Last January, my mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She had had a TIA (small stroke) in May of 2015, and had just been slowing down since. The diagnosis was a whammy, though. At age 83, she - and I - quickly realized that chemo wasn't a wise option to have with whatever time she had left to be a good quality of life.
I began to stay the night at her apartment with her - at 1st maybe once every 2 weeks, then weekly, then by the last 2 months, nightly. She lived just 4 miles away from my home, so it was an easy drive. However, remembering what I had at home and what I had at her house became a challenge. My phone charger? The book I was reading? What shoes were here or there?
These things were all relatively unimportant in the broader picture, but my favorite accessory was this train case, which was my grandmothers:
However, it was quickly deteriorating. The zipper was coming apart, and by the end of its life, I was holding it not by the handle, but by the bottom as I lugged my tote bag full of clothes, laptop computer and purse as well from the parking lot, up the elevator, to my mom's little apartment. Sewing had gone into hiatus for me, and then I found this pattern:
this PDF pattern by Sara Lawson.
And my sewing groove was back. I got my mom's sewing machine out, and cut, and ironed, and sewed in the evenings while she slept. And I made this:
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this pattern. And forevermore, it will remind me of my sweet mom, and our last weeks together.
