Lady folks of yesteryear were so creative and thrifty, and they found many ways to “make do” with little.
Our family lived in a cold climate and needed warm clothing for winter. So my mother would go to the Goodwill and buy wool coats, the fabric of which she would recycle. She carefully took the coats apart, washed the pieces of wool, and then, using the reverse side of the fabric (which didn’t show wear), would cut out and sew warm clothing for us kids.
Scraps and pieces of fabric from any sewing project were then used to make patchwork quilts. Little pieces that could not be used for anything else were joined together to make warm bedding. No scrap was ever wasted.
Scraps of yarn left over from knitting sweaters or stockings were likewise used to crochet or knit small squares, which were then joined together to make warm afghans or coverlets.
I remember my mother doing a lot of canning... peaches, pears, cherries, plums, applesauce, also jams and jellies. She was very industrious, and she “preserved” whatever was available at the time.
Her life was a model of creativity and thriftiness, coupled with hard work. She knew how to “make do” in hard times, even through the Depression years. What an inspiration she was.... a wonderful example for all those who knew her.
“She fears not the snow for her family, for all her household are doubly clothed in scarlet.”
Proverbs 31:21 Amplified Bible
”Strength and dignity are her clothing and her position is strong and secure; she rejoices over the future (the latter day or time to come, knowing that she and her family are in readiness for it)!”
Proverbs 31:25 Amplified Bible
“Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates (of the city)!”
Proverbs 31:31 Amplified Bible
© 2014 Arlene Schwartzkopf