Thursday, November 18, 2010

Cotton: the fabric of my life

When we were in Georgia in September, I finally had the opportunity of seeing fields of cotton. I have always wanted to have a few seeds to see if I could grow it up here. I know I would have to start it inside in very early spring or late winter. But that has never happened...but at least I got to see it growing and got to take these photos.
There were occasional blooms, even though the majority of the field was about ready to be picked...at least I think it was about ready. When picking apples in the fall, I would occasionally find a few blooms scattered here or there in the orchard...so it did not surprise me to see these cotton blossoms.
I always thought growing tobacco was a hot job, and sort of nasty with the way the tobacco would tar up my hands...but I am thinking nothing I done with tobacco would hold a candle to the job of picking cotton by hand.
The cotton we seen was low growing--maybe two feet high. So most adults would have to stoop to pick it...then it would be rough on the hands...and dragging that bag behind would have really been tiring when it was full and probably aggravating even when it was empty. But I would still like to grow a few plants just to see it grow.

I love cotton...I prefer clothes made of cotton. I want sheets made of cotton. It is the fabric I use to make my quilts with. So it really is the fabric of choice for my life.

7 comments:

  1. Interesting post on the cotton. I am a fan of cotton too and LOVE pure cotton sheets.

    I didn't realize the plant is only about two feet tall. It sounds awful to harvest bt hand, that's for sure!

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  2. That's a sight I haven't seen in a really long time. Great shots of the cotton fields. Isn't the bloom beautiful?

    I love the feel of cotton too, it is definitely my first choice in fabrics.

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  3. Hi Rose, I love cotton too--and it's my fabric of choice. However, I don't like to iron --so when they came out with the hybrids that stayed wrinkle free (especially shirts)---I loved that also.

    I remember the first time I saw cotton growing in fields in South Carolina --when I was young... It was awesome...

    Great post, Rose.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  4. What a lovely post, so glad you shared it with us! I recently watched the movie "Places in the Heart," for about the 100th time. The scenes of the picking of the cotton are brutal and I'm sure realistic.

    We take this thing called cotton for granted. I have drawers and closets full. And, it all started this same way, a fluff ball surrounded by prickers on a low bush.

    Amazing.

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  5. I'm glad you got to see some cotton fields during your trip to Georgia. I think it would be interesting to try to crow a few cotton plants up there in Indiana. I agree that I wouldn't want to pick cotton by hand, however.

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  6. How interesting to see the plants that we depend on for so much! As a quilter we all love cotton!

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  7. that is so neat. I wonder if it only grows where it is hot?

    Gill in Canada

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