The rituals of life are wrapped in cloth.
Louise Todd Cope
Swaddling clothes, receiving blanket, christening gown
Hand-me-downs, Easter bonnets, first high heels
Prom dress, graduation gown, hope chest linens, wedding veil, satin sheets
Cocktail napkins, Thanksgiving tablecloth, Christmas tree skirt
Maternity top, “mom” jeans, apron strings, easy-care clothing, sensible shoes
Electric blanket, moth-nibbled cardigan, hospital gown
Coffin cloth
. . . . . .
Swaddling clothes . . .
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I lost a friend last Sunday and a pet on Tuesday. Circle of Life but painful.
Oh, Judy–I’m sorry. That’s so sad and awful. I hope my post didn’t make you feel worse . . .
I just looked up swaddling clothes and found this: narrow bands of cloth formerly wrapped around a newborn child to restrain its movements and quiet it. It would seem we start life being restrained by cloth, and thereafter are often defined by cloth in some form (how we dress, how we decorate, etc.) Your piece makes me appreciate even more those artists who work with such repurposed textiles.
I have a young friend with a new baby and swaddling is the trend again–who knew??
I think we could do a huge anthropological study of fabrics and the way we use them to communicate–maybe that study, or many like it, has already been done.
My best friend swaddled her newborn as well to help calm her down.
Easter Bonnets. And the year my mother took dressmaking classes and made spring coats for my sister and I to wear for Easter. Mom would sing the Easter Bonnet song as she put the bonnets on our heads.
Those are excellent memories! I have lots of childhood memories that involve special clothing items, too.
So true…..
Lovely thoughts…so true.
Thanks! We could all add more items to the list, too, depending on our experiences.
and the cloth items we leave behind… Thank you. This was a lovely way to start the morning.
The cloth items we leave behind will be many and lovely, right?! Here’s hoping and planning!
And then we are back to the goal-setting question, of what do we want our heirs to find of us 100 years from now… 🙂
And that do we do if we have no heirs to speak of . . . ?
You tell your stories of linens from long ago, and the women (generally) who made them. Regardless of who is the storyteller, what stories will you want told of you?
‘Receiving blanket, Prom dress, hope chest linens, satin sheets, Thanksgiving tablecloth, Christmas tree skirt’ are all things this particular Brit of a certain age can’t relate to (my younger daughter had a Prom dress: this American import arrived a couple of years before she left school). All I think I can put in their places is ‘school uniform’. How unromantic! But this is a lovely list.
And school uniform would mean little to me. Would “dowry linens” fit in place of hope chest? And what would a small blanket for a baby be called, in place of “receiving blanket”? Interesting how culturally dependent textiles are, too!
Dowry linens seems beautifully quaint and I like it. Blanket for a baby? How about ‘blanket for a baby’? How unimaginative!
[D] Yes, that’s so true, isn’t it! Lots to think about there. Thanks !
As others have pointed out, examples from Scottish culture would be different than some of my American examples . . . but we’re all “wrapped in cloth.”
When I visited Laos, I learned that grandmothers weave a cloth for their granchildren. It is a part of their life’s celebrations until they die, and then they are buried in it. I loved visiting there because textiles are such an important part of their life! I saw houses built on stilts and the loom was built into the stilts! Love the idea of weaving outdoors.
The story about Laos is amazing–what a meaningful tradition! You’ve had some wonderful life experiences.
This is the textilists version of Shakespeare’s ‘Seven Ages of Man’ 🙂 It’s actually quite profound.
Hadn’t thought of the Shakespeare along these lines–neat point!
And all those loving hands that take care of these poignant garments that have become so personal. I have a box with textile memories from all phases of life so far and dear ones I have lost. It is so precious to me! Dear Kerry, I hope nothing sad has entered your life? Xo Johanna
You’re right–we do tend to hold on to these important bits of fabric and treasure them, and pass them along to the next generation. And I’m fine–no sadness here, just pondering that quote I started the post with . . . thanks for asking, though!
Ah good to know you are just fine!
This was BEAUTIFUL! I so agree with Pauline. Very moving.
Thank you, Marlene! You’re always so supportive!
Kerry, my heart goes out to you. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful and thought-provoking post about the circle of life…and cloth. Sending love, strength, understanding and as you are perhaps reflecting on your own recent loss. xo Alys
Oh, sweet Alys–I’m fine! No worries, no loss–I had read that quote I began the post with and just started coming up with examples that proved the point. I’m sorry if I worried you . . .
I’m feeling so much better knowing you are okay. Thank you for clarifying. It was shorter than what you generally post, too. Perhaps it’s my own state of mind. I’m feeling the losses of friends, friends spouses and what feels like doom with the approaching inauguration. I need to meditate more, worry less.
Beautiful . . . It wonderfully conveys how cloth fills many roles across the life cycle.
Thanks, Sheryl. It makes me think how food also is used in ceremonial and ritualistic ways at important stages of our lives!
Such a meaningful list! Like Margaret, not all the words on the list have the same resonance with me but many do. It’s almost a check list isn’t it? I googled Louise Todd Cope, of whom I hadn’t heard before. What an interesting artist who uses fibre and cloth to resolve the problems and unhappinesses she has and who has seen that that certain garments and/or linens can have a ritualistic worth. To give or receive something made from fibre at certain stages in our lives can be comforting and life-affirming. Almost like men’s battle-scars. This probably doesn’t make sense at all!
Actually, I think what you wrote is quite profound! What an interesting analogy–I am going to have to ponder that some more! I found the quote in a magazine called Handwoven and loved it immediately. I looked up the author, Cope, too–such an interesting woman!
Thank-you Kerry!
We wear cloth, we weave it, and are woven by others as we weave people and places into our lives. We all have our own warp and weft, don’t we?
I would absolutely agree! I could take this analogy of weaving and life and expand on it for hours! Example–the warp is the life circumstances we are born into but the weft is what we bring to and do with our lives, etc., etc. Don’t get me started!!
I almost linked to this last night–Family Hands by Mary Chapin Carpenter–Have a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHg0zpgMLoU
That song is perfect, Lisa–thanks!
Loved your post Kerry, cloth is such a big part of our lives! Makes me think of the quote about life is a tapestry, with the beautiful finished front, and the intermingled and sometimes messy threads on the back…though whoever wrote it didn’t sew or they would know that part of the challenge is trying to keep the back neat as well…😊 thanks for allowing us in to your circle of life!
For some reason, your comments on the last three posts went to spam! I think I fixed it–hope so! I should’ve realized something was going on because you’re such a loyal commenter!
No worries Kerry, but thanks for digging me out!!
And those of us who make and treasure that cloth are the lucky ones.
We are so lucky, for sure! I get more aware of that every day, it seems–thanks for being here!
Kerry, you never cease to impress me. The circle of cloth.
Beautiful
Thanks, Laurie–you’re a lovely friend!
Kerry, my heart goes out to you. Much obliged to you for sharing such an excellent and interesting post about the hover of life…
Thanks so much!
The words of these garments seem so evocative when you place them together in this way Kerry.
I felt the same way, as I was listing them! I got a little choked up!
Wanda Jackson sang a country song, “The Box that It Came In’ It is a clever play on words about a guy-done-me-wrong revenge tune. It opens with a line about how he took everything including her wedding dress, leaving only an empty box. At the end, he when he returns, “the box is satin lined”. You can figure that out.
Oscar
Gotta love those country songs!
Beautiful, Kerry. Thank you!
Thanks for the comment, Lavinia!
Ah.
Beautiful.
Never realized this, but I guess our lives really are wrapped up in cloths. It’s eerie and sad, but true.
Some of it’s sad but it can be happy, too! I recently wove two small blankets for babies and that was very inspiring! Thanks for coming by!
That’s true! 🙂