It all started with a small travel sewing kit I received when I was Maiden of Honor at a friend’s wedding almost seven years ago.  It is a simple kit, one with a few colors of thread, a needle, three pins, two safety pins, and some very tiny scissors.

I have used the kit a couple times over the years and I store it in a drawer in the bathroom.  With our recent move I reorganized my bathroom stuff, purging that which I did not need and keeping only the necessities (yes, five Burt’s Bees lip gloss colors are necessary, thank you very much).

Last week as I was doing my hair and make-up; Cody came in to chat.  He noticed the small sewing kit in the open bathroom drawer and was intrigued by its contents.  He told me he wanted to learn how to sew.

Sigh.

I do not sew and, in fact, am rather intimidated by the whole process of sewing.

But…last Sunday we ended up at a fabric store where we bought two yards each of two different fabrics.  The plan was to make pillows – something even a non-sewer like myself thought I could handle.  Pillows, how hard can they be, I thought.

Ruby, the lady behind the counter, was amazing.  She spend an hour with the boys, teaching them how to thread a needle, how to stitch, and the language of sewing.  When we finally left, each boy had created a small pincushion from fabric scraps, stuffed with bits of plastic bag.  Ruby also gave them each a needle and a pin so they had an immediate use for their creations.

I left with the bag of fabric and the knowledge I did not know I needed, but desperately needed to guide the boys in their pillow making adventure.

I brought in from the garage my Grandmother’s old sewing stool, the one my mom used when I was little.  My Grandmother had embroidered it (is that the word for it?) many years ago.  We took inventory of and organized the eclectic mix of items that I deemed sewing related.

The boys sewed.  An owl named Barney sitting atop a Minecraft book supervised.

We bought batting.

They sewed some more.

Our house is now two pillows richer…

and slightly stronger in the ways of sewing.