Two hours before the Thanksgiving meal was scheduled to begin, not a single appropriate item graced our table. No cutlery. No crockery. No glasses. No tablecloth. And I can understand why the sewing accoutrements that were spread across our dining room table were causing levels of concern to raise among the chefs in the kitchen.

But there’s only so long you can keep a superhero from his cape.

Earlier in the week, Calvin had been discussing the qualities that make a superhero, and in a matter of moments, Super Calvin was born. His vision of his cape was specific – black with a green ‘C.’ And we were going to make it together.

I’m not afraid to admit that I was a little concerned about whether I was up to the task. And on Thanksgiving morning, it suddenly seemed like a good project to keep us engaged and out of everyone’s way. So out came the tailoring chalk, pins, tailor’s scissors and the real draw card: the sewing machine my grandmother taught me to sew on.

The double-faced black fabric I’d bought in the Fashion District earlier in the week proved well worth the small premium as it didn’t run, meaning no edging was necessary. (This is an important factor as the aforementioned sewing machine was built a long time before the idea of ‘overlockers’ had been invented for domestic use.)

It was tremendous fun. I got to ‘fit’ a very co-operative Mr C.in the way tailors an dress makers do, draping, marking and pinning the fabric directly on him. We had a good time trying out different fonts for the ‘C’ on the computer, and Jay’s detailed eye saved us from accidentally stitching it on the wrong way!

Then it was all about teamwork. Calvin got to run the foot pedal, I fed the fabric through directing something like, “Go…go…go..stop, STOP!” (The image of sewn up fingers flashed into my mind more than once.) I’m inordinately proud of the end result and, paired with a black t-shirt and pants, this is C’s current favourite thing to wear and zip and zoom around in. He’s my Superhero for sure!

And… we put together a lovely Thanksgiving table, and the meal was plentiful and palate pleasing. After dinner, we turned crafty again and made everyone a hat – either a Pilgrim one or a First Nation’s headdress.

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