Sew What...

Just finished my annual Halloween Costume SewingFest...will take them to the Marx home this afternoon and hope they fit. At least we are early enough this year to make adjustments if needed.

Hayden wants to be Peter Pan. Here is his outfit:

 The shoes made of felt will hopefully allow him to put his real shoes inside and these will just cover his sneakers. The hat will have a feather in it but that hasn't been purchased yet. Andie will also have him wear a turtle neck under the shirt to keep our young man warm.

Hayden really loves the Peter Pan movie. Hence his choice for Peter Pan this year.

Bailey wants to be a dinosaur. Here is her costume:

Please note that giganormous tail. I didn't want to buy poly fill and I had some scraps of batting. I pulled out my big green cutting board and my rotary cutter and set to work quickly cutting strips then rotating the strips and cutting them into chunks. Made a very nice batting after it was all cut up and I didn't spend money on extra batting. I feel so 'thrifty'! There are mittens in the shape of dinosaur claws and the hat is separate from the main body of the costume. The feet are attached to the costume like a big footed sleeper. She will make a fierce dinosaur in this extremely warm costume.

Now, I was sitting in the nursing home yesterday with my mom while Papa was singing. My habit is to empty the outside pockets on of my purse and zip the middle shut. Then I set it in front of my mom and, after she figures how to unclasp her hands, she loves touching and examining my purse. I placed my purse in front of my mother.

There was another lady sitting next to my mom. She is a quiet, gentle lady most of the time. She noticed the purse in front of mom. She slowly reached over and got one of the straps. Then she gradually pulled the purse a little closer and began to work with the fabric around the zipper. She was trying to get it to lay over itself somehow. Mom still had her strap and they were both enjoying my purse.  At one point my mother took a quick nap and the lady pulled the purse over and enjoyed it herself.

After I finished singing with Papa and he was playing the mandolin and harmonica, I went to the lady and told her I needed to move the purse so my mom could play with it some more. She was hesitant to give it up but after I explained she seemed to understand and I placed the purse again so they both had access to it. Then I took a picture of their hands at play. Mom's hands are on the left of the picture and her fellow resident's hands are on the right.

I just love these hands.

At one point I watched Mimi pick at the fabric. Suddenly I was transported back to my childhood. I was in a fabric store with my mom and we were walking down the aisles of fabric with our hands out touching each bolt of fabric. I learned long ago that the feel of the fabric was something that caught my mom's attention as much as the pattern printed or woven into the fabric. When she would feel something she liked, she would then take her pointer finger and thumb and pick the fabric up. That is the motion she did with my purse. I was sooooo Mimi.

I couldn't help but think how much that purse fabric must kindle past feelings and emotions for these two ladies. Mom definitely has Alzheimer's. This other resident must have some kind of dementia but I'm not sure what. They definitely were both back in a place that was very comfortable for them to be for just a brief period of time. It may just be an old habit to touch that fabric, try and fold it or get the seams to match, all of these just seemed so natural and right for both of these dear ladies.

I watched my hands in the wee small hours of this morning sewing together pants and boots. I don't know for sure where I'll be when I'm 81 like my mom. I hope whoever cares for me will remember that I loved the feel of fabric and place some before me to just enjoy for a moment.

It was a nice moment in time!