Collections

I don't remember how old I was. It might have been my 8th or 9th or 10th birthday, somewhere around there, my grandma brought me my present. I remember sitting in the living room as I unwrapped the first box. It was a picture frame box. And in typical 8 or 9 or 10 year old fashion I tried to sound grateful as I said, "oh great, thanks." She smiled and told me to open the box. So I did and pulled out a curious thing. It was a little house-shaped box that hung on the wall with many small compartments. I was confused. So I opened the next smaller box and in it was a thimble. And the next and the next. My grandma had started me a thimble collection.

She had given me a cool little black iron thimble that looked very old and would barely fit on my pinkie, a porcelain one with pretty flowers painted on it, and a plain silver one that she said had been hers among others that I unfortunately don't remember anymore.

I really liked my thimble collection. I thought it was cool that I already had a head start. My mom and I used to go to antique stores sometimes and I would find neat thimbles there to add to my collection. If we went on family trips I would always look for a thimble to commemorate the trip. If my dad or sister traveled, they would bring one back for me as well. The little house-shaped holder hung on my bedroom wall, full. And next to it another one to accommodate my expanding assemblage.

When I was 13, we moved, and the thimbles got packed away with everything else. I do not remember it hanging in the next house, or the next. I'm sure it is still packed away in some box in my parents' basement. Long since forgotten.

I guess when I started sewing aprons I thought about that collection again. Who knew it would be the perfect choice? I guess my grandma did. But it makes me sad. I had since traveled to locations I may never see again (although I hope to). I have been to France, Wales and England and I wish I had thimbles for each country as well as for each tourist destination I saw in each place. I live in a different state and I wish I had a thimble from Chicago, and from Indiana. I wish I had thought about that collection as I traveled before having kids. I wish I knew where it was today. And I wish I could once again hang it on my wall.

This is why I now ask people, "Hey, when you go somewhere, please get me a thimble..." I should also ask everyone I know who lives in a different state to pick one up if they see one. Because whether it's from a place I have been or from a person I care about, it means a lot to me.

I suppose I will have to buy a case for the ones I have begged or bought since I remembered my grandma's gift. I have hesitated because I feel like I can't quite put them up until I have my originals once again proudly displayed. But I guess I have to pick up and start fresh, and hope that someday, my original childhood collection will be unearthed and once again enjoyed. And who knows, maybe I will pass it on to my daughter, or maybe even my grand-daughter someday...