Family Heirloom: Grandmother’s Sewing Machine

My name is Katya. I am 11 years old.

I want to tell you about my great-grandmother’s sewing machine. For some people it is just an old object, but for our family it is a real treasure.

It is a manual Hungarian sewing machine made by Csepel. It is more than sixty years old. To make it work, you have to turn a handle on the side. When you turn it, the needle moves up and down very fast and makes a neat stitch. I tried it myself — it is not as easy as it looks.

My great-grandmother’s name was Tatyana. Her parents bought this sewing machine for her many years ago. At that time it was a very important and valuable purchase. She worked as a cook in a café called “Chudesnitsa.” She worked hard, but she still found time to sew.

She finished sewing and tailoring courses and created dresses herself. What I like most is the story of how she made dresses for her daughter — my grandmother Irina. Grandma Irina told me that she always had the most beautiful dresses at school celebrations. Sometimes my great- grandmother sewed late into the evening because she wanted to finish a dress in time for a school party or a birthday.

When Grandma Irina talks about it, she smiles. I understand that she remembers not only the dresses, but her mother’s care and love. Every stitch was made with love. When I look at the sewing machine, I imagine my great-grandmother sitting at the table, a lamp shining nearby, and the room quiet. You could only hear the soft clicking of the mechanism and the turning of the handle. Maybe at those moments she was thinking about her family.

Today we have modern electric machines. They are faster and easier to use. But this sewing machine is special. It has no buttons, but it has a story. It has lived through many years and is still strong.

Sometimes I gently touch its surface and think that my great-grandmother Tatyana touched it too, and little Grandma Irina stood nearby watching a new dress appear. That thought makes me feel warm inside.

For me, this sewing machine is a symbol of our family. It connects my great-grandmother Tatyana, my grandmother Irina, my mother, and me.

I really want to keep it safe and one day tell this story to my own children. Because things can grow old, but memories never do.