this was margerys favourite pastime as a child , rummaging through the rag bag as her mother called it , pulling out strips of pink satin , the remnants of an old nightdress or a piece of heather coloured tweed that once had been the pocket of an old skirt , sometimes she would question her mother on the origins of a particular scrap and her mother would take the material in her hand and smile , remembering who had worn it and when .