Near & Dear

My Christmas gift to myself this year was a silver locket which I have wanted since my daughter was born. I was finally able to buy it after 3 years of waiting. I think the long wait has made it even more special to me, but there's definitely something to be said for instant gratification.

I now wear the locket daily. It doesn't hold the baby picture that I imagined it would when I first pictured owning it. Instead it holds a photo of my daughter dressed as a lady bug. My little love bug.

Now when I am missing her during the day or start feeling overwhelmed, I touch it and think just keep going. It's my reminder of what's dearest to me and gives me a sense of being near to her even when we are apart.

Oval locket by Tiffany & Co.

Recession (sort of) Fun #9: A Day of Mending

Yesterday, I was impatiently waiting for news to arrive. Of course, like a watched pot of water refusing to come to a boil, the news proved elusive. Waiting deserves a place high on the list of worst states to find one self in. So there I was, in a state of waiting and in dire need of an activity to distract myself with. Of all things, I chose mending.

I ended up mending what seemed like endless tiny holes in a sweater. At one point, I was ready to give up and just chuck the sweater in the garbage. I think it is fair to say that based on the number of holes, the sweater is well past it's prime. I wavered back and forth between two minds. One part of me was voting to chuck the sweater and the rest of the items that had formed a "To Be Mended" pile in the name of less clutter and simpler living.

The other half, which ended up winning, might have been influenced by the Foyle's War episodes I was watching. (I was multitasking.) Certainly people weren't chucking out clothing just because of a couple of tiny holes during WWII. I convinced myself I was taking a positive step towards being more frugal.

Honestly, I think the fact that the sweater is black cashmere and feels really comfy on might have helped save it too. Oh and I'm not crazy, there's a Comme Des Garcon skirt (from a less frugal past life) in that mending pile with one teeny moth hole.

So, while I felt a bit ridiculous spending so much time on a summer day fixing a sweater that will probably never be perfect enough to wear out again, I stubbornly persisted. I remembered an article in Selvedge magazine titled "In Praise of Mending" with photos showing clothing from past centuries that had been mended in the extreme. The garments were quirky, beautiful and most of all touching. Sadly, the photos are not available online to share.

The pictures above are examples of Japanese Boro from Kimonoboy, an amazing site featuring Japanese folk textiles. Browse the "Tattered Treasures" section and I think you'll agree, there's a lot to be said for mending. And when the weather turns, I have one imperfect black sweater waiting.