souvenir
August 31, 2012
when i worked at natural stitches,
an old, sickly woman would come in a knit.
her name was mattie.
mattie was wheelchair bound
blind in (at least) one eye,
and on dialysis 3 times a week.
she would save up her transportation tickets from her senior center
so she could come, hang out with us,
and we could help her with her projects.
she was always happy
and slightly outrageous.
i always had to help fix her ribbing.
now and then, i’d get roped into running to mcdonalds
to buy her a small fry. (with her coupon, of course)
she always made sure her nails were done, her makeup was on,
and always wore her “good wig” when she came to the shop.
sometimes her leg would pop off as she wheeled across the store to her table and we’d have to hand it back to her. sometimes she’d put it back on. other times, she’d simply plop it on the table and keep on stitching.
i recently found out that she passed away;
they blogged about it on the shop blog.
in honor of mattie i am going to reveal a photo.
it is not the most flattering photo;
the outfit i’m wearing is . . .
special.
it was given as a thank you to my friend yvonne.
when we opened, i couldn’t resist modeling it.
for the most part,
the photo has been suppressed
that is, until now.
(post continued after the jump)
mattie,
i’ll never forget you.
wherever you are, i’m sure you’ve finally mastered k2p2 ribbing.
photo courtesy of natural stitches
love,
steven
p.s. yvonne, if you read this, do post the details surrounding the outfit in the comments!
Bitches Get Stitches 
August 31, 2012 at 11:52 pm
aw, what a sweet memory of a lovely person. {{hugs}}
September 1, 2012 at 6:29 am
A few months ago, Yvonne was putting together a flier for Sarah’s trunk show and accidentally put this photo in instead of one of Sarah’s photos. We died laughing and then took it out…after we printed one copy for Anna to proofread.
September 1, 2012 at 12:20 pm
Third time’s a charm…
Mattie had brought in a small cello wrapped package to thank me for being so kind to her. She said that she had several of these … uh, robes? … and that she thought they were the most comfortable things on earth. I stuck it in my cubby and left it until we closed up the shop. I remember counting the drawer and telling you about it, and then the next thing I knew…there you were, modeling it in all your glory…and my sides STILL hurt a week later from laughing so hard.
September 1, 2012 at 9:59 pm
Rest in peace, Mattie. You seem to have been one of those tough ol’ gals who make the world a better place just through the force of your personality! You will be missed.
As for that garment, Stephen: You tried your best to make it work, but the colors and fabric pattern just weren’t you. However, the basic cut seems to be flattering to you. . . have you thought about making one for yourself, knitted side to side, maybe in the Blue Moon colorways Jade or Green Eyed Monster? I’m sure it’d keep you (and Mo) warm during those cold Michigan evenings!
September 2, 2012 at 9:00 am
Mattie sounds like a woman I’d wish I’d known.
You totally rock the dashiki.
September 2, 2012 at 10:38 am
Sorry about your friend Mattie. I’m sure she enjoyed the time she spent with all of you.
The outfit, however, just screams Rhoda Morgenstern…or some kind of 70’s lady of leisure on about to embark on her valium and 3 martini lunch. Now that I’ve shown my age, I’m going to go sit quietly in the corner with my AARP membership application.