This year, we have been sharing our Labor of Love stories with you. Some have been about products and some have been about personal experiences, but they’ve all reflected on our appreciation for the handmade, the hard-won, and the heartfelt.  To honor this weekend’s holiday, we wanted to pay tribute to the biggest labor of love of all: motherhood. We hope you enjoy our stories—and feel inspired to share one of your own with us. Or, even better, share it with the special ones near to you.

My mother was an exceptional seamstress, and sewed many beautiful things for us when we were younger. My sister and I always had incredible homemade Halloween costumes, Easter dresses, and even special nightgowns for Christmas Eve. And although I refer to them as homemade, the quality of the workmanship far surpassed anything you could buy in the store. I still remember my mother ripping out seams to redo them late at night and my father pleading with her to “step away from the sewing machine” and go to bed.

My mom didn’t only make clothes and nighties for us—she made them for our Barbies, too. They had tailored silk and brocade outfits made from remnants of other sewing projects. If there was a Barbie Best Dressed List, I’m sure our Barbies would have been on it.

Later, when we tired of Barbie and all her unattainable traits, we adapted her wardrobe for our troll dolls. And yes, thanks to my mom, we had the best-dressed trolls on the block.