Sunday! How did you get here so quickly! Sometimes doesn’t it feel like your week takes forever to progress and the weekend is gone in 5 seconds? It sure feels that way to me sometimes. So, who’s family lives by the old saying “Sunday is a day of rest”? We try to except my day to rest is a little different than most. It’s my day to cook and meal prep for the week. It’s also my day to make sure the house is tidy. My husband watches sprots all day and typically doesn’t move from his recliner. Now, I know that cooking and cleaning a little doesn’t seem like resting but to me, that is resting. All week my face is in a computer screen so being in the kitchen is kind of nice.
I always talk about how a person should do something that he or she loves. To do the things that make you happy. Sunday for us, is the perfect day for us to do that. Do you have something that you enjoy doing that literally makes you smile when you think about it? This last year I have found something that I have become so passionate about. Last fall I decided that I wanted to learn to sew. My little sister got married last September in our back yard by our creek. I wanted so badly to sew my own dress to wear. I found a dress on Pinterest that I fell in love with. It was very retro and I wanted something similar. I begged my mom to make the dress for me. She knows how to sew and has made several sets of curtains for me. She just didn’t want to tackle a dress. So, she gave me one of her sewing machines and told me to give it a shot. I started literally learning to sew a straight line. The I was able to make a tote and some key fobs. Once I saw that I really loved the peace that being behind that sewing machine gave to me, I knew immediately that I was going to make that dress. With the help of a friend who has sewn for years, I was able to pick my pattern and work through the basics. I made the dress! And I wore it. It wasn’t perfect but I was very proud of it.
Today, over a year later, I am still sewing. I have made many jumpers and items of clothing which I wear. I have also started making pillows and a lot of other items. This past Christmas I gave all sewn gifts to the women in my family, and I even sewed their giftbags. Recently I was asked if I would do some hemming for some folks, and I agreed. I am now currently working on pillows and aprons using retro patterns and materials so that I can sell them at an upcoming craft fair. Never in a million years would I have ever dreamed that I would sew even a button back on a shirt let alone that I would fall in love with being able to make my own clothing.
Recently, I have started going to thrift stores and antique stores to find vintage fabric. My eye is always on the lookout for the gaudiest looking patterns that I can find. All the browns, greens, and oranges that I can find. It’s gotten so bad that my momma and my siblings are all looking for fabric lol. If you have a family like mine, let’s just say you are super lucky. They’ll support your hobbies and begin to contribute to your stockpile.
Speaking of family, I had one of the coolest aunts ever. She was an eclectic old gal who could do pretty much anything. She worked at a bank which would make you think she was pretty boring but, she was a fire. Her name was Ellen and she was my daddy’s oldest sister. Much older. She was about 20 years older than dad. I truly say she was my spirit person. She wore bell bottoms and polyester. She wore hair ties and mary jane shoes. She and my uncle never had any children but, they loved us, and they loved life real big. They traveled everywhere with the senior citizens center. And she did “stuff”. She made dolls, she did pottery, she knitted, she crocheted, and she sewed. She could sew anything. She was always “old” to me. In fact, she died only a few years ago and was 94. A few months ago, my mom gave me a bag of vintage fabric and sewing items that were hers. I have loved every second of going through and using the items in that bag. I found some quilting squares that she had sewn and never made in to a quilt. After washing them and cleaning them up, I was able to make them in to pillows for my siblings. I gave them to them this week and they loved them.
Sunday is my sewing day. My day of rest behind the sewing machine. After my few little “chores” of meal prepping and cleaning, my rest is truly to get behind that sewing machine. Friends, go find what makes you happy and do that. Do it as much as you can. This little life that we have is so very short. Enjoy it all that you can and do what makes you happy. You may find that folks around you will benefit too. Nothing is better than a handmade sentimental gift. Have a blessed Sunday evening! (P.S. This is one of the 4 pillows that I made from my aunt’s vintage quilt panel. The design is had sewn and I love them. I think Aunt Ellen would be proud)
Always…….Brooke
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