I Made Two Rose Barrettes

Last week was Valentine’s Day, and I made each of my kids a ribbon rose barrette. I am not particularly good at sewing, but I know from experience that hot glue does not really work for this project. Besides, I’m not very good at hot glue either. So I got out my sewing kit and ribbon, told my kids I was working on a surprise, and asked them not to look. 

They did surprisingly well, even coming up to me multiple times to share stories, ask for things that were out of reach, and to seek conflict resolution support from me (which sounds quieter than it is), all while studiously ignoring what I was doing. I did not have quiet, uninterrupted time in which to focus on my ribbon rose project. I didn’t have time to re-do anything. If my thread snagged a corner of ribbon in the wrong place, and of course it did, I had to incorporate that particular unintended curl into my rose. If the medium-quality ribbon I had on hand pulled a bit creating a hole in the ribbon (because I am not good at sewing or because someone bumped my arm) as I attached it to the barrette, I had to add a few stitches. 

I like to do things well, but that’s not always practical. I asked myself why I was making these ribbon rose barrettes, when I could go buy something cheaper and / or better, maybe both. By the second rose, I was improving. Just think how much better they would be if I made a dozen. 

The two roses I had time to make are sweet, nevertheless, and the kids were delighted to see them on Valentine’s Day. Of course they were more delighted by the chocolate and the gummy hearts.

When a friend complimented me on them, I said, “Thanks, they’re adorable, but don’t look at the back. My sewing skills are terrible!” She didn’t reply with the obvious, “Oh, no one will look at the back.” She said something equally true and much more interesting: “The point is that you’re their mother and you took the time.” 

Taking the time to make is special, not less so at a time and place where anything can be ordered from Amazon for almost instant delivery, and anything not on Amazon is on Etsy. It is still valuable to make something, to pull the needle through the ribbon, to incorporate the accidental snag into the pattern of a uniquely imperfect rose.