One of my friends in the church sewing group was chatting with me. She told me one of our church members had gone down to the border recently. Apparently people are able to work with immigrants who are finished with their paperwork and are leaving for their next US destination. Most if not all the families leave via bus lines. There is a very busy bus station near the processing center. This member felt there was a need for the young children to have a small pillow to take on their trip of a lifetime. Others agreed and before long a small grass roots movement has evolved.
I told my friend I could sew some pillow covers on my longarm if someone else would trim and stuff them. She agreed. So last week I pulled some leftover quilt pieces & fabric scraps for pillow fronts. I also had some pillow shams I repurposed.
As I was sewing one of the pillow shams I began to think about the journey that sham has taken.
It was one of the patchwork pillow shams popular in the 1990s (I guess). They were generally hand quilted and so was this one.
If you unstitch the flange, then you can turn the back to the front and sew a new shape. These pillows are 12 x 16 inches so I was able to make 2 from the one sham.
I told my friend I could sew some pillow covers on my longarm if someone else would trim and stuff them. She agreed. So last week I pulled some leftover quilt pieces & fabric scraps for pillow fronts. I also had some pillow shams I repurposed.
As I was sewing one of the pillow shams I began to think about the journey that sham has taken.
It was one of the patchwork pillow shams popular in the 1990s (I guess). They were generally hand quilted and so was this one.
If you unstitch the flange, then you can turn the back to the front and sew a new shape. These pillows are 12 x 16 inches so I was able to make 2 from the one sham.
This pillow sham was sewn in China & I suspect one person sewed the patchwork and another stitched the hand quilting. So possibly 2 people made a salary from its construction.
It arrived in the USA. The importer likely made money on its sale. The retail store paid someone to sell it.
It was eventually donated to a thrift store. When I bought it I helped pay the thrift store's mission and likely some of the salary for sales staff. Now I've transformed it for 2 Latinx children who are traveling to parts unknown somewhere in the United States.
Many people have touched this pillow sham sending it along its very useful journey. All this from a humble pillow sham. What a story! I wonder how the Chinese women would feel knowing of its long purposeful journey!
My friend was eager to trim and stuff a few of the pieces I gave her! I'm so glad to see the little pillows come to life! 💗💗
When I use reclaimed clothes and linens for a 2nd purpose I am often pulled into my imagination to figure out their past lives!
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Those are great pillows, and it's a very good cause for which to make them. I like the way your mind works. Mine does that, too.
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