Put a Bird On It!

Ever since I was little my mom has been into sewing. I remember going up to her sewing loft when I was a little girl and watching her pin pieces of fabric together and thread the needle on her sewing machine. I have a lot of random memories from that loft, which was only accessible through the master bedroom and had a sloped ceiling and wrought iron banister. There was a tall, narrow window right by my mom’s sewing table that looked out over the side yard. When my mom sat at that table she could just see the giant screen of the neighbor’s TV in their living room across the creek. My mom would turn on Oprah in our living room so she could hear the show while watching the neighbor’s TV.

The loft was 100% my mom’s space. My brothers and I ran rampant in the basement and my father generally commanded the television in the living room, but the loft belonged to my mom. In that loft she made my dresses when I was young, sweaters and pants for my brothers, the Christmas stockings that we still use to this day, and many, many Halloween costumes. Sometimes I would just sit and watch, other times I would try to help, more often than not just getting in the way.  She taught me to iron men’s shirts (she always ironed my Dad’s for him) and how to repair small holes. She taught me counted cross-stitch and tried, on multiple occasions, to show me how to use a sewing machine. Occasionally I would injure myself, like the time I sliced into my finger with a rotary blade and bled all over the fabric I was trying to cut. Despite my injuries and ineptitude, I always thought I would some day grow up to be just like her.

I never doubted that I would learn these skills from her and someday make Halloween costumes for my kids, too. It’s weird to think about it now, though. Now that I am in my thirties and still have not made it a priority to learn to sew. I dabble in other crafts (scrapbooking, mostly) but there are few as practical as sewing. The case in point is the reason for this post. Recently my mom sent me an email with a subject line that read, “I made you a bag with birds on it.” I opened the email and this is what I saw:

A bag with a bird on it

How adorable is this bag? And how appropriate, given that she made it in Portland, Oregon. (See, Portlandia)

I hope to someday impress my daughter the way that my mom impresses me. And I look forward to the new memories we’ll create as I finally get around to taking my mom up on those sewing lessons. If only we lived on the same side of the country! I have to admit, though, it’s probably better for Dennis that I haven’t learned to sew yet. I see many ill-fitting shirts with festive prints in his future.