A Little Shoe Repair with Antique Thread

Those of you imaginary readers who have followed my blog closely from the very start might have noticed that I originally thought I would write a fair amount about sewing.  Sewing was even in my tagline.  When I started this blog, I was in the midst of a sewing obsession that swept through like a passing storm, fast and intense and leaving lots of unused fabric in its wake.  I do still hope to get back to it sometime.

shoe in mid repair

So tonight I was happy to pull out one of my sewing boxes for my first ever attempt at shoe making.  A piece of leather was hanging off one of my favorite shoes.   I pushed these Dansko’s to the limit all summer and then wore them in some wet muddy conditions this fall.  Finally, one of the straps came unthreaded and was hanging off the shoe. Very dangerous, especially since I am often carrying my toddler.

I was so happy to  use some of my great grandmother’s super strong

Aunt Lydia's thread

“Aunt Lydia’s”  brand button and carpet thread.  I was lucky enough to inherit a small stash of thread from her early century New York dry goods store.  I want to  write more about her spools of thread sometime.  She was known for her excellent repairs and family legend says she would fix all the buttons and tears on the local policeman’s uniforms and in turn they kept an eye on her store.   I love looking at the old spools of thread that connect me to her store and the past.

It was actually easier than I expected, since I used the existing holes and a pair of pliers to pull the needle through.  My children were riveted watching and I am quite sure my son will brag about his mother the shoemaker in pre-school tomorrow.    I always feel so good repairing something instead of throwing it away or pushing it to the corner of the closet to gather dust.  The shoes will be a little more special now that they have an imperfect but workable repair — and a bit of thread from my great grandmother’s store.  Lets see how long it lasts!

As good as new -- even a little bit better

Can you Say She-hech-ey-a-nu

first ripe strawberries

I first learned the shehecheyanu as a young 20 something, and it quickly became my all time favorite blessing.  My friend and I were strolling through a vineyard on a drive through Napa Valley.  We were giddy New Englanders discovering California and finding great amusement in the paper booties we were required to pull over our shoes during our visit to the vineyard.   The farmers were trying to prevent tourists from tracking in pests as they wandered through.

I can’t remember exactly what my friend experienced as “a first” that day, perhaps her first time seeing grapes actually still attached to the vine.   But something inspired her to say the shehecheyanu, a Jewish prayer to celebrate experiencing something for the first time or for the first time that year.   

Baruch ata adonai elohenu melech ha olam, shehecheyanu, v’kiyimanu, v’higiyanu laz’man hazeh.   Which translates as Blessed are You Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe who has given us life, sustained us, and allowed us to reach this day — (or this particular moment).   

I immediately knew I had to learn this blessing.  We all need tools to pause and celebrate new experiences, even just long enough to utter a sentence.  And this one was so appealing with rhyming words that seem to intertwine.   I remember it took many repetitions in the vineyard and later in the car until I could say it myself.  And since then I haven’t stopped.  Years later, my friend is a rabbi and I am a farmer, so maybe that day was formative.   

The blessing has marked major life events. It was the first thing I said as I stepped foot into my new house and through tears when I first held my newborn son and later my daughter.  But I also say it for much smaller more personal moments like the taste of the first strawberry of the season, or the sight of the ocean after a long time away from the sea.

As a mother it helps me create memories from first foods to first scribbles that might never make the baby book. I remember saying it the first time my son pulled my hair (something I so associate with holding a baby but does not happen during the newborn stage), the first time my daughter pushed into the crawling position or grabbed the spoon away from me.  I said it the first time I saw my son experiencing pride, after he stood a spoon inside a shoe and then sat back and smiled at his creation.

A couple of weeks ago, my son pointed to his baby sister pulling books off a shelf and said, “Look mom, it’s the first time she reached that shelf, say the shehecheyanu.” So we said the blessing together, my son mumbling some parts and belting out the ending, my daughter smiling and swaying to the tune. And then quietly I said it again, this time to celebrate the first time my son initiated a shehecheyanu.  Over the top, perhaps, but I warned you.  I really love this blessing.   

P.S. I did a little youtube shopping and found this rendition, which is quite sweet and much better than I could do.  And for one more post on Jewish parenting on this blog see On Challah