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| Mid-century baby in bassinet |
This is it! September is here -- the magic month in which Little Guy, our new grandson, is due to arrive. Or, he could decide to wait until October, as his mother predicts. Such is the way with babies. His mom is now enjoying her month of prenatal maternity leave. She just bought a used Baby Bjorn bassinet which she and Nick will repair.
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| Mid-century baby on bathinet |
Last evening, a family walked past our house pulling a 2-year-old in a rickety old wagon lined with a blanket. The round-faced, dark-haired little boy was taking in the sights. I was reminded of the wagon we bought in anticipation of our family walks.
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| 1950s |
In sewing blankets for Little Guy, I have watched video tutorials to review
mitered corners and learn to work with those soft minky / cuddle knits. I let
Man Sewing show me how to hem gauze for swaddle blankets. And as I merrily machine
stitched the hems, leaving the bobbin thread on the right side of the fabric, I
could feel my mother’s disapproval from somewhere over my 1shoulder. “Hemming
should be done by hand,” she says, as Grandma Portfors and Aunt Bessie nod in approval.
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| 1950s |
“Things have changed, Mother,” I say to myself. “We don’t have time for that.”
And it’s true. We don’t have time. Most sewing gurus today promote more casual techniques than those practiced by the sewists of yesteryear. But it’s not just the time. I know that within months Little Guy won’t need these blankets, and they will find other uses – or other babies. They will be serviceable wherever they land. What more did we want?
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| 1965 |
Sixty
years ago, one of my sisters had a summer baby, and of course, we didn't know
the baby’s gender in advance of the birth. Mother bought some lovely white
seersucker patterned with pastel pink and blue balloons. She made a kimono
(gown with front ties) and a matching wrapper (blanket) and embroidered the hems
with
variegated floss. Such a lovely set! Of course, it looked feminine and the
baby was a boy. He wore it anyway to his first doctor’s appointment, and someone
remarked to my sister that she had dressed him like a girl.
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| A fleet of old Tonkas waits for Little Guy |
5 comments:
Kudos to you for sewing with minky and that gauze stuff!! Love the pictures of tiny you. I had a bathinet, too; it must have been a must-have for mid-century babies. I don't know how Mom and Dad fit it into their tiny cottage.
Chris, have you sewn with minky and gauze? It wasn't difficult once I got onto it. The minky fabric is so wonderfully soft, but it evidently requires special care in the laundry. I wondered about that, but Hallie said it wasn't a problem for her. he stuff really is rather forgiving, I think.
No, I haven't tried either. I only have the grand-nephews (and one grand-niece) to sew for so I do the quilts and flannel bibs. Maybe if I get great-grandchildren in the next ten years I'll expand my horizons. Maybe. Glad you've found them workable.
One correction: Hallie will repair the bassinet, but it's not really broken, it's just missing some screws. You remove the screws for compact storage, but a person must have a plan so as not to permanently lose said screws.
Tonka trucks are fun! Where did you get them?
Hi Hallie!
I only knew the bassinet was missing screws and that the company had agreed to send you replacements.
And Chris -- I remember seeing our bathinet, so it was around for a while when I was little, but I think it was a superfluous piece of equipment. I bathed mine in the kitchen sink. But I also had a doll-sized bathinet. The plastic eventually tore and it got tossed.
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