Week 12 - Little Boy's Breeches

With this week's block, we reflected on 19th Century women's clothing styles and how pants for women would have been liberating compared to the style of petticoats and cages and crinolines. (there was no mention of corsets!)  The four corners are shaped a little like pant legs, but I had a hand dyed fabric from Vicki Welsh I thought would make an interesting flower out of this block.  This is a very tricky block to sew with lots of inset seams to match up.  Only one of my four corners at the center is really nicely done. I used a beautiful leaf print from Dorry to set it off and perhaps that distracts enough from the little piecing issues. The center is a daisy from a fabric my friend Sherrye gave me. It's really ridiculous I have used only this 2.5 inch piece - she gave me five yards of it!

  

The history lesson reminded me of this photo of my my Grandmother Faye - in the basketball field with relatively short skirts - but skirts, nonetheless.  Dana, a talented soccer player, will probably find this photo interesting.

In 1908, Grandma played on her high school's first basketball team.  Notice I did not say "first women's" basketball team - the boys didn't have a team until 1914.  By the time I knew my Grandmother she was close to 70 years old and not particularly athletic so this story was always a source of pride about her.  She always said her high school's was one of the first women's basketball teams in the state of Indiana. I'm not sure, but she may be the figure closest to the camera in the photo above.

This next photo was scanned from an undated newspaper clipping. Grandma is on the far right with her head resting on her hand.  Behind her and one over is her sister, May, who died of complications during pregnancy in 1916. The young girl with big hair bows at the center is Grandpa's sister, Carol, whom I remember and can easily recognize.  Carol's bows make it obvious she's the one holding the ball in the photo of the nine young women on the field.

Ethel, just to the left of Faye, with the basketball beside her, is also one of Fielding's sisters and was one of young Faye's closest friends.  Our family tree contains four of these pioneering athletes.