Posts with the Sue Carmichael tag

Barris Beat

A pattern for life

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
On July 8, about a hundred cars full of people gave Sue Carmichael a drive-by 60th birthday party.

Our community still mourns the passing of Sue Carmichael two weeks ago. Her family members will remember all she gave them, her church and the rest of us, at a service this weekend. By coincidence, exactly 10 years ago, I wrote a column about Sue and her passion for giving, quilting and living. I offer my thoughts from that column in tribute:

Even in this liberated community, there are some areas still considered off-limits to certain people. I mean, children aren’t often seen in pubs. Most women don’t hang out in repair garages. And men don’t generally frequent beauty salons. The same could be said of men in sewing shops and the like. In fact, recently, when I decided to pay a courtesy visit to the Quilters Cupboard in town, I got a predicable response when I entered.

“Hey ladies,” the proprietor announced from inside the store, “a man has just entered the shop.” Most got a chuckle out of the remark. I did too. (more…)

Barris Beat

Stitch in time…

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
My father was born in 1922, raised in New York City, N.Y. and (as his U.S. Army Honorable Discharge paper said) was last employed before entering the army as a “sewing machine operator.”

I saw my mother do it. I saw my grandmother do it even more. It wasn’t something my grandfather ever did. And I never saw my father do it. Although, after he died in 2004, we did find some of my father’s military papers from the Second World War when he served a sergeant in the army medical corps. And those papers suggested he knew how to do it. On his Honorable Discharge papers when he left the U.S. Army in December 1945, his attestation revealed that he had done it.

“Civilian occupation,” the discharge papers revealed, “Sewing machine operator.” (more…)

Barris Beat

A stitch seen around the world

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Quilters Cupboard in Uxbridge, Ontario.
Quilters Cupboard in Uxbridge, Ontario.

Even in liberated communities, there are some areas still considered off-limits to certain people. Children aren’t often seen in pubs. Most women don’t hang out in repair garages. And men don’t generally frequent manicure and pedicure salons. The same could be said of men in sewing shops and the like. In fact, last Saturday afternoon when I decided to pay a courtesy visit to the Quilters Cupboard in Uxbridge, Ont., I got a predicable response when I entered.

“Hey ladies,” a voice announced from inside the store, “a man has just entered the shop.” Most got a chuckle out of the remark. Me included.

(more…)