A "Pedal-less" sewing machine

So in an unusual 6 am wakeup call this morning from my little munchkin, while giving her a cup of warm milk hoping she would go back to sleep and let me do the same, my thoughts went to my mothers old sewing machine. I don't know what made me think of it? Perhaps my increasing desire to pull my machine out and "play"?
My mother is and has been paralyzed from the chest down for my entire life. She worked very hard to relearn the use of her hands and used crochet and sewing as a means to loosen her muscles and gain her dexterity back. Because she could not work a foot pedal, my father had come across a very rare design on a Singer brand machine that did not use a foot pedal, but instead had buttons on the machine itself that you would press depending on your direction and speed desired. It brought my mother such great joy to be able to use her sewing machine!

Growing up I actually never even knew sewing machines had pedals. This Singer was the first machine I used, and what I learned on myself. My mother was a very talented sewer! I have so many fond memories of her sitting at her sewing machine working on projects. She loved when she had projects that we could work on together, and she could teach me things she knew. I remember making outfits for my barbie dolls, and picking out patterns of skirts and dresses I wanted to make with her.

But I think what I cherish most in my memories of her and her sewing machine are the sacrifices she made so many times to make something for us. I remember the many sleepless nights she would sew till dawn trying to finish some outfit or project that my brother or myself needed for school, a party, or whatever. As an adult now, I realize the physical fatigue she must have experienced in working hours on end for us. And especially working with such a large disability, but I don't remember ever hearing her complain! That is just one reason my mother is my hero! Now that I am a mother myself, and see how truly hard this role is, to think back at everything my mother did for us (and she did it all from a wheelchair), helps me to keep my perspective. Whenever I feel myself getting so completely overwhelmed, I try to think about that, and remind myself that what I'm dealing with is really nothing, and to re-evaluate my attitude. If I can aspire to be even a fraction of the woman my mother is, then I will feel truly blessed, because their is no doubt in my mind that she is one of Heavenly Fathers most cherished spirits. To know her is to love her!

Sadly, her cherished sewing machine broke beyond repair sometime in my late teenage years, and we were never able to locate a new machine with a "pedal-less" feature. So with the passing of her Singer, so went her days of sewing. But I think she is excited to see me begin my sewing career, as I learn and expand my abilities with a needle and thread. I am also excited, though life at this moment does not seem to be "sewing friendly" and leaves me very little time to take on such an activity. I have my own daughter now, and hope that as she gets older, I too will be able to carry on my mother's sewing legacy! I can't wait to begin sewing pretty dresses for Natalie, and teaching her the basics as she gets older. Perhaps as I do so, I can use the time to also share memories of her grandmother, my childhood, and a "pedal-less" sewing machine.

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An update for this post. Sadly my mother was called back to her Heavenly Father just about a month after I made this post. But in the conversations we shared over memories of her, I learned a little bit more about this sewing machine from my dad. I was incorrect that the machine was a Singer. It was actually a Rikkar. This was a brand that was sold mainly overseas, and the particular model that my father found was one that had been marketed to an Asian market. In Asian culture they do not often sit in chairs, but rather directly on the floor. So this model had been designed so that the women could sit on the floor (as they normally would) and sew. Neat huh!? Well somehow my dad came across a sewing shop that had ordered one like this but was not able to sell many of them. So in addition to it being a perfect solution for my mother, he also got a heck of a deal on it! haha! Don't you love when that happens!