Grandma and her sewing basket…
I’m not quite sure, but I think with some certainty that my grandkids see my sewing basket as a magical place of mending and sewing; a place where dancing spools of colors thread themselves in likewise dancing needles, and a place where buttons gather themselves like sand on a beach.
I feel honored to be thought part of this magical place as the go-to person for any mending or sewing that needs immediate attention. I am, let’s say, the gate-keeper of the sewing basket. Yes. And I love it.
My latest mending request was by my 4-year old grandson Henry, who had a sad little Monkey hat whose nose was falling off and whose pom poms were either detached and/or missing. Henry began the mending conversation like this:
Henry: Grandma, do you have your sewing basket in your car?
Me: No, Honey, I keep it at home.
Henry: Oh. Can you go home and get it because my Monkey hat needs to be sewed. (My home is a 45-minute drive and it’s Friday afternoon rush hour.)
Me: How about if I take your hat home, sew it and bring it back tomorrow?
Henry: (hesitant to part with his hat) Oh. Okay. But do you have the right colors to fix it?
Of course I have the right colors; that’s part of the magic!
So that’s what I did. Well, that’s what the magic sewing basket did…
Ah. The perfect colors are dancing inside my sewing basket.
Henry could find only one pom pom, but assured me that he’d be searching for the other one… still wondering aloud and with great concern if my sewing basket has the right colors.
Oh, I forgot to tell you that when I got home, I didn’t even take off my coat. I got straight to work, kind of like Santa on Christmas Eve. And when the magic was done, I put the Monkey hat on my head and sent a photo text to his Mommy, Audrey…
As promised, because Grandmas and magic may never, ever break a promise and I have all the right colors, I delivered the mended Monkey hat to Henry the very next day… at Grandma Rita’s 88th birthday dinner. Henry was delighted with the magic and the colors!
Henry may very well still be wearing his Monkey hat today!
And ya know what? I know with certainty that my grandkids see my sewing basket as a magical place of mending and sewing. Because it is.
That is the best! Can I start bringing the boys stuffed dragons to you and you magical sewing basket? Xo
What a great post – my grandmother’s sewing basket was always a magical place too. I remember watching her with her thimble and pin cushion, mending a seam or reattaching a button, thinking wow, how does she do that??? Love it.
My mom has that magic sewing basket, too, and it’s an auto-reaction with my girls to immediately ask her when one of their skirts or dresses need a little love. I think my mom can keep that magic and I’ll let her relish in it as long as possible. 🙂 (What a cute hat!!)
My grandmother was the same way. Now that I have her sewing table, my girls keep asking me to teach them to sew.
My grandma was the exact same way. I remember her sewing us items as we were growing up! Fond memories!
I still feel like that with my mom and her magic washing machine. I swear that sometimes stains show up on clean clothes in my closet. It drives me bananas and as soon as I give up and put things in a pile to donate, Mom sweeps in, takes it home and returns it magically renewed. I don’t know HOW she does it, but as long as she never stops, I will be good! 🙂