The Masterpiece
My mother was an accomplished seamstress. I was eight years old when she began teaching me to sew on the sewing machine. She helped me make this apron for a 4-H project.
When our older daughter, Bethany, got married, Mother came to our house for a visit and we worked together to make Bethany a velvet wedding dress for her December wedding. What a special memory that is.
I don’t remember how old I was when Mother began teaching me to use a needle and thread to embroider, but this cup towel was one of my first projects.
Josephine Preston Peabody captured a mother and daughter’s first sewing lesson well in her poem “The Masterpiece” in The Little Book of the Past.
The Masterpiece
My Mother cut it out for me,
And started it, so I could see;
And then she turned some edges in,
And let me take it to begin.
I made it. But I did not know
How very long it takes to sew.
I took a long time for that stitch;
And now it’s there, I don’t know which
Is better. But not one is small,
And they are not alike at all.
That side was very hard to fix.
And then, the needle always pricks:
But you must hold it, and take care,—
Because the point is always there;
And knots keep coming by and by;
And then, no matter how you try,
The thread comes out of its old eye!
But some way, now I have it done,—
I think it is a Pretty One.
Elizabeth Shippen Green Elliott captured the experience well in her accompanying illustration.
The Masterpiece by Elizabeth Shippen Green Elliott,
courtesy Library of Congress.
I wasn’t homeschooled, but I am grateful for every lesson my mother taught me at home. They have guided, watched over, and talked to me all my life. Your lessons will guide, watch over, and talk to your children, too.
My son, observe the commandment of your father
And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;
Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
When you walk about, they will guide you;
When you sleep, they will watch over you;
And when you awake, they will talk to you.
Proverbs 6:20-22
This was a sweet post. I loved to watch my grandmother sew. I hand sew some things and quilt a little too but I am not good at it. Thank you for the poem and making me think of my dear grandmama.
What a sweet comment, Christi. Thank you!