Meet the Ladies.... and Garbage Slippers

     I feel God blessed me with three grandmothers; Nana, Grandma and Aunt Tillie.  Grandma and Great Aunt Tillie were sisters-in-law and lived all of their married lives in the same duplex.  Aunt Til and Uncle John lived upstairs and Grandma and Grandpa lived down.  It all happened because Grandma's brother married Grandpa's sister. And from that moment on the two ladies were inseparable. 

     They were very religious and supported their church in every way they could with their time, talent and treasure.  And their talents were in sewing.  Everything they made, they sold. And all the profits went to their little church, Hope Chapel.  

     Whenever you visited the ladies you would find Aunt Til upstairs sewing  aprons and  quilts and knitting "garbage slippers".  And you would find Grandma downstairs crocheting afghans, making sock monkeys and knitting "garbage slippers".   

            These are garbage slippers.  

     I believe they are the last pair in existence.  We (my cousins, my siblings and myself) all had a pair or two.  You either loved garbage slippers or you hated them.  I loved them!! You could throw them in the washer and dryer.  And when they came out, clean and warm, the stretchiness was gone and they cuddled your feet like a glove.  Some of my siblings hated them because you could slip and slide on the hardwood floors if you weren't careful. A small price to pay for such comfort.  

     This is how they got their name.......Grandma and Aunt Til had a niece, Lois, who held huge garage sales every year.  She stored her "stuff" in Grandma's garage.  This garage sale merchandise came from tree lawns and curbs on garbage day.  One day Lois arrived with a bag filled with nylon yarn that she said she found by a garbage can.  Instead of reselling it at her garage sale, she gave the yarn to Grandma and Aunt Til who promptly started making slippers to sell for the church.  Free yarn!!! Clear profit!!!  Thanks to Lois, from that day on we called them "garbage slippers" because the yarn came from someone's garbage.  To this day I wonder where Lois found that yarn because the bags kept arriving for some time.  It's one of those family secrets that will never be revealed.  

   

How It All Started

     I've been sewing since I was in the fifth grade.  Back in "those days" girls had to take Home Ec. and boys had to take Shop Class.  I really wanted to try the woodworking. Making bird houses seemed like more fun than making aprons and pillowcases. But alas, such choices were not permitted.  So it was Mrs. Paulu who taught me the basics of how to operate a sewing machine.  But it was my mother, grandmothers and aunts who instilled in me the love of sewing.  I shall be forever grateful to them all.