Tuesday, December 11, 2007

feed sacks and memories

Okay, so this morning I was visiting over at Lib's as I do just about every morning while I have my coffee. The thing is, she always get me to thinking which I don't do well in the mornings!! :)
Her post today was all about her stash of material for crafting and what she was seeing when she looked at it. She was seeing future crafts such as dolls, snowmen, etc. I, in my morning stupor, and just having taken a few sips of my coffee, was literally looking beyond the stack of fabric in her picture and trying to find those dolls and stuff that she was seeing! He! He! So funny when I finally woke up and realized!! Anyway, I feel so connected to Lib in so many ways. She brings things to my mind that I haven't thought about in years! Today it was feedsack material and old quilts.
A few months ago Dave and I were doing our usual junkin' at a nearby flea market. I always visit one lady's booth just because her things always catch my eye. This particular day my eyes fell on a small stack of material laying on a table. I knew immediately that it was feed sacks which I was very familar with. I had to have them, not because I had plans to use them but just to have and look at and feel.
When I was young I always considered our family to be poor, at least by everybody else's standards in our little town. One of the reasons I felt this way was because I never had store bought clothes but clothes that my mother sewed for me and I so longed for and dreamed of a dress straight out of the Montgomery Wards catalogue. Back then our feed for our hogs (Daddy called it "chop") came in pretty sacks, not like this one...

corn feed sack

but like these:

feed sack material

Being the youngest of the family and having 3 older sisters, I always got the hand-me-downs, which were "made over" for me because I was always tiny! Ha! Those days are over now!! I do remember one time that I got the pretty new feed sacks all for my own outfits. I didn't realize then how talented my mother was. She even made her own patterns that she used! She made two outfits for me, one with a red skirt and a white shirt with tiny red flowers on it and another was a green skirt and a shirt with yellow and green flowers. The skirts were made with circle tails which would flair out when I twirled and oh did I love to twirl!! After I wore these outfits to school a couple of my classmates (the ones I considered to be rich) showed up at our door begging my mother to make them outfits like mine! I couldn't believe it!! They could have store bought dresses and they actually wanted ones like MINE! They had even talked their parents into buying the sacks of feed, giving the chop to my Daddy for his hogs so it wouldn't go to waste, then having the sacks for their much coveted outfits!! I never looked at my clothes in the same way again!!
When I had outgrown my clothes they were then recycled again into quilt pieces. My mother was a very frugal woman and wasted nothing! Here is one of my favorites, probably because I helped to make it when I was about 8 years old:

churn dasher quilt

There is a story behind this quilt which I will save for another time. I've rattled way too much today. Lib, thanks for the memories!!!

9 comments:

Karen H. said...

Good Afternoon Hope,
Thanks for stopping by. I love your "Feed Sack" material. It is beautiful. When I was still living at home, my Mom bought some of the "Feed Material" at Wal-Mart and made me a dress from it. I still have it. It don't fit anymore, but I'm thinking maybe having her make me a doll dress out of it or maybe a small quilt. I'm not crafty myself. My Mother has always been tho. I just love visiting with Miz Lib. She is a sweetheart. I feel as if I've known her all my life. She makes me feel like I am right there with her. I seen your comment about you looking for dolls on there. I had to laugh a little myself. But hey, it happens to the best of us. I have done things like that before. I have to have at least 2 good cups of coffee before I am good awake. I am going to add you to my blogroll that way it will be easier for me to stop by and visit you. That way I don't have to hunt for you. LOL. It has warmed up to 69 degrees as I'm typing this. It looks like the Sun is trying to break thru. Rain is suppose to be here tonight tho. Well, take care my friend and have a great Tuesday. May God Bless You and Yours.

Hugs,
Karen H.

Lib said...

Hi Hope,
Thank you for the kind words.
We use to order feed from Security Feed.:o)
Your childhood sounds alot like mine. Now we appreciate life more huh?
I have a Favorite Antique shop I visit and I have to be really careful in there they have alot of red&white kitchen items (My Favorite.)
I guess the dolls, etc. I saw in the picture I was in Crafters dreamland.lol
I really enjoy visiting with you.
Hope you have a great day and Thanks for being so Uplifting.:o)
Blessins', Lib

Prairie Gothic said...

I've rushed over here to your blog to give you fair warning and an advance apology, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, by the way I liked your today's blog.

Prairie Gothic said...

No seriously, the blog is for Hope. Also, you should see the ugly bags hog feed comes in now. A topic I am forced to be acquainted with. Hog feed that is not pretty feed sacks.

Peggy said...

The feed sack material brought back memories of grandma making me dresses and aprons from flour sacks when I was small.
thanks!

Anonymous said...

That is so sweet. The only true quilts and sacks I remember were my grandmothers. they must have been real poor because the quilt I remember was the black cat made from sacks. It was so heavy once you were tucked in you couldn't move. It was warm when the wind was blowing through the cracks in the walls. I was a tiny thing and I would love to revisit those days.

Talk..to..Grams said...

When I was a little girl during WW2
my Mom made me little dresses out of feed sacks!!
We didn't lose our power yeserday!! So glad about thst!! Hugs Grams

FarmHouse Style said...

What a wonderful story:) Can't wait to hear the story behind the quilt.


Rhonda

Anonymous said...

OH! I wish you had gone on. I have some vintage feedsacks I want to make into skirts and aprons for my little girls, too. I wish I knew what the tails are you were talking about!

Thanks for such a tender-hearted post!