It's Mother's Day!

I have a few Mothers stories for today....

The first being that I wasn't sure I'd ever become a mother. We struggled for 2 years and 11 months to have a child. Been through all the tests and procedures - all to no avail. Many tears too. And then on the precipice of our three-year mark (when I dealt with infertility, time was always on my mind, no matter how hard I tried to not think of it, I just could stop counting), one night when I was seething mad at the hubby (even though he apologized) and thought 'how could I have married this man?', was the time it actually worked. And it looks like one is all we get, but we got a great one - my darling Ryan is such a good, considerate, happy kid. And everyday I count the blessing that she is.

The second story being that of our Mother / Daughter sewing business. For as long as I can remember, my grandmother and mother knit, crocheted, embroidered, sewed, made dolls and clothes, etc. I remember Christmas morning when I was about 10, and coming downstairs to Santa's gift of a blue Brother sewing machine in a beautiful white wood cabinet with flowers on the outside. I was overjoyed! I started sewing basic doll clothes and little 9-patches. Another gift that I loved was a knitting basket because my mom always knitted while watching TV so she got me started. I also received a set of crochet needles in a fancy zip case, another cherished gift that was in my knitting basket (I've recently asked my mom if it is still in her house somewhere because I'd like to reclaim it). All growing up, my mom always made baby quilts for her friend's baby showers - some have told her that the quilt was put into a hope chest and is being used today for the grandbabies! My mom was thrilled to hear that news. Jump to 2001 when my mom made her first pastel patch chenille quilt for my SIL's first baby. These quilts became the baby shower gift of her friend's iminent grandchildren. And once she started getting requests to buy the quilts, she asked me if I'd like to start this little business with her. So here we are today!! We do two different lines, "Olive Street Studio" (for my little handbag business of which none are posted to Etsy yet) and "Emilia Anne Designs", which are all our baby items. We chose our baby business name to pay homage to the amazing women in our lives: Emilia is my maternal great-grandmother and Anne is my maternal grandmother. It has been fantastic to work with my mom. Ryan is almost 3, and she already loves playing in my sewing room - so hopefully, we'll still have the business and she'll step into it too. :-)