the cords

My grandmother was an avid seamstress. While I don't know the entire history of her sewing prowess, I do know she sewed my mother's wedding gown, and that's testament enough for me. So when Grammie asked me if I would like her sewing machine some day, I jumped at the chance. Not because I too am an avid seamstress, but because I knew how much it meant to her & I know she would want her sewing stuff to go to someone who would at least care about it, if not use it.
I know the concept of sewing. I can muddle my way through threading the machine and sewing a relatively straight line, but to do anything more complicated would require me to spend countless hours reading through the "how to" book to try to figure out all the levers and switches and dials - not to mention the bobbins and the tension etc. Anyway, I've gotten it in my head that I could make the gifts for the kids' daycare teachers, and my idea was to use Grammie's cool machine (complete with scanner and computerized embroidery bells and whistles), and embroider a teacher's initials on a blanket. Couple that with a jar of the spice tea mix (y'know, the kind you make with Tang?), and you have a nice, homemade gift that might actually be a little useful.
Grammie's machine and the affiliated manuals and boxes have been sitting upstairs since Mom and Dad brought it when Ella was born. I rifled through boxes and found the manuals and started to review them before I even took the case off of the machine. I was THAT determined to do it right. I've poured over articles that Grammie printed off of the Internet, and even studied the D&C thread guide (which is to embroidery thread as paint chips are to painting - and I LOVE paint chips).
Last night, I found the full blown manual. I brought the machine downstairs to the dining room table (heavy!). I carefully removed the case, even replacing it and taking it off again so I would be able to remember how to put it all back together. I sat down in front of the machine, looked at the book to my right, and realized I didn't have a power cord.
So I went back upstairs to look in the boxes, all to no avail.
Tonight I decided to really unpack the boxes to assess their contents & hopefully find the chord.
I did not find it.
nor did I find the cord for the super cool scanner.
I did find a side of my Grandmother that I have never really known.
When we went to Grammie's to visit, I always liked to visit her sewing area because it had this kinetic energy to it. You could tell that as soon as she sat down at her stool, and had her mind to create (or fix) something, that it was going to be DONE, and it would probably be a good idea to stay out of her way until she was finished. I don't ever remember her sitting down in front of that machine while we were visiting.
As I was unpacking the boxes, I could still feel a little bit of the hum of the machine. She sent a pin tomato, a power strip, LOTS of rolls of stuff that I think is fabric stabilizer, but that's only a best guess. She sent a straight cutter, a pair of old Sears electric scissors, dozens of spools of thread, a thread holder, Velcro and zippers. Among the treasures was a small magnifying glass with my Grandfather's initials in the well-worn copper casing. Holding it in my hand, I knew that she carried him in her consciousness even when she was in "her zone". I wondered how many images that item might have conjured if I was a psychic.
I'm really looking forward to learning to use the machine, and hope she can remember where she might have packed the cords so that I don't have to go buy more.