I’m posting today about a  little red sewing case. I’ve had this little case as long as I can remember. Probably from an estate or garage sale. I keep my gardening gloves in it. I often think I should get rid of it as I don’t really need it. Every time though, I think about its previous owner and why she taped the note to the inside of the lid. I’ve had to tape over it many times because the paper is very fragile.

I think about this woman often. I figure it was a woman because it’s a sewing case. Why did she tape the message to the box lid? Did she put the message there because she sewed a lot and wanted to read those words of encouragement every time she opened the box? Did she take her sewing box with her for her chemotherapy treatments? Was she making something special? Something to leave behind?

Somehow I know I will never get rid of this sewing box. I feel like I’m keeping her memory alive. Keeping her message alive. Every time I read her words, it reminds me to be grateful for my good health and all my blessings. Wouldn’t it be something if someday I were to learn about her and her family? Stranger things have happened.

Here’s what it reads if it isn’t clear on your computer.

“I’ve been in a lot of tough situations before and have never quit yet. I am certainly not going to let this get me down.

I may have cancer but I am not going to sit around worrying about it.” 

(PS. After I wrote this post, I decided to “google” the company to see what I could learn. The company was incorporated in 1934 in St. Louis, Mo. It was considered a “depression company” because it started up during that time of history. I found that surprising; that a company that started then could be successful. Who starts a company during a serious depression? Maybe somebody who knows that women will do a lot more mending clothes than buying them. So the owner of the box might have been referring to the depression as one of the “tough situations” she had gone through.

I couldn’t find any cases on the web to match mine, but then I noticed this picture. While the case opens differently than mine, it’s the only one with the same covering and design. More for me to think about.)

neevel sewing case