When I was growing up I never knew we were poor. We had a nice house and farm in the 50's that my mom,dad and me co-owned with my married brother and his family,there were plenty of rooms,I had my own small bedroom and we never lacked for food or clothing. Everything was bright and neat and until I hit junior high and had one of the town kids tell me I was a poor farmer's kid I always thought we were rich! There were about a dozen of us that were bussed into town to go to school and we all came from farms. We belonged to the 4H and our folks belonged to the Grange and there were parties and dances and all sorts of stuff.Never could figure out why that snooty girl made fun of me,she didn't look very happy and was constantly poking fun at us "farm brats." Fell sorry for her and others like her now that I am grown up.

My mother and sister in law were great needle women and she made my clothes and her 6 kids clothes right on through to high school.Years later I found out that lots of the pretty blouses and skirts were remade ones from outgrown clothing bought at thrift shops and yard sales. The boys things were also remade mostly from outgrown items.Even when I was working at my after school job and could buy my own clothes, I still liked what Lucy and my mom made for me. That is how I learned to sew was from watching them do their magic.

I make all of Ed's shirts especially the flannel ones. About every 2 years I make him a dozen flannel shirts. Because he is a welder sparks can sometimes land on his shirt and even cause small fires that leaves holes. While he wears masks and gloves and aprons, things like this do happen.

For the past several years I have gotten great flannel for a dollar a yard at walmart. It is very durable and washes well and doesn't fade,I keep an extra yard of flannel in each design so that if a hole is too big for a regular repair, I can remove that section and make a new one such as a sleeve or pocket and resew it back in. I also remove  good collars and cuffs and pockets from any shirts that are too tattered or stained to fix. If a shirt(flannel or otherwise)has some good material in the back and sides, it can be used for   various things;backing or fillers for potholders,patches, and a couple of times I had enough to make a turtle,dog, kitty, or bunny toy for the kids when they were little.And of course I save the buttons.

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