Ginger Ramsey: Time to listen to a few familiar voices

Tag : Fancy Yarn

Updates on a few former Voices faces:
Stephanie Cosme sent me an e-mail link the other day with a notethat her nephew Joshua, a freshman at Millsaps College in Jackson,Miss., and a staff writer for student-produced The Purple andWhite, wrote an article that made the front page. To view hisarticle, go to www.milsaps.edu/p&w/ and click on "page 1" to download a PDF of his 'Forum questionsU.S. oil dependence."
Cosme was featured with his brothers in the June 25 edition ofVoices.
I stopped by The Pie Lady, Etc. last week after my visit withSummerfield Estates art contest winner Alyce Cagle. I haven't seenThe Pie Lady, Claudia Roberson (May 5 edition) in months.
She is always good for a hug and a smile  for patrons or thestudents from nearby Southern Hills Elementary as they pass hershop on their way home.
She shared pictures of her mom's recent birthday party celebratedwith family at the bowling alley (also featured May 5), and seemedless stressed despite cutting back on cigarette smoking.
She said life is good as she continues to create recipes and ispreparing for a trip to Biloxi, Miss., to present techniques from ahome-taught cook at a food event sponsored by a local casino.
As Liz Swaine, representing Calumet Industries, addressed the SHBA,it was hard not to be awed by the magnitude of products with tiesto refined oil.
From the morning coffee with milk before the drive to work, toreapplied lip gloss, printed office documents or relaxation candleburning next to the bath tub before bedtime, my day would becomemuch less recognizable if all of these products disappeared.
It would be an interesting school project for a class to trackusage by checking off from the list of more than 250 products usingCalumet-refined products.
As a child, I enjoyed various crafts. In Girl Scouts, I learned howto cross stitch, back stitch and make my own dishwashing sack outof kitchen rags for camping trips.
As an adult, I left the fancy stuff up to others and was alwaysglad that at least my Granny had made me a quilt and a homemadeCabbage Patch doll. (It was amazing. If it weren't for the yarnhair and the lack of Xavier Roberts' signature, it was nearlyimpossible that it did not come preassembled.) I could never haverivaled her abilities. You see, I am a confirmed bobbin breaker.
Ask my mother. I end up hemming and repairing all loose seams byhand because though it seems to take forever, I know I don't haveto worry about feeding material too slow or bunching a garment toothickly to anchor a stitch. I only have to worry with thefrustration of not having enough thread or jabbing myself with theneedle while sewing.
My recent trip to Shreveport Sewing Center led me to Steve andMelanie Cobbs who are convinced with the multitude of advances madesince my mother's machine was made, that sewing is easy andrequires hardly any work.
I may just decide to attend one of those Saturday classes and seehow many bobbins it takes under their direction. I would say sorrymom, but since her machine still works beautifully for her devices,I am certain she will not miss my clumsy hands or the trail ofbroken bits left in my wake.