Maha Naami, PhD candidate in the LIMES project, is looking forward to October. Not because she loves those dreary rainy days, but because she will finally be reunited with her husband and cat for good. In March 2020, Maha came to the Netherlands to start her PhD but had to leave her loved ones behind in Morocco.
Feeling alone during the pandemic and wanting to take her mind off work more easily, she started a new hobby: sewing.
“My parents were always busy with their sewing projects after work when I was younger. I would come back from school and there my dad would be sitting, making another piece of clothing. I wasn’t really interested in it when I was younger, but I do love working with my hands – gardening, knitting, crocheting. When the corona lockdown started, I noticed I found it very difficult to keep a healthy work-life balance. I found myself up at 3 in the morning still working on stuff. At a certain point, I told myself that it was getting out of hand and that I should find something to get my mind off work. That’s when I decided to start sewing.”
While most people would use YouTube videos to get themselves started, Maha rather called her parents. “My parents have so much knowledge when it comes to sewing. Even though I had never made my own clothes when I was younger and this was my first time behind a sewing machine, I somehow remembered really well how my parents made clothes. Some things they would tell me, when I thought I wasn’t listening, I still remembered. But whenever I get stuck, I immediately call them. It’s also a bonding moment for us.”
Maha likes to work with all kinds of fabrics because she likes to learn to work with all of them. “I prefer working with natural fabrics like cotton, silk and jute. What I like about making clothes myself is that every item I make is unique. I only found out recently that all sorts of beautiful fabrics are sold on the market in Maastricht – when I moved here all non-essential stands at the market weren’t allowed due to the corona pandemic. Since I found that out, I have made a couple of beautiful dresses.”
We hope to see Maha at the faculty in one of her custom-made items soon!