This is my grandma, Minnie May. She loved fashion and sewing. She was crafty. And in my eyes, good at everything.
She made delicious meals. She was silly and soft spoken and would say phrases like 'oh my stars.' She was the best and sweetest grandma ever. And she taught me lots of things. Sewing, crochet, stitching of all sorts, baking... a lot of the special things a granddaughter gets to do with her grandma if she's lucky. But one thing I never got the chance to learn from her was one of the crafty skills she was best at: quilting. I remember admiring her works in progress stretched out on wooden quilting frames in the basement. And the quilts she had spread out on every bed. I loved snuggling under them when I stayed overnight at her house. And before she passed away, she had tucked away a special quilt she had made for each of us grandkids in her closet.
So this year, I promised myself that I'd learn to quilt. And I'm so happy I did. It's cheesy but I do feel as if I've bridged a gap and done something that maybe my grandma had always wondered or hoped I might learn to do. I wonder.
It's no surprise since I had her example to look up to. And I have to admit that it felt really special to give my first quilt to my little girly. My grandma inspired me to do this and now I feel like no matter how imperfect my quilting attempts may be, it's still something us girls can share. Something I can love that I know my grandma loved. And maybe a skill that I can teach to a certain someone someday who may or may not want to learn. We'll see.
And now for something a little less likely to make me weepy... I finally finished knitting my first hat! It's the robin egg blue hat pattern from Ravelry that I had started and re-started several times with different yarns before finding this awesome color and falling in love. I like my hats a tiny bit big, and I'm so glad this fits so well. And covers my ears.
I think it just had to be blue. And of course, all I had to do was look through my grandma's stash of old buttons that I had recently inherited to find the perfect big gray button for the side flap. I can't tell if it's made of shell or stone, but it's awesome. Shimmery and heavy and the perfect size. Thanks, grandma. Alright, alright, I get it, you're helping me out! You approve of the craftiness. ;)