Susan A. Kitchens
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What good is a #needle without a thimble? And how many of you, just by looking at this image, got a visceral memory of the slightly sweaty fingertip during a sewing repair? 🙋 #DailyPictureTheme
12:47 PM - Mar 24, 2024
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Jen The Muse
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In response to Susan A. Kitchens.
My grandma's thimbles are one of my most used and cherished possessions.
05:58 PM - Mar 24, 2024
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Susan A. Kitchens
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In response to Jen The Muse.
Yes! I certainly have mental snapshots of my grandmother and a thimble.

Also I find a comfort in having & using a tool that a relative/ancestor also used. Trying to put my finger on what that feeling is— sense of connection and continuity, the passed-down-skill, an echo of the person. Thoughts?
07:19 PM - Mar 24, 2024
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Jen The Muse
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In response to Susan A. Kitchens.
All of that. All the memories of her teaching me, scolding my embroidery because the back was messy :) at the time I was annoyed. Now, I miss her too much and would love to hear her critique one of my projects. I can wear her thimble though and keep that physical connection alive.
07:59 PM - Mar 24, 2024
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Susan A. Kitchens
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The philosophical position severing mind/heart/soul from physical objects is cruel bc it negates rich experiences like yours, where your grandmother’s objects evoke her being and keep her alive in you.

The POV “objects are semi-animate” is for ppl who’ve lived enough to have person(s) to evoke.🪡🫶
In response to Jen The Muse.
08:32 PM - Mar 24, 2024
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Jen The Muse
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In response to Susan A. Kitchens.
I'm left wondering who may have passed it down to her. Perhaps it came from her mother? I may be the caretaker of generations of memory and intention.
09:02 PM - Mar 24, 2024
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Susan A. Kitchens
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In response to Jen The Muse.
Yes. I feel the balancing act of this, the challenge to find your place on the delicate line between
• honoring the intention & preserving the memory
and
• “I am trapped by objects whose story and provenance overwhelms my life with obligations I didn’t seek out”

Your own life+story matters, too!
09:14 PM - Mar 24, 2024
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