A busy stay-home mother of two school-aged children living in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston reached out to me recently in need of help with sewing name labels onto her daughters’ summer camp clothing and belongings. The client said she had hired a seamstress last year to do a similar task, but she eventually was not happy with the outcome. The client mentioned that one of her daughters had a store-bought sewing machine that I could use from her home. When we later discussed the project at length, it became apparent to me that her child’s sewing machine would not be able to handle the volume of clothing and blankets and various belongings that needed labeling for both children and within her stated timeframe. Instead of giving up, I offered my client the best solution possible:
My mother-in-law.
My in-law, now retired, had previously operated an award-winning tailoring and clothing repair business in Brookline for many years, and still had a fully functional, commercial-grade sewing machine in her home. The only requirement would be that the sewing work would have to be done off-site at my in-laws’ home, not the client’s basement home. The client loved the idea!
We later arranged an in-person meeting between my mother-in-law and client at her Back Bay home. Upon seeing the almost 200+ items that needed labeling, my mother-in-law quickly confirmed (as I had done previously) that the client’s store-bought sewing machine would not be able to handle high-volume jobs and some of the heavy-duty items, such as fleece blankets and thick towels.
Without missing a beat, the client separated each child’s belongings into two projects, identified by me as Project “R” and Project “S”. We agreed to work on each child’s items separately, deliver upon completion and then pick up the next child’s items. The client requested if all sewing could be complete within three days and we agreed to make it happen.
On Day 1, we picked up four large bags of Project “R’s” belongings for summer camp: tank tops, sweatshirts, fleece pajamas, short- and long-sleeved shirts, shorts, pants and jeans, underwear, swimsuits, fleece blankets, mattress protectors, sleeping bag and mesh bags, tutus and dress sets, bath and swim towels, and various wash cloths. The client included a bag of name labels to be used. It eventually took 4.5 hours to sew 120+ name labels onto Project “R’s” belongings.
On Day 2, I delivered Project “R’s” completed summer camp items back to the client at her Back Bay home. The housekeeper assisted with carrying the bags from my car and walked me to the basement room where the items for Project “S” were waiting for pick-up and sewing. 
Project “S” had fewer clothing and belongings for summer camp, two bags’ worth: socks, shorts, swimsuits, underwear, wash cloths, rash guards, tank tops, dresses/skirts and tutus, short- and long-sleeved shirts, jeans, a windbreaker, fleece pajamas and mattress protectors. Again, the client provided a bag of name labels for our use. Though my mother-in-law’s commercial-grade sewing machine easily handled each article of clothing quickly and efficiently, a few of Project “S’s” tutus, swimsuits and windbreaker jacket eventually required hand-sewing of the name label because the fabric was too delicate for the heavy-duty machine. It eventually took 3 hours to sew 70+ name labels onto Project “S’s” belongings. 
By Day 3, I was able to deliver Project “S’s” completed summer camp items back to the client as promised.
From the ordinary to the extraordinary, I provide solutions to many of life’s dilemmas. What a delight it was for us to make it all work out for this client!
Images credit: Susan Ho
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