Wednesday, January 09, 2008


The 70's have called and they want their fabric back ...

or.....

being a "friend's mother" reaps it's own rewards-eventually.

Great news here, my longest serving friend, L is home from Switzerland for a week before starting her next stage of life with her husband's new job, in Kuala Lumpur. I am going down to see her at her Mum's on Friday.
This is exciting, but entails some work. L was home with her boys in April and when i visited her at her Mum's I came home with 2 garbage bags of fabric scraps....as you do! L, one of 5 daughters, was joining forces with her sisters to make her Mum do a clean out. I have a very sneaky suspicion that mine is the only stuff that would have left the building.
I offered to make her Mum a quilt with the scraps; there are 2 sorts, one bag of REALLY old, that were from my friend's grandma and great grandma dressmaking stashes and the 70's clothes-making efforts- though with 5 daughters 1-2 years apart don't ask me how she sewed!
I was more than willing to do this for my friend's mum because as soon as I was out of my teens I appreciated her SO much.
Well, I think I appreciated her in my teens, I always said my "thanks for having me " and offered to help and do dishes but I didn't realise then what all those extra friends bring to the workload-which is why I always send my kids with food for a play.
We lived a decent way from town so ours was not the hangout home, my Mum got it So easy in that department. It was either at L's home or my town friend's that we ended up.
They say that it is important for boys to have mentors to grow up on the straight and narrow, but I think friend's Mums are important as well. I was reading Dawn in Korea's blog about how her daughter's friend's mum let boys come for a sleepover at 11 pm and when the daughter rang Dawn to say she was coming home at once, the friend's Mum told the daughter to lie and say they weren't there.
That's not the friend's mum mentoring that gets a girl safely through her teens, but the guidance,advice and supervision I got was pretty darn good while letting us be teens.
Now my town friend was lost at sea a few years ago, but we tried to repay her Mum's teenage efforts with support and a photo journal when my friend died and cards and visits since.
I had never seen an opportunity with L's mum until the fabric thing. So here is how I went with some of the 70's fabric today.....with associated props of course!

I used a good quality bedspread as the foundation piece, that worked very well, you get a glimpse of it here in the wind, with Sigmund deciding whether he should eat it or not.

So it is essentially already quilted, i could add a backing and tie it and it would be done. This is just a 4 blocks, I have done 6 but thought I would show her before going further.

There are some great fabrics here.

This grown pet hereford, whose brother topped last Friday's sale , remembered about being fed and came for a visit...she seemed less than impressed with the sewing but hopefully L's mum will have a higher opinion!

Make my day awards tomorrow, as I am being called to bowl for cricket before it gets too dark, have a great day, Tracey.

12 comments:

Ruth's Place said...

Gorgeous fabrics, and a lovely idea. I credit my friend's mum (and dad) with enabling me to make it safely through my teenage years. Without their house to shelter in and their belief in me I probably would have self-destructed in a big way. Now my aim is to be the friend's mum for my daughter's friends.

Kristie said...

That is such a sweet idea! I'm sure it will be very appreciated and loved. I think the fabrics are great and will probably bring back alot of memories for her.
Kristie

Joyce said...

Good job. When I was a teenager (and there were five of us) my mother woke up one morning to find that there were 17 extra for breakfast! Everyone had brought home a few friends. Lucky we lived on a farm. She made a big vat of oatmeal porridge and we always had lots of milk.

Patti said...

Perfect! String blocks are just the ticket here. Funny thing - these vintage fabrics look almost exactly like what some of the young designers are coming up with these days.

mimi jackson said...

I agree with Patti. Thos evintage fabrics are perfect. As they say, what's old is new again!

loulee said...

What a wonderful idea! I'm sure Ls mum will remember each and every piece of fabric and which daughter got to wear it. Not only will it keep her warm it will be a wonderful reminder of little girls running about the place and teen aged girls laughing and learning their way to adulthood.

Dawn's Daily Journal said...

That is such an awesome idea!! Sometimes as mom's you hope that you are making an impact on those your kids bring home. You love on them...feed them...listen to them..fuss at them. You pass on a little something of yourself every time. This is giving something back to a very special woman and saying thanks. What a lovely, thoughtful person you are!!!
dawn

Christine said...

Love your blog. I have also nominated you for a Make My Day award. Well done. Christine

Laurie said...

The fabrics don't look very old fashioned to me! :)

Susan said...

That's going to be so cheerful! Some of these fabrics fit right in today - what goes around comes back.

Liz said...

Lovely and bright. I'm sure the your friends mum will love it. It may also hold lots of memories when she sees the fabrics again.

Clare said...

It's me! Don't faint with surprise. I love the photos of the quilt models.

It's amazing how what goes around comes around. I wish I hadn't chucked all my 70's stuff out. DD can't believe I did and I keep on getting berated. You just can't win can you!