Mom’s Sewing Machine
When we had our interior decorating shop, my granddaughter Alex was always with us on the workroom side. We taught her at a young age how to safely use the sewing machine and scissors. I remember watching how carefully she would hit the knee pedal and watch the fabric go straight at a few years old. As she got older, she had fun making pillows and even a few of her clothes. Then as she got even older, she helped us with the window treatments we made for clients. Fast forward to when Alex become a mommy and now Lia had a love for sewing. She would sit on my lap and help me sew and she loved to remove the pins as the needle got close. Like Alex, when Lia got older she would cut, pin and sew Minky blankets and pillows with me.
One funny thing happened when my daughter Christine was about 6 years old. She would go camping with my mom and dad and one weekend they left but Chris forgot to pack her panties. My mom whipped out her sewing machine and stitched up a few pair of panties for Chris. She always had supplies on hand and this was one time she was glad she did.
My grandmother started the family sewing, then it went through the generations of my mom, me, my daughter Chris, my granddaughter Alexandra and my great granddaughter Lia. Sewing was a family tradition in our family and I love all the memories through the generations.
Now fast, fast forward again! When cleaning out the garage, I come across my mom’s Singer portable sewing machine from 1974! I remember when she bought it, her and my dad traveled in their Holiday Rambler travel trailer after they retired and she wanted a small machine for her sewing projects. It was the perfect size with the cord and pedal stored in the base of the machine so it didn’t take up a lot of space. I remember years back when Alex saw this machine she asked if one day she could have it. Well that one day came last week.
I pulled the machine out, cleaned and oiled it then took pictures of where to open the case and thread the machine. Then I put together a box of sewing essentials for her to get started with. The tape measure was one we used in our shop as were the ADO scissors that were from one of our fabric supplies. I’m hoping Alex and Lia will bring back the fun times when they learned to sew and have many sewing projects together. This was the perfect month to give mom’s sewing machine to Alex, mom’s birthday is January 25, 1921 and she passed away January 15, 2000. I took it up to her last weekend when we met in Knoxville with Lia to head back home to Indiana. Happy sewing memories Alex and Lia with my mom’s sewing machine!
What wonderful memories – my mom sewed many of my clothes (and often, a matching outfit for one of my dolls) an helped me when I was in a 4-H sewing club.
I know Alex and Lia will love your gift of your mom’s machine! And blessings on the anniversary of your mom’s passing.
Oh yes, my sister and I had so many matching clothes for us and our dolls. My grandmother even made a Girl Scout outfit for my older sister’s doll and a Brownie outfit for my doll. I’m happy that Alex and Lia can now share the love of sewing and make their own sewing memories.
What a beautiful story! I love how the sewing machine has become a literal thread connecting four generations; your mom, you, (what about Chris, though?) Alex, and now Lia. It’s such a tangible way to pass on skills, memories, and love.
Thank you Tamara this machine definitely has many memories. Chris wasn’t into sewing as much as horses. But funny story, when she was about 6 years old she want camping with my mom and dad. Once there, Gramma realized Chris didn’t pack any panties. So my mom pulled out her machine and whipped Chris up some cute little panties. 🤣
What a wonderful memory! And how you turned it into a sharing moment with your daughter and granddaughter. This is how we keep our loved ones’ memories alive. Thank you for sharing this. It brought back good memories of my mom buying me my first sewing machine and showing me how to sew. I have since given that sewing machine to my daughter!
I love when my blogs bring back memories when other read them Patricia! I know Alex and Lia will both enjoy my mom’s machine for a long time.
How interesting, Martha. Love all the photos. Rod has his mother’s old Singer 191B. The B signifies that it was made in France. His father bought it for her in 1960 for $130. It still works! After I let him use my Bernina 790, he’s been spoiled. I might have to ban him now. He’s getting carried away, sewing 3 vests and driving me crazy trying out the buttonhole thing.
That great to see Rod wanting to sew Lily! When we had our industrial machines at the shop, many were back from the early 1900’s but they were the best machines!