A Sewist in the Family

My grandmother, Baboo

This weekend, I went shopping with Katie. We had a wandering kind of day, browsing the racks in TJ Maxx and buying stuff we had no idea we needed. I didn't think I was a 'Maxxinista,' but my wagon was full. My mindless shopping spree made me realize that I have very little to shop for right now. I don't need professional clothes. I don't need sweatshirts either. It is amazing how I seem to buy the same thing over and over again. I like a basic gray sweat with a hood for walking Murray on windy days. How many of those do I really need, especially now that I can't afford such a luxury?

Another thing I always seem to want is a new bag, or a purse, as Baboo used to call it. TJ Maxx is aware of this weakness and they entice me with rows and rows of pretty bags right inside the front door. It doesn't have to be a designer bag, but at least at this store, a fancy lady could afford the label if one catches her eye. These days, I am more into vegan leather bags or canvas bags and I especially enjoy a backpack that keeps my hands free and all that weight off one aching shoulder. Katie and I will never pass the racks of bags by without at least a glance or a fond caress.

Beaded purse, hand sewn and hand beaded by Baboo

I am a person who enjoys being busy and when I'm not busy shopping (Donna and Andrea can stop laughing now), I am busy with my art. I know I get my love for art from my dad. Fine art that is. But I also love crafts and I love to sew. There are forums of craftspeople discussing the difference between real art and the art of the craft, and there are quilters out there who should be considered true artists, in every sense of the word. That line is certainly blurred, even in a dictionary. I had no clue where to find a Webster's in my overcrowded house, so this definition is thanks to Google, the higher authority on any or all things.

art·ist /ärdəst/ noun

• a person who produces paintings or drawings as a profession or hobby; 
• a person who practices any of the various creative arts, such as a sculptor, novelist, poet, or filmmaker; 
• a person skilled at a particular task or occupation.

Well, that's me.
And it was Baboo as well. My online quilting friends would have called her a sewist . . . a sewing artist. She had a treadle Singer sewing machine in our house that did not need electricity. She sewed clothes as a career woman back in the 30's and 40's. And apparently, she beaded very well.

Look at the silk lining of her purse! There is even a little silk pocket inside to hold that lovely comb.

My grandmother's eyesight failed her later in years, forcing her into a retirement from sewing. I remember Baboo asking me to thread the needles for her, and then eventually she gave up stitching altogether. She was always interested in my sewing projects and she was never shy about giving me her opinion through good eyes or not.

I wonder if she would have approved of the sweet new wallet I bought this weekend with Katie. It has a pretty sewing pattern printed on the outside and a perfect little snap closure just as Baboo would have liked.