Random reminder

Press, 13 March 1980, Page 28

Random reminder

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

One material in the new summer fabrics display caught her eye. It had her favourite colours in an unusual pattern. She bought a dress length and went quickly to her dressmaker only to find she was just out of hospital and bad such a backlog of work she could take no more till the autumn. Her customer decided to make up the material herself. Other women did so and there seemed to be no reason why she could not succeed. Back at the department store, she searched through the pattern books, finally choosing a plain button through style with a small collar.

Hurrying home all keyed up to make a start, she laid out the pattern on the material on the dining room table. As the house was not geared for dressmaking, she was short of pins sb the collar was omitted for the time being. After cutting out the rest, she marked out the position of /±e buttonholes on the right front and straight away took it to the nearest dress accessory shop where she persuaded the owner to make the job urgent.

As soon as she had the house to herself next morning, she began to work on the garment. Darts were made in the back and under the arms on the fronts.

Her enthusiasm was carrying her along wonderfully when she had to push her sewing to the end of the. table and get a meal quickly for one of her men folk who had to catch the next plane to Wellington at short notice.

After he left she thought she would cut out the collar in the few minutes she had before setting the table for, lunch. In her haste she did not find a piece big enough to cut both layers so placed one scrap on top of a triangular bit sticking out of £he piled up material. After lunch and she was again alone, she found she had cut the under collar from the buttonholed frontFrenzied efforts to remedy her mistake failed. She rolled the lot up, tied it firmly with some selvadge edge and •threw it in exasperation into the back of her odds and ends cupboard. Last spring the weather was so good she caught the spring cleaning fever in no mild form. A request from a certain organisation for used clothing, scraps for patchwork and so on met with such a response she found she had a cupboard to spare. Christmas morning dawned, all the family had come home, she was at' peace with the world. The turkey in the oven smelt good. The Chritmas Tree ceremony began. She was delighted with her gifts. The parcel she opened last was a small soft one, containing a waist apron. The gift card had P.T.O. written on the bottom right hand corner. Looking slightly dazed, she did so. She read: “I saw this on a stall in the Square and felt it had to be for you — something new and different in your favourite colours. The buttonholes on the waist band arid even one on the pocket just set if- off, don’t you think?” ~ ■