“I grew up with people in my family who sewed – my grandmother and my mother. I used to sit very impatiently on my grandmother’s little sewing stool waiting for her to make something for me. I couldn’t wait to learn how to do it. By grade 9, I was making most of my own clothes! I can pretty well figure anything out – I can do zippers, buttons, hems, patches, darning…
My grandmother grew up in a very comfortable home, she was the youngest of many kids and because her father had a good income, she didn’t really have to do anything around the house. But when she married and had 5 kids, the depression hit. She had to learn very quickly how to make do with whatever she could. She learned how to make everything – from bras and underwear to snowsuits and blankets – whatever was needed. She made tool aprons for my grandfather who was a carpenter. She had to learn very quickly how to do all that because there was no money. People would give her clothing, for example, a coat, and she would turn it into a coat for one of her children.”