My Grandmother’s Knitting…

I thought it would take me a lot longer to do this, but this morning I have pulled out my grandmother’s knitting. I thought I would need more time to do this because my grandmother passed away a week ago and I thought it would be too painful. But it was just the opposite; it brought me comfort.

On January 3rd, we celebrated her 94th birthday. It was a day of celebration spent with numerous family members stopping in throughout the day. When my parents and I arrived mid morning, two of her favorite caregivers, Andrea and Rose, had just finished dressing her up and doing her hair and makeup. She looked beautiful. My Grandma Verne always wore beautiful, brightly colored clothes with matching jewelry. On January 18th, she passed away peacefully in the night.

Grandma Verne has given me two of my greatest gifts in life: my passion for knitting and the meaning of unconditional love. When I was 7 years old, she taught me to knit. It has been my life-long passion and is now my career, for which I am so grateful. She has always been one of my biggest supporters and lately would always ask when I pulled out my knitting: “What are you making?” and “Is that for you or for the company?”. She was very proud that I had worked for a yarn company, but it was also important to her that I was able to knit something for myself.

Family was the most important thing in Grandma Verne’s life. She loved her family deeply. I will never forget what she wrote in my high school graduation card: “I may not always approve of the choices you make in your life, but I will ALWAYS love you.” To me, that is what unconditional love is and she lived by that. I knew that no matter what, she would always be there for me and she was.

I’ve been struggling a bit with what to do with her knitting. Should I leave it as is or continue knitting it? A few years ago, she wanted to try knitting again so I gave her needles and some yarn (the good stuff – Shibui Knits Baby Alpaca) in three of her favorite colors: black, ivory and red – she loved red! As you can see, she knit a few rows in ivory and black. She had arthritis pretty bad in her hands, so it was pretty difficult for her and it bothered her that her knitting wasn’t perfect. She kept wanting to start over. But to me, her knitting is perfect. It reflects her determination to do something she loved. I’ve decided to mark the spot where she left off by changing to red, this way I will always know where her hands worked their magic.

I don’t think I see this scarf as ever being a finished piece. I see it as something to share with her, to continue on for her and as I sit quietly knitting a few rows at a time, I will remember her and feel her love wrapped around me as my hands take over where her hands left off.

As always, thank you for following along. I wish you love and light and many cherished moments spent with the ones you love.

Shel