Chapter 9
Gabby and Julie looked around the attic for Gabby’s great-mother’s sewing trunk and chest. They had already found the dress and other patterns then had taken them down to the sewing room. They were just about to give up when Gabby spotted them behind several other boxes.
“I thought Laurie said that they would be easy to find.” Julie quipped.
They moved the boxes and found not only the sewing supplies but also several cedar trunks with remnants and other old fabrics. In one corner were seamstresses’ dummies. Gabby smiled when she saw them. “They’re antique but they deserve d to be used.”
“Your great-grandma was a seamstress. She worked from this place. Back then, people could work from their homes. She was the only seamstress in the area. Thinks to the local Victorian community there is a real need for more.”
Gabby nodded, “I made dresses and petticoats for the Vics and Goths at my school. I bet I could make some extra money here too.”
“Oh you will, most of the members of The Kirk High school and The Appleton cheerleading teams make their own clothes and would appreciate a good seamstress.”
“I even have an old style sewing machine, so my clothes will be just like the ones Caitlin Vane made.”
Julie went and got Debbie and Barbara to help. They brought the chests down to the sewing room.
Gabby looked over the old sewing tools. There were crocheting hooks, embroidery hooks and knitting needles. She picked up a pair of scissors and tested them. “They are sharp as a razor.”
She picked up an old soda bottle. “What is this for?”
Peggy laughed, “There should be a cork with some holes in it somewhere in there. It serves two purposes. It is used for ironing out cloth and for sharpening the scissors.”
Debbie opened one of the chests and wrinkled her nose, “What’s that smell?”
Julie laughed. “Moth balls. Remove the fabrics and then remove them. The fabrics shouldn’t have any moth-holes in it. They also shouldn’t have the smell on them.”
The girls removed all the fabrics. Their eyes widen when they looked at the cloth. Gabby looked at her grandaunt and grandmother, “Most of this is homespun and it looks like it has just been made.” All these intricate patterns were done on a hand loom?”
Peggy nodded, “I can still see my mom weaving it. It’s made from cotton. Not all-modern fabric can stand the test of time. I suspect that Laura has been taking good care of it.”
“I take them out, wash them, dry them outside on an old fashion clothesline and then iron them. I do it on All Saints Day and April Fool’s Day. I’m sorry I should have told you that there were some boxes in front of all sewing supplies, the sewing chests and the trunk.”
Debbie opened a large cedar box. She held up some embroidery patterns, “They’re red and white patterns. Gabby, can I use these on quilting squares?”
Gabby nodded, “Why do you think she kept them for, to look at?”
Laura laughed, “Are there any Christmas patterns?”
“There are several. What are you planning?” Debbie said.
“I want to make an heirloom quilted runner for the dining room table. We each select different patterns and make squares and I will quilt them.” Laura explained.
“We have plenty of white, red, silver and gold fabrics. I don’t know how to use these kinds of patterns.” Gabby said.
Peggy smiled, “Just trace the pattern on the square using carbon paper and use an outline stitch to embroider it. We have plenty of turkey red thread for the white cloth.”
“Ok that will be easy. Let’s get started.” Gabby said.
Debbie laid out the Christmas patterns on the TV tables so that Laura could select hers first. Laura selected nativity patterns. “Mine will be in the center of the runner. The table is 12 feet long and 4 feet wide so accounting for 2 inch binding that means we each need to make four small four-by four-inch squares and stitch them in one eight by eight-inch square. That makes it 7 feet long by 8 inches wide. Do we need to make it longer and wider? ” Laura said.
“Well that sounds about right to me.” Mary said.
Laura nodded, “We need a place for matching place mats. So that works for me.”
Gabby forehead wrinkled, “Which would be, say about twelve inches wide and fourteen inches long.”
Barbara smiled and looked at Laura, “I’m not good with math but I could calculate that in my head. I guess it’s all a matter of what use you put it to. That means that we need to make the place mats one unit. We have some large Christmas Red and white templates”
Laura nodded, “Mind over math. Barbara, could you please cut my squares for me?”
“Aunt Laurie, just don’t get use to it.” Barbara laughed.
Meg stopped Barbara, “Laurie can cut her own squares. She needs to exercise that back.”
Laura Laughed and stood up. She traced out the patterns and skillfully cut them.
Gabby looked through the old dress patterns. Some of the names of the companies she did not even recognize. She found one that she liked and carefully removed it. The paper was in good shape but she took some butcher paper from the supply cabinet.
Peg came over and looked at Gabby, “You are just like me. The reason that these patterns are in such good shape is because I used butcher paper, newspaper, and old grocery sacks to trace them on.”
“I am a talented seamstress at least that is what the Goths and Vics at my old school would tell me. I have never used a dressmaker’s dummy before. Is it similar to using a friend?”
Peggy laughed, “The only difference is that you don’t have to worry about the pins with the dummy. Are you thinking of doing the same thing here?”
“Well if I can. I have to put our farm and the family farm first.” Gabby said.
“Well with all your cousins working with you I think you will manage it.” Mary said.
“The Program Girls will be glad to help you.” Debbie said.
“The program girls?” Gabby asked.
“The cheerleaders at Kirk and Appleton High. I honestly don’t know how those girls can take all the pressure. Those programs place personal growth above competition. They have to keep a 4.0 grade average and 72 hours of community service a month.” Julie said,
“They have a large support group. They are graduates but they considered themselves still members of the team. I’ve looked at the program’s website and have tried to apply their rules to myself. Believe me; the Elders have helped me a lot the last couple of years. Heather Beeker was the one that pushed me to start my writing group.” Barbara explained.
“They consider you a member?” Gabby asked.
“They consider any young woman, or young man for that matter, that applies their principles their teammates. There are at least twenty other programs across the country that have sprung from the Kirk Program. It is considered the mother ship.” Debbie said.
“Are you trying to do the same thing Babs is doing?” Laura asked.
Debbie nodded, “It has made me look beyond myself and see that the world doesn’t revolve around me.”
Barbara nodded, “We want people to see that a teenage girl can be focused on something more than the latest gossip girl craze.”
Meg looked at them, “God knows that we could use more of that kind of thinking.”
Julie looked downcast at hearing her daughters. “I should have been their role model and not a stranger.” She thought.
Laura could tell what her twin was thinking. “Julie, you’ve made some mistakes but you and Ric are back together now. You can’t erase the past year but you can move forward and be the mother that Babs and Debbie can look up to.”
“Mom, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You and Dad may have made a mess of things but we’ve never stopped respecting either of you.” Debbie said.
Julie smiled and started leafing through the patterns. She found some snowmen and one of a family gathering just right for a place mat. Barbara eyes lit up when she found a shepherd and an angel. They were small for a single block. Her creative eye could see them as one. She traced them on a sheet of butcher paper and then on her blue and gold square. She slowly embroidered the scene as she listened to everyone around her.
Mary looked around the room and felt someone standing next to her. “Landsakes man, leave me be and go down to the wood shop.” She thought to herself.
She felt her late husband leave the room and she thought she heard him chuckle.
Barbara cut her squares as she hummed the fairy song. She felt more at peace than she had in a year. She felt whole and ready to face any challenge. The Farm would be one of them but she knew that nothing could stand in her way.
The girls were raised with the motto work before play. She wondered if she could talk her parents into buying one of Laura’s and Hanks farms. She thought about Gabby wanting to be a seamstress and knew she had the talent to be one too.
“Gabby, me and Deb can help you with all the seamstress work you will have.” She said.
“That’s a great idea Sis; we can make some extra money that will help with our school supplies.” Debbie agreed.
“Well if the community here is like back home I will need it. But what about your other interests?” Gabby asked.
“I can still pursue my art and Babs still can pursue her writing. In fact if Faith will let me use her camera I want to get a picture of the front of the farm house and paint a still life of it.” Debbie replied.
“That’s in awful big piece of cake you’ve bit off.” Peggy quipped.
“With everyone helping I know we can handle it.” Gabby said with conviction.
Mary looked at her, “Spoken with that kind of conviction I’m not worried about that.”
Debbie found some emerald green material and found an old dress pattern that she liked. It was from the late forties but the design was fresh enough to girls her age. Following Gabby’s example, she traced on butcher paper. “Gabby, can you take my measurements?” She asked her cousin.
“Have you forgotten yours?” Gabby laughed.
“I might have put on some weight so I want to make sure the size is just right.” Debbie replied.
“Well I can’t tell if you have.” Barbara quipped, “In fact you seemed to have lost some recently.”
Debbie nodded, “I’ve been watching my portions recently.”
Laura laughed, “I’ve been noticing. Two slices of my Christmas cakes and the other goodies every day.”
Debbie started giggling, “I was below my normal weight. That’s why I’ve been such a pig.”
“That my sister’s story and she is sticking to it.” Barbara teased.
Once Debbie traced the patterns, she put the originals back. Debbie was a skillful seamstress and it did not take her but few hours to make her new dress. She looked at the clock, “Almost time to start lunch,” she said. “I’ll start on my placemat afterwards.”
“Well you worked pretty fast on that dress and it matches the color of your eyes.” Julie said.
“Oh it is going to need some nip and tucks here and there for a perfect fit.” Debbie laughed.
“You can do that on the dummies.” Gabby replied.
“Good idea.” Debbie replied.
“Well we need more than place mats and table runners. We need coasters and napkins also.” Tiffany told them.
“Can I have the Coasters for the parlor?” Gabby asked Laura.”
Laura nodded, “It that is what you want. What are you planning?”
Gabby smiled, “Sugarplum fairies.”
“Oh that will match the wooden garland that Uncle Tom and dad made.” Tiffany said.
She was glad the young girls had taken to the spirit of the place. They were practical and yet could at last see the beauty and magic of life. She wondered how the boys were taking to it.
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