But today I'd like to talk about more than obscure spelling absurdities. I've been meaning to share a bit behind the raison d'etre of my sewing ventures. Some of you are already aware that I repurpose felted, upcycled sweaters into new children's clothing designs, in my spare time.....bAhaHAAhaaaa..."spare-time", too funny,...ahem. I don't really believe that there is such a thing as "spare time", only time that you have set aside, during which you will say "NO" to other pressing demands on your attention. So why do I choose to say "yes" to sewing when the crack between the stove and the counter is still piled with enough crud to fatten a rat for a month? Why indeed.
About 4 years ago, the Reed family that our church sponsors to work in Liberia developping sustainable business ventures in a chaotic political situation, came to speak about what they do. Frankly, I'm not much of a poli-sci student so even though I listened intently to what they said (a lot to do with the country having been founded by repatriated slaves with no learned skills as to how to build a strong nation...) I forgot most of it soon after. Actually, what struck me most were the outfits that the mother and daughter were wearing. They had on the original designs of a West African textile entrepreneur which was one of the small businesses that they were encouraging to thrive among the women living there. I'm a sucker for ethnic prints. So when the presentation concluded with a request for we westerners to partner with these people to build viable businesses, especially for women entrepreneurs I felt a burning sensation that this was something that I would love to be involved with. Especially since I really appreciated the frank, honest manner of speaking of the Reed family.
Then I went home, made lunch for my husband and (then) three children, did the dishes, cleaned a diaper, played Candyland, wiped a nose, nursed a toddler, ...and figured this was not the time for me to think about additional endeavours. Until...my fourth child was born. She was delivered by C-section and my previous weeks of bedrest along with the surgery made me a 1 in a million candidate for a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs) which I did go on to have. I was treated quickly and had trouble recognizing the peril I had averted (but for the grace of God go we) when people told me their stories of others they knew who had died from this.
So, sewing, right? How does this all relate? Convoluted (but not really) as this may seem, on the same date that I went into the ER and was diagnosed with the PE, one year later, I came down the stairs, casually mentioned to my husband what the significance of the date was and sat down to check my email. The first message in my inbox was a note from my church breaking the sudden news that Bob Reed had died of a pulmonary embolism. I did not know these people personally but I felt so bizarrely struck by the timeliness of this announcement, as if there was some divine correlation between their tragedy and ...me. I have a meaningful relationship with God but that doesn't mean I "get" him. While I do believe that everything happens for a reason I also believe that these reasons are so beyond our mental capacity that we should be VERY careful to claim that we understand the meaning of events here, on earth. Having said this, I did take this weird connection as a divine kick in the ass.
Somehow, with now 4 kids, I've found the time to start up my own (very) small business doing what my highschool career interest survey said I should do all along. Make things and sell them. I love, love, love it. It makes a little bit of money, especially around Christmas time, but I feel very convicted that if I don't need this money to provide for my family, then I have no business having it. I feel, I suppose, called not to keep any of it. It is very freeing to let it go and seems right that it goes to women in the textile industry. It's more than a western feel-good donation to alleviate guilt in the midst of affluence. I have to admit that I have been tested on this on several occasions. There was a time when after an artisan market, the van broke down and required the exact dollar amount that I had just made at the sale to fix it. Another time, the water heater needed emergency repair and the cost was precisely what I had made at another recent sale. It becomes easy to rationalize reallocating those funds "for the good of my family" in those unexpected circumstances. But you know what? Our van is still running, and we still have hot water and my Little Woolly Mama money went to Africa.
So much fun to do. These children's dresses, vests, leggings (not pictured but see my LWM Facebook page)and headbands are made from upcycled wool sweaters that I cut apart and repurpose. But really, come visit me on FB .
