Jumble sales, second hand clothes revamped

'The late 40s, early 50s mum used to go to school or village hall sales. She’d buy the biggest coats and clothes she’d could find, pull them apart and make our clothes. She’d even take woolens apart to re-knit. 

Ann's embroidery for the quilt 'Fresh Air and Poverty'

In the 1920s my mother used to follow the coat cart and the horses and pick up dropped pieces of coal for the fire, and manure for the gardens. There was an elephant in Sheffield that used to pull carts full of coal or wood. 

Aged 10 my mother went to a house with 2 children before school. She’d wash and dress them, get them ready for school then go to school herself. She’d have her breakfast at school, a big slice of bread with dripping and a mug of cocoa.' Ann Gill.

Ann and Annette stitching.

Back at Blythe House Hospice today for 'Stitching the Wars',  Ann's reminiscences took me back to my own childhood, weekends spent at Jumble Sales, the excitement of getting a bargain, the smell of moth balls and stale clothes from deep in the cupboard, the itchiness and dust, elbows up ready for a battle. Black Friday had nothing on Jumble sale Saturday.

Thanks so much to all of the 'Stepping Stones' group who contributed to the stitching and conversation.