It was one of those sunny, but too cold to be outside days, when I decided to use my great-grandmother’s sewing machine for the first time.
I’d promised my granddaughter I’d make a blanket for her beloved stuffy, Dog-Dog, so with material in hand, I opened the antique sewing cabinet.
When my great-grandfather purchased this for his wife Alice, she’d only had an old treadle machine. This gift came after her years of operating a boarding house and sewing fancy dresses for the wealthy. Not an easy livelihood in the early 1900’s—all while being a single mother.
I ran my hands over the metal wheel and imagined her delight at how automated it was. Rather than using her feet to propel the machine, she could use her knee against a convenient lever beneath the cabinet—using electricity!
I picked up her scissors—sharpened to perfection. Then I ran my fingers over dozens of wooden spools of old thread—varied colors from all those long, gorgeous dresses. Threads of connection between us.
Then I remembered the story my aunt shared— A few years before Alice married my great-grandfather, she’d been given the opportunity to create a magnificent ball gown for one of Portland’s prominent ladies.
She made multiple visits to the woman’s opulent home for dress fittings—all without pay until the gown was finished. The woman was cranky and unappreciative of Alice’s hours of hard work.
Once the dress was finally ready, Alice decided to walk the two miles to the woman’s home—carrying the large box so nothing would happen to the gown. Alice removed the tissue paper and handed the gown to the woman. She looked at it, screamed that it was awful, and threw it on the floor. Alice quietly left and carried it back home.
The beautiful gown hung in the attic where Alice worked. She kept sewing for others as faithfully as ever.
As my aunt tells it, Alice said, “God had a different idea for that beautiful gown.” She made a few adjustments and wore it herself for a very special occasion—when she married my great-grandfather.
Alice worked hard and didn’t always succeed, but she never let anything rob her of kindness towards others along the way. What a beautiful way to live and to be remembered.
