Comments on: Arful Nessa’s Sewing Machine

By: Ben Keeling

Ben Keeling — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 13:51:09 +0000

Such a good story, this is now 10 years old but wondered what happened to the Sew machine?

By: Shuchi Karim

Shuchi Karim — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 05:49:53 +0000

You are a brilliant writer! You have so much soul in your words that they connect with people effortlessly. Bengali/Bangladeshi families like ours have had such commonalities that when i read your mom’s story, i have my own family stories coming into my mind. You have the ability to pick up the right elements: gardening or a sewing machine! You know what? There is a Singer sewing machine in my mom’s family (in Bangladesh)…it belonged to my grandmom (nani)…and then was passed onto her daughters, daughters-in-law…we always laughed at it (how old it was, and how ‘useless’ the machine is in today’s time)….but it still serves the house (and everyday needs)…my nani used it to stich all her kids clothings and then at later years, she would use it to custom make inner wears (after her by-pass surgery)….my mom looks at that Singer machine with sooooooo much love and affection that i cant express in words….it is a symbol of a caring mother to her and now that nani is no more, the machine is a reminder of her! When i come to London next time, i will come to see your mom.

By: Ella

Ella — Sat, 26 Jul 2014 10:56:31 +0000

My mother was a seamstress in the East End the 70s and 80s and she still has her Brother sewing machine. It works perfectly and she always prefers to use it rather than a newer, digital version we bought some years ago.

By: Bron

Bron — Sun, 20 Jul 2014 06:47:58 +0000

Thank you for a lovely series.

By: Cat

Cat — Wed, 16 Jul 2014 13:05:38 +0000

I still have my mother’ sewing machine. Still works and evokes lots of memories . Not as mighty a machine as your mother’s though. One person’s clutter can symbolise so much triumph as well as heartache.

By: Ayan

Ayan — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 00:31:04 +0000

Such nostalgia and a beautiful written post.

By: Pep

Pep — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 22:58:00 +0000

A simple and beautifully written portrait of a mother and a moment in the history of the East End.

By: Adele

Adele — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 14:05:13 +0000

Ah, the immigrant experience in the East End. In the fifties my mother was a piece worker at home, also for a ladies garment manufacturer in New Road. her work was delivered by a young man named Ali, who my mother treated as one of the family. Each week when he delivered her pay packet she tipped him, and there was always a hot cup of tea waiting for him during the bad weather, which he would gulp down. My grandfather’s old Singer machine sat in the top floor bedroom for years. When my parents moved my parents left it behind “in case the next tenants could make use of it”.

By: Lillian

Lillian — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 12:33:30 +0000

I lost my lovely mother earlier this year and this moving article brought back memories of so long ago. She too sewed to provide for us taking in piecework and dressmaking. We children always fell asleep at night to the constant whirring of her sewing machine as she sewed hunched over the machine often until midnight even when 9 months . I treasure my mother’s old sewing machine. A pleasure to read about this fine lady!

By: Sarah C

Sarah C — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 12:25:44 +0000

Great story. A wonderful read. Looking forward to the next one. No seamstresses in my family but everyone sewed –