Call it a becky-homecky hobby, but because of sewing, my life has blossomed into something greater than I ever could have imagined.
A nascent seamstress, I was introduced to Mishka, a woman who not only taught me about sewing, but about hard work, living le joie de vivre, and always thinking ahead, especially when it comes to silk. Further along in my sewing career, I attended SCAD for fashion design and Johnson and Wales University for fashion merchandising; both experiences put me in contact with similarly-left-brain creatives. Then I started this thing called a blog, and whoa Nelly, did that decision crack me from my cocoon and life-long hibernation.
So this Thanksgiving, I wanted to give back the thing that has given me so much – a sewing machine. On a whim, I contacted the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to see if they would accept my unusual donation. “We don’t normally receive gifts like this, so let me get back to you with an answer,” Amy Moore, an employee at the hospital’s donation center, told me when I called her. Well, they returned my phone call and said yes, so last Saturday, I delivered a brand new Brother sewing machine to the hospital. Whether it’s given to a particular child or kept in the hospital as a hobby for patients looking for something to do, my heart is full today because I was able to give back something that is so precious to me.
I can’t end without thanking my dad. As his eldest daughter, he spoils me rotten, and always has. But through example, he taught my brothers and I the importance of giving back. As I sat in Sunday school, he taught youth group and as our neighborhood invited their friends over for a party for Ft. Lauderdale’s annual boat parade, he threw a bash for local cancer kids. So thank you dad, you were also an inspiration for my charitable move.