Then she straightened the kitchen, lit the lamp, mended the fire, took out the washing for the next day, and put it to soak. After which she sat down to her sewing. Through the long hours her needle flashed regularly through the stuff. Occasionally she sighed, moving to relieve herself. And all the time she was thinking how to make the most of what she had, for the children's sake.
I just took excerpts from the book while I was reading it on the Project Gutenberg website. If you would like to know more of the plot, I would highly recommend reading the whole thing.
needs a plot-line--e.g. Occasionally, Sophia did sigh. She felt somewhat relieved afterward, but still she was thinking of how to make even more of the time she did have, for the children's sake. Though finally Sophie had managed to sit down to her sewing, her thoughts returned to the daily, but never-ending "chores" of straightening the kitchen, lighting the lamp, mending the fire, taking out the wash for the next day to soak. Sophie's needle flashed relentlessly, yet determinedly, through her mending.