Written piece
UNRAVELLING MEMORIES
Sandra Dingli
Malta
About this piece
Threads may be spun in different ways. Memories may be unraveled. I draw on memories from my childhood in Malta to describe my grandmother, my mother and myself. I unravel these memories and others to discover the beauty of humanity and of our unique planet.
My maternal grandmother was a first-class dressmaker. Her tiny stitches were nearly invisible to the naked eye. My Mum was expected to follow in her footsteps. This was not easy, with five offspring and employment as a switchboard operator. ‘What’s a switchboard operator?’ She was a telephone operator who received phone calls and forwarded them to others by means of plugs, wires and switches.
For me, dressmaking started with embroidery classes at a Catholic school in Malta. As a young teenager, when affordable ready-made clothes were not easily available, I attended patternmaking and dressmaking classes. ‘What is patternmaking?’ We prepared templates which were used to cut fabric before a piece of clothing was assembled.
These threads brought us together as a family and as a community. Times have since changed. The availability of affordable clothing has transformed the nature of dressmaking. Although it is not yet a dying art, it is mainly something that bespoke tailors and couturiers do.
Different threads bind us together today.
Travel is the thread I spin, through different communities, across continents. Travel educates. It allows me to better appreciate different cultures. I come from a small nation state, Malta, and I am now in my silver years. Yet, I am fortunate to have visited nearly eighty different countries, ranging from Mongolia to Ethiopia to Peru. Travel allows me to acknowledge the glue which binds us together. Our humanity. Wherever we are in the world, whoever we are, we are all human beings. A thread, like that of a spider, is woven as we encounter different people and diverse cultures. It is through the spinning of this web that I discover the beauty of humanity and of our unique planet.