Seamstresses

Our backyard neighbor, Emily recently graduated from high school and is living at home with her parents right now. I love that girl. And I especially love that she is teaching Brita and Leah how to sew. Tonight they had their first lesson so a few days ago we were in the fabric store mulling over all the beautiful choices.

As a kid I remember dreading fabric stores. My mom would gush over all kinds of fabrics and take forever searching the aisles for the perfect colors and textures. It bored me out of my mind and it showed. It was always good for me when Doug was there so we could chase each other and hide under all the racks and displays. I don't think mom appreciated that much.

But shopping with my girls for their first big sewing project that they were completely ecstatic about was so much fun. I tried hard to put the brakes on my inclinations to steer them towards the fabrics I liked and instead let them choose the fabrics that spoke to them. It's always so hard for me to do that, but I'm always so glad when I back off.

When the girls came home tonight they were beaming. And I love the energy that fills the air after my kids have done something productive with their time and when they are proud of what they've done. They worked hard tonight and I can tell they feel good about that. I feel good about that too.

These are not sloppy, hastily thrown together pillowcases. These panels on these pillowcaes are perfectly aligned and stitched carefully and meticulously. Each of these girls has a pillowcase that was sewn by her own two hands out of fabric that makes her happy. And that is all I need to be happy too.