Let's Talk About..... Briar

My mother in law was born in 1925 and will be shortly celebrating her 100th birthday. How life has changed for her over time, and she did very well keeping up with modern life and it’s technologies, especially after being widowed 14 years ago. Those 100 years have now caught up with her and her memory is not what it was.

Sometime ago she was having a clear out and passed on to me ‘stuff’ out of a cupboard. With it was a cotton skirt, pleated at the waist, probably dating back to the 1960’s. Printed in brown and deep orange roses. For fabric that is over half a century old it is in remarkably good condition. Pairing it together with the rich dark brown corduroy of Briar works beautifully, giving them both a new life.

MIL is now living in a care home, and last year she needed to sell her home of 65 years. 2 of her 4 children were born in the house, including my hubby, a 3 storey town house full of stairs, along with all the memories. The stairs kept her fit, but as I say, those 100 years have caught up with her and the legs no longer do what’s required of them.

Clearing a house that has been lived in for so long by one family has been tough on all of us. There wasn’t a room in the house that didn’t have curtains made by me, and cushion covers to compliment them. It was the heart of the family and the obvious place for gatherings. It has left a big hole to be filled.