In January 2013, I accepted a challenge from a friend on Facebook. In the “Creative Pay-It-Forward Challenge,” the first 5 people to comment on my friend’s status would receive from her, sometime during the year, a GIFT! Those commenters agreed to re-post the status and thus pass a gift on to others. The idea tickled my fancy and I signed up.

I had a few people indicate interest, but only one who carried through: my high school girlfriend, Cindy. Here we are on our flag team in high school — the mid-1970s in Southern California. Put a flag in my hand today and I’m SURE I can still work it. (Cindy’s on the front right; I’m on the far left.)

Not only was Cindy a fellow flag twirler, she happened to have the distinction of being the first among my friends with a driver’s license. I was a frequent passenger in her sky-blue Pinto. 

Since I haven’t seen Cindy in person for many years, I asked her what her interests are these days. What do you know: she likes to sew. I knew right then what I wanted to give her.

Whenever I do handwork with needle and thread, I grab my old sewing pouch to bring my supplies to the sofa, where I can sew under a good light and in front of TV. But I curse that little pouch — it’s black (it’s hard to see and I always prick my fingers on the needles) and it’s got a zipper (which is forever eating thread ends and getting stuck).

So for Cindy’s gift, I did some free-style sewing, piecing together the kind of little kit I’d love to have: places for a cutter, seam-ripper, ruler, thread, pins and needles, all out where I can find them easily.

Of course you figured it out: the sky blue in this sewing book harks back to Cindy’s much-revered Pinto. I bet I still owe her gas money. Cindy, for you: I had fun making something new while thinking back on some great, great times!