Here they are: My grandma Wilhelmine and my aunt Gudrun: heroines of my first sewing experiences.
When I was a child I used to spend days in aunt Gudrun's studio where I admired the colourful spools of thread, the huge heaps of cutting-patterns and I saw all the people passing by to have something made by her. She also had a wonderful collection of buttons wich I lined up on her huge Persian rug. She made wonderful clothes for her daughter's Barbie and she was the only one who supported my love for Tartan Mini-skirts and the like. Over the years she made so many things for me and even made my dress for my first ball at the dancing school. I remember my skirts and vests made out of leather-patchwork - very Hippie-chic.
So the humming of her sewing machine and her Overlock was always with me.
My other heroine lived next door, only separated by a huge vegetable-garden under one roof with me and my parents: my Grandma Wilhelmine. She taught me that you have all the time in the world when you are sewing something. She made everything by hand and I still have one of her lace-pillows, a beautifully embroidered table cover and some bed linen with delicate embroidery. She had cousins and friends who specialized in different crafts: One was a dentelle-crocheter, one was a hole-embroider and so on. I have all these heirlooms still with me wherever I live and I love them dearly. She also had a beautiful button collection (just in case you might need one...) and i loved rearranging her sewing-box with all these tiny compartments.
No surprise that I started sewing when I became a mum. They both don't live any more but they will be present in all the things I make...
