At twenty-two

Because I happened to have the necessary materials at hand, I decided to enter a Vintage Pattern Contest on my favorite sewing site.  The requirement was that any pattern used had to be older than 1981. 

Normally I wouldn't have patterns that old, having gotten rid of them when we moved overseas.  But as my prize for winning a contest last year was vintage patterns, I now have a few qualifying ones to choose from. 

What I didn't know was how my particular choices would take me on an interesting trip down Memory Lane, starting with when I was around 22 years old.

Three-day-old parents

I started sewing for myself right after we got married and I needed office clothes.  It didn't take very long before Doc Leo decided I should sew for him, too.  I made his first shirt in 1972, the year I turned 22. 

We also had our first baby that year, and it just so happens that I wore home from the hospital the very first thing I'd made for the office, while the Doc wore that first shirt and a matching vest I'd also made.

Wow, I didn't know I'd already started family sewing when we were barely a family!  I really didn't know my sewing destiny at the time.

Twice the life later, history repeats itself

It just so happens that 22 years later, that little baby had her own baby! 

While I was visiting her in Florida from Paris for the birth of my first grandson, I apparently made both of us matching outfits. 

Living so far away from her meant that I otherwise didn't have much opportunity to sew for her.  As I recall, that's when I bought her a sewing machine, which she still won't touch but reserves for my visits!

So not only were the Doc and I wearing my creations for one of our first family photos, my daughter and I were wearing more of my creations for one of the first next generation photos.

The birthday girl with her own 22-year-old kid

And now it's another 22 years later.  I'm three times as old as I was back in 1972, my daughter has doubled her age since she became a mom, and now her own little baby is 22 this year. 

I had not realized we were all having these stepladder birthdays this year! 

Again, she's too far away to make sewing for her very practical, so she's wearing jewelry I got her instead, from a woman who crafts it herself.

What's so special about 1972, you ask?  Well, outside of the momentous occasion of my daughter's birth, that happens to be the year two of my patterns came out.  One is another shirt pattern for the Doc, as I apparently no longer have the original.  And the other just happens to be one I actually had originally, got rid of somewhere along the line, and have now replaced as part of my prize.  As I found some stash fabric probably no more than a decade newer that I thought could be interesting for both of these patterns, I have just taken myself back to that apparently magical age of 22.  Who says you can't turn back time?

The French cowgirl

The Doc loves his guitar

So how do I bring these particular patterns into the 21st century (impossible to wait for the 22nd)? 

Not only has life, fashion, and my environment changed drastically since 1972, I have no desire to live in the past and try to pretend I'm still 22!  I decided to capitalize on my stash fabric theme and our current lifestyle, which involves participating in a country dance class.

Being negatives of ourselves

Not having much of a Western wardrobe, this seemed like a perfect opportunity to correct that situation. 

I hoped that theme would compensate for whatever totally dated styling these patterns might have that I didn't recognize. 

Like huge collars, maybe?

For those of you initiated in the art of sewing, or perhaps you have an eye for symmetry and alignment, I thought I would point out a little of what went into the finished result.

Can you find the seam?

Matching the design to the extreme!

There happens to be a vertical seam in the center of the print (the center front of my dress).

The pocket on the black shirt is totally in line with the tone on tone design of the fabric.

It took more time lining up the pattern than sewing the shirt

Because you can't really see in the modeled photos how I specifically placed the patterning of the print on all the shirt contrast pieces, here's a close-up of how it all came together.

If you care to see the rest of the competition in this category, you can check out the Gallery of entries.  By clicking on either of these two items, you can see more involved information in the actual creating of these two garments.

So, while I thought I had just found a way to use up some of the fabric I had sitting on a shelf for far too many years, while at the same time taking advantage of these new-to-me old patterns to play with other sewing buddies in a Vintage Contest, I ended up stepping back into time in a quite unexpected manner. 

Three times older than I was when these patterns were born.

I hope you've enjoyed following my life in 22-year increments as much as I enjoyed reliving these moments in time. 

I have to say that even the events from 1972 seem like they happened just yesterday. 

Some memories never fade.