Page 56 - Coffee County

with others. Wonderful memories have been made over something as simple as a piece of cloth. Baboo, as her mother is lovingly called, taught her to thread her frst needle. She and her cousin Angie would make pageant and Easter dresses throughout the years. And as Fran became more like family instead of just friends, they would share long nights discussing things only best friends can share with each other while literally sewing to put clothes on the backs of their families. One of the shirts Cindy made during this time belonged to the father of her children. When he passed away at the age of 45, her son Austin told her, “I’m going to leave that shirt hanging in my closet. Not only is it something that belongs to my father, but it is something that was yours.” However, his sentimental thoughts are no surprise to Cindy. She is as sentimental as they come. She would rather have as a gift a pillow her grandmother made or a piece of stoneware that her grandmother used in her own kitchen than any store-bought gift. This mindset is what gives Cindy the desire to create her sewing designs with such a traditional approach.

After sewing for the public, Cindy decided to join Fran in a business venture. She bought a monogramming machine and she and Fran would work from Cindy’s home and monogram for businesses and individuals in and around Douglas. They outgrew working from home and moved to the Shoppes on Madison. With the move, a bigger and more advanced machine was purchased and then more business

ABOVE Cindy and Fran’s friendship date back many years. BOTTOM LEFT Baboo, as Cindy’s mother is lovingly called. BOTTOM RIGHT Fran has four grandchildren but Sara Polk is the one that seems to be following in her footsteps. When she was younger, Fran brought her to the sewing machine and started her out with a piece of paper. She drew a shape on it and then had Sara sew the shape without using thread. This taught her how to follow the lines. Once she mastered that, she moved on to sewing pieces of fabric together. It was not long before Sara was using a serger, a specialized sewing machine used to prevent material from fraying at the edges.