“The most important part of sewing is how you cut your fabric. And if you never learn how to use an iron correctly, you’ll be terrible” she said. Hovering over me while I stared at the tissue thin yellow paper spread out on the table in front of me, trying to make sense of what the faint lines drawn all over were- some solid, some dotted. I was 6 asking to be taught how to sew and she, my Grandmother, was delighted to begin teaching me. “Today I’m going to teach you how to see a straight line… that’s the second most important part of sewing.”

She kept her scissors as sharp as she kept her nails. These are hers from the late 1940’s and have been at my side for nearly 26 years, a tool that I have used every single day of my life. Like my nails, I keep her scissors just as sharp.