Simple Simon and Company

SUBSCRIBE TO GET ALL THE LATEST!

Thoughts· Thrifted Thursdays

Thrifted Thursday– A Special Keepsake

I have been thinking a lot lately about why I like to sew.  And although I think there are many reasons, one in particular comes to mind.  My sister and I were talking one day a year or so ago and she said that she had read somewhere that a woman should do something every day that can’t be undone.  Because clean houses get messy; clean dishes inevitably get dirty and well, the mountain of laundry (especially this week) never seems to end.  So while I have learned to like those tasks (a post for another day about more advice someone gave me that forced me to look at the mundane in a new way), I still crave to do something each day that can’t be undone.

I know for each person that something is different, but for me it is sewing.  Even if it is just putting in a zipper (because that’s all the sewing that happened today) or putting in the arm facings tomorrow—it’s something that I can do a little each day that won’t be undone.  And it fills me.
I like to think I got a sewing gene from my grandma Lova.  Although I only knew her as a knitter (and still have several of the sweaters she knit for my sister and I), she also was an amazing seamstress.  She sewed all her girls’ dresses;  she made beautiful doll clothes; and used to go to sewing groups with friends she called “The Jolly Seventeen.”
And this little sewing machine sat on her bookshelf for years.  Often on Sunday afternoons, my sister and I would ask her to take it down and sew with it.  She would happily oblige with tiny pieces of paper that my sister and I could punch holes in and “sew.”
Now it sits on my bookshelf….and every time I look at it I fondly remember Grandma Lova. And secondly, it is a gentle reminder to myself that one zipper put in is enough for today.  It’s something done that can’t be undone.

More from my site

Subscribe to get all the latest

Comments

  1. In Black and White says

    Thanks for sharing a lovely story! I think that’s a wonderful mantra for everyone to live by, not just moms. It explains why I feel so much more satisfied on days when I’ve accomplished something crafty.

  3. LB3K says

    is that why i feel so incredibly depressed on the days when what i attempt to sew does not work out and has to be re-done? ;0)

    leisel

  5. Erin Shakespear says

    Lovely. And I totally agree. I’ve thought the same thing for years. Toilets just get dirty again.

    Also I think it’s important for moms to have something that is all theirs. Some women get lost a bit in the day to day things, all that is demanded from them. It’s good to have something that is just ours.

  11. toots2u says

    i love this post. I wish for a day of uninterrupted sewing but the few stitches i made today were enough for today… and were certainly the only thing i did that won’t be undone by my kiddos. Thank you!!

  12. Missy says

    Such a lovely post. The only post that I read yesterday that still had me thinking in the quiet hours of the night. I’ve never thought about my sewing that way – I usually feel guilty for sneaking a few minutes instead of scrubbing a toilet or doing the filing! 🙂 Thank you for a new perspective. Also, I’d love to read the post about conquering the mundane as I suffer from the mundane blues frequently!