Memory is an Elephant

Memory is an elephant. And sometimes it's a bear.

On laundry days, as I work my way through my kids' closets, I find outgrown shirts, shorts, and dresses that are so tied to a specific place in time that I can't throw them out or add them to the donation pile. Sometimes, I find clothes that are ripped or stained enough that they won't ever be worn again but I keep those too, when they are special. I have boxes of these keepsake clothes in the attic, where they are not living their best lives. That is when the Memory Bear is born. 

Those special fabrics are carefully cut apart. Sometimes holes or stains are visibly mended where they were extra loved. Some fabrics are stabilized to help them keep their shape and hold up to the fiercest hugs. Then, they are carefully pieced together into something that is no longer worn, but carried as a memory. 

Fabric tells the stories of childhood, helps us remember the teenagers who have left home to become adults, and helps us hold onto the memories of loved ones who have gone. 

Every morning, my daughter comes down the stairs an inch taller than she was the night before. I'm so proud of the person she is becoming. It's hard believe she was once 18 inches long in the tiniest onesie you've ever seen, once refusing sleep on a crib sheet covered in stars, once dressed as a mermaid in a coffee shop, and once obsessed with unicorn dresses.

Sew My Goodness can transform your memories into huggable keepsakes.

 I left my work as a psychotherapist in 2019 to begin laying the foundations for Sew My Goodness. I live and sew in Austin, Texas with my husband, three kids, a hamster (he doesn't sew), and a few dozen sewing machines. I come from a long line of seamstresses, embroiderers, quilters, darners, hemmers, scrap savers, upcyclers, artists, improvisors, and connection makers. For me, sewing is utilitarian, it is art, it is healing, and it is connection. In addition to private sewing camps and classes, Sew My Goodness offers "Sewcial" Clubs, camps, and enrichment classes throughout Round Rock ISD.