My mother has a favorite cotton jacket that she’s been wearing lately. She handed it to me a couple of weeks ago and told me there were two tiny holes on the back and what a great idea it would be to cover them up with buttons.
“Are you sure, Mom? I can easily just sew the holes.”
“Out of the ordinary is in vogue,” she informs me. “Out of place is now the perfect place for design detail.”
OK, buttons it is. So I take the jacket home and look for holes, which I don’t find. (Mom has Macular Degeneration, which means she’s losing her eyesight. What she thought were holes were actually pulled black threads.) I do find some buttons that I think will work as I have a feeling she wants out of place buttons, regardless.
I bring the jacket and the buttons back to Mom along with my sewing kit and we have fun. Well, first I have a heck of a time getting her to believe that there are indeed no holes on the back of her jacket.
“Damn … I was really looking forward to those buttons,” says Mom, more than a little disappointed.
I suggest we do it anyway.
Her eyes brighten and as I set to sewing up an actual hole in a pair of her pants, she focuses on placement of the buttons on the jacket.
She hems and haws and rearranges. She decides on a mix of two styles and I have my doubts but then I have to agree with her point that the one set needs the other to make the whole thing pop.
That afternoon I sew all six buttons just the way she placed them and we both are thrilled with the result.
It was such a pleasure to work with Mom on a project and this time to be the one creating something for her. I was reminded of projects for me over the years – knitted hats and scarves, a Laura Ashley skirt that I still have, and countless repair jobs. She’s the one who taught me how to knit and how to hand sew. I like that we are finding a way to continue.
Happy Mother’s Day!!
OverDressed for Life 