Where Petite Josette came from...and other sewing-related childhood memories...

The dress is pretty much finished ! I got a lot done over the long week-end and now I only have the hem and a couple handstitched finishes to make. Hopefully I will get around to taking some pics later this week, but in the meantime I thought I'd write a different kind of post. Here it comes.

Until I started blogging, and was looking for a name for my blog, I didn't really think of where my interest for sewing came from. My mom and stepmom both have a sewing machine, that I occasionally played around with when I was younger, but I never really "made" anything until a few years ago when I more "seriously" picked up sewing (I was actually told that if you've watched someone sew with a machine before, it comes very naturally to you the first time you do it). In any case, I realize now that I have hung on to a few items from my childhood that may or may not have unconsciously triggered that interest, because they are home made and ultimately related to crafting and creating something unique - which is I think one of the most appealing part of home-sewing.

The first one is actually where my blog name came from.
" La Petite Josette" is a song by Anne Sylvestre. She's a french singer/songwriter for children and I used to listen to this record of hers all the time. It was a 45 RPM vinyl record back then and I had one of those portable turntable with a handle, one for kids that you could just slide the record into (sorta like you would now a CD) and carry around while listening to it.
Included in the cover of the record was a pattern for a stuffed doll - Petite Josette herself - that my mom made for me. I am not sure what happened to the doll as I don't have it with me anymore, but I remember her body was made of a satiny flowery fabric, very soft if my memory serves me right, and her hair out of yarn. When I was looking for a blog name, this one came kind of naturally and I thought it would be quite appropriate.

The second item is a stuffed mouse that my aunt Nicole made for me when I must have been around 3 years old. I named her Celestine, after a character in a book (or rather a book series) that I read over and over as a kid. These books are actually quite beautiful. They told the story of Ernest the Bear and Celestine, a young mouse he adopted.

The books are very carefully stored at my parents' house but I've always kept Celestine with me, everywhere I've lived, all the way to Vancouver. And I actually stumbled upon the original pattern for it one day as I was going through my stepmom's stash of "100 idées" (a french craft magazine now out of print).

The third item is a quilt that was made by Betty, who was my dad's "host mom" when he was an exchange student in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the 70's.
I loved it - still do. I wouldn't consider it a security blanket - I don't remember dragging it around everywhere with me, but I would wrap myself in it to watch TV or use it to build forts on the couch. It's got some major wear and tear marks, and I actually considered fixing it at some point, but realized I loved it the way it was and I didn't want to hide its age.

So there you have it. I don't know if these had any influence on my interest for sewing on some unconscious level, but they definitely stand as good examples of the importance of hand-crafted objects, and how much more sentimental value they have over any store-bought items.

I'd love to hear about your sewing-related childhood memories. Any hand-made object you've kept with you your whole life and wouldn't get rid of for the world ?