A letter to Al's Mum

Hello Al's Mum,

I've never met you and I often feel sorry that I'll never get to a chance to.  Decades ago you passed away, taken from a family that treasured you and think of you still.  I've seen evidence of your love and influence many a time. Like many mums you were the sunshine and the glue that held the family together.

I know you must be so incredibly proud of your two wonderful sons.  Al will be a fine doctor and Paul will be a fine lawyer.  Without any help, both of your boys have worked so hard to put themselves through college, get good grades and pull out the stops to make a good impression on their employers.  I can only hope my own children will be as hard-working and diligent.  Your boys are both healthy, smart, capable, hard-working and very funny! 

Al does regularly drive me bananas, but I love him very much.  He has a lovely soft side - that I suspect comes largely from you.  He's shared with me what he remembers about you and from that I'm positive that we would have made a fabulous MIL & DIL team. We would have shared recipes, had sewing afternoons, gone habby shopping and had silly 'singing at the tops of our voices' competitions.  I would have also loved to have you as a confidante for times when family life is confusing to me.

I'm writing to you now because of something sewing related.  I love that you loved to sew because sewing is what I do for fun and for a living.  I come from a whole family of crafters myself.  It feels like a continuation of tradition that survives time and place, it's a good luck omen and it bonds us all together. 

 

Al has given me your sewing box and I'm honoured to have it.

Right now I have been assigned the task of making new cushion covers for the old Carver chair.  The padding is shot to pieces and the fabric kinda doesn't go with the rest of the house :)  Al has chosen the new fabric, gotten new padding and it's down to me to do the making.  I feel sorry because this means taking apart your handmade cushion covers so I can follow your pattern.

 

The old Carver chair.  Still going strong and enjoyed by many!

 

I can't help but feel pangs of guilt whilst undoing your work.  As I unpick your stitches I imagine you sitting at your machine, probably humming a pretty Irish tune to yourself.  I have to say of your cushions, your piping, seams, zipper and the whole thing is so neat and technically expert.  You really could have taught me a thing or six!

I'm taking my time with this delightful sewing WIP because I want to try to make as fine a job of it as you did.  Hopefully my cushions will look as nice and last as long as yours have.  When it comes to recipes and instructions I usually insist on veering off course, but this time I am going to try to be as faithful to the original as I can.  It's a modest way of acknowledging you and keeping you in my family. 

The chances are that as a crafter you probably get it....  XX