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Mar3
Contributing to the Local Community
Filed under: Belonging, Communication, Community, Disabilities, Fiber Art, Making Art, Volunteer Work;6 CommentsAs most of you know, I volunteer for a thrift store that benefits the local area hospice. Several weeks ago, I told the store manager that I sew, and since then, I’ve been up to my elbows in different kinds of mending and restoration projects. I even bought a sewing machine to help the process along, although I sew by hand when mending quilts that are hand stitched.
A couple of weeks ago, the store manager showed me some chair cushions that she wanted me to re-cover, so we started with the ugliest ones. They are (or should I say, were) ugly in a kind of 1970s polyester way. At first, I tried replacing the material altogether, but then decided that it made more sense to sew new material onto what was already there. For the front and back of each cover, I used my sewing machine. For the side panels, which had to be sewn around a zippered opening, I sewed by hand. Here is a picture of the two covers. The one on the right is the original, and the one on the left is my beautification of it:
Yes, the border around the original was made of a kind of tinsel-like gold color that should simply be illegal to use in a home furnishing. It’s an affront to the senses. When I wasn’t working on the covers, I had to hide them under other material in my loft so that I couldn’t accidentally catch sight of them.
I brought the finished cushions into the store yesterday, and the manager was so happy with them that she brought the chair up right away to sell. When I went in today to take a picture of it, I learned that it had already been sold, but was being held for pickup downstairs. So I went down and took some photos of it. Here’s the best one:
I love doing this work, and the people at the store are nearly ecstatic about it. Everyone seems to have adjusted to my not talking or hearing, and they are very appreciative of what I do. They write me notes, show me what to do, and treat me with a lot of kindness. I’m getting less and less self-conscious about my headset and my silence, and more and more able to rest easy in the knowledge that I use them to work with my disability (in the same way that I would use a wheelchair if I couldn’t walk).
It’s good to feel part of something again. It’s been a long time coming.
© 2010 by Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg
6 Responses to “Contributing to the Local Community”
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misfit March 4th, 2010 at 9:35 am
I want that chair!! You have a real talent, it is beautiful. The “before” fabric looks like something out of James Lileks’ “Interior Desecrations”! (I grew up in the 70s and still have flashbacks.)
So glad you’re feeling part of something, on your terms. Mazel tov! -
That’s a lovely chair — I’m glad the people at the thrift store appreciate your work!
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i second the above. (!!!!!) also am glad to see this because i want to do volunteer work, am daunted by how much i “can’t do.” (ironic, coming from someone who hates to be told she can’t… i think it’s because i already have too many messages i put on myself.) again—it’s strengthening to see someone else in a similar (autie) boat just do it.
i think there’s something lovely too about the aesthetic of retrieving discarded things. have been falling in love with warhol lately (in part) for this reason. i know that’s kind of personal, maybe not all that relevant–but i’m obsessing.
have another alternative for volunteer work now. will think of thrift stores.
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Go for it, bluedancer!
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this is cool. i also get an inordinate amount of joy from repurposing, repairing and repainting my thrift store finds. but i can’t sew worth a damn
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John Dale Lyons March 6th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
My mother is good at salvaging stuff. But I am all thumbs. Nice work.
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About Me
I'm Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg, and I publish this blog, Journeys with Autism. I'm a wife, mother, writer, singer, artist, photographer, community volunteer, and the chapter leader for the Vermont Chapter of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN).
At the age of 50, I awoke to my place on the autism spectrum and discovered a world of gifts, struggles, and life-changing possibilities. My latest book, The Uncharted Path: My Journey with Late-Diagnosed Autism, was published in July of 2010. My work has also appeared in Shift Journal of Alternatives: Neurodiversity and Social Change and in the Disability Rights and Neurodiversity section of the ASAN website.
My Memoir
"The Uncharted Path is an autism autobiography unlike any I’ve ever read.....I’d recommend The Uncharted Path to anyone on the spectrum, to anyone who has friends or relatives on the spectrum, and to anyone who cares for people on the spectrum. Her book is written straight from the heart.” —Gavin Bollard, author of Life with Asperger’s
“Cohen-Rottenberg is emotionally honest and skilled at relaying the stories from her childhood and adulthood that made her the person she is today....A highly recommended read."—Kate Goldfield, author of Common Scents: Adventures with Autism and Chemical Sensitivity
“What Rachel has written, few others would be able to....An enlightening journey."—Jon Gilbert, author of Same Child, Different Day
My memoir The Uncharted Path: My Journey with Late-Diagnosed Autism is now available in paperback for $17.95 and in PDF format for $8.95.
To purchase the book, please contact me by email. I accept payment via PayPal, by check, or by money order. You can also find the book for sale in paperback on Amazon.com.
Thank you for your interest in my work.
Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg
rachel@journeyswithautism.com
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