Anyway, moving on. I spent the whole day today catching up on my cross stitch project for my granddaughter. I haven't done any handwork for over a week. Now I am almost finished, which is good because I need to finish it before Thanksgiving. That way she can hang it "by the chimmney with care"!
While I was working away, I used my little scissors to snip my threads many times.
While using these wonderful little scissors, I notice that the hanger that I fashioned out of bias tape was getting pretty grimy again. So I removed the bias tape and went to the bathroom sink to wash it. WASH IT?? You are probably thinking, just throw it away and make a new one . . .it's just a scrap of bias tape!
But, in the back of my mind my frugal ancestors, grandmothers and mother are saying . . . no! no! no! Go wash it! And wash it I did! LOL!
While washing it, I was remembering my shoes when I was a little girl. I grew up wearing "Buster Brown" white, lace up, leather, high top shoes. Most of the kids wore them when I was little. One of my chores every week was to wash my white shoelaces. Every time my parents would buy me a new pair, I would also get 2 pkgs. of white shoe laces. That would give me 5 pair shoelaces. 2 in each pkg. and the pair that came with the shoes.
My job was to keep my shoes clean and change my shoelaces every night. So before I went to bed I had to wipe my shoes with a damp cloth. That would keep them clean for another day. On Wednesday night I was to polish them with the white shoe polish, after wiping them with a damp washcloth of course. The damp washcloth would get rid of the dirt and grime from the day's use. That would keep the shoe polish applicator more clean. The dirty shoe laces went into the old shoe box to keep them from getting lost.
Wednesday night, after wiping and polshing my shoes, I would collect my shoe laces from the old shoe box and wash them in the bathroom sink. After washing and rinsing several times until they were white as sheets, I would scrape them with the dull edge of an old butter knife that was in the old shoe box for that purpose. This would squeeze almost all the water out of the shoelaces so much that they felt almost dry. This guaranteed that they would be dry the next morning and ready to be used. Of course, the last step was the final inspection . . .by my mother! If they passed I was done, if not, back to the sink!
Now days, I think kids only use the "shoestrings" until they rot and then they throw them away and buy new ones. Of course by that time the shoes are usually worn out too! They are not leather!
I remember those buster browns lasted so long that we could hand them down to someone that was smaller than me and didn't have the money to buy them. Of course those shoes must have been handed down several times. You know how fast little kids grow out of their clothes and shoes.
I remember my "Mary Janes" were especially new because I only used those for Sundays or parties. So I probably used them 4 or 5 times and they wouldn't fit me anymore.
Remember "Mary Janes"?? Of course that name doesn't mean the same nowadays as it did when I was little. I used to love them in black or white patent leather. One year I got a pair of pink ones. . . I was in love!!!!
Oh to be little and have those pink patent leather "Mary Janes" again!
Meanwhile . . . keep on quilting!
Aveli
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