Continuity

Hello:

The above picture is of my son, Himes, modeling the Vortex Afghan that I hooked for my God-daughter, Eva.

I finished hooking all of the squares together and the simple dc (double crochet) round border during January.  I thought about Eva a lot while I was working on the afghan.  Her family has  been through a tough time.  She has been through a tough time.  But, she is really doing well.  She is in college and living independently.  She has a good job, and works hard at school.  I am really proud of her.

One of the neat things about a long term project for someone special, is that you get to think about the person for a long time.  It is impossible to work on square after square of an afghan, and not think about the recipient.

While I was working on the border, in early January, I received a package from my sister, Sue.

Inside was an afghan.  No, Sue hasn't started crocheting.  This afghan was hooked by my grandmother, Noni.  Both of my grandmothers crocheted.  My mother's mom, Grandmama, made lace doilies and table cloths (my mother has a beautiful one for her dining room table).  My dad's mom, Noni, made afghans.  Most of them were zigzag patterns of double crochets.  But, she did make this one colorful Granny Square.  When she died, I lived in Houston, TX.  My sister, Sue, and cousin, Diane, who lived in Southern California helped clean out her house, and got all of the handmade crafts.  Noni also did beautiful crewel stitchery.  This Christmas, Sue sent each of the "sisters" an afghan.

It is in acrylic, and I think she used scraps and stash.  There are some blocks that are one color, and others that use 3 or 4.  The black border is the constant.  I don't think she joined as she went, but sewed the blocks together after.

Noni took most of the colors and did a single crochet striped border with a picot edge in black.

Since it is still winter, I often sit with this afghan across my lap while I knit and crochet.  I mailed my afghan for Eva in the same box that Sue used to send me Noni's afghan.

When I was down in So. Calif. a few weeks ago, my mom told me that she has started crocheting, again.  She was inspired to take it up (again) last year, but stopped in the summer because it was hurting her wrist.  She was making doilies.  Using cotton crochet thread.  No wonder her wrist hurt!  Now, she is making lapghans for charities.  The bigger yarn and hook (and the fact that she isn't using cotton thread) are helping her wrist.  I told her that I wanted one of the lapghans.  I want something made by my mother.  I want to be able to pass it down to my own daughters.  "This is the afghan your Great-Grandmother made, and this one was made by your Grandma."  Someday. my daughters, and perhaps my God-Daughter, will show their daughter the afghan I made just for them.

And so it goes on, generations of crafters, passing down the fruits of our crafts.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with a warm afghan.