There is so much I don’t know. And there is so much to be thankful for that doesn’t even enter my mind. I haven’t done the 30 days of thankfulness in several years but I think I’ll do one giant blog post soon to catch up.
Once upon a time, I was scrolling Pinterest and saw these adorable curtains made from antique handkerchiefs. I have a friend that makes them from bandanas, but I don’t really have a Western theme at my house. I don’t think I have a theme at all, come to think of it. It’s just uniquely Amy.
Which translates to haphazard pieces I find and buy.
Anyway, I had a few hankies I’ve collected over the years and I thought, “hmm…I could do that, easy peasy!”
Pffffft.
First of all, I didn’t have nearly enough. Ebay to the rescue! And I even found some ready to be hung. “A simple whip stitch runs through the corner” the description said. I liked the simple bit, and I figured I could do it to my already acquired ones.
Well.
The lot I bought came with ten, and for it to look like anything I needed about three dozen to create my vision.
So that’s how the hankie curtain made its way to my office. And I never got around to “running a simple whip stitch” through my previously owned ones.
Until today.
I can’t sew a button on a shirt, by the way. My former husband was a decent little seamstress so he helped me out when I needed something mended. Now I have Angela, thank God, who is a quilter and can generally get me out of a pickle when it comes to my hems.
{I should note here that my phone is unfamiliar with all these sewing terms and is quite creative with what it’s changing the words to.}
Alright. So here I am this morning, eyeing my pile of hankies with mistrust. I’d rooted around in what I’ve kept from my Grandmother’s sewing box and found some white thread and a needle. (Check out the price on the thread!!)

And it got me to thinking about how little I know about things that were rote for her. For instance, just the packaging of this thread. Obviously thread comes in various thicknesses. So is this standard thread? Did she buy it with a particular project in mind? How long would a spool last, typically? Did she have a favorite brand? Is it like baler twine and the cheaper varieties will break or get wadded up and knot? Should this thread be thrown out since it’s so old?
And off I went, thinking of my costumes she would make for various beauty pageants. She sewed me a riding habit. She threw together aprons and could hem any pants and could make curtains.
Surely I can sew a few stitches.
I’m here to tell you, it is much, MUCH, harder than it looks.
First of all, you have to have good sight to thread the tiny thing. Then you have to not gouge your fool self and bleed on the white material and thread. Then you have to determine how much thread you’ll need for your little project (that’s some logistics I can’t fathom right there, like if you were sewing a quilt, how does that work??) And then you’re ready to start.
I fumbled around an eventually managed to run a stitch through.
You have to be precise and nimble. I am neither of these things. I am a wreck. But I eventually got all five finished. It only took me thirty five minutes. And then I looked at my rumpled pile of dainty hankies and thought, “Grandmother would have starched and pressed them.”
But Amy won’t.
So today I am thankful I can march in a store and buy clothes that will fit right off the hanger. I don’t have to go select fabric and thread and buttons and zippers and whatever else and then measure and cut and sew.
Thank you, Lord, for Belk.