~SEWING NOTEBOOK FROM GIRL SCOUTS~
About 1969-1970
Who knew?
Honestly...did anyone have a clue...
that the little 11 year old girl
who worked so hard to earn her sewing badge
would one day sew and paint for a living?
If someone had asked me that question when I was just a young girl I'd have said
"NO WAY!"
I despised HomeEc (and Mrs. Wylie despised me!)
Even so...I actually LONGED to fill up my dark green sash with lots and lots colorful badges! But~as my money-conscience daddy once said (after inquiring about earning my camera/picture taking badge) "Becky Sue~I cannot afford to buy you film for a camera I can't afford to buy!" :(
And so...I spent most of my time earning the
"less costly" badges.
You know the kind, right?
Sewing, Painting/Art, etc.
Little did I know those early (and innocent) decisions would one day change the course of my life!
And thanks my Mother and her "You WILL finish what you start, Rebecca" I was FORCED ENCOURAGED to practice, practice, practice ALL those sewing stitches learned way back when...
(I actually think it would have been a good idea if somebody had talked to me about my dreadful speeling spelling...
or at LEAST proofed my work!!!)
This was the FIRST of about a "ga-jillion" buttons I've sewn in place in my life!
I actually remember making this notebook (a badge requirement back then)! I can also tell you I've used all the the techniques I did all those years ago!
Thank-you, Momma, for your simple instructions and for your gentle,faithful teachings.
I will always believe I learned from the best!
It's been a while since I shared this with you...
but it bears repeating...
at least it does to me...
was BY FAR the smartest thing
I ever learned to do!
Today I'm soooo thankful that I had a mother who saw to it that I stayed on track and didn't travel too far from the well-beaten path...
I don't have a picture of me in my Girl Scout uniform but I do have this one I've shown you once before. It was taken back in 1963 or so of my big sister Linda and I when she was a Brownie Girl Scout. My Mom didn't want me to feel left out and so she made me the little brown frock you see above.
She called me "Her Pixie".
Got fabric?
Learn to sew!
You may just love it!
Blessings to you for a lovely day.
Love to you...
22 comments:
LOVE this post and I am goin gto show it to my 8yr old dd who is in the Brownie Guides. But, you know what.. they don't do much sewing or knitting anymore! I was pretty gutted. I'm still goin got show her your post and try and inspire her. xx
This is wonderful! I was in Girl Scouts ... and love it. I have made it a promise to "rescue" any Girl Scout Handbook that I find in an antiques store or old books store. So far there has only been one. Mine was tossed out at some point. So sad! Thanks for sharing this and bringing back some great memories.
Hugs,
Karen
Ladybug Creek
That is so cool.
I was one that loved to sew when I was younger.... I guess I should have kept up with the sewing on the machine through the years... I was much better back then compared to now but then health also complicates things now.
Thanks for sharing this with us.
What a sweet posting today, Rebecca....aren't you glad your wise mother made you stick with the sewing once you started it?? Look where it's taken you today!! I know you have told us often that "money was short" in your formative years, but the love was long and the teachings strong...for look who you are today!!! Your parents did a GOOD
job of raising you and your siblings
and that is saying a LOT in today's world...you are blessed!!!
Big hugs, Francy
Oh my, how sweet! I love your precious little notebook with all of your stitches:) I love the picture of you and your Sister! Sweet parents teaching you the right way, love it! Have a blessed day dear Rebecca! HUGS!
How cute that you still have the notebook. I say that best thing I ever learned was how to drive. My grandma and my mom never drove...so I was the "Wild" one and learned. Opened the world up to all of us!
What a lovely story ~ I too hated sewing when I was younger I can't imagine why!!!
Like you, I collected a lot of Girl Scout Badges. They look so cool! How neat that your skills blossomed into a career.
My mother showed me how to sew when I was in the first grade on her old treadle sewing machine. I still love to sew after all these years and still love the old treadle. You should add one more title to the list of things you do well - writer. The way you write your posts and tell your stories are wonderful.
Brenda
Sewing was one of the best things I ever learned to do too! I taught both my daughters to sew too. And...look what you have done with YOUR talent.
Well, I just found another thing we have in common! Mrs. Dibble was my home-ec teacher and she hated me...and the admiration was mutual. I was the class clown (who'd believe THAT) and one time another girl and I stole a pie the other class baked...lol She never quite dared accuse us but she suspected...there..so now you know...I was a thief in a previous life. Now...here's the kicker...I got the STATE HOME EC award and they had to call a special assembly and the State whoeveritwas came and presented me with a plaque and a pin. I wore that pin every day of life just to tick her off...and she had to sit up there beside me and smile...hahahaha...
I know I'm older than you because I think "Brownies" weren't around when I was young! But I was in 4-H and did very well, with thanks to my grandmother, mother, and a wonder pair of leaders! Now, if only I would retire I'd be "stiching" more!! I have enough fabric to make quite a few quilts and other projects! ♥♫
Oh Rebecca.....will you come over here and teach me how to sew??? :) My grandmother was a wonderful seamtress, making me dresses and frocks while I was child. My mother never wanted to sew, so she never could pass that talent on to me. I have recently seriously thought about purchasing a simple sewing machine just to make some pillow slips, mend hems, etc. You know, that straight no-brainer type of sewing! lol! What type of machine would you recommend for me, girly??
xoxo laurie
I really enjoyed seeing your notebook. How wonderful that you have it!! I was a girl scout but was never as clever as you. And don't have any idea what happened to all my 'stuff'.
Rebecca, You were darling! Such a cutie.
I was a Girl Scout as well.
I remember working so hard to earn those badges.
Your post brought back good memories to me!
God bless,
d
Oh, this was so inspiring! I loved every word and every picture. Isn't it funny how what seems like something that didn't work out, actualy was something that did??? "All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose."
God, no doubt, heard your parents' prayer to bless you and did with all of your talent that YOU enhanced through your dillegent practice. I can hear my father's voice saying the same thing to me, "You always, ALWAYS finish what you start. Stay the course and see it through to the end."
XO,
Sheila :-)
Beautiful post on your childhood..Thanks for sharing with us..I also love to sew..Just need to find the time to do more..Have a wonderful night...Hugs....
Dearest Rebecca,
Very nice childhood memory with a learning curve! Indeed, looking back it looks odd if one had asked back than about what you would be doing later in life. But you had a loving Mom, I would say, with tough love and that will serve you till your grave and you probably did pass it on already. Even you manage to rub some of it off onto your blog readers. You never will know how many ripples such a story might cause. You know, now when the economy is going bad, it serves us well for knowing to work with your hands! For mending, updating or producing entirely something that takes 'stitching'.
Thanks for this tutorial about life!
Lots of love,
Mariette
Too Cute - I'm glad you are sewing & sharing today - It is such a blessing!!
Rebecca, it is wonderful that you kept that notebook as a reminder of good days gone by. And how great that your mom helped you learn all those things that are almost a lost art now. I loved being in the Girl Scouts but only have one picture in my uniform. I so enjoyed hearing about your memories! Thanks for sharing.
what a wonderful post!!! And how precious that you still have these momentos, I don't have any of those things of my childhood. I too was a Scout but never made it that far.
I also had a HomeEc teacher that didn't like me and critiqued (unfavorably) my first sewing attempt on my own, in front of the class.
Well-- My Pixie--
What a surprise to read your post. I always loved this photo of you and Linda. What fun we had during those years.
I do believe Auntie P and I were before our time. The Pixie outfit was before today's "Daisy." I am not sure when the Daisy's were formed, but it was to include Pre-K and Kindergarten girls.
Times have changed but the challenge of Girl Scouts is STILL there.
Note: You should submit this "Memory" to the Girl Scout Council.
Love you-- Momma
How wonderful that you still have your little sewing journal and uniform! LOVE that pic of you and your sister, too! I was a Camp Fire Girl and still have my vest, uniform, and beads! I was sooo NOT into the camping, but more of a sewing and "citizenship" type gal! :0)
Big TX Hugs,
Stephanie
Angelic Accents
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