Skip to main content

Dedicated to Mom

My Mom, Barbara Atkinson
Hello again!  I've been missing from the blogosphere for a few months.  My Mother was ill and passed away in January.  She was 85, and I was fortunate to have had her in my life for so long, but it is still hard to say goodbye.  Things are slowly getting back to normal.

I was blessed with a Mom that shared with me a myriad of her talents.  Since this is a sewing blog, I will focus here just on one of those talents.  I owe all of my sewing ability to my Mom.  She taught me from the time that I was 8 years old until I was 18.  There were a lot of trips to the fabric store, long days of sewing for 4-H competitions, and many, many times when she ripped out my mistakes, so I wouldn't have to. 

I know that she was proud of my sewing, and before she passed away, I got a chance to show her what I'd been working on.  I was putting together a capsule wardrobe with shades of aqua, cream and black, with a few touches of magenta.  I was using deluxe fabrics including lots of silks and woolens.  Her favorite color was aqua, and she thought it was all so beautiful.  I'm so happy that she got to see it. 

So, I'm dedicating this wardrobe capsule to my Mom.  I'll think of her every time I wear something from it.  I'll be posting about each item over the next few weeks, but here's a sneak peak of everything: 


I've made:
2 knit tunics
1 silk button front shirt
1 fleece zip jacket
1 wool cardigan
4 dresses
1 pair of pants
and one coat. 

Other items in my closet that will work with this capsule include a black leather skirt, cream denim jeans, black boots, grey boots, black turtleneck, teal tights, black leggings, and various scarves and jewelry. 

It's a snow day here, and my husband is annoyed that I'm blogging, instead of shoveling with him, so I will begin posting about each item tomorrow.

Happy Sewing!

Ann

Comments

  1. My thoughts are with you, Ann, and your family and all those who loved your mom. My mom is 85, in hospice care, I am struggling to blog as well. Thank you so very much for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Coco. You will be in my thoughts, too, at this difficult time for you.

      Delete
  2. May you continue to be strengthened. If like me, you'll often think of her as you're sewing. Your wardrobe is wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Dorothy. You are so right. I have many happy memories to sustain me.

      Delete
  3. I am so sorry for your loss. Thanks for sharing how your mom influenced your sewing and may these happy thoughts help you through this time. I love your wardrobe, can't wait to see each piece.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Even when it is their time to go and they have had a long life it is still hard for those left behind. It was good that you did get to show her your latest makes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for sharing your mom with us. Very heartwarming tribute to her and what she imparted to you. Eager to see your posts about individual items in wardrobe.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ann- I am so sorry to hear about your mom. My mom was/is my sewing and DIY muse as well. You continue honoring her every day by being YOU.
    Bernadette

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Bernadette. That is so sweet of you to say.

      Delete
  7. I is so hard to lose our Mothers, I am sorry to hear that you have lost yours. I lost my dear Mama last year @ 86 yrs old. She taught me a love of sewing at a young age, something that I have to remember her by each time I sit at my sewing machine. I love your wardrobe capsule, beautiful. Thank you for sharing your love of your Mom and your sewing pursuits. I have just found you via Pattern Review! Kitty Ann in NC

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kitty Ann. It sounds like we had similar growing up experiences- weren't we lucky! I have a kitty that looks like yours too.

      Delete
  8. Ann, Sorry for your loss. Even though my mom was not a sewer, I remember a skirt she made for me when I was in the fourth grade. It was for a play I was in that took place during the Frontier time. She used a plain white bed sheet and a cut-up purple and white old gingham dress I had out grown. She didn't use a pattern. I thought it was the prettiest thing...Many years later I made her a Christmas present...a maroon jogging suit. She didn't run, she just was always cold. Because the sewing machine was in our living room I had to sew it right under her nose(the same place she made my skirt). When she asked me what I was making I told her it was "warm-ups". Because I danced she assumed they were for me. She was quite surprised when she opened her present and saw what was in the box. She wore her outfit often. My Mom said good-bye 5 years ago this April...I still miss her...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for sharing your story. Showing love through sewing- that's a wonderful thing!

      Delete
  9. I'm so sorry for your loss Ann. Thank you for sharing your capsule wardrobe - it is definitely a beautiful tribute to your dear mom.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for visiting my blog! I would love to hear your opinions! Please share your comments here.

Popular posts from this blog

What to Wear in Madagascar

To be honest, I have no idea what to wear in Madagascar, and this title may need to be changed to "what NOT to wear in Madagascar" in a few months.  We will have to wait and see.  My 22 year old daughter, Alyssa, left for the Peace Corps this week, and she will be stationed in Madagascar for the next 2 years and 3 months.  Yes, you read that right- TWO YEARS and three months!!! We are very proud of her for wanting to help make the world a better place, and for being fearless in doing so, but it will be a looooong time for Mama and Papa back home. Not knowing anything about Madagascar, the first step in figuring out what to pack was to figure out the weather and the cultural norms.  Madagascar is a very large island off the southeastern coast of Africa.  It's very, very unique in it's ecosystem, and has many species that are not found anywhere else in the world- most famously lemurs. Right now, it is experiencing it's rainy season, as you can see by the

Vogue 9305 Asymmetrical Tunics

It's April and we're expecting snow tonight.  Have we switched hemispheres?  Nevertheless, I am sewing with visions of warm sunny days.  And for those warm sunny days to come, I imagine sitting in the shade with a light breeze flowing through the air, enjoying a light beverage with friends.  Just close your eyes and you can imagine too.  What would you be wearing?  Well,  I love a dramatic asymmetrical tunic made of the softest linen.  As luck would have it, I found just the fabric in the "As Is" section in Fabric Mart's sales category.  With just some irregular dye marks on the selvage, it was marked down, but still completely usable.  It started out as a solid color, but I did an ombre dip dye process to get this look- more on that later! For my pattern, I chose Vogue 9305 , a tunic with a shaped hemline, and two styles of pants (I didn't make the pants).   This pattern must be the biggest bang for your time possible.  The tunic went tog

Grey Cashmere Coat Simplicity 3672

For the past few months, Fabric Mart has had the most gorgeous array of Michael Kors Wool Blend Coatings that I have ever seen!  During COVID stay at home time, I've been letting my gray grow out, and I thought that even though some of the delicious sounding shades like apricot and apple green would be beautiful, the heathered gray shade would be the most flattering to my gray hair and the most versatile for a winter coat.  And it was one of the coatings that listed Cashmere as one of the fiber components, so I was curious as to how that would feel.