What You Take With You

I was born in Cuba in the '60s just after the communist revolution. Growing up with two sisters and a brother, the days of my youth were typical of many Cuban children, including getting up early to prepare for school. Part of this daily ritual involved visiting my Father's carpentry workshop, which was situated in the backyard of our house, so he could whittle a point onto my pencil with a wood chisel. It was the most elegantly beautiful pencil point that could ever exist. On the first day of school we would return home lugging a load of new books and notebooks to be covered. My Mom always helped us in this endeavor and she took pride in ensuring that our study materials looked very neat and creative. We would go to the grocery store to procure some of the paper they used to wrap groceries. Then we would peruse old story books and magazines; cutting out figures and characters we found interesting and gluing them to our new book covers. We also adorned our pencils with homemade yarn dolls. These activities were something we always looked forward to at the beginning of the new school year.

During our spare time, after school activities and household chores were completed, my little brother would go to the woodshop with Papi to learn the carpentry skills while my sisters and I would stay at home with my Mom and my Grandmother learning embroidery, knitting, and sewing. I still have fond memories of these after school lessons; particularly, for some reason, the breath of my Grandmother which reminded me of the sweet fragrant guarapo sugar cane juice. It was a manual arts festival at our house; sewing machine, fabric scraps, thread, needles, buttons, yarn, and knitting needles at our disposal and Mami and Mama as our teachers. It is so beautiful to reminisce of those times when manual arts united families and crafts were passed from generation to generation. These treasured heirlooms, so useful and beautiful, are at risk of becoming a lost art because a world in a rush finds no time for such activities. In our family, all the women knew how to do something related to this type of art. Her creative mind always churning out new ideas, my Mom did most anything that had to do with crafts. For example, she could ornately wrap a present, assisted with the homework of "Labor Education" for school, and also helped us make dioramas of aboriginal houses. We scoured the local area for fibers of coconut trees, sand and small rocks to make these projects. We would also cover a coat hanger with decorative cloth for Mothers and Fathers Days. The skills passed down from previous generations allowed us to prepare gifts made with our own hands. My childhood was full of these beautiful moments learning useful and creative skills that I still use today.

The knowledge my Mom and Grandmother passed down helped me prepare my bridal trousseau and also allowed me to craft items which I sold for extra household income. I enjoyed making pot holders, cloth baskets shaped like chickens for storing eggs, and bags for clothespins. Often friends and coworkers would purchase some of my creations. Something curious about this is that oftentimes someone would buy an item and then, when they saw a new idea I sold to another person, they would complain because they liked the newest product more. I would simply tell them that my ideas were constantly evolving as I gained skill with practice and more creative thoughts came to mind. I would craft whatever was possible with what I could scrounge up. Some of the materials that I acquired were fabric scraps from clothes that my Mom sewed or pant legs that she cut. Regarding recycled materials, an anecdote comes to mind. One rainy day my young son and I went to my Aunt's house who was also my son’s godmother. My Aunt was giving me some scraps of fabric that she had and we were so distracted with these "treasures" that the child, who was still a baby, fell from the bed where we were sitting and luckily landed uninjured in the scraps box we were admiring.

Another appreciated donation was my first left-handed pair of scissors. Those were really hard to come by in Cuba, as most things were. I remember my now husband presenting me a brand new orange-handled pair of Fiskars. Oh how joyous it was to finally have the proper tool for the job. When I left Cuba, they were passed down to my youngest sister, who is also left-handed. She continues to use them while sewing to this day.

The sewing machine I used in Cuba was of Russian manufacture and I was fortunate enough to purchase it new in the store. Its cabinet was made of wood and I had to be mindful of it because, when it rained a lot, water seeped under the doors of the house and I had to elevate it so that it would not be damaged. From time to time it still got wet when I was not at home and it rained enough to flood my house. That Russian sewing machine was a cherished companion and, when the time came to immigrate to this wonderful country, it pained me to leave her behind. Arriving in the United States, I had the good fortune of being gifted a fantastic sewing machine from the wife of our church's pastor; who happened to be aware of my affinity for sewing. Fifteen years and many projects later, that machine still serves me well. Thank God. Almost all the sewing I have done since moving here has been for my personal enjoyment. But, I still like to do what I did in Cuba, including re-purposing materials and creating items for friends and family. Though, they are usually just gifts now and not sales for extra income.

Today my brothers and I still utilize the teachings of our ancestors. My brother loves carpentry. My eldest sister takes special pride in hand embroidery creations, though she also does other crafts. My youngest sister loves to cook and sew and now my children are also very dedicated in what they do thanks to the combined knowledge passed along from my Grandmother, Mom, Dad, and other members of the family. An admiration of my Dad's hand-carved pencil tips and days spent with my Grandmother and Mom learning to sew inspired my love for manual arts that holds true to this day.