Saturday, June 9, 2012

Seam Lock

Today I reached into my sewing basket. There was that really handy bottle of seam lock stuff my dear friend from down South backed away in my bags the last visited.

The product glues down threads that you cut to make into buttonholes (or rather someone else has!) and thus they last a bit longer. This ingenious product just might make the Sharpie product line go out of business in my house as I truly color in worn out buttonholes with Sharpies--don't you?

Of course, I've been doing that with purses for years. I've got a 33 year old purse that looks brand new, as long as I keep it out of the rain!

Obviously, reaching for that stuff made me think of my BFF.  She is a great seamstress. When I think of the great seamstresses that I know, I think of my sister and her.

But when I take down my sewing basket, Mom fills my mind. We never sat at the machine together or darned or anything like that. But we did little things like sewing on buttons. I watched her thread a needle and learned how to hand sew a lock stitch. It was so amazing to see her do such mundane but valuable things. She was always so overwhelmed by tasks, kids, duties and my antics. To watch her quietly pick up a shirt as if she had nothing else to do and whip up a torn hem or sew on a button -- I was in rapture.

But that must be what most mom's do. Take out time from a crazy day and quietly do what else needs to be done. No muss, no fuss, just do.

And so my sewing basket is precious to me. No, Mom was not a big sewer when I was a kid. But I don't remember any lose buttons or ripped hems, probably thanks to Big Sister or me after I was big enough to handle the scissors without a spanking.

Sister taught me to sew and so much more. But Mom gave me a look that said, "This is important honey, learn it well and tuck it away until you need it. Place it in your catalog of a thousand chores under no muss, no fuss, just do."

I see Mom's look when I pull out the sewing basket.

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