Pups, Patterns, & Devotion

My sewing is not always done in the sewing room. On Wednesdays and Fridays when Mama spends the day with us, one of us stays downstairs with her at all times.

She is an elderly girl and while she wants to follow everyone upstairs, it has become more and more challenging for her to negotiate the stairs. Having one of us stay downstairs during her visits lets her have the company she wants without the stress (and sometimes pain) of struggling up the stairs.

Craig and I trade off throughout the day in two hour shifts and we both have learned to have things ready that we can work on downstairs on the days she and Nash visit. 

Cutting out patterns for 18th century clothing is one of the things I save for Mama-days. The dining room table actually works better than my sewing table because it is both longer and wider. I bring down several cuts of fabrics, patterns, pins, scissors, and marking chalk and I get a lot done during my two hour blocks hanging out with Mama.

Until Pepper goes into her Seeing Eye Dog protocols. Then, it's a lot harder to pin and cut the fabric.

Her training is that she should get out of the way and go under the desk, chair, or table where her partner is. So, like any well trained Seeing Eye Guide Dog, that is what she does. (Remember Tate's antics trying to do the same thing at the doctor's office? These dogs know what to do and how to get it done!)

She could "get out of the way" in any place of our home, but of course she wants to stay with me and, as she was taught, be close by and accessible for when I might need her.

And she prefers right under the table and at my feet. And usually right where I'd like to put my feet!

Which means I end up sitting like this and having to make extra efforts to pin and cut my fabric.

The rational thing do do would be to have her move to another place. But I don't. I am very aware that she is trying to take care of me in the best way she knows how. And that means being right under the table at my feet. 

There are three doggie beds and two "yes, Pepper, you're allowed up" couches in the dining and living rooms that she could choose to snooze on. But she doesn't choose any of them. 

She chooses to watch over me.

I have to respect her for that. Honor her, too. Even more, I love her for her devotion to me and for doing what she clearly considers her duty - taking care of me. And so she makes sure she's close by if I need her. 

(Reminds me of when the fire alarms went off in the house and she insisted I follow her and get outside to safety. I knew there was no fire in our home, but she didn't and was adamant that I go with her and out onto the safety of the back patio.)

So, on Wednesdays and Fridays, I get to spend a lot of time with these two sweet girls. Molly cuddles up on a dog bed and sleeps, Pepper snoozes at my feet, ready to help if needed, and I quietly cut out patterns and think about how lucky I am to have such sweet animals to hang out with.

The Circle of Life Reflected in Sewing Patterns

After two weeks of working on Corinne's quiet book, I decided I would clean out the buffet in the living room that holds all my sewing supplies and move them upstairs into my office. After all, I sew upstairs, and running up and down to get things is a bother. It makes much more sense to keep them up here.

As I pulled things out, I uncovered this cute little drawing left for me years ago (I sure hope it's not current!) by one of my cherubs who had too much time on their hands and access to a marker.

I couldn't get a good shot of it since it is inside one of the cupboards. I think it's a bunny, and I have a pretty good idea who drew it, too. But I'm not unhappy; in fact, it made me smile and even get a bit teary.

As did my three tubs of patterns.

Talk about being able to trace a part of your life through time! I taught myself to sew in high school and I sewed many dresses and tops to wear to school.

Then, after meeting Craig and getting married, I began sewing home decor items, maternity clothes, a baby layette, blessing dresses, baby clothes, girls' and boys' clothes, pajamas, doll clothes, baptism dresses, robes, aprons, Halloween costumes, outfits (both casual and dress) for me, temple dresses, dresses for Youth Conference, Prom and Homecoming dresses, bridesmaids' gowns, and mother-of-the-bride/groom outfits.

And then the cycle began again as the grandchildren started arriving. Patterns were re-used and new ones were bought.

Thoughts of donating them to Goodwill changed - how could I part with some of these treasures? I could remember the very fabrics used to make them, and had many memories of staying up late after the children were in bed, sewing long into the night as a deadline for a dance was looming or with Christmas just around the corner. Of hiding scraps so that the girls would not see their new doll clothes on Christmas morning and make a connection to the fabric they had seen in the trash can a few days previously.

Patterns for my maternity clothes especially evoked memories. We were dirt poor and students at Purdue. My Grandma Martin gave me tons of fabric (she had worked in a fabric shop in Terre Haute and had stocked up on bolt ends and other sale fabrics for years) and I wore tops and dresses made from that material. Not only a connection to my children, but to my grandmother as well.

In the end, I sorted out 15 patterns to donate, and then tucked the others away (okay, I STUFFED them) into new tubs in my office closet.

Will I ever make them again? Probably not. Maybe some doll clothes, or a robe or pajamas.

But knowing that that little piece of history, which reflects so much about our family's story, is still with me, makes me feel happy.