“Sewing mends the soul.” ~ Author Unknown
Late last year, while I was up to my elbows in sewing school uniforms for a few local schools for the beginning of the school year this year, I happened to get a phone call one day that had me buying myself an early Christmas present.
I have subscribed to a craft magazine for some years now, and the company was offering their subscribers a deal “too good to refuse”. I must say I was sceptical and had no intentions of buying whatever they had on offer.
So, the spiel began, I half listened. A few words caught my attention, fat quarters, sewing lamp, quilt wadding, scissors, sewing box….usual price ~ a trillion dollars, but for you today ~ dirt cheap.
“Would you care to repeat that?” I asked the very patient sales woman, as I apologised for being preoccupied with having so much work to get through.
She obliged, I did the mental sums; this was a great deal! And I rarely spend money on myself, and these were items that I would get a lot of use out of….
I’m not sure if the sales woman did a good job of convincing me that I had to have these items, or if I convinced myself. Regardless, I hung up the phone after exchanging pleasantries with the friendly woman on the other end of the line, feeling quite excited about my unexpected purchase.
A few days later, (which seemed like such a long time as I really was looking forward to my purchase arriving), two large boxes arrived at the post office.
It was so much fun looking through my newly purchased craft items, but back then was not the time to be lingering over them, I still had work to get through. It is only this week that I have finally unpacked the boxes and found homes for all of my new sewing necessities.
Let me tell you, I’m not a woman who gets overly excited over new clothes and shoes. I like to wear comfortable clothes, mostly jeans and tops that are made of soft fabric, and around home I usually go bare foot, except during cooler weather when I wear my fluffy deep pink “ugg” boots. But give me two boxes of newly purchased craft and sewing bits and bobs and I’m in seventh heaven!
The last time I received a new sewing box was for my tenth birthday. My sister gave it to me and it was the last birthday present I ever got from her, as shortly after my birthday she joined a religion which does not celebrate birthdays, so my old sewing box is something I have treasured for many years, although it is rarely used now. Instead, I use pretty tins that once contained biscuits, or old chocolate boxes to store my sewing treasures. I even use an old tobacco tin that once contained my dad’s pipe tobacco!
Unfortunately the nostalgic odour of dad’s pipe tobacco is long gone now, making it easier for me to part company with an old memory and make way for my new sewing box, a part of my super-beaut buy!
It is a stained wooden box with a padded hinged lid and one single drawer underneath. Both the top section and the drawer are partitioned, to keep small sewing paraphernalia separated and neatly ready for use.
All that was missing was that each section needed to have a lining, to give it a more homey feel, so I searched through my stock of felt pieces and found two pieces of lilac coloured felt and one deep purple, which would suit the colour of the wood beautifully.
So today, I fiddled and measured and cut and glued, then sorted old tins and boxes, finally arranging all of my needles, tape measures, pins, elastic, scissors, and everything else that had been in something of a muddle for years, into my new sewing box. I hadn’t thought these things to be in a muddle though, not until I saw the end result of my labour today, with everything so organised.
With the shelves beside my sewing machine in my sewing cupboard all cleared off and cleaned, I arranged everything back onto the shelves, and now I’m all set to go!
What I’d really like to hear about now is this ~ do you have a hobby that makes your heart sing, one which you can become so engrossed in that you lose all track of time, almost as if you were a child again and had just discovered your favourite toy to play with?
I think that everyone should have at least one hobby that can brush away all the cares in the world.
I know that I have several, but they are stories that will have to wait for another day. 🙂
“Me thinks it is a token of healthy and gentle characteristics, when women of high thoughts and accomplishments love to sew; especially as they are never more at home with their own hearts than while so occupied.” ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Marble Faun, 1859
In My World 
As I sit here at my computer typing this comment, I have a view of my “sewing area”. I enjoy quilting, but I am completely unorganized about it. I have a case of sorts just absolutely jumbled and overflowing with pieces of fabric, spools of thread, notions, scissors, and other odds and ends. I could really use a way to get organized! (maybe I’ll send you a picture later of the craziness, lol) Quilting tends to be my cold-weather hobby, while gardening is my warm-weather one. As soon as as the ground is ready for planting in this part of the world, I love to be outside with my hands in the dirt!
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Now there’s an idea for a blog post Karma ~ take photos of your unorganised sewing area, write a blog post and ask everyone for suggestions to help you in becoming organised! I love quilting too. I made my first quilt when I was only 16 years old, out of scraps of fabric I had kept from my millions of different sewing projects. My youngest daughter adopted the quilt when she was a little girl and when she left home last year, it went with her, very faded yet still much-loved.
Oh, you love dirt too! There’s nothing like the feel of the earth in your hands and knowing you are planting a tiny plant that will flourish in the soil. 🙂
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As a person who loves creating and organizing, I loved this post.
I’d love to sew my own clothes one day.
I can get this way about scrapbooking and spend lots of time organizing all the bits and pieces and have boxes, trays and bags full of supplies. I don’t do it all the time but when I do I spend days scrapbooking and love it. I even go on a scrapbooking camp once a year and we scrap pretty much 24/7 for a weekend. It’s so much fun.
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The scrapbooking weekends sound like so much fun! No distractions and spending time on a much loved hobby with like-minded people must give you such a sense of satisfaction. I discovered scrapbooking only this year, when my two daughters and myself made up a scrapbook for my mother-in-law of her 80th birthday celebrations. Now, I want to make more books!
If you enjoy creating things, you will love sewing your own clothes. Hold onto your dreams. 🙂
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That’s the thing about scrapbooking I find, once you start you can’t stop.
I’d love to sew my own clothes because I have my own style but also because it’s really hard to find clothes that fit me being so small. It’s why I made my own jewellery, chokers were normal sized necklaces on me and bracelets fell off my wrists.
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I do hope you have a go at making clothes for yourself. Originals are always the best. 🙂
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Feeling your excitement about this special sewing box, Joanne. So glad that you found it! You must truly love to sew. I have a sewing box gifted by my grandmother when we were first married. It hardly ever sees the light of day.
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I’m imagining your grandmother had high aspirations for you Kathy! Even though your sewing box isn’t used, I’m sure it is treasured as a gift from a loved one. Yes, I do love sewing, very much. It is one of my hobbies (among others!) that when doing it I feel that it is where I’m meant to be. 🙂
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That sewing box is amazing, Joanne. I suppose writing does the trick for me, and if not writing, then by all means – knitting or crocheting. ❤
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You are a natural at writing too Stacy, I love to read your words as they flow as smooth as silk. Where would we be without writing? I sudder to think! 🙂
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I enjoy taking a break from life on your blog, too, Joanne. ❤
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I want a sewing box just like yours. 🙂 My spools of thread are currently stored in a zip lock bag.
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I wish I could send you a sewing box like mine Sheryl. It was so exciting opening the boxes when they arrived and when I saw the sewing box I was thrilled with it. I had bought it sight unseen! 🙂
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That’s such a lovely sewing box, Joanne. I can tell through your words that sewing brings you great joy. 🙂
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Sewing is definitely one of the hobbies of mine that brings me the greatest joy, Robin. 🙂
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