A lot of my sewing skills I learned in the Girl Scouts, and you can see from my sash, I earned a lot of merit badges. The troop I belonged to was an arts troup, and many of my badges were from textile skills, such as embroidery, knitting, basketry, dressmaking, and other related domestic talents that women were supposed to have. In school, I belonged to Future Homemakers of America, where we made aprons and learned to cook simple things. I liked Scouting better, as there were badges to reflect your accomplishments. There wasn’t a quilting or beading merit badge in my scouting experiences, but I’m sure I would have done one if there had been. I went over and beyond the requirements in whatever I attempted.
While cleaning out one of the closets after my mother’s death, a nephew found a notebook I had made of different kinds of leaves for a tree merit badge. I was rather proud that it was quite thick, well documented, and had withstood the test of about 50 years time. Even then, I put a LOT of effort into my endeavors, so I guess that it’s no surprise that I would pour hours into my art work later in life.
Here is a picture taken in the early 60s of me in my Girl Scout uniform (on the left) and my sister on the right in her Brownie uniform. Notice the prim and proper gloves I was wearing, which at that time, we still wore downtown when we went shopping. I inherited quite a collection of dress gloves, from day length like these, to luncheon, which went to the mid-forearm and a few opera length, which go over the elbow. I remember when I went off to college, I had co-ordinating gloves and a hat for each dressy outfit. The girl’s college that I went to required them for Sunday lunch.
Meanwhile, it was my mother who drove me around town to get all of the fabric I needed for my projects, take me to knitting lessons, and the countless other places so that I could earn all of those merit badges. We lived out in the country, so it was often quite a drive to go and get supplies.Fortunately, I was one of those people who got right on an assignment, so I don’t think that there were too many last minute runs for materials. I imagine that my mother would tell a different story.
It was fun looking back at my old Girl Scout sash and to think of the hours that I poured into collecting merit badges. I think that some important skills such as finishing a project that you’ve started, and setting priorities to get something completed by a deadline were learned. I certainly apply those skills these days in getting a piece ready for a show or a magazine submission. Thanks, Mama, for getting me involved in the Girl Scouts.
What early training to you feel contributed to what you do now? Is there someone to thank for helping make those early lessons possible?
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