Sewing tools.

I know how to sew, but I don't really sew.  I can't imagine not having a sewing machine or a sewing basket in which to corral the needles, a small stack of fabric, thread and pins for the mending.  Heh, the mending that I never, ever get to.  The girls always outgrew the mending pile -- usually by years.  Right now, my main sewing basket is set atop the sewing machine case under one of the dining nook windows and atop of that is a pile of stuff with holes or missing buttons or blown out seams or falling-down hems, along with some fabric and patterns.

The accoutrements of sewing are many and they come in all sizes.  I have three sewing machines and about a half-dozen sewing baskets.  Two of the machines are, at the moment, non-working treadle machines of the heirloom variety -- one from my maternal grandmother, the other from my paternal great-grandmother on Grandma's side.  The baskets and stands are a bit of a problem...  I am inexplicably drawn to them -- wicker, wood, plastic, it doesn't really matter.  All but one are filled with items having nothing to do with sewing -- they hold yarn or needlework, and one in my bedroom holds belts. 

I've sewn skirts, shorts and tops for the girls, dresses for myself, even a bag.  My main line, though, has been curtains.  I've made simple curtains and valances for nearly every place I've lived.  My neighbor lady even asked me to sew a curtain for her once.  I never met a tension rod that I didn't like.  When DH's surrogate grandparents' home burned and the family rallied to transform an unused outbuilding into a new living space, I felt helpless.  As the mother of a one-year-old who required constant attention, I couldn't pound nails or pull wire or paint, but I could make the curtains!  It isn't home without the curtains!!

My mother -- while she hasn't sewn in quite a few years -- is an amazing seamstress.  She used to sew for Sharon and Karen and me -- three of everything -- even after she had Michael, but the sewing machine was keeping company with the mothballs after Annie's arrival (though Ann definitely benefitted from the sewing with all those hand-me-downs).  Mom sewed cute, ruffly, flannel nightgowns for the girls with matching gowns for their Cabbage Patch dolls a few years ago -- she still "sews."  One of my grandmothers always went over the seams of all of her store-bought clothes, not trusting the workmanship.  The girls, too, have "sewn" -- outfits for all of their dolls, alterations to their own clothing -- though I am using the term quite loosely.  (Sometimes scotch tape, string, staples or safety pins replaced needle and thread, and sometimes kleenex or paper towels or leaves replaced fabric -- can you see why we like Project Runway so much?)