DREWRYVILLE
Because Kathleen Grizzard started learning to sew about 80 years ago, there are more children in Africa today who have new clothes.

Grizzard, 90, is among the women of Thomas Memorial Baptist Church in Drewryville who have been participating in a missionary project to get dresses and outfits overseas. Cathy Grizzard, daughter-in-law, said that came about after some of the church members saw an article in The Tidewater News (“Courtland Baptist women sew new dresses for Rwanda.” Cain Madden. Aug. 17, 2014). That story inspired them to do likewise, and they began in the fall. While several Thomas Memorial Baptist women collected and donated material, Kathleen Grizzard and Linda Covington got to work with the sewing.

“I started in September,” Grizzard said, adding that she figures to have made 10 outfits for little boys, and 33 to 35 dresses so far, with two more on her sewing machine; she didn’t know Covington’s numbers.

“Hopefully, this will do somebody some good,” Grizzard said.

She credits a relative for teaching her the lifelong skills of needle and thread.

“I love to sew. I’ve been sewing since I was 8-years-old. My grandmother taught me,” she said.

Because Della Riesel couldn’t get any of her daughters to learn, she turned to Kathleen.

“’Girl, you’re going to learn to sew,’” Grizzard recalled Riesel telling her.

Finally being able to sew a straight seam was an accomplishment that stays with her to this day.

“If I had to pull out all the stitched, I did. That’s just part of sewing. You had to learn to use your eyes,” Grizzard said.

Her first big project was to create a plain A-line dress.

The most complicated?

“What I’m doing,” she said. “I used to make everything and anything. Now it’s mostly hemming.”

Once the clothes are completed, they’ll be sent to Courtland Baptist Church for delivery to Africa this season.