Homemaker Monday: Ode to a Seam Ripper

Welcome to the 47th weekly edition of...


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YOURS: This weeks "YOURS" goes to Katie at Kitchen Stewardship! She posted a beautiful article about balancing our lives as far as cooking, cleaning house and spending time with family. One of the quotes that struck me the most was...

"If I serve a meal with a crabby demeanor, it doesn’t matter what’s on the plate or how power-packed the nutrients are. The family feels poorly when they leave the table because of Mommy’s attitude."

How true is this? How many times have we served meals to our families with a not-so-becoming demeanor because of the difficulties it took to make the meal in the first place, only to ruin what we've worked so hard for?

Katie also writes about the inportance of working together with our family, posting some lovely photos of her family working together, in this particular case, picking strawberries with extended family...


Take the time to read this post. It's well worth it. Click HERE for the link. Thank you so much, Katie! I love your blog and I learn so much from you every time I visit!

MINE: This is a seam ripper...


...and so is this...


This is the 14-year-old girl, and after taking a home ec class this semester, she has developed a liking to the sewing machine. This warms my heart, as I have had a love of sewing since I was a dirt-poor military wife nearly twenty years ago. Unfortunately, however, I have had to put the sewing machine aside for the past four years due to moves, remarriages (or, I should say a remarriage), babies and more moves.

The 14-year-old girl started out her sewing career by constructing a duffle bag, then, while we've been in the states visiting my mother, I encouraged her to try to do a skirt, as we finally had access to fabric stores.

The thing that struck me the most about the 14-year-old girl as she taught herself what to do was her immense patience. She made mistakes to spare on her first skirt (shown above), but she wasn't afraid to use the seam ripper and start all over. Also, to her immense chagrin, when she had to walk away from the machine for more than three seconds, her little brother would deftly jump in front of the chair and push the pedal as hard as he could, causing the machine to stitch, willy-nilly, on the fabric she had left under the needle. Again, she would patiently rip out the new, unwanted stitches and get back to work.

To me, this signified the development of good character. I certainly do not credit myself for this, as then I would have to accept the blame for my children's failures, but this is refreshing to see. How many times in life do we make a mistake, but are not willing to take the proper steps of repentance (i.e. a seam ripper) to make things right. Do we tend to want to try and hide our crooked or puckered "seams", hoping nobody will notice them, or do we really try to rid them from our lives, taking the time to examine them, rip out the offending behaviors, and truly repent of our faults and try to change, letting our unpolluted beauty shine through?


As I watched my daughter rip out the mistakes (or her brother's mistakes) over and over again, I developed a real appreciation for the young woman she is becoming. I want to be more like her, with her patience and enthusiasm, and I want to sew skirts, too!


Here is what she made...

First of all, we purchased this pattern...


We liked it because of it's versatility and summery designs. Here is the first skirt she made, the one with the most ripped seams...




I loved it because of the three contrasting fabric patterns all in the same color scheme. We especially loved the antiqued eyelet lace that finished it off...


Next, she made the following...


What's totally awesome about this skirt is the button fringe trim. We purchased this at Hobby Lobby (it wasn't cheap either) and we agree that it is just precious as it jingles and sways as she moves...


Here, look at it...


Isn't it too cute?

Next, she sewed the following to give to a friend...




This is probably my favorite (and I wish she had made one in MY size). I love the pink pleated ribbon that finishes it off. To me, it looks so dressy...


Last, she put together the following, also for a friend...


I love, LOVE, LOVVVVE. the colors of this fabric. It couldn't be prettier with the white pleated trim...


So there you have it, how the 14-year-old girl is developing her character. Now....to figure out how to inspire the 17- and 12-year-old boys to get busy and stop playing so many video games! Any tips? Thanks for listening and have a great one!

OURS: Okay, what do all of you awesome homemakers out there have for us today. I can't wait to read your tips, recipes, how-tos and inspiration! Thanks for joining us today!



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