My Crafty Side...Thanks Gram!

When I was in high school, my grandmother moved in with us. It was a little crowded to say the least, and it always felt like we had two mothers yelling at us to do different things. At the same time, it was nice to have her there because she would teach us how to do all sorts of really great things that only grandmothers can do.

Before she moved in, when we'd visit her, we'd learn how to do just about anything that had to do with crafts or cooking/baking...as well as numerous types of games, (just ask Mike about how "good" she was at card games...hehehe) So, when she lived with us, we were able to continue doing a lot of the same things. I can't begin to go into how much she taught me with regards to cooking, baking, and ya...card games, but I did want to share with you a craft she taught me, that to this day I try to do as often as possible so as to teach my daughter how to do it. It's called crocheting.

My grandmother would never let me forget how very difficult it was for her to learn how to do it, every time I would complain that I just couldn't get it right. See, she was left handed...despite how many times the nuns would rap her knuckles whenever she tried to write lefty! The person who taught her how to crochet was not only right handed...it was her only hand. That's right. This lady would crochet the most magnificent blankets and clothes with only her right hand and her left elbow...(she had lost her left hand up to the elbow when she was a child).

So, with this added guilt, (remember I was a "know-it-all" teenager) I did my very best to learn this crafty skill. She tried to teach me how to "read" the patterns, but because I'm more of a hands-on-learner, it was easier for her to show me how to do a stitch and then learn the names for them as I went along. It wasn't until recently, as a matter of fact, that I taught myself how to read patterns.

I've never gone on so far as to say that I'm an excellent crocheter, as the patterns I pick out are generally the easier ones. I think that's mostly due to lack of time to work on them. I need something that I can sit down and do without much thought. So, about 6 years ago, I found a very simple pattern for a baby blanket, and kind of tweaked it to make it my own...something else she taught me how to do.

I had decided that for each of my children I would make them a lovey blanket that would be their own. (Scars from my childhood blanky being passed down to the next sibling pushed me on with the gestation of each child, sorry Mom!) So, when we learned we were expecting twins, I knew my time would limited trying to make two of these lovey blankets before they were born.

Well, I succeeded, and completed Caleb and Elijah's blankets this week!

(L to R: Ethan's, Joshua's, and Rebekah's lovey blankets)

(L to R: Caleb and Elijah's lovey blankets)

Thanks Gram for teaching me this awesome skill. It's something I've been able to use from the day you taught me to not only find a wonderful way to show my love to my children, but to hold on to a cherished memory from time.