Wednesday, Mar. 9, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | The fabric of our existence
By RONDA RICH The other day I went to a fabric store. I use that term loosely since the store consisted of a few bolts of fabric scattered among a vast inventory of lamps, pillows, furniture and pocket books. I like purses just as much as any Southern woman but I prefer to buy them at the purse store, not at the fabric store. I like to buy fabric at the fabric store. Are you getting out of the cloth business? I asked the clerk. She looked stunned by the silliness of the question. No, she replied firmly. Not at all. It certainly had fooled me. I have been sewing since I was 6 when I designed a green silk tunic for my Barbie. It was crudely made but the beginning of something wonderful, the power of controlling my wardrobe and not depending strictly on stores for style, color and size. When Mama sewed, I would stand behind her in the chair and watch carefully. I became a 4-H sewing champ but then, after years of home-made clothes, I moved on to the world of outrageous prices and certain alterations. I like to stay in practice, though, so I sew something new each season. Sewing was once an art taught to Southern women, but it is now unraveling from the fabric of our existence. I have tried to keep the faith. I even demonstrated my optimism for women who would continue to sew by investing in the Singer Sewing Machine Company a few years ago. My first tiny sewing machine was a Singer as was my first adult one. It was a sentimental buy, I agree. After the company went bankrupt and I lost the full investment, I learned to keep sentiment out of investments. But who on earth would have ever thought that the Singer Sewing Machine Company would come apart at the seams? Not any rural Southern woman, I can tell you that for sure. Those who sew have gone the way of shade-tree mechanics. Women have quit sewing and men have quit working on their own cars. That is the only logical explanation for why a fabric store would carry a majority of items other than cloth and notions. Excuse me a minute while I kick off my high heels and climb up on my soapbox. This is dangerous. As a country, we have to stop the constant practice of depending on others to do everything for us from changing light bulbs to changing diapers to changing the oil in the car to changing the air conditioner filter. Its changing us from independent to completely dependent. Thats not good. Its okay if you hire someone to do something for you as long as you dont use it as an excuse not to learn how to do it yourself. Otherwise, you increase your vulnerability in life. Ill give you an example. My skirts always have to be shortened. Its easier to pin them up and give them to Mama for alteration than to do it myself. She, however, appointed herself guardian over the proper length of my skirts. As a result, they started coming back an inch longer than they were pinned. I thought that I would outsmart her so I started pinning them up two inches shorter, thinking that when she added her inch, the length would be perfect. But they returned to me, two inches longer. Finally, I decided to take matters into my own hands, hands which I equipped with needle and thread. If I couldnt sew, I would be at her complete mercy. I may not have a lot of power in life but its nice to know that, at least, I have power over my hemlines. |
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