What’s on your Christmas wish list? If it’s a new sewing machine, I have some tips what to look for to find the best sewing machine for your budget.
Two of my favorite brands are Pfaff and Bernina, but I recommend you do your own research before you go to the store to find the machine that best fits both you and your budget.
Whether you sew for yourself, your family, or your dolls, choosing the right machine is essential. I learned to sew on my mom’s Singer sewing machine. Even though it couldn’t finish seams, it was the best sewing machine to learn on. It sewed forward, backward and zigzag. If you popped a little plastic disk into the top, it could sew some fancy stitches too. It was made of cast metal, made in the U.S., never needed servicing, and seemed like it would last forever. All we had to do was oil it once in a while.
We used that machine a lot. My mom sewed loads of clothing for both of us. She also made doll clothes, and craft projects.
I made dozens of beautiful Vogue pattern dresses, and other designer clothing. I couldn’t professional finish the seams, but many items were lined.
When I was in my early 20’s, my mom and I started a teddy bear making business from home. We made dozens of teddies on that machine.
While in college, I sewed collars onto sweatshirts for a local clothing manufacturer. I drove my mom’s station wagon to their factory on Monday mornings, and loaded up boxes of sweatshirts and t-shirts, then spent all my free time during the week sewing collars onto them.
That machine worked hard!
And finally it quit.
The Wrong Way to Choose a New Sewing Machine
Have you ever felt intimidated walking into a local sewing machine store? I know I did. These are some of the mistakes I made in choosing a new machine.
I didn’t have a clear idea of what I was looking for, but thought a machine that did a bit of embroidery would be nice.
What I walked out of out of the store with was probably not the best sewing machine for my needs. The store advertised a less expensive machine I thought I wanted, but the sales person convinced me to purchase a used Pfaff machine that was slightly more expensive. It has way more functions than I will ever need.
The Pfaff had been completely reconditioned, and was in perfect working order. It not only sewed dozens of stitches and did embroidery, but if you plugged in another card it would create really elaborate designs. I thought that it could embroider designs I created myself, but that wasn’t the case without purchasing an expensive software package. Also it came with a quilting frame. I don’t quilt, but maybe someday …
If you’ve been following my Friday posts where I share both artwork and crafts, you’ll get an idea of how much I sew!
To help you not make all the mistakes I did in my first machine purchase, here are some tips:
How to decide what is the best sewing machine for you
First of all, plan do a lot of research. If you purchase a machine that does way more than what you need, it may be a lot more difficult to learn to use.
Take your time looking around and comparing features. Try out different models in the store.
Understand that even though your mother or grandmother’s machine might have lasted 40 years, new computerized machines don’t have such a long life span. This is something to think about if you purchase a used machine. I am living in fear of the motherboard on my Pfaff going out.
If the sales person is too pushy, walk away.
Free classes are often offered with the purchase of a machine. Take them! One on one instruction is way better than even the smallest class. Even the best sewing machine won’t sew beautiful clothing if you don’t know how to use it.
Check to make sure that there is a technician in you area were you live who has certified training to work on the brand of machine you choose.
We recently had a repairman come to our house to repair an appliance and I was talking to him about why machines don’t work as long as they used to. He told me about how most refrigerators have ice machines these days, and are one of the most frequent causes for needing repairs. Some of the expensive new models even have television screens in the doors! They break all the the time. His advice about kitchen appliances also applies to sewing machines. Don’t purchase features that you don’t need.
I’m still learning to use my machine and going through the manual and tutorials another time. Someday I will feel as confident using it as I did my mom’s old Singer. Maybe. I think the most important piece of advice is not to let the technology intimidate you.
November is not my favorite month, I must admit. This is especially true since I moved to a island over a decade ago now where the temperatures are even cooler than the city I previously lived. It seems I hardly turn the page on the calendar, and the rains begin to fall. Working on our art and craft projects helps us to forget about the chilly, wet weather outside, and focus on making it a creative winter.
During summer months, it’s easy to put creative projects on hold. The lawn needs mowing, the garden weeding, and our kids are home from school, and need us to create projects to keep them busy.
And even if you’re an empty nester living in a condo, in the northern hemisphere summer is a time to be out more, whether it’s camping, a beach vacation, or just dining out with friends. Many of us are home less.
Dark And Windy Days Mean Spending More Time Inside
The winds of November came early this year. They rattle the windows, which scares my cat, and as I sit here sipping my tea, somewhere not far away I hear the thud of a tree falling.
But what November is good for is building a cozy fire, cooking more soup, still taking long walks, but bundling up warmly first, and making myself a hot chocolate when I return home in the afternoon.
My garden is through for the year, along with spending hours outside weeding, mowing the lawn, and other outdoor chores. I’m happy to stay cozy inside working on my hobbies on these blustery November days. My chickens are molting now, (they always wait until the weather gets colder), and we’re lucky to find one egg in the nest boxes each day.
Ways to Make it A Cozy Creative Winter
Spending more time indoors reminds us to work on our projects. Maybe you make some of your own holiday decorations. November is a good time to get these completed. It’s also a great time to make a commitment to draw every day.
I believe that having good drawing skills is so helpful in improving whatever other creative hobby you enjoy, whether it’s needlework, sewing and designing patterns, painting or sculpting.
So I try to make it a goal to draw every morning for at least 30 minutes. It was harder to keep going over the summer as I got busy with other projects, but now is a great time to recommit.
Here are some ways to make creating a daily goal you keep:
Decide what you want to work on every day.
Set a time, and add it to your planner.
Create a cozy place to work.
Give yourself a reward at the end of each week.
Allow yourself a day off so you don’t start to resist your creative time.
Progress on My Doll Box
Besides all of my other daily projects I’ve scheduled into my creative winter, my husband is helping me to create some room boxes for my MSD sized ball jointed dolls. He worked more on it this weekend.
I asked him to make some little cubbyholes underneath where I can store my polymer clay accessories in these cute and handy storage boxes I found at Michaels.
As you can see, I’ve made a lot of tomato canes tomatoes. I’m getting ready to try making a BJD sized pizza. I also made miniature Japanese cat figurines that are copies of ones my aunt gave me when I was a girl. When my doll house is finished, I’ll set them on a bookshelf or night stand.
The other items in my box are the polymer clay onions I attempted making. And lastly, and a miniature camera I’m still working on. Yes, hamburgers, or veggie burgers, and pizzas are next on my doll to-do list!
A Sneak Peek at the First Floor
The windows were constructed a while ago using my husband’s scroll saw. I’ve now officially used the saw more than he has! My grandmother had a scroll saw for her craft projects, so I figured if my grandmother could learn to use an electric saw, so could I. The windows are patterned on the windows in my previous house in the Craftsman style, and also the garden window I had in my former kitchen.
This floor will just be 2 rooms, the kitchen, and the dining room. My son helped me to add the electrical, now I’m ready to complete the rest of the furniture.
With the long weekend ahead, I’m planning to get things finished up so we can move it up to my sewing room, and add some holiday decorations. I prefer to be spending time with my family and working on my crafts on Black Friday rather than out shopping.
Plan a Creative Winter to Reduce Stress
As the days get shorter, it’s the best time to have plenty of projects waiting for your attention. November is a great month to start learning something new!
So if you haven’t tried working with polymer clay, pick a simple project and make something for yourself, or your dolls.
Living in a mild climate like the Pacific Northwest, with cool summers that rarely get above 70º F (22º C), it’s always sweater weather! And anytime is the right time to teach yourself to knit!
Most mornings I wear one of my hand-made cardigans. Even though it still feels like summer out with endless warm sunny days, when October comes around I start thinking about knitting again. However, many of my friends knit right through the summer months and are ready for hat weather in October.
My mother taught me to knit when I was a teenager. Even though I’m left handed, I decided I to learn to knit right handed because, after all, we knit with both hands. If you are left handed like me, watching videos is a great way to teach yourself to knit because you can mirror the teacher just as though someone was sitting opposite you.
The Basics of Knitting
The first step in following any knitting pattern it to cast on your stitches. There are many ways to do this, but in the video below I share my favorite way, which leaves a nice finished edge.
First make a slip knot and slide it onto your left needle.
Insert the other needle through the loop below the left needle.
With your right hand, loop the yarn around the right needle in the counter-clockwise direction.
Pull the yarn through with your right needle, and slide the loop onto the left needle.
To start the next loop insert your right needle between the two loops, and repeat steps starting with #3.
Continue to repeat steps 3 through 5 until you have the correct number of loops cast on to your needle.
Knit and Purl
Knit stitches usually show on the outside of a simple sweater, and the purl stitches are worked on opposite rows, and are on the inside. To make ribbed bands at the wrists and the bottom of the sweater, knit and purl stitches are alternated either 1:1, 2:2 or 2:1.
When knitting cable patterns, the purl stitches fill out the background, and the knit stitches make the raised cable pattern with the use of the short cable needle which allows the knitter to add twists and patterns to the knitting.
These are just a couple of common examples of how knit and purl stitches are often
English vs. Continental
Next, lets talk about the two methods of knitting. The right hand method is also called the English method since it is most commonly used in English speaking countries. In other European countries, it is more common to learn the Continental method. Both will feel awkward at first, but both methods can be knit with great speed by experienced knitters.
If you want to teach yourself it knit so that you can later learn Nordic knitting, or another form that uses multiple colors of yarn in the same row, it is best to learn both the English and Continental methods right from the start so you will be ready for two handed knitting in the future.
Below are examples of both the knit and pearl stitches in both methods.
English
The Continental method is the traditional method in many other parts of Europe. It’s sometimes referred to as the left hand method. In the Continental method, you loop the yarn around your left index finger, and scoop the yarn onto the needle in your right hand. In the English method you feed the yarn from your right hand to the left needle. Once your start working patterns like Nordic knits and Fair Isle, you will be knitting with both hands. It’s really your choice which method you use to learn to knit.
Teach Yourself to Knit with the Basics First
An important thing you need to know is that there are two main stitches, knit and purl. When you combine them, it’s called stockinette stitch. In stockinette stitch, the front stitches are knit, and the back stitches are purled. If you only knit in the knit stitch, and used straight needles, it would create a rib pattern. These stitches, knit and purl, are the two main stitches you need to learn in order to knit.
And lastly for the basics, you can knit using either in straight needles or round continuous needles. The sizes will be in US sizes and in metric.
Knitting for Dolls
If you want to learn to knit so you can make clothing for your tiniest dolls, I recommend you learn to knit something for yourself first. That way, you learn the basics on larger needles. If you pick an easy project, it need not take a lot of time to complete.
Also, for your first doll project, I recommend using heavier yarn such as worsted, sport weight, or even bulky. Also heavier yarns knit up faster. Wait on fingering or lace yarn until you gain a little experience. These can both knit up nicely with size 1 US needles. Some of the knitters in the Den of Angels knitting forums, talk about knitting with 00000 needles, or even using thread for their yarn and a sewing needles for knitting needles! Believe me, they are not beginning knitters!
Den of Angels is also a great place to find free patters, or links to where you can buy inexpensive ones created specifically for many sizes of dolls. Also, it’s a great place to post photos, or ask for help.
My First Knitting Project
For my first project, I knitted a summer halter top. I chose it because there were no complicated stitches,and I thought it would be easy. The halter top was a flat piece, knit in stockinette, with no sleeves to worry about. But because it was knit with cotton yarn that had no stretch, it was a very poor choice to learn to knit.
I didn’t know how to make even stitches yet, and it really showed. Also, because I chose the pattern for it’s simplicity instead of whether I really liked it, it turned out to be something that I hardly ever wore. Plus, summer was over by the time I finished it!
Easy Way to Learn to Knit
1. Find a book with really good illustrations.
The book I used to learn to knit from wasn’t even purely a knitting book. It was called “Complete Guide to Needlework” and even though it’s an old book, you can still find used copies in used or online bookstores.
2. Practice different stitches or sample patterns.
You can practice cables, ribs and multi-color patterns this way. If you make little swatches of the different patterns, you waste less yarn while you learn.
3. Choose a relatively easy pattern to build up your skill.
When considering a pattern, look at the still level. This doesn’t mean knitting a completely plain sweater. For example, most beginners can handle a simple cable pattern. Also, knitting a pattern makes the process funner, and more interesting. Patterns usually have some sort of rating: easy, hard, beginner, advanced. But also, choose something that you like, and will enjoy wearing.
4. Check out the knitting videos on YouTube.
Sometimes watching someone work a stitch is easier than following the instructions and illustration in a book. Just type in the stitch you want to learn to knit. For example, that’s how I learned how to do the magic loop technique!
5. Visit your local knitting store.
Knitting stores often hold knitting classes, or host knitting groups. While you can definitely learn to knit on your own, having someone to explain the bits that are confusing you speeds your progress. Also, a knitting group is a great way to meet other knitters in your area, and get help from more experienced knitters!
6. Choose a yarn that is easy to work with.
The yarn should have a bit of stretch so that uneven stitches aren’t so noticeable. Consider the weight of the yarn, the size needles it will need, and even whether it is a yarn like mohair or angora that will tangle easily or be difficult to unravel if you make a mistake. Also, think about how the yarn will feel against your skin.
And lastly, make sure to check the gauge of the pattern by making a swatch. I often make a larger one, 8 x 8.
Teach Yourself to Knit with Reliable and Well Tested Patterns
I hate to say it, because I really want to support independent designers, but a lot of the patterns out there are really poorly written by people who might be excellent knitters themselves, but have no idea how to write a pattern. If you just started to teach yourself to knit, look at commercial patterns, or ones in magazines, rather than on Ravelry. Choose the correct level for your skill.
When you get more experienced at knitting, it’s easier to look at a pattern, and see whether it is well written, and if the instructions make sense before you begin.
Also, read reviews of other people who have tried the pattern.
If you buy a pattern online, make sure you print it out. Take it with you when you go to buy your yarn.
And if you buy from a yarn shop, ask the sales person to look it over for you. If it is a small shop, they’ll be happy to help you with choosing a pattern that fits your skill level. Also, they can make sure you find the correct yarn if you need to substitute a different brand.
If I was to Learn to Knit All Over Again …
So did I take my own advice when I started to learning to knit? No, I did not.
After the halter project I made in a hard to knit with yarn, I chose for my second project a mohair sweater. It had an elaborate lace pattern down the front that even today, and dozens of sweaters later, I would still find challenging.
Luckily, my mom stepped in and knit the front panel for me. I knit the back and the sleeves that had a single cable running done them. With her help, I completed a complicated sweater, and got more experience.
I didn’t wear that first sweater much though. It took me several more sweaters to figure out that mohair was too scratchy for me.
That is the nice thing about knitting for dolls. They don’t care how uncomfortable the fabric, or how revealing the style.
So, like I said earlier, if you want to teach yourself to knit in order to make clothing for your dolls, try knitting something for yourself or a friend first. It’s easier to learn when you aren’t starting out on 00000 needles, and need a magnifier to see your stitches.
Anyone Can Learn to Knit!
With the internet, YouTube, and all the great knitting groups that are around today, it’s a lot easier to teach yourself to knit than when I started. Luckily for me I had my mom to teach me.
This morning, I posted my first Inktober artwork on Instagram. If you haven’t heard of Inktober, it was started by Jake Parker in 2009 as a challenge to himself to improve his own inking skills. There’s a website, and they have an official prompt list here. But you don’t have to follow it.
The rules for Inktober are really simple.
1. Make a drawing using ink. It can be traced over a light pencil drawing if you want.
2. Post it on any of your social media accounts, or just tacked up for your family to see on the fridge.
3. Use these hashtags: #inktober and #inktober2020
4. Repeat as often as you like throughout the month.
So am I following the official #inktober promt list. No, not really. That’s the beauty of Inktober! No one says you have to.
You can follow the #inktober prompt list, a list from a previous #inktober year, or make up your own list. For my own challenge, I’m making a story about a character who I plan to draw throughout the month, and maybe even into November.
My First #Inktober Drawing is a Leftover from September
I’ve been a little behind on both my artwork, posting on my blog, and on social media this past month. Instead, I’ve been busy creating polymer clay items for my dolls, and to share the tutorials here on my blog.
If you are interested in polymer clay, check the blog again soon, or go ahead and join my list, and you’ll always be the first to know when a new tutorial is out.
However, I was working on this little painting for a Instagram challenge. I usually don’t outline my watercolors, because I don’t like everything outlined in black, but recently I discovered that Copic multi-liners come in other colors too like grey, brown, green, pink, blue, and my current favorite, sepia!
This watercolor is from an Instagram draw this in your style challenge from an artist I recently discovered, and really like her work, Anna Speshilova. She calls it her wanderer girl. I liked it because I have Scot’s Irish, Scottish Highland, and Lowland ancestry.
One of my personal goals of my artwork is to honor and remember my ancestors. I changed the deer in her painting to a wolf in mine, because wolves are renowned for their loyalty to their pack, just as the Scottish were remembered for their loyalty to their clan.
Another change I made is that the mountains in the background don’t look like the Highlands of Scotland. I painted the Olympic Mountains instead, because after centuries of being uprooted from our homelands in Europe, traveling West, and farther West, the Pacific Northwest is where my family resides. For now.
Inktober Forces Us to Face the Challenges Working With Ink
I think working with ink is less of of challenge for those of us who work in watercolor because neither can be erased or painted over. I like this challenge, because it is analogous to life. Mistakes might be covered up or hidden, but they can’t be erased.
We have to live with them.
And unless we can undo them, we have to make future decisions based on our mistakes of the past. Whether it’s something like not going to university, going to university and ending up with loads of debt, taking the wrong job, moving to the wrong location, dating the wrong person, etc.
I guess this isn’t really a good analogy, but what I’m trying to say is, when you make a mistake working with ink or watercolor, then you have to say to yourself, “Okay, what do I do now?”
For example, in my painting, I was going to have my character wearing a plaid skirt. I even looked up Scottish clan plaids to find one of one of my ancestor’s surnames.
As a result, I didn’t pay attention to the other colors I was using in my watercolor. When I started painting the blue and green plaid, the shades didn’t match well. I probably could have come up with a better solution, but I just painted over it with Payne’s Grey. There were a couple of little ink boo boo’s too, but those were easier to fix.
So don’t be afraid to make mistakes, whether it’s in your painting, or your life. The experiences help us to make better decisions next time.
What’s Next for my Inktober Plans, You Ask?
While I was on vacation on the Oregon coast, I started working on some witch paintings, unaware that this is also #witchtober .
These drawings tell a story. It starts with buying a hat. I hope you’ll like it. I’m having fun drawing it, but the drawings are taking me a lot longer than I planned. Even though I came up with 31 ideas, there won’t be 31 paintings. I’ll just have to see how fast I can work, and still have time to complete all my other projects as well.
If you want to learn more about Inktober, head on over to the website, or type in #inktober on any social media, and check out the artwork.
I think I might treat myself to a Koh-i-Noor pen before the month runs out. The DickBlick website describes them as follows: “Technical pens were the mainstay of the designer and illustrator’s craft before the development of computer graphics. Now, many artists and design professionals are rediscovering the technical pen because its handiwork, in expert hands, stands out almost magically against the bland precision of computer rendered graphics.”
Keeping Up With the Wolves
Wolves are endangered in every part of the world. These beautiful and mysterious animals are often misunderstood, misjudged, and their numbers annually culled to a genetically unhealthy level in many areas.
They deserve protection, and the freedom to repopulate the regions where they once thrived. These are two Twitter sites I discovered dedicated to wolf conservation — Wolf Haven and Wolf Conservation Center. Also, here’s great news I found when looking up these sites. Nordstrom has banned the sale of fur coats as of September 30, 2020. Finally!
I had great plans for #Inktober2020, back in September when I was on vacation, and had too much time to think, and make big plans. However, I should have been setting realistic goals.
Also, most of my art supplies were at home so I couldn’t really get started.
In fact, while I was on vacation, I planned out a whole month of paintings for #Inktober, one a day. I drew some sketches on Procreate. I even took some on location photos for street scenes. Which I’m sure I’ll use someday.
But when I got home, reality set in again. I realized that there was no way I could complete a painting a day. Setting goals like that for myself just creates a lot of anxiety.
However, I’ll share the paintings I completed here. You can see the sketches and progress shots on my Instagram. Perhaps the story will be continued . . . next #Inktober .
In the watercolor story that I imagined, my character started off visiting a hat shop. After trying on several hats, she settled on a witches hat, of course. And that’s as far as my paintings got. I posted the last watercolor I finished, of her trying on the witches hat to Instagram on Halloween.
See, the other thing is, when I was planning all of this lovely painting, I sort of forgot that I’m really a sculptor, and a clay artist. And a blogger. And maybe that’s a good thing. When you live with anxiety, creating too many goals for yourself just increases your stress levels.
How Unreachable Goals Create More Anxiety in Our Lives
Hobbies are meant to be an escape from our stressful lives. But sometimes they take over and create more anxiety instead of relieving it. Posting our art and our dolls on social media just increases the stress to create more, or keep up with “friends” we don’t even truly know.
Even with just focusing on drawing, and painting watercolors throughout the month of #Inktober, I felt a bit overwhelmed because I’d set a goal I couldn’t reach.
It would have been better if I’d said to myself, “Just have fun with this!” Or “You’ve never inked paintings before. It’s okay if it doesn’t look perfect.” Positive self talk is not one of my strengths though. I tend to be a perfectionist prone to harsh self criticism.
So my character didn’t get to meet a black cat on the way home, chat with a neighbor, or borrow his broom on which she flew off to London. There were lots more plans, and I have them all written down. Somewhere.
But on a bright note, I did manage to finish 2 watercolor paintings in one week, and post them to social media!
How to Set Realistic Goals
When we make realistic goals for ourselves, it’s important not just to make a “to do” list for the rest of the year. In addition, spend some time thinking about what your day is like and how much time you have to work on the items on your list.
For example, I started learning to draw when my son was a toddler. The only time I had to myself was his afternoon nap time because I was following the attachment parenting model.
If I made a goal that I was going to practice drawing for 2 hours a every afternoon, learn to paint, etc., I never could have reached it, and would have ended up feeling angry and frustrated with myself.
Instead I set a goal to draw every day while he was napping. Some days, I got well over an hour to work on my hobby, but other days he only napped for 20 minutes, or I wasn’t able to get him to sleep at all.
Goals for Mental Health
Yesterday morning I got up an hour later after the time change, Since I haven’t changed my bedside clock, it looked like I’d slept till after 7!
I set about creating some goals for the week that I think I can achieve, but also I thought about what active steps I can take to reduce anxiety.
We are all living through exceptionally stressful times. It’s easy to get caught up in the constant flow of negative information that flows into our lives through TV and the internet.
These are the goals is what I wrote down to begin practicing daily:
Meditate 30 minutes every day
Practice conscious breathing
Go for a walk in the woods by myself
I have found that just reading articles or books about anxiety does nothing to alleviate it if we don’t take positive steps to actively reduce it, and make them part of our daily routine.
5 Tips for Setting Realistic Goals
Prioritize what you want to achieve.
Limit your list. (Only you know what is realistic for you.)
Set a time line, for example I keep both weekly & monthly goal lists.
Make adjustments when necessary.
Don’t procrastinate! Start working right away.
This is my list of things to accomplish this week:
Complete new drawing and start watercolor.
Finish blog post for Tuesday ** I did this, obviously!
Work on polymer clay food tutorials for BJD sized dolls (I’m making onions!)
Paint new head.
Just writing down the most important things that I want to finish this week makes it seem a little less overwhelming. Plus, when we write down a list, and keep in where we can find it to refer back to, we’re less likely to waste time on stuff that’s not part of our goals for the week.
Will I Do #Inktober Next Year?
I’m not sure yet. Somewhere in the month of October, I remembered that I moved on from drawing to sculpting a long time ago, and there must have been a reason.
I used to love to sculpt so much that I sometimes didn’t want to go on vacation because I couldn’t pack my clay along in my suitcase.
Somewhere, between home schooling my son, and caring for my mom, I told myself I didn’t have time to sculpt anymore, but I’d pick it up again in the future. And while I was telling myself that, years went by. It was a big mistake. We should never put our dreams on hold.
I’m back to sculpting now. I’m starting slow, making accessories for the dolls I sculpted in the past, and the BJD dolls I collect. I shared my first tutorial last week, How to Make an Easy Tomato Cane.
I have lots of items to make and more tutorials planned. As my husband and I complete my doll rooms for my MSD sized dolls, I’ll be making many of the furnishings, and the food. I’ll share my how-to instructions here in my Resource Library if you want to follow along. You can get a free password here.
When my grandmother lost her wedding rings in a house fire in the 1940’s, instead of a diamond, I don’t think they were in style yet, my grandfather bought her a beautiful sapphire ring to replace them. The ring was not precious because of the size of the stone, or the antique setting. It was precious because it had belonged to a lady whose influence and love I feel even today.
The Story of How my Grandmother Lost Her Wedding Rings
This is the story my mother told me about the sapphire ring, and how the wedding rings were lost.
There had been a little power outage at their home. My grandmother was probably there alone, so she got a stool, went outside and climbed up to reach the fuse box. The rest is quite too horrible to tell, but the stool tipped, and one of her fingers was torn off at the knuckle joint. As a result, the wedding rings were put in a glass jar on her dresser until she healed, and could wear them again.
However, a few days later, a spark from the chimney lit the roof on fire, and subsequently, the house burned to the ground. Apparently the little local fire department couldn’t get their truck started when they got the emergency call. A neighbor later said the fire truck drove past late that night. My mother always joked that they saved the foundation and the chimney.
My mother also told me how she and her sister spent days sifting through the ashes, looking for the ring. Clearly it was an impossible task, especially since my grandmother’s bedroom was beneath the section of the attic where the canning jars were stored. As a result, all of that glass melted in the fire on top of everything that had been in her bedroom.
Anyone who has been through a catastrophe like a house fire knows what a loss the objects containing sentimental memories are, but the greatest loss is when you lose a family member. Luckily, my grandfather was home that day, and was able to wake his father-in -aw who was taking an afternoon nap in the attic. Everyone was safe.
How the Sapphire Ring Became Mine
I don’t have any memory of my grandmother wearing her beautiful sapphire ring. When she died I was only 12. However, I do remember opening my mothers dresser drawer, taking out her jewelry box, and looking at it frequently. Sometimes my mother would let me try it on.
“You can’t wear it until you’re older,” I was always told.
How much older, I’m not sure, because at around the age of 16, I took it out and started wearing it. I realize that wasn’t how my mother intended for me to have my grandmother’s ring. I imagine she would have liked to have given it to me on a special occasion.
But the ring had a power over me. I was like Golum who craved to wear the ring, and I couldn’t wait until I was older.
It was really loose on my finger. Even though my grandmother had been quite thin as an old lady, she had been heavier when my grandfather gave it to her.
My mother never told me outright to put the ring back, but she did express concern it would slip off my finger. So when I was in my last year of high school, she had it resized. I wore it in my graduation photo.
The Ring Vanishes
By the time I was in college, I’d lost a lot of weight since high school. The ring was getting loose again. My last memory of the ring was playing touch football at a park on New Year’s Day in the cold. But I also have a memory that I put it somewhere. Whether it slipped off my finger on the football field, or I placed it somewhere it can never be found, I haven’t seen the ring in many, many years. And it’s loss is heartbreaking to me, because it was the one thing of my grandmothers that I had.
Lessons From Loss
We all do things as teenagers that we have misgivings about. And I regret taking the ring that wasn’t mine yet, just because I knew it someday would be.
I once asked a psychic what happened to the ring. She told me I did lose it on the football field. “A little girl had found it,” she said. And it was precious to her. Precious. She also said I lost the ring because it was never mine. It hadn’t been given.
When a New Ring is Forged
My husband doesn’t have the power to journey to the Mountain of Doom to reforge the ring for me. And luckily this ring doesn’t represent that kind of evil. No. It represents a woman from another era who I love, admire, and remember.
But what he does have is my high school photo which shows the rings design clearly. Someday when we have the extra money, he’s promised we will have it copied. I will be patient this time. I hope I have learned this valuable lesson. To never again take what I’m not given.
