Sewing Sampler

My grandmother died seven years ago.  She wasn't always the easiest person to be around but, as a child, I didn't always know this.  Here's what I did know about her:

She made the best darned chocolate chip cookies I've ever eaten.

She rode her exercise bicycle every morning before the sun was even awake.

She had the neatest necklace that had beads in the shape of little pink hearts.

She taught me always to wear a hat so as not to get skin cancer.

Her dinner rolls were yet another of her culinary achievements.

When I visited her she let me stay up late watching TELEVISION!

She prominently displayed my school picture on top of said television.

She read her Bible over and over again.

There's lots more I could say about my grandmother.  I cherish her presence in my life, yes, even those not-so-easy moments.  After all, not everyone gets to have a grandmother.  And not everyone gets to have a grandmother who passes on such vivid memories and important lessons.

One of my grandmother's legacies to me is her sewing machine.  It's been tucked into a closet for five years.  After all, she never did teach me to sew.  I have the machine but not the knowledge to use it. So, I finally pulled it out, bought a book, purchased some supplies and started playing around.

Two broken needles and much wasted thread later, I made my first project from the book Stitch by Stitch by Deborah Moebes, a sewing sampler.  It's a bit of cloth with every single stitch my sewing machine can do.  I even practiced using the buttonhole foot!  I know I still have a long way to go before I sew my first napkin but it's a start.

Thanks, Grandma!