814-Lancastwr Farming, Saturday. April 11, 1912 Somerset Teen Sews All Her Own Clothing Gay N. Brownlee Somerset Co. Correspondent SOMERSET (Somerset Co.) Since the days when at age five she sewed on paper and sewed on buttons, Julia Keafer, 18. has progressed a long way. She is the youngest of three girls bom to Henry and Shirley Keafer and was initiated into the art of stitchcry by her mother. On such a foundation began young Julia’s ascent to become a skilled seamstress whose closets now bulge with an assortment of her own tailored clothing. There are slacks, dresses, suits, gowns, and her prize-winning wool coat. The reed-slender Somerset Area High School senior and nine year 4-H member says that com mercially manufactured garments never fit her properly. Shopping trips usually result in a futile search, such as the time she failed to find what she was looking for in the malls of two cities. Well, if one can’t find the right-size clo thing while shopping, one can always change gears and shop instead for suitable material and make your own. That’s what she did. “I’m such a perfectionist," admits Julia, with an air of help lessness. “One time I did a seam 20 times before I got it right.” Of her seven 4-H sewing pro jects Julia recalls the one which left her the most frustrated. After getting a perfect score, because of her young age, she could compete no further than the regionals. “I was little,” she says, “but I wanted to go on.” In 1991 she competed at the state level in the clothing and tex tiles category. The same year she placed second in the state with her coat in the Make It Yourself With Wool contest. It marked her third year participating in the wool promotion event. With a hectic roster of activities in her life, Julia’s calendar is chocked full of engagements. And these necessitate having appropri ate attire. One wonders where all those clothes go. Does she discard them? No, she doesn’t “I have a blue dress that I made six years ago,” she says. “I (emphasis on the I) haven’t given any away,” she continues loud enough for her mother in the next room to overhear. (One is instant ly suspicious that perhaps Mother is guilty of something here.) Julia says that although her schedule is very demanding, when she sews she does so in small-time installments, rather than for long periods. And she has a rule for herself not to sew clothes for friends although many of them have approached her to do so. Besides a talent for sewing, Julia is an eight-year student of the violin and with the stringed instru ment will be touring Europe this summer with a group of musi cians. They are from the eastern United States and will be con ducted by a leader from Hershey. Traveling with the American Music Abroad Orchestra, Julia will have the honor of performing in concerts in countries such as France, Germany, Austria, Bel gium and Switzerland. Certainly a new wardrobe is essential for such a journey. Con sulting with her mother, Julia has planned it with selections that take into account the need for style and wearability, comfort and ease of care. Many of the items are simply patterned skirts, she says. As a contestant for winning the title of Pennsylvania Maple Queen on March 21, Julia had created her own teal gown to wear in the evening gown competition. With 13 other young talented women, Julia had earlier survived the audi tion of 44 entries. The gown had puffed sleeves, a sequined bodice and a chiffon overskirt. The overskirt was a headache to work with, she says and tells how Pictured with Just a few of her outfits, Julia Keafer is wearing her coat which placed second last year In the state. frustrated she got working with it “I would toll it up in a ball and throw it in a comer. I would quit down,” during the talent Early in her life Julia says she and come back later,” she says. competition. tad token piano lessons for two One of her sisters dealt with So with her new responsibility years. They didn tgo well for her. sewing frustrations in that manner as Queen Maple XLV, Julia finds So tar mother issued an ultima and Julia picked up the habit from herself with yet another need for tom. Play the piano or play the observing her. She says the only special attire to wear, like the violin- Julia says she opted for thing you can do is walk away frothy white gown she is currently toe violin and now declares, “I from it and come back to it later, making for the queen’s ball and *°ve it. The five judges named Julia grand feature parade. She is also on her school’s fore- Keafer the new Maple Queen. It is Julia has an affinity with farm- ns * cs team as a member of the her duty to represent the Pennsyl- ing. She has an uncle who is a far- humorous drama squad. *T min vania maple sugar industry during mer and allows her to have 4-H forensics because I like to talk a the 45th Maple Festival held in animal projects there for nine *°t,” she says laughing. With com- Meyersdale this April and to ful- years. She’s raised sheep, pigs, interpretation, she says you fill a year of obligations by and a steer all of which did very “ on 1 . Slt anc * worr y about what appearing at many functions as the well at the county fair and farm y° u sa y the kids who for official spokesperson for the show. mally debate and argue, industry. Ironically, each animal was Georgia Institute of Technolo-. She had won the difficult on- given a name designating it as roy- 8y has accepted Julia for it’s fall * stage interview award with her ally. There was Queen Elizabeth term. She wants to study architec- • spontaneous answers to two soul- for instance, and King William, tural engineering which is a five searching questions before an Julia even dubbed her uncle’s y®ar program that includes overflowing audience. She had farm as Royalty Ranch not rcaliz- in France during the fourth year. Farmers Build Homes, Churches For Mexican ' The Fellowship of Christian Farmers build houses and churches in Mexico under the direction of Ed Williamson, former Nebraska farmer. Williamson has started 32 churches and a Bible College in Mexico with the help of volunteer work crusades. The group would like other farmers to spend nine days with a participating work crusade. Participants range from 20 to 72 years of age. LYKENS (Dauphin Co.) Julia Holmes, a spokesperson San Antonio. The fee covers most Farmers from eight stales traveled for the organization, said that the meals, a place to put a sleeping recently to Mexico to help with opportunity to go on a work cru- bag, and most of the materials construction of homes and sade is open to anyone with a required for the building project, churches. desire, a willing heart and hands to For more information, contact In the past three years, members help. No formal work experience George and Julia Holmes, 3220 from Fellowship of Christian Far- is required and all ages can be used Jacksonville Road, Trumaiisburg, mers LTD have sent 143 farmers in the manual labor projects. ny 14886 or call evenings at (607) and 20 women to Mexico for nine- A fee of about $3OO is charged 387-6538. day work crusades. to go on a crusade, which starts in performed a violin medley which she calls “Millionaire’s Hoe ing then that one day she would be called Queen Julia.
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