# 11 The Tale of the Torn Dress
Hi Friends, It's Gloria of Golden Bucket Farm. If you would rather listen than read, click the link above. Now please sit back and enjoy today's story, "The Tale of the Torn Dress".
This is a picture of HeHimself's mother and her two sisters when they were little girls. His mom was the eldest. All three were devoted to the Lord, their families, and each other. Today I share a remembrance from their younger years, actually from the day before this photograph was taken.
HeHimself's grandma, the mother of these three lovely ladies, was a talented baker, seamstress, quilter, and crocheter. Grandma has long since gone to be with the Lord, but our family still treasures her beautiful handwork, especially the many quilts she created. She also sewed clothes for her girls, including the pretty dresses they are wearing in the picture. Today's story has to do with those very dresses.
Grandma and Grandpa lived on a farm when the girls were young. The family worked long and hard each day. Once her daily duties was completed, Grandma often sat up late into the night doing her fancywork. This time the project was to make a dress for her youngest daughter, as she wanted the girls to have frocks of matching fabric in a photograph soon to be taken.
The little dress turned out splendidly, as you can see. The next day Grandma set about washing the two older girls' dresses so they would look fresh for the picture-taking session the following day. The fabric was a silk crepe which needed special handling. After giving the garments a careful hand wash and rinse, Grandma took them out to the clothesline to dry. Giving each a gentle shake, she pinned the dresses by the shoulders to the line and began smoothing the fabric so it would dry straight and even.
To her horror, as she worked with the skirt of her middle daughter's dress, the delicate silk split, leaving a gaping slit in the front of the gown. In tears Grandma returned to the house, her mind racing as to how she might salvage the dress in time for the picture appointment. She had neither material enough to make another dress, nor funds enough to purchase more. All she had were the scraps left over from the making of the third little dress.
Creative thinker that she was, Grandma decided to sew the leavings together to see how much material she could come up with. As she worked at her sewing machine a solution to her problem slowing formed in her mind. In the end she decided to make a ruffled trim embellishment for the front of the dress.
After the frocks were dry, Grandma carefully mended the damaged one, bringing the raw fabric edges together the best she could. Next she applied the frilly trim, hiding the repair beneath. Although it kept her up until the wee hours, when Grandma finally dropped off to sleep, three charming dresses hung ready for the big day.
The middle sister was so pleased with the new trimming on her dress. The picture-taking went well, as you can see from the photograph. The tale of the torn dress has been told down through the years as a testament to Grandma's love, devotion, and terrific problem-solving skills. Hopefully it will inspire you too, when faced with an unexpected difficulty. As we in the crafting world say, "There are no mistakes in crafting, only opportunities for more embellishments." I think Grandma would agree.
Bye for now. Blessings on your day, Gloria
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