A Collection of Tiny Bits of Thread

Sewing. It's what I do. A cut of fabric, specifically cut to the length I wish is my blank canvas. A canvas of unlimited, colorful, purposeful possibilities. Sometimes I carefully pin tissue-paper patterns to the fabric and cut and snip the fabric into organized pieces. Systematically and as quickly as possible, I sew my seams, add my notions and voila! I find that I have finished another creation. Sometimes my projects are insanely big, sometimes they are tiny holes that are mended. No matter the project size, sewing is part of my life.

Sewing. It's what my mom does. Every December, my mom would shut the door to the sewing room, preventing curious and excited eyes from seeing her handiwork. Unwrapping a newspaper covered bundle revealed wonderful things. Once it was a fancy stroller. Once it was a Strawberry Shortcake Doll, a Pound Puppy, and a Cabbage Patch Premie. Once it was an entire box of cross country ski clothes, including waterproof mittens and gators. Once it was a pair of black stirrup pants. I'm pretty sure that my mom can sew ANYTHING with her white Bernina. My mom is my go-to expert. She knows everything.

Spatial skills. They're my best tools. Most of the time I can see how things need to go together, how they need to lay and how I need to piece them together. I love the challenges of figuring out these puzzles.

Mistakes. I make them. Humanity takes over and the stitching shows up in the wrong place. That's when the collection of tiny bits of thread appear. I love collecting the tiny bits into a pile that sticks together despite the brevity that they held within my project. I make so many mistakes in my life. I have quite a pile of tiny bits of thread. I get upset at silly things, accidentally forget that I'm cooking and burn my cookies, and yell at the kids. I get impatient with my husband, and completely forget to fold the laundry. The best part is that no matter how many tiny threads I collect, they all get pinched together and tossed into the garbage can. As I clean up my projects at the end of the day, I toss my collection of tiny threads. I don't frame the threads and hang them on the wall, so why do I frame my mistakes and keep them on the walls of my mind? There is no reason to save them, so I've decided not too. Tossing them all out today... yes, all of them!

Results. They're wonderful! I love them. Success. A glorious end to a bunch of hard work. Better than that amazing feeling of completing a job well done is seeing the results on the faces of my loved ones. One of my big summer projects for the summer was hand-sewing an authentic 18th Century suit for my boy. In this suit, he can participate in Revolutionary War reenactment events, parades, demonstrations and get the opportunity to live history. Sunday, I got to see the results of my sewing on Carl's face. I will never forget his happy glow! In that suit, I got to witness him stare unexpected challenges in the face and then in front of an audience show his true stitching. He impressed us all!

Tiny bits of thread. You've got to collect and toss them to the wind. While I'm tossing my bits to the wind, I hope you get to feel the freedom to toss your bits to the wind and show everyone what a glorious project you are!