The following post was accepted for publication by Sheloves/Magazine, where the voices and stories of women from all over the world are published every day. You can start reading here, then click over to read the rest of the post. Enjoy!
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The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. Genesis 3:21
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My maternal grandmother was a garment worker. She worked at a dress factory in North Carolina sewing on heavy, noisy machines, working so quickly that she sewed over her own fingers at times. She also sewed at home making clothes for my mother, things they couldn’t otherwise afford on my grandfather’s share cropper income.
I like to imagine her working late into the night, piecing together bits of beauty and love, making out of scraps what could not be bought, clothing over, as best as she could, the shame of growing up poor and female on the edges of society. Her sewing machine was kept cloistered in an unused room that housed other valuable items like the good dining room table. This room was a holy of holies that I dared only to enter with caution. I didn’t touch the heavy machine that, with the help of one women’s creativity and strength, could create something out of nothing.
She made dresses for me too . . . [click here to continue reading . . . ]
