Cathy's Creative Corner: Trash to Treasure

Jewel loved her parents.  She never wanted for anything. Her family was modest. They didn’t have a big house or a fancy car, but her lunch was packed every day for school and the family shared a hot meal every evening. Although all four kids shared one bedroom, they each had their own bed. Two sets of bunk beds left more than enough room for the chest of drawers their mom used to store their folded clothes. All the bulky items hung in the walk-in closet. Every so often, Jewel noticed her mom going through the drawers and closet. This usually happened as the seasons started to change. After she left the room, Jewel would find clothing in her wardrobe she hadn’t seen before. Some of her older items would now be in her younger sister’s section. At first, Jewel felt her mom’s action made her the favorite child. It didn’t take long before she realized it was her mom’s way of recycling clothes. In this regard, her little brother was lucky he didn’t have an older brother.

One evening at dinner, Jewel’s dad shared with the family news of a job offer. It would be with another local factory, so they didn’t have to move and the children wouldn’t have to leave their schools and friends. He’s excited because he would no longer have to handle heavy loads and come home covered in dust, dirt and metal shavings. The new job required him to watch a machine to make sure it winds material on a bolt and cuts it to a precise length. Easy peasy! The company’s interviewer also told of excess materials employees would have access to at the end of the day. Their suggestion was, “If you don’t know how to sew, you might want to learn.” During dinner, Jewel’s dad was adamant he’d be able to buy a sewing machine in a few weeks if his wife wanted to give it a try. The mother was quite receptive to her new role as future seamstress and the children were dreaming up outfits they wanted made.

Within a month…