Blue Suit

Today as I was finishing the last of my mother's boxes, I encountered an item that brought back a lot of memories.

Actually, as I have been doing these 10 final boxes of hers, I have been steeped in memories, plus items that predate me, plus a lot of junk. It's lovely to have a place like Deseret Industries to donate unwanted stuff to!

And before I start about the blue suit, I want to make this categorical statement: storing precious things in a box for 60 or more years does not add to their beauty. Moth doth corrupt, etc.

But about the blue suit:

It turns out that Nana had some items that I would not have associated with her. For example, she had probably 50 handkerchiefs, all pristine (except for the 60 years) and most quite lovely. I know she was fond of textiles and this was part of that love, I suspect. Another example is her collection of gloves.

I never saw my mother wear gloves! Or maybe on Easter. But she had many many lovely pairs. I have given a lot of them to DI, because they are too small for me, and still in beautiful shape. I have saved a more exotic dress-uppy sort of pair for a granddaughter. Among them all I found a pair of my own gloves.

They are in perfect condition. I know I had gloves as a child (beyond the ones for playing in the snow) and then I had these, and one other pair. (Come to think of it, I had to wear white gloves to dancing school, but these were a different sort, a lighter weight, purely decorative.)

These gloves I found today are white. I recognized them immediately. They are for a middle-school sized girl. I wore them with the blue suit I made for Easter when I was in Grade 8 or 9.

This blue suit was one of the fanciest things I had made at that point. It had a relatively straight skirt, calf-length, of medium blue wool. The jacket was of the same fabric, short, with big blue buttons up the front. What made the sewing a challenge is that it had a 'waistband' at the bottom (of the jacket), so all the fullness of the jacket needed to be captured smoothly into the waistband. Then to complicate matters, the back had a huge pleat in it from yoke to waistband that gave the jacket some fulness in the back. Whether the jacket had a collar I don't remember.

I have a photo somewhere of me wearing it. I had on a white blouse and the white gloves I found today. I thought I'd hold onto the gloves. The suit is no doubt long-gone.

I don't remember the clothes we bought, but I do remember the ones I made. I just wanted to share the joy I had in creating that suit. That's why I'm keeping the gloves.