Flinging baby clothes (or not…)
I am flinging1 but I am sorting very carefully. (And I love hearing what others have done with their grown-up children’s baby clothes.)
When I referred to The Comm as a fiber artist in her obituary, there were actually a few people who were surprised. I had to explain that I grew up listening to the whirring of a Singer sewing machine and watching her thread her loom. I remember when I wanted a bride dress for my Barbie doll. I looked for the Barbie bride dress in the Sault Ste. Siberia Kresge store for weeks. No luck. The Commander finally engineered a fancy bride dress and accessories for my Barbie. (And make no mistake, making clothing for a Barbie doll (or anyone, really) is a feat of engineering.) And then she helped *me* make a fancy Japanese-style robe for Barbie. I think we hand-sewed it.
The Commander made a lot of clothes for me and she made my first formal dress. We made an expotition over to Canada to buy the fabric and trim at The Textile Shop on Queen Street. I was a high school sophomore and I went to the military ball (yes, really) with my bad boyfriend and I actually looked rather beautiful that night in that dress. Somehow my unruly hair and usually acne-ravaged face lived up to my dress that night. And he liked me that night. I heard that he even told his mother that… But… Anyway, I have gotten rid of my other formal dresses but I still have that one. I remember one night when the Beach Urchins were teenagers and I got all nostalgic and maudlin about my loooverrly formal and showed it to them. They were not impressed. Oh well. Someday maybe I will have hipster-raised granddaughters (or grandsons, hee hee!) who will wear my old formal. (They’ll have to be skinny — no way I could wear that thing now.)
When I started to have children, The Commander made a gazillion sweaters for my babies (usually with matching hats and blankets). Like the pink sweater Liz is wearing in the photo… I will not be throwing those out.
In general, I am being careful about what I get rid of. That is maybe a long story but I am definitely keeping things that were handmade by The Commander and some other things that I remember with fondness.
1 Flinging does not necessarily mean throwing stuff into the trash. I am donating all of this stuff. Except for the stuff that *belongs* in the trash.
March 7th, 2012 at 8:22 pm
I have the clothes that each of my children wore home from the hospital. Datura did wear Susie’s dress a few times. I also have a dress that originally belonged to Sally. I have a picture of Sally, Sheila Susie, Dot , and Lillian all wearing that dress. Sally has a baby dress that she was wearing in a picture and Lillian had her picture taken in the same dress too. I have some prom dresses that I made for my girls that I saved.
I guess there are some things that you just can’t part with.
March 7th, 2012 at 8:37 pm
I forgot! I found a baby bunting in FL in my dads condo that my mom had packed away. I recognized it as a family heirloom (of sorts) and brought it home. I recently gave the bunting (that GG and UU were in when they came home from the hospital) to Chris C. They took a picture of Brody in that bunting. Of course, if or when Liz and Mouse have children, the babies should be pictured in Grandpa’s bunting too.
March 7th, 2012 at 9:28 pm
You are just organizing, not flinging. Flinging requires a dumpster. 😉
March 8th, 2012 at 5:40 am
I need to fling. But not sure how to do it with the Engineer’s “colections”…
March 8th, 2012 at 7:50 am
Was that formal the dark green one with bands of gold trim? I remember that one.
March 8th, 2012 at 9:42 am
Nope. This one was way more loverly (aka “campy”).