Lovely jammies, and so nice that Herm's fabric is was used...memory fabric.
Lovely post.
Jacky xox
i think you did a great job. Herm would be so pleased to see her cloth used in such a good way. nice purple paisley.
ReplyDelete"Make do and mend"...ome of my grandmother's favourite sayings that seems to pop into my head whenever I think I might throw out and replace...good one grandma!
ReplyDeleteJeannie, the hug part is exactly what I was thinking. I hope you have a beautiful day, too.
ReplyDeleteP.S. are you not taking magic diaries 2? I thought you were and I wasn't but now I am, are you?
Lyn, thanks. Who knows, maybe it is simple, that's why we don't see it!
ReplyDeleteChris, thank you -- you've put into words exactly my underlying uneasiness with being devalued by time, age, appearance, all of it. Exactly. Mending as metaphor. How did you know? ;-)
ReplyDeleteMending always makes me think of my grandmother. She was a Master Mender, could patch a hole so that you couldn't tell. She taught me how to darn, and the theory behind her patching, but her stitches were always so tiny and invisible, while mine.......
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to feel her presence by me when I pick up the darning needle. And it also encourages me to buy a better quality of sock!
Jacky, thanks and I really like how you call it "memory fabric".
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the 3 Amigos movie where the townspeople are asked what they can do to defend themselves against the bandits and they say "we can sew"! My favorite movie line ever, I think!
Deanna, thank you, I like that thought.
ReplyDeleteNanette -- our grandmothers knew, they really did.
ReplyDeleteJo, you are lucky to feel her with you still. I think mending was/is an art form, whether boro style with big stitches and ragged edges or the tiny invisible stitching our mothers and grandmothers mastered. I place myself in a category in-between the fine and the coarse!
ReplyDeleteI love mended pajamas. I began doing this several years ago. I am amazed at how soft clothing becomes after it has been worn so much. I think of my grandmother too. In her time people were more frugal and used what they had and did not waste.
ReplyDeleteNow these pajamas hold the memory of Herm...beautiful <3
I havent seen the 3 amigo's...but that line made me smile!!! Obviously I need to see that movie now.
ReplyDeleteLast visit I clicked on the link for 'chris' of groundswell blog. What a wonderful blog. I loved reading her words and was really taken with the youtube of the poetry reading (have tried to link to it in Magic Diaries as I think the girls (and Joe is he is still travelling with us) would enjoy it.
Have a lovely day Peggy.
Jacky xox
a piece of Herm! how comforting. i love the feeling when i've mended something, it always feels so huge to have done it.
ReplyDeleteYour post is close to my heart Peggy.....my mum taught me to mend :~) I love how you have mended your pajamas. I did not know Herm, but I sent her a heart cloth during the heart whispering series. Hugged by Herm, as Jeannie said,,,,,isn't that wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog :~) x
Peggy, I did not sign up for the second diaries class. I am regretting it now. I still don't have the time/energy to do the work, but I miss everyone there and listening to Jude's voice. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteLooks really good, Peggy, and so lovely to remember Herm...thank you for the mention!
ReplyDeleteMarie, oh yes, they are so soft now -- I mean pajamas get washed a LOT! I love that mending brings so many of us closer to our foremothers -- the ancient ones ;-) -- and I only knew Herm through cloth but feel lucky to have a memory of her.
ReplyDeleteJacky, groundswell by Chris up there is wonderful. She's taking some time off now, hope she returns soon. Hear that, Chris?
ReplyDelete3 Amigos is a pretty campy older movie. It got horrible reviews when it came out but has grown to have an almost cult-like following, I think. My husband and kids can repeat whole scenes, line by line, they've watched it so many times.
Cindy, mending must produce endorphins cuz I feel the same!
ReplyDeleteHelen, so happy you're back! Herm and I had a friendly exchange right before she took ill. I feel fortunate to have some of her cloth and lace.
ReplyDeleteSo many have learned the art of mending from their mothers and grandmothers. We have to pass it on, too, now to our kids. I don't think I've done that very well though, I just did/do it for them. Guess it's never too late!?
Suzanna, thank you. I like the way Herm keeps turning up in our conversations...nice, isn't it?
ReplyDelete